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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Keeping on top of deep cleaning the house

170 replies

NewShoesForSpring · 05/07/2025 20:31

I'd say we're generally pretty clean & tidy

Our house is always (just about) visitor ready. We never let dirty dishes accumulate. We wipe the counters before & after every food prep.

We have a cat so we keep on top of hoovering due to her hairs.

It seems orderly. However i had yesterdsy off work & decided to deep clean our bedroom. Omg! Once i started looking at the skirting boards & the edges where the wall meets the ceiling, in the corners, behind stuff erc - seriously, the dust & cobweb levels were shocking

Today I'm tackled the bathroom. Again sink, toilet & bath cleaned v regularly but when I pulled out the storage unit for products! Again dusty, hairy, just generally filthy

I work full time, so does dh. We both do equal amounts of cleaning but somehow we're obviously not keeping on top of it all.

I don't want to spend all weekend every weekend deep cleaning! I need down time too

how do you all manage it?

Ultimately I want to enjoy my home tje way i love being in a hotel. I want to get it to that level & then keep it like that. I feel I'm missing some vital method or system..

We don't have a cleaner.

OP posts:
Fenelle · 10/07/2025 06:27

MrsPositivity1 · 09/07/2025 05:50

Has anyone tried the who gives a crap loo roll. I’m tempted. I might email and see if it’s dust free.

I used the bamboo one for years, the difference in dust was amazing! Now I use a different bamboo one which isn’t quite as nice as wgac but is cheaper…and also non dusty

MrsPositivity1 · 10/07/2025 06:42

Fenelle · 10/07/2025 06:27

I used the bamboo one for years, the difference in dust was amazing! Now I use a different bamboo one which isn’t quite as nice as wgac but is cheaper…and also non dusty

Oh really, can you share the name?

I looked for an email for WGAC but could see one on their site

MrsPositivity1 · 10/07/2025 06:54

*can’t

EatSleepDreamRepeat · 10/07/2025 07:02

fatgirlswims · 05/07/2025 20:52

Have you tried the organised mum method TOMM. I tried it but it’s to intensive if you work full time. I think it could work with tweaking

Daily laundry is one of the tasks and she claims the first days tasks takes one second (to press start int he washer) but then I’m out at work by the time it finishes so it can’t sit there all day!? Kind of put me off - felt it was for SAHM. I’m sure the idea is excellent (30 minutes a day plus level 1 jobs like dishwasher and surface) it’s around 1 hour per night. Plus cooking. It quite a lot!

I have a timer on my washing machine. Set it the night before to finish about 7am then goes on the line or airer before I go to work. Its been a game changer.

MikeRafone · 10/07/2025 07:06

I do one room at a time, until all the rooms are done. So do one room on an evening or weekend to get all deep cleaned. Then set it so each week or fortnight you deep clean one room

ImustLearn2Cook · 19/07/2025 13:00

@MikeRafone One room at a time is a good idea. I’m going to give it a go. Thx.

godmum56 · 19/07/2025 13:32

MrsPositivity1 · 09/07/2025 05:51

Has anyone tried the who gives a crap loo roll. I’m tempted. I might email and see if it’s dust free.

please report back. My experience of loo rolls in general is that dust freeness and softness don't go together so it would be great to find that I am wrong!

godmum56 · 19/07/2025 13:38

Fenelle · 10/07/2025 06:27

I used the bamboo one for years, the difference in dust was amazing! Now I use a different bamboo one which isn’t quite as nice as wgac but is cheaper…and also non dusty

for anybody who uses ocado, they are currently on introductory offer...have added a pack to my next order.

PeonyPatch · 20/07/2025 08:05

Everyone has different standards for cleaning. I don’t think we ought to judge how people decide to spend their time! I personally feel less stressed and more relaxed in a clean and tidy home, therefore my motivations to keep on top of the cleaning are diffferent to those who choose to prioritise other things. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have a life.

PeonyPatch · 20/07/2025 08:09

godmum56 · 19/07/2025 13:38

for anybody who uses ocado, they are currently on introductory offer...have added a pack to my next order.

I don’t think there’s such a thing as “dust free loo roll.” Your house will accumulate dust based on many factors such as human activities (hair and skin shedding, movement, clothing fibres) improper or infrequent cleaning/dusting, having windows open especially on main roads or to construction sites, and having lots of clutter where dust can get trapped…

PeonyPatch · 20/07/2025 08:11

PeonyPatch · 20/07/2025 08:09

I don’t think there’s such a thing as “dust free loo roll.” Your house will accumulate dust based on many factors such as human activities (hair and skin shedding, movement, clothing fibres) improper or infrequent cleaning/dusting, having windows open especially on main roads or to construction sites, and having lots of clutter where dust can get trapped…

That being said “Who Gives a Crap” loo roll is in packaging (paper) so might not trap dust as much as exposed loo roll does. I would keep loo roll in some kind of container or box which could protect it from dust particles if you don’t want to keep it in packaging and still want to minimise dust being trapped on it.

Rallentanda · 20/07/2025 08:21

For some people cleaning is really psychological and a bit triggering. My mother, who I am not like and don’t like, boasts about deep cleaning and judges people on it. I never wanted to be like her so I’m quite a lot more relaxed (house is fine but not amazing, bits of it slip occasionally then we sort it). She does it for her man and I have always been a pretty normal level of feminist, so it’s a dignity thing for me. Don’t clean for a man. Expect 50/50.

A friend suffers greatly from anxiety and one of the ways it shows is excessive control over her environment. Very minimalist and she can’t relax if it’s not clean. It’s hard to be a guest there but obviously I sympathise and she’s not judgy about my house, although I can see her flinching occasionally.

Not sure what my point is, just that there’s no real norm beyond ‘keep your environment safely clean’ and it’s not really a neutral subject as people bring their childhood and anxieties into it quite naturally.

PeonyPatch · 20/07/2025 08:42

Rallentanda · 20/07/2025 08:21

For some people cleaning is really psychological and a bit triggering. My mother, who I am not like and don’t like, boasts about deep cleaning and judges people on it. I never wanted to be like her so I’m quite a lot more relaxed (house is fine but not amazing, bits of it slip occasionally then we sort it). She does it for her man and I have always been a pretty normal level of feminist, so it’s a dignity thing for me. Don’t clean for a man. Expect 50/50.

A friend suffers greatly from anxiety and one of the ways it shows is excessive control over her environment. Very minimalist and she can’t relax if it’s not clean. It’s hard to be a guest there but obviously I sympathise and she’s not judgy about my house, although I can see her flinching occasionally.

Not sure what my point is, just that there’s no real norm beyond ‘keep your environment safely clean’ and it’s not really a neutral subject as people bring their childhood and anxieties into it quite naturally.

That’s very true - but again, everyone has different standards and rules for living, but I don’t think judging someone negatively for cleaning or not cleaning is okay.

That being said, I do have family members who live in a very unhygienic environment so I think in instances where it can harm health is another matter in itself.

godmum56 · 20/07/2025 09:52

PeonyPatch · 20/07/2025 08:09

I don’t think there’s such a thing as “dust free loo roll.” Your house will accumulate dust based on many factors such as human activities (hair and skin shedding, movement, clothing fibres) improper or infrequent cleaning/dusting, having windows open especially on main roads or to construction sites, and having lots of clutter where dust can get trapped…

I think there has been a misunderstanding....."Loo roll dust" is not what collects on the roll while its stored, its the fibres that are shed from the loo roll when its used. MN even has a thread about it. https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/housekeeping/2100668-Least-dusty-toilet-roll

Towels can do it too when they are new. When dark coloured towels were the thing, I had navy ones and the dust in my white bathroom turned navy!

Least "dusty" toilet roll? | Mumsnet

What do you use? I have noticed that ours (Lidl) really sheds a lot of dust when you rip sheets off and it's hard enough keeping on top of things as i...

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/housekeeping/2100668-Least-dusty-toilet-roll

PeonyPatch · 20/07/2025 11:31

godmum56 · 20/07/2025 09:52

I think there has been a misunderstanding....."Loo roll dust" is not what collects on the roll while its stored, its the fibres that are shed from the loo roll when its used. MN even has a thread about it. https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/housekeeping/2100668-Least-dusty-toilet-roll

Towels can do it too when they are new. When dark coloured towels were the thing, I had navy ones and the dust in my white bathroom turned navy!

Ah, I see!

NewShoesForSpring · 20/07/2025 16:30

Update for anyone who might be interested:

We're staying on top of what we achieved a couple of weeks ago. Refusing to allow clutter to creep back in etc & its much easier to give the newly deep cleaned areas a light dusting weekly now

And ive tackled a few new smaller areas too like the utensils drawer & another shelf that has a load of random crap 'resting' on it.

Bit by bit we'll get it all sorted & it feels good to be tackling it & also really good to come home to a far cleaner & tidier house

OP posts:
JayJayj · 20/07/2025 16:42

It’s some I’m struggling with. I have a toddler and if I sort one room the other looks 20x worse than when I left 🤣🤣

O have decluttered a lot which definitely helps. Think I need to do like a weekly plan and stick to it.

NewShoesForSpring · 20/07/2025 16:46

JayJayj · 20/07/2025 16:42

It’s some I’m struggling with. I have a toddler and if I sort one room the other looks 20x worse than when I left 🤣🤣

O have decluttered a lot which definitely helps. Think I need to do like a weekly plan and stick to it.

It's v hard with toddlers/ young children as they have so much stuff.

I think if you're keeping on top of basic cleanliness / tidiness at this stage you're doing fantastic!

OP posts:
MrsPositivity1 · 31/08/2025 23:25

godmum56 · 19/07/2025 13:32

please report back. My experience of loo rolls in general is that dust freeness and softness don't go together so it would be great to find that I am wrong!

@godmum56 unfortunately it hasn’t made much of a difference 😢

godmum56 · 01/09/2025 07:45

MrsPositivity1 · 31/08/2025 23:25

@godmum56 unfortunately it hasn’t made much of a difference 😢

I have gone from Andrex of various kinds to HGAC bamboo and am finding a lot less shedding

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