Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for your top tips to clean a house from top to bottom?

49 replies

CraneBoysMysteries · 30/05/2023 10:11

I have a day off tomorrow and am planning on trying to get our house back into shape

We have two young toddlers and are in a constant state of chaos. We usually manage to swing the hoover around and keep on top of washing up but deep cleaning rarely gets done.

I really want to tackle this in the most efficient way possible and, if I can, put in place some systems to help us keep on top of it more easily going forwards

So I have washing to do and put away, 1 bathroom, 1 toilet, 1 kitchen, 3 bedrooms, 1 office and 2 reception rooms.

I've no idea where to start and to be honest I worry I'm going to spend the whole day procrastinating and making lists of how to do it rather than getting stuck in!

Help!

OP posts:
tatteddear · 30/05/2023 10:15

I put the wash on and do all the putting away first. Then all the tasks at once. So I'll clean all the mirrors, all the glass, do all the dusting/surface wiping and then hoovering last.

snowmanshoes · 30/05/2023 10:17

Just pick a room and start. I’m probably completely wrong but I start small first - so the bathroom perhaps.
Youll honestly feel better once it’s done and for me get a sense of achievement too lol but it won’t take too long and you’ll see a result fairly quickly which will give you the determination and motivation to carry on.
Going forward - honestly as boring as it sounds tidy ALL drawers - it might seem pointless cos the rest of room is a mess but if you don’t have anywhere to put things tidily that’s when I find things start going awry.
In no way an expert - just a busy working mum like most!

snowmanshoes · 30/05/2023 10:19

Once tidy I agree with poster above about doing for example all the mirrors but that once it’s tidyish and keeping on top of it

anxiouslyanxious · 30/05/2023 10:20

One tip I always found useful is start cleaning/tidying from the left as you walk into the room and work your way around the room like that. It gives you a place to start without being overwhelming x

Ponoka7 · 30/05/2023 10:22

You can't do that in mind one day. I agree that you do the washing, sort through your clothes and if you haven't already done so, put away winter stuff etc. Clean kitchen and bathroom, declutter as you go, include windows. Do as much as you can in the bedrooms. Be ruthless. If there isn't 'stuff' cleaning is easy. So I'd use today to do a thorough bin/tidy up in each room, so the cleaning takes twenty minutes. Then have a rota if each room.

goldeline · 30/05/2023 10:24

Have a box/bag for each person in the hall. As you find stuff that needs to go back in their rooms etc, chuck it in the box then sort through them at the end.

efeslight · 30/05/2023 10:27

Yes, too much to do in 1 Day.
Start with getting rid of stuff, rubbish, clothes that are too small etc.
Then focus on the visible areas, surfaces, floor etc.
I recommend a slob comes clean podcast if feeling overwhelmed.
Dont empty out loads of cupboards and wardrobes, and make it worse.

Original poster
CraneBoysMysteries · 30/05/2023 10:28

honestly as boring as it sounds tidy ALL drawers - it might seem pointless cos the rest of room is a mess but if you don’t have anywhere to put things tidily that’s when I find things start going awry.

I relate to this so much and is probably why we're in a pickle. I have a husband who hates throwing things away and very little storage space!

I like the idea of doing all tasks together like cleaning all glass etc. Seems efficient!!

And probably having a bit of a declutter today is a good idea but I promised myself one day of relaxing and one of cleaning so I've booked lunch out with some friends and am loathe to cancel 🥂 😉

OP posts:
Original poster
CraneBoysMysteries · 30/05/2023 10:29

Thanks you so much, I'm genuinely surprised I've got replies and all of them have been so useful.

Just to clarify, the house isn't a total state and generally tidy BUT cupboards are hiding sins and a deep clean hasn't been done for so long!

OP posts:
takealettermsjones · 30/05/2023 10:30

I always start from the floor up. So I don't mean hoovering, I mean picking up anything that's on the floor that shouldn't be. That makes a massive difference imo (also toddlers here, so there's constantly detritus everywhere!) and then you can go up in stages so e.g. chairs/sofas, then tables/counters, mantlepieces/windowsills, cupboards... Etc etc.

JuneOsborne · 30/05/2023 10:34

I'd tidy up this afternoon after lunch out. It's impossible to just rip through cleaning when there's tidying to do.

Once tidy, it's much easier! I'd start upstairs, with the bathroom and get that ship shape. Then I'd run round the upstairs woodwork with a cloth. Vacuum. Job done upstairs. Then I'd do the kitchen, clean the sink, the front of the cupboards etc. Then downstairs woodwork and dusting. Then vacuum and mop if you have hard floors. Sparkly house!

Hillrunning · 30/05/2023 10:37

If the children aren't around, my best bit of advice is put an audiobook on through some ear buds. It helps the whole thing be less dull, and I stay focused for many more hours than if I did it without. The story is at the forefront of my mind, and the 'where did I put that cloth down' crap is at the back.

HappyasLarrynot · 30/05/2023 10:38

My way that works for me is to do 5 mins in each room with a timer and just keep going round … Im 99% sure I have ADHD though so I can’t stay for too long in one room or I get distracted! Loud music and a timer …!

RoseRobot · 30/05/2023 10:52

Wash on. Unload dishwasher/do any dishes so sink is clear - 20 mins max
Tidy up. 5 mins in each space sorting out the big clutter and making sure surfaces are relatively clear. - 1 hour
Empty bins. - 10 mins
Open windows. - 5 mins
Dust and polish from top to bottom - 20 mins max
Hoover from top to bottom - 30 mins max
Clean bathroom - 15 mins
Clean kitchen - 30 mins
Mop floors - 30 mins max
If you still have energy, do the insides of the windows - 30 mins

That's a deep clean of the whole house in 4.5 hours. With breaks, make it 6 hours.

Ketchupandtartare · 30/05/2023 10:54

I open all the doors, put things away then tackle one room at a time. When I’ve cleaned the window, dusted and vacuumed, I close the door.

Mydusa · 30/05/2023 11:02

Take a laundry basket. Go through the whole house putting things away if they're out but in the right room already, and into the basket if they're in the wrong room.

Go round the house putting away everything from the basket.

Then 15 min chunks per room dusting, wiping etc. Work top to bottom. Repeat if needed. Take breaks in between.

Then floors at the end.

Jackienory · 30/05/2023 11:03

Get a cleaner : worked for me.

CannotDoThisAnymore · 30/05/2023 11:05

Put your favourite music on and follow the advice above! You wont have the whole house sorted but youll make a good dent in it

BarbaraofSeville · 30/05/2023 11:05

RoseRobot · 30/05/2023 10:52

Wash on. Unload dishwasher/do any dishes so sink is clear - 20 mins max
Tidy up. 5 mins in each space sorting out the big clutter and making sure surfaces are relatively clear. - 1 hour
Empty bins. - 10 mins
Open windows. - 5 mins
Dust and polish from top to bottom - 20 mins max
Hoover from top to bottom - 30 mins max
Clean bathroom - 15 mins
Clean kitchen - 30 mins
Mop floors - 30 mins max
If you still have energy, do the insides of the windows - 30 mins

That's a deep clean of the whole house in 4.5 hours. With breaks, make it 6 hours.

Useful, but that's based on it being relatively clean and dust free to start.

Otherwise, you'd have no chance of dusting and polishing from top to bottom in 20 minutes.

It also sounds like the OP is struggling with clutter with the dangerous combination of 'a husband who hates throwing things away and very little storage space'.

OP, you really need to work on solving this, by getting rid of a good amount of the clutter or the husband or you'll probably struggle with this forever more. Can you get rid of as much as possible of genuinely unneeded/worthless stuff without him noticing? Maybe add some storage if you have the space?

BarrelOfOtters · 30/05/2023 11:06

Put some time in to get rid of stuff.

Honestly, it's a gamechanger.

And then look into getting some more storage.

Original poster
CraneBoysMysteries · 31/05/2023 08:02

I really appreciate all the advice I got. Unfortunately I didn't get any prep done yesterday as was just enjoying myself with friends 😊

So I'm having breakfast watching Eastenders and setting myself up for the day. I've realised what a task this is so my aim really is to get the house looking good and tidy/clean and I'll tackle deep cleaning one room at a time over the next week with DH in the evenings.

-first wash already on
My list for the day is:
-put away piles of washing
-go round with the duster in all rooms
-clean all glass in each room
-go around with a laundry basket and deposit things in their rightful room
-start upstairs and tidy each room and get everything off the floors
-tackle bathroom and downstairs loo
-hoover and mop each room

Hopefully while I'm doing this I can sort out piles to be thrown away and piles for the charity shop

Am noting this down to try and keep me on track 💪🏻

OP posts:
PumpkinSpiceLattePlease · 31/05/2023 08:11

Hi, cleaner here! I would start by tidying up so everything is out of the way. Then room by room, start at the light switch and go left first around the top of the room (dust picture frames, clean front of cupboards, dust shelves, etc). Then do the middle of the room (clean tiles, sideboards, shelves, fronts of kitchen cupboards and furniture) just sweep everything onto the floor. Then finally dust the skirting boards, kitchen base boards and do the floors. Once it's all clean, make a list of all the drawers and cupboards that need decluttering and tackle them one by one over the next few days and weeks 🙂

clpsmum · 31/05/2023 08:18

The organised mum method of fab for keeping on top of things

Opaque11 · 31/05/2023 08:21

I have a very, very tidy and clean home and this is my top tip - decluttered. I always think a house can be clean but stuff piled up around the house just makes it look so untidy and dirty when it's probably not. In my house, absolutely everything has a place. Also I have a toy box in each and every room. In the kitchen, a very cluttered worktop just makes it look immediately dirty and untidy . You know the utensil in holders all over, or unorganised sink and draining rack. I have a cleaner that comes in every week and she always ends up deep cleaning because she spends very little time tidying and putting away stuff because everything already has its space. So she ends up doing little things like skirtings and windows because the room is already tidy and she doesn't need to work around piles of stuff. I have young kids but when they were toddlers, I didn't have all toys out at once. Toy rotation worked and we had toy boxes in each room and still do. It's been so much easier getting my kids to do their rooms and other chores too because they don't feel overwhelmed by stuff around.

Original poster
CraneBoysMysteries · 31/05/2023 08:30

Once it's all clean, make a list of all the drawers and cupboards that need decluttering and tackle them one by one over the next few days and weeks

A list is a superb idea!

OP posts: