Explain to me like I’m 5.. cleaning

[TalkingtoRosesIsMad]

Im coming out of a really bad depressive state. I have help let me just say that. However my Mum died when I was 11 and my dad died when I was 12. I went into a children’s home and didn’t learn any life skills.

I got good grades, I got a good degree at Lancaster and im now doing solicitor training. My point is I’m not stupid I just don’t know how to clean and keep things tidy. I’m 22 and live alone and honestly it feels like I get some energy and blast the house then get overwhelmed with everything/ I’m now knackered so I let it creep up on me again.

I do make sure the washing up is done, but any of you who have beautiful clean, sparkly houses all the time, please help create a daily, weekly, monthly schedule and checklist so I can get into a good routine and keep it properly.

I don’t mind paying for a system and sticking it on the fridge but it’s things like ;

how do you mop properly so the water runs clear?
how often do you mop?
how often do I hoover the rug downstairs and the stairs
how often do you clean the washing machine?
clean the skirting boards?
clean the loo
deep clean the bathroom
change the bedding
clean the fridge out
clean and stop the areas that get a lot of clutter ?

should I go through the important paperwork and file it? Even it takes hours?

I think I need to get into a routine of ‘it’s Wednesday I need to do xyz’

I tried the fly lady thing and I didn’t get it, I have heard of the organised mum method but Im not sure it would work?

i need someone to explain how to do these basic tasks and. Then how to keep on top of it so im
not ashamed to have people over.

What a lovely supportive thread 💕 I definitely find that bleach in the toilets makes the house smell much fresher, I usually bleach them before I go out and can notice the difference when I get home. I also absolutely hate the feel of crumbs on my feet, it makes me so overstimulated, hence the daily hoovering downstairs. People always comment on how clean my house is, however, reading the posts on here I’ve realised I don’t do as much as others which shows there is a spectrum and you can have a nice clean house without having to do everything. Hopefully you can pick up some good tips x

I’ve already posting but couldn’t edit - have a look at the organised mum on instagram. It’s really good. There are even podcasts that literally take you step by step cleaning a room that are good for explaining how to do things, and keeping you company / keep you motivated while you’re doing it.

This! It has made keeping on top of cleaning so much easier!

In your situation as someone living alone with no dependents, who I assume is earning a wage? I’d honestly just pay someone to come over once a week and give it a deep clean. Between that you can do things to keep on top so it doesn’t look untidy. I don’t imagine you make a huge amount of mess anyway, it’s definitely kids and sometimes pets who ruin homes!

Just do simple things like making your bed in the morning, change the sheets weekly on your day off, do the washing twice a week (or if you’re like my younger brother, you can also pay someone to do this), stick a bit of bleach in the loo, wash up as you go so it doesn’t stack up.

The organised mum is great for this; shows you how to get on top of and keep on top of house stuff

OP, the "right" amount of cleaning is whatever works for you.
But you definitely do NOT need to use bleach. Ever.
If the house is reasonably tidy, you can get away with a minimum of cleaning - that frees up time to actually enjoy life - read a book, go for a walk, meet a friend.
None of us will be on our deathbed remembering happy hours with a mop!
Or you could pay a cleaner......
So just relax, and don't stress about it.

Am also going to post to say be kind to yourself, you are doing amazingly.

I was also going to say, even though both my parents were part of my life as I grew up they left me with zero life skills and I had to teach myself. Friends, social media and cleaning programmes were my go to. You are absolutely doing the right thing.

My advice is keep it simple. Do a little every day, write a routine down if it helps to stick to it, and declutter if you have a build up of things. Cleaning is much easier the less you have in the way of clutter. If you need to declutter, start small and do one room in little chunks.

All helps with the overwhelm.

What do you all use for cleaning bathroom floors/getting behind loos etc easily? I seem to end up on my hands and knees with a bowl of hot soapy water and a cloth/or with floor wipes. Is there an easier way - a small mop that gets in the corners etc?

I left home not really knowing how to clean either. Here’s a bunch of tips off the top of my head:

1. When hoovering, use the nozzle to hoover the skirting board and the very edges of the room.
2. Get a damp cloth and do all the ‘tops’ - tops of the doors and door frames, top of the TV, top of windowsills, the top surfaces of any blind slats, the top of the bed headboard, the table tops.
3. Remember to wipe down the outsides of the kitchen cupboards and the splash back if you have one.
4. Bleach the toilet after your final night time wee so it can sit overnight. At the same time throw a bit of bleach down all plug holes in the house. If you do this once a week, you’ll never have to use drain unblocker or whatever else, they’ll always be sparkling.
5. SOFA! Remember to take all the cushions off and hoover what’s underneath.

I clean using microfibre cloths, a multipurpose white vinegar spray (you can use this on literally any hard surface), hoover and mop. That’s it - I don’t use anything else.

Also remember to open windows as regularly as you can.

I just use the bathroom spray and a microfibre cloth, I just find it’s the only way to really get all the dust. Following to see if others have a miracle answer!

I wanted to say, well done for coming through such traumatic times. Everyone is different, every situation is different. I had 4 dks,big garden, animals, poultry worked ft nights, nursing. House was always tidy and clean. Now,it's an open plan bungalow,2 border collies, big garden. Gks staying. You have to vacuum the whole thing in one. (Yes, I loathe the use of "hoover", by under 50s) Bedding changed weekly, just done it,in fact. Bathroom daily,as soon as I am showered washed dressed, before I leave the room. Washing only a full load,(I have solar and economy 7) damp dust weekly, vacuum every couple of days . Mostly laminate because of dogs and open plan (porch then living room, kitchen at end visible) surfaces kept tidy,cleaned at least daily.I have a flash power mop
Shark vacuum cleaner. Very little storage compared to my house,shark fits on the wall behind the kitchen door . I don't use bleach,bad for the environment
Definitely put it away not down.. yearly, washing carpets,sofas,rugs,clean out cupboards.
.

The Organised Mum Method has something called TOM Rocks. It’s full of guided cleaning sessions so you can put on a podcast, play one of the TOM Rocks sessions and she gives you instructions every so often on what to do. I was sceptical but couldn’t be without it now. She has loads of sessions, such as 20 minute downstairs get ready for guests, to 30 minute sessions which follow her programme which designates a set day per week to a specific room. Once a week you deep clean a different room on an 8 week schedule. Really recommend it.

Just some random tips.

I use a steam mop for hard floors. They generally come with a couple of pads that attach with velcro. My tip would be to buy a few spare pads so you can change them as you go along ie once you've cleaned the kitchen put on a fresh pad for the bathroom. You'll be amazed how dirty the pad gets! Then you just wash all the pads in the washing machine. If you don't use steam of course you can get extra pads for most flat mops.
I don't use bleach because of chemical sensitivity but you can scrub the toilet with normal cleaner and use something stronger occasionally if you get limescale. Bleach won't get rid of limescale. You need Viakal or Delphis. Don't forget to clean the outside of the toilet and all sides of the toilet seat and hinges. There's a little flat brush called a crevice cleaning brush I think which is brilliant for cleaning nooks and crannies like toilet hinges. (A few quid on Amazon)

I won't confess how often I clean my skirting boards 🙄. They are ornate Victorian ones and take forever. Modern ones are easy to hoover though, with the brush attachments, or use a damp duster. I buy multiple dusters and wash when they're grubby. One is never enough. Use a clean duster on mirrors.

MOTHS... hopefully doesn't apply but just in case.

If you have carpets don't forget to do the edges to prevent moths settling in. Hoover inside your wardrobe every so often, and under your bed.

Well first and foremost, go easy on yourself, because you’ve been through a lot and it sounds like you’re doing amazingly.

what about starting off by doing two things; with a trusted friend, give your house a good sort and tidy, so it’s not such a daunting job to start. The then get cleaning an either by finding a cleaner to to do a one off deep clean, or if that’s not feasible financially, again ask a trusted person to help with this job. Then you’ll be starting with a level playing field. Do not worry about asking for help with this; many people would like to help you but won’t know what to offer. A tidy friend would probably love to help with something practical like this - I would!

after that, for me it’s about building habits into your day to make things as quick and unthinking as possible.
-Clean as you go rather than leaving it until it takes you hours. For me, my kitchen and bathroom are the non-negotiables, so I do them every day.
-I once read you should start with keeping your kitchen sink clean, because once you do that you tend to keep going, and I have found that to be true.
-Spend some time to find products that you really enjoy the smell of so it makes the task not so bad and you feel happier when you come back into your home.

• Also make sure your have good storage and tidy as you go so that it doesn’t get too much of a big job.

I think the aim here is little habits rather than a big unachieveable regimen

you are getting lots of wonderful tips here, so pick a few that sound do-able and just keep adding them slowly into you day so that you have a routine

well done, you can do this. You should feel really proud of yourself 💕

I agree with this.

Do what works for you and not anyone else.

Putting stuff away is the big one as I the place is tidy so then looks and feels better. If you've not vacuumed for a week who cares?

Realistically we vacuum kitchen and hall weekly. Living room is a probably fortnightly because we don't really use that room, bedrooms monthly. Furniture monthly. Dusing monthly. Cobwebs around the ceiling maybe every few months.

Bathrooms I try and put bleach down every other day but forget. I try to clean weekly but sometimes it's just a quick wipe.

Dishes are loaded to the dishwasher and that goes on when full.
Beds are changed weekly as much as possible but again if I dont have time it isn't the end of the world.

We will have family round later so I'll do a quick 5 minute tidy in the room they'll be in and ensure bathroom is clean.

People come to see you not your home. As long as it's relatively tidy and doesn't smell it's fine.

Some tasks people mention I do but more and hoc, wiping the fridge, dishwasher clean etc.

I put rubbish out daily and open windows for fresh air

I hoover daily, i have 4 cats so it has to be done otherwise the cat hair builds up.
I mop every other day in the summer, every day in the winter. I have one of those mops that has two compartments one for clean water & one for dirty water this really helps get the floors clean and I always wash the mop head in the washing machine after.
washing machine gets cleaned properly every 2 weeks.
skirting boards is once a month I will wash them down; in between that I just give them a quick dust.
loo is twice a day just chuck some bleach down.
deep clean the bathroom twice a week.
Bedding is changed twice a week in the summer, once a week in the winter. (Sweat lots in the summer.)
clean the fridge before big shops.
clutter wise, i did a massive declutter as we had a lot of work done to the house and everything needed to be moved around for it so I don’t really have much now.
Paperwork gets shoved in a drawer 😂 this is the one thing I fail at!

stuff like curtains I wash every 3 months and just hang them back up to dry. Windows every week in the summer, winter every 2 weeks.
Door Mats & things like that are every week.

I do have a kid with a bad immune system who can land in hostipal so I probably am a bit overkill.

Agree!

I really like Lynsey Queen of Clean and she has free downloadable cleaning schedules https://www.queenofclean.blog/planners plus great videos and tips. I hope this helps x

So every day the kitchen counter tops and sink are wiped down at the end of the day, dishwasher put on and tea towels thrown in the machine. A wash gets done most days.

Toilet gets cleaned every few days.

Floors are spot cleaned during the week with a proper vacuum and mop on weekends.

Im not great at dusting. Windows cleaned when I can’t bear it anymore.

Bath towels washed every few days and bedding once a week.

DH and I split it but goodness sometimes I feel all I do is washing!

Every now and then I tackle a “big” task. This weekend I emptied the fridge and freezer and cleaned it.

Last weekend DH cleaned the oven.

Doing things regularly means it never gets that bad.

Oh and I’m a ruthless declutter type person. We don’t have a lot of stuff.

i remember being a trainee lawyer (bar) and you don’t think I stayed on top of much during that time other than the work - it’s tough and exhausting so firstly don’t beat yourself up.

PPs have given some practical cleaning tips, other things that have helped me over the years:

• if you’re overwhelmed do 6 mins. Put on a podcast/spotify/audiobook and just do whatever needs to be done for 6 mins. Then have a break. Then another 6 mins. This find this takes the mental stress out of big tasks - and specially paperwork.

• as soon as you’re able to afford it there are a couple of things that make all the difference: for me a robo vacuum and a steam mop make day to day so much easier - you still need to do a thorough hands and knees scrub with soapy water occasionally, but running the vacuum every day and a quick steam every few days will help.

• bleach is your friend. MN hates it but for toilets, plug holes and floors nothing beats it

• all products are not equal: cif, mr muscle and Domestos take the effort out of your cleaning.

Try the organised mum method. It is amazing - for me who wasn’t taught how to keep a home clean.

every day you do the same jobs (make beds, wipe bathroom, a bit of laundry, sweep main bit of floors).
once a week you spend 10 mins in a room tidying it then the rest of the time you clean and vacuum it
on an 8 week rotation you deep clean a room.
The method doesn’t cover every task eg setting the dishwasher at night, emptying in the morning, doing bins etc but it teaches you that little and often works.

it is the best method I have ever used.

Please read “How to Keep House While Drowning” by KC Davies. For different reasons from you, I also grew up with no training in or model of housekeeping. This book was a game changer for me in terms of the shame that can inhibit functionality.

Buy a steam mop, I haven’t had an old style mop in about 15 years. The shark one is good.

Also forgot to say if you get overwhelmed, what helps me is a pair of headphones and I blast out my favourite songs as I go along. Makes it more bearable.

I really like the organised mum method app… it’s not just for mums it’s just a great schedule. I need to get my arse into gear and start following jr again!