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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

If your house is always tidy enough for company can you tell me your daily routine

52 replies

Ostryga · 17/12/2023 17:24

I can’t keep doing panic cleans 2 hrs before someone is due, and cancelling things because I don’t have time to tidy.

I don’t mind cleaning - ie my kitchen is usually clean and my bathroom is fine, but actual tidying and putting stuff away is the bane of my freaking life. So I end up with clean floors and crap strewn everywhere. Doesn’t help that Dd is the messiest tiny human alive (takes after me! But we’re working on it!)

I do have ADHD and epilepsy, so I can’t always do hours of cleaning a day but any tips most welcome!

OP posts:
Imperfect10 · 17/12/2023 18:23

clear as you go...don't walk past something that you could lob in the correct place as you pass....

BUT also, it doesn't matter....it's not a competition, people matter more than tidiness and you already said your kitchen and bathroom are clean. Don't judge yourself more harshly than you would judge othersl!!!

Small people are messy, playing is important.....you won't ever find someone wishing they had spent more time tidying when they were younger but lots wish they had played more or spent time with people who matter to them.

Imperfect10 · 17/12/2023 18:25

Separately,

if you have ADHD and tend to disorder with problems getting to things and allocating time you might find a list app (eg Goblin tools) would help with day to day stuff as it breaks the task down and is personalisable.....

wildthingsinthenight · 17/12/2023 18:25

Ostryga · 17/12/2023 17:24

I can’t keep doing panic cleans 2 hrs before someone is due, and cancelling things because I don’t have time to tidy.

I don’t mind cleaning - ie my kitchen is usually clean and my bathroom is fine, but actual tidying and putting stuff away is the bane of my freaking life. So I end up with clean floors and crap strewn everywhere. Doesn’t help that Dd is the messiest tiny human alive (takes after me! But we’re working on it!)

I do have ADHD and epilepsy, so I can’t always do hours of cleaning a day but any tips most welcome!

If you have ADHD look at the Dubbi app for cleaning and house chores

Neriah · 17/12/2023 18:25

My mother, many years dead now, had a clear policy. If you didn't like the dust, you could have a duster, or leave. Your choice. I adhere to the same policy.

flowerchild2000 · 17/12/2023 18:28

Every time you walk out of a room, take two things with you to put away where they go. It's an easy thing to teach a child too, just takes lots of reminders and practice.

Caspianberg · 17/12/2023 18:30

Get a robot hoover. It means we make sure the floor is clear of all toys, charging cable, or anything else, otherwise it gets eaten by the hoover that comes on every morning at 7am.
Before toddler goes to bed every night, dh, myself and toddler tidy all toys, any cups into dishwasher, etc… we always clear kitchen sides completely after dinner (dishwasher loaded and anything hand washed is immediately dried and away)

when we come down each morning it’s clean to start the day. We all have to get up and ready early for work and nursery, so I want to be able to make breakfast or lunch boxes without having to wake even earlier to clear away last nights stuff

NeedToChangeName · 17/12/2023 18:31

Clean little and often

Declutter

RougeFraise · 17/12/2023 18:34

One touch.

so basically don’t put things down, put them away. So coat off and straight on the hook, shoes in the cupboard, keys in the bowl, bag away. Rather than dropping it all at your feet and having to tidy later!

ActDottie · 17/12/2023 18:37

Goinoutalone · 17/12/2023 17:27

the answer is quite literally “cleaning as you go” it’s hard but once you get into that mindset then it is worth it. I just do it as I go, examples…when I wake up I make my bed straight away, I put things away when I’m leaving a room. I tidy as I’m cooking, i hoover the busy zones pretty much daily. Etc

This.

Currently pregnant (36 weeks!) and the last few weeks I’ve started cleaning as I go because I just don’t have the energy to suddenly do a big clean!

I started off with bathroom so cleaning toilet every day and spraying the shower down.

Other easy wins are emptying bins regularly as I go (our kitchen bin is quite small) so big I’m really not on top of it recycling just builds up on the side!

Also got a shark cordless hoover and it’s so much less effort to give high traffic areas a quick hoover each day.

EmpressaurusOfCats · 17/12/2023 18:41

Put things away as I use them, clean the kitchen side after use & any messes straightaway, & hoover once a week - more not needed because it’s just me & the cats.

Although I haven’t yet managed to teach them to put their toys away.

Squirrelblanket · 17/12/2023 18:42

This isn't going to help you, but we are two very tidy adults who hate clutter and have no kids.

We clean/tidy as we go. For example we were away last night and my husband emptied and put away the stuff in our overnight bag while he ran the bath. I just tidied away the dinner things, filled the dishwasher and put it on and wiped the surfaces while the kettle boiled. Routines like that.

Biscuithelp · 17/12/2023 18:42

We’ve moved twice in the last year and declutter Ed madly and it helped So Much. Really makes an enormous difference. Aim to do one drawer a week or one category of things (eg jigsaws, books etc)

also, we have a messy room 😁 - the office - where we can shove everything. The rest of the house is fine

Lochness1975 · 17/12/2023 18:45

I would love to have someone come in and ‘tidy’ for me! I have way too much stuff for a 3 bed home, and just go around in circles. Can you pay anyone to do this for you? I’d seriously pay for someone to organise my home!!!

SatanClaws · 17/12/2023 18:45

No. But I moved in last September and even though I've invited people over no one's visited so there's no need for it to be.

Sweethearte · 17/12/2023 18:49

I have adhd but manage to be pretty organised thesedays thanks to all the advice in this thread. First, declutter, very very harshly. Then, organise all your cupboards marie kondo style, almost like a shop shelf, so you can see everything and grab it, then return it easily. Also, optimising your environment to make it easy to clean quuckly and easily. I keep the bathroom spray in the bathroom for example so its right there for a 5min cleanup. Dont bury the hoover, make it easy to grab for a quick hoover every day rather than a big one every blue moon. I have a slimmed down cleaning kit in one box that i can hoik out if the cupboard easily.

WrylyAmused · 17/12/2023 18:54

It's possibly not the approach you're looking for, but I reckon the easiest and most sustainable solution is "care less".

In my mind, the house is always tidy enough for company because my friends come to see me, DP, or his kid, not inspect the house.

If they judge, that's a them problem.

It's clean, sometimes it's tidy, sometimes we've all been out or busy, but there's always a warm welcome, food and drinks, and I rate those much higher than tidiness.

No food debris/crumbs (wipe table etc after meals, put plates/glasses etc back in kitchen, stacked to wash), & no laundry around the place (in basket, in machine, or drying somewhere out of the way), but those are the only bits I'm bothered about. If there's books and toys and bags around, oh well. DC likes to throw all the cushions and throws off the sofas to make dens etc, and prefers playing on the floor, so it's often a bit "mind where you step".

If it's particularly bad, I might stack things out of the way once I've settled everyone with drinks, but only in an "in passing" way that doesn't interfere with the social aspects.

I have people over all the time, so they have to fit into how our life works - and they're our friends, so they are perfectly understanding and it's the same when they host...

Fedupwitheveryone · 17/12/2023 18:58

The most helpful thing for me is that i have planned organised storage - eg i've ordered endless racks of shelves for my cellar (which is where the bulk of the mess goes) But even when i didnt' have a cellar, i thought when setting up a room/moving house as to where the 'daily use' stuff would go, ordered boxes /repurpose shoe boxes to separate things, etc. And then every once in a while i will tackle one cupboard/drawer/section to declutter.

However - I have a friend who is very messy. I don't care. I tend to only see my own mess, other people's mess isn't my concern. Everyone has their strengths and she does lots of different things better than I do. Don't turn down guests because you have a messy house, there are more important things :-)

PhulNana · 17/12/2023 18:59

Our routine is 'don't leave a mess'. Laundry baskets, do washing up after each meal, food waste in the brown bin, etc. As people said, do it as you go, don't let it build up.

Biscuithelp · 17/12/2023 19:01

Lochness1975 · 17/12/2023 18:45

I would love to have someone come in and ‘tidy’ for me! I have way too much stuff for a 3 bed home, and just go around in circles. Can you pay anyone to do this for you? I’d seriously pay for someone to organise my home!!!

Yes you can! Google home organisation companies. Or decluttering companies. My friend runs one in Edinburgh and she is fab

Missingmyusername · 17/12/2023 19:02

Without DH - easy. Deep clean then spray and wipe, Vacuum, don’t leave clutter, don’t wear shoes in house, cook and clean up straight away.

If DH is here forget it. He’s a whirlwind of clutter. He washes his hands- it’s like a tsunami. Water everywhere, towel strewn, he’s soooooo messy. Makes me stabby.

Haveallthesongsbeenwritten · 17/12/2023 19:03

Yes! I do the same with the bathroom, rinse the bath after a bath or spray shower screen after a shower. Clean the sink after brushing my teeth ..

startquitting · 17/12/2023 19:13

@CruisingForAMusing Are you me? 😂 I often have to get up at 5.30 but even then I find myself wiping marks of the fridge or something as I’m waiting for the kettle to boil.

Just clean as you go instead of thinking about it too much and making it a huge task when it really isn’t.

leatherboundbooks · 17/12/2023 19:17

@Midgetwithaplan I don't know if this would help with confidential.paperwork but when I've had some and didn't have a shredder, I have actually taken it outside and burned it, obviously no rain or wind the day you do this. When I got a shredder, unless you have an office grade shredder, only put a bit through at a time. I also found that not all of the paper had confidential.stuff.on, so I p.lu shredded the stuff with confidential.aridd.amd recycled the rest. If you have an English amount you can pay someone to take it and shred it

AnUnsuitableMatch · 17/12/2023 19:19

I am constantly Decluttering (I enjoy it!). So for example, this weekend DH was gifted a bottle of something we would never drink. Straight on Olio (freecycle type website). Couple of t shirts DS won't wear. Same. Whenever a charity bag comes through the door I try to put some bits in it. My family joke if they stay in one place long enough, they will go to the charity shop.

Children are asked to tidy up living room before bed. Rooms tided fairly often and every now and then I have a blitz.

Books kept to minimum as use library.

Just about keeps on top of things with 3 children and a DH that likes stuff.

Plankingplanks · 17/12/2023 19:21

If anything is going to take 30 seconds or less do it immediately. Towel to take upstairs? Run it straight up and back. Plates need cleaning? See how fast you can do them. Bin need emptying? Race yourself and see how quickly it can be done.
I used to always have a messy house but read about 30 seconds to save 15 mins years ago and it has stuck and worked

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