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.

Oh this is a good tip thanks, been wondering what converts images to text well.

I don't have routines or patterns but we always make sure the kitchen is cleaned up and tidied before we go to bed and we hoover every day downstairs (we have a very busy household though).
Upstairs I hoover roughly once a week. I use the brush attachment to do the skirting board as I go round each room as it takes seconds to swap them over.
Everything else is when I have time/energy to do it.
The bathroom I tend to do the sink whilst I brush my teeth, the toilet whilst I bath one of my children etc. and even in a 6 person household it's actually the clutter clearing that stresses me out rather than the actual cleaning.

Oh and I read on MN about 20 years ago the tip “never leave a room empty handed”

I live by this - somehow it takes the pressure off whilst maintaining a constant productiveness. There’s always something that can be put away but psychologically just carrying one load of washing upstairs, not feeling like I have to do all the washing is massively helpful.

Bleach DAILY? How toxic is your poop?

OP I don't know how helpful this thread will be to you as it may descend into classic MN competitive hygiene!

Ahh bless you, your post really touched me! Here’s my system!

Weekend, 2-3 hours on a Saturday or Sunday:

• Full house tidy. All post which has built up sorted and either binned or filed (insurance with insurance docs, medical letters in medical folder, bills with bills etc). All clothes/ shoes which have been abandoned returned to their homes (wardrobe and shoes which racks), coats hanging up, bins emptied and sorted, children toys away in toy boxes, cat litter changed, recycling out, dishes in dish cupboard etc
• Get an antibacterial spray (I use zoflora, pour a capful in a bottle and top it up with water) and spray everything down. I use this in everything - kitchen surfaces, sofas, doors etc. I spray and scrub down all surfaces like worktops, sofas, kitchen chairs etc. I then use polish and do the same on all wooden surfaces.
• Hoover (I have a Henry) and go over all floors. Make sure to adjust the setting for carpet or hardwood depending on what you’re hoovering (have a wee look at the settings button on the hoover it will tell you which is which). Make sure you get into corners, you may need to use the long sucky pole to get into tight corners/ along skirting boards. Also try and have a whizz under sofas with it if you can reach.
• get a mop bucket (I use the viledo smart spin one). Fill it with hot water from the tap and put a capful of zoflora in the water. Dunk the mop in the water, the move it to the basket and press your foot up and down on the spinner bit on the side to drain off the excess water then scrub the mop over the floor. If you have hardwood floors then the ‘method’ wood floor cleaner smells divine. Scrub all floors
• get some antibacterial wipes for the bathroom. Wipe them over the toilet (cistern and seat) and make sure you lift the seat to do underneath it as well. Get some bleach and add a bit down the loo. Get a loo brush and scrub the bleach all around the bowl. Flush the loo, and then add more bleach in a ring around the top of the loo and leave it. If you want to loo water to be blue then buy ‘bloo’ loo crystals and add a cube to the cistern.
• I use fairy liquid to give my shower and bath a good scrub. I use a dish brush to really go over them (floor, sides, taps etc). I then finish off my spraying a mould and mildew remover spray over the shower tiles. I leave this for a few hours then rinse off using the hose spray attachment of the shower. I also use fairy liquid to scrub the sink and taps and rinse off with cold water til there are no bubbles and rub over everything with a damp cloth.
• change bed sheets once a week. Immediately launder and dry the second set so there’s always a clean set ready to go.
• empty all upstairs bins/ bin any old make up/ anything which has built up over the week and been left upstairs
• remove all the built up hair from my hairbrush and bin that

Daily

• I try and process laundry throughout the week - chuck a load on in the morning before work, get them drying in the tumble drier or on radiators or outside when I get home. I also am quite strict about putting away laundry that doesn’t need ironed as soon as it’s dry so that it doesn’t build up as much. We tend to iron one or two evenings a week and blitz it whilst watching tv in the evening.
• wipe down the kitchen surfaces every night before bed. I spray the zoflora spray and then wipe all crumbs onto the floor. I then usually sweep all the crumbs which have built up and sweep them into a pile and collect them with a dustpan and brush. I could hoover but can’t be bothered getting it out in the evening!
• make sure dish washer is loaded and switched on overnight, any dirty dishes which couldn’t go in are washed and put away. Never leave dishes out, it is SO mentally freeing coming downstairs to a clean and tidy kitchen every morning
• unstack dish washer every morning
• keep on top of recycling through the week - have a dedicated bin for plastics etc so it isn’t sitting around and cluttering up your space
• check on fruit in the fruit bowl regularly - make sure there’s nothing in there that’s good mouldy

You’ve got this!

Lots of practical tips here but what I will say is something else to consider....

If you are unwell at any point, give yourself a break. These lists to maintain a high standard of clean are all well and good but sometimes, you can't and that is ok.

Secondly, I lost a larger home and now have a small house and a teenager. I find it very hard to declutter and keep clean (to a high standard). Small houses are a challenge. You simply need less stuff!

Robot hoover is good. I tend to go through and empty bins, clean bathroom and get a wash or two on every Saturday morning. Change beds too.

Other jobs are as and when I'm able (I have chronic illness so I can't do as much as I used to or in one go).

I grew up in a very tidy house and I always felt a bit stifled by it. I prefer a more lived in approach, which is just as well! My house isn't terrible but it isn't pristine and I do think that's ok.

Remember that friends come to see YOU, not your home. I usually give the floor a quick spritz with a spray mop and plump cushions if I have a friend over. They can't tell that it only took 5 mins and always say it smells nice!

You're doing brilliantly and to have your own home at 22 and to be training for a good job, well, you have nothing to be ashamed of all.

I deep clean my washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, hoover, descale my kettle and take meter readings for water, gas and electric all on the first of the month. This way I know they are getting cleaned regularly and I’ll be honest it takes me no more than an hour to do but it gets it done.

i recommend the Sweepy app, i like seeing what i have to do and what’s been done and I break it down room by room.

daily i have make my bed, empty dishwasher, do a load of washing, iron it, put it away, wipe down kitchen sides clean bathroom sink, wipe over the toilet and bleach it.

weekly I have a cleaner but she only works term time so when it’s the holidays I try and do a room a day top to bottom so it’s always done.

bedding I do weekly. It’s non negotiable.

a robot hoover is a lifesaver keeping things clean. I like to have the downstairs hoovered daily, upstairs every 3/4 days.

This 🥰

Yes go through the paperwork. But a filing cabinet or file and label each section - work, house, pension, bills, health, travel, bank, insurance. Then get the piles and divide into these sections + one pile for bin.

When it’s done you just add new documents to the correct file.

Remember - not all of it is important! You can throw old statements etc away.

It depends on what you are cleaning.

Cut down complexity.Nobody needs at App to help them clean or a load of kit and sprays.

Less stuff is better. Use old tee shirts and so on as cloths.A cream cleaner, fairy liquid and bleach are all you need. Keep on top of things and do a weekly deep clean.

Good Luck.

Crikey, reading this makes me feel like my house is a filthy hovel. I like to think of myself as quite clean and tidy but I don't have the time to do all of these things. I leave for work at 7.30 am and get home at 5pm I have 2 teenagers who need feeding and ferrying about to clubs. And my house has 3 bathrooms and a downstairs loo. I's need to get up at about 4am to hoover my house through and clean all the bathrooms every day.

I am clearly a bit of a cheat. I brought a Eufy which hoovers and mops the ground floor daily. Every few days we put it upstairs to hoover. I probably get the big dyson out once a month. I do the dishes and wipe down the worktops twice a day. I try to put a wash on each day. Probably clean out the washing machine once or twice a year but I use powder so it doesn't get too grim. I don't check the mop water runs clear but we try not wear shoes inside which helps.

I keep cleaning products in each bathroom and tend to clean the loo, wipe the sink everytime I go in. I try to clean the showers once a week but sometimes it's once a fortnight. I've lived here a year and I think I have only properly cleaned to skirting boards a handful of times, they do get a once over with the big dyson's wand attachment if they are looking dusty. I definitely did the lounge and stairs with a wet cloth before putting up xmas Dec's, and the kitchen and ds's toom because we painted them. And then dd's room when she vomited up the wall.

We do have a filing system but day to day just shove everything that needs to be kept in a "Needs filing" box. File it all and shred old stuff once a year. Not so much comes on paper anymore anyway.

I clean the windows outside once or twice a year and inside probably every few months. In fact I probably do a deep clean every few months when we have house guests.

I hoover downstairs most days
Hoover upstairs once a week
spray kitchen work tops and wipe with kitchen towel everyday
Fridge I clean every time I get a big shop delivered
Mop with spray mop once a week
was towels/bedding once a week
Bleach kitchen sink once a week leave it in the sink for an hour or so
Bathroom clean once a week and bleach in toilets overnight
washing machine clean should be once a month I was told recently by a repair guy to also use white wine vinegar
Im not set on the days of the week I just fit it around life

I bleach the toilet bowl every day, normally after someone's left skids down there. The difference between my loo and my mum's before she died was huge, mine was a clean white bowl hers was badly stained ( my stepdad was in charge as she was bed bound in nappies).
Wipe your kitchen surfaces down as part of your washing up task.
Just 2 things I do

I prefer to have set jobs each day so I know exactly what I have to do and everything is kept on top of so my list is:

Monday - dust everywhere

Tuesday - floors.....so vacuum and mop

Wednesday - clothing laundry day (I have a tumble drier so can get it all washed, dried and put away in one day)

Thursday - take out all the bins and general tidy up, make sure everything is in it's place

Friday - change all the bedding and wash the sheets and all towels and bath mats

Saturday - clean the kitchen

Sunday - clean the bathrooms and do one of my monthly jobs

My monthly jobs that I rotate through to do on a Sunday are: put the washing machine/dishwasher on a hot cleaning cycle, clean out my car, clean the oven, wash the windows

Then daily it is things like shower and put clean clothes on, put the dishwasher on, give the kitchen a wipe down, tidy up any obvious mess.

Oh and to add, have plenty of microfibre cloths to clean with and change them regularly (speaking as an ex cleaner who had clients who expected me to clean a 4 bed house with 1 cloth)

Bathrooms and kitchens being clean help with smells and the general vibe.

Clutter and clutter without a home is the enemy of cleaning.

Tidying comes before cleaning.

Try to conplete a job in one go. The best example of this is laundry. It needs to go away when it is dry. Not just piled up somewhere.

If you keep your place tidy and clutter free it's so much easier to keep it clean.

An empty kitchen sink and draining board is a fantastic first goal! Keep it like that every day. And you're well on your way!

That was my take on your post too. And, I haven’t had the hardships you have but I live in chaos and borderline filth most of the time, so thank you for the thread.

I’ve got adhd, I think most people who can’t organise a cleaning schedule must have it too. Am reading with interest.

be proud of yourself. It sounds like you are doing great.

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 didn't get Fly lady either but I pay for the Organised Mum method ( now called the organised method) There are loads of guided cleans on there and a talk through of each. I hate cleaning and also can't do it (not through trauma just because I was never taught how). She talks through it step by step and, maybe importantly reading between the lines if your OP,when to stop. So the chunks are 30 minutes or 20 minutes Tues then you stop. I would highly recommend paying for the podcast version as,again, I couldn't do the free version. Now I can't clean without Gemma telling me what to do!
Also edited to add, you are amazing and have done so well.

@TalkingtoRosesIsMad many of these responses are from posters with children and pets both of which - along with some husbands - mean the house needs to be cleaned more frequently and deeper than a single young professional who is presumably out at work 5 days a week so not creating too much mess.

I live alone and work full time. I don’t create much mess daily but my main demon is dust. My goal re cleaning is to live so I wouldn’t be embarrassed if a visitor suddenly turned up unannounced.
Daily - dishes in dishwasher, wash pans by hand, wipe down surfaces, be generally tidy eg put clothes into wash basket or rehang each day.
Weekly (not usually on same day unless visitors are expected) - clean bathroom, change beds, vacuum, mop floors in kitchen and bathroom
When I feel like it - dust surfaces, skirting boards etc

I think you're doing great OP, and also, great to ask. I grew up in a stable and clean home and also, still feel like no-one ever taught me to clean and certainly not to declutter. I feel self-taught on cleaning and like there are things I still don't know.

So this is me also asking questions! For dusting and cleaning shelves, bathroom floor, skirting boards, other surfaces, I often use loo paper that I can throw away rather than a duster or cloth that just gets instantly dirty and therefore I feel I can't finish the task (or, I think I would end up with such a large pile of dusters/ cloths that it would be crazy). This is definitely in my self-taught list. Does anyone else do this?

I also, have never really understood how to mop a floor, no idea how to do that task (I only have the kitchen floor where that would be relevant- send to occasionally get on hands and knees with a washing up sponge instead)

Well done for everything that you have achieved 💐
Don't worry if things aren't "sparkling", just make sure that your home is clean enough to be comfortable.
You've got some tips on here, there are also good videos with household tips on YouTube, some of them genuinely saving time and money.
You really don't need to hoover or mop every day, you live alone. Just keep on top of clutter and laundry and it'll be good 😊

I live on my own OP and I tend to do things as I go. I think that’s a really good habit to get into.

For example if I’ve made a mess in the kitchen I just clean it up there and then, if I notice the skirting boards need dusting I just get my microfibre duster and do the whole house, if the toilet needs bleached I just do it. I try to put everything away as I go too to make sure the place is tidy and not overwhelming!

I do also have some jobs I do over the weekend (usually a Friday).

I do my washing - lights, darks, towels and bed linen. Towels I change weekly and bed linen I change every other week. I hoover the whole house and give my shower a quick spray. Every maybe 6 weeks I’ll give the shower a good scrub and a few times a year I put drain unblocker down to clear the hair and gunk!

I have a microfibre spray mop that I use for hard floors but tbh I don’t use it that often since it is just me and I take my shoes off in the house 😅

You’ll get there ☺️ you’ve made the first step already which is huge!

Thanks for starting this thread op... Ashamed to say I am 49 and don't really know what I am doing and realise I have never taught my adult kids how to clean, probably cause I don't have a clue either. I try and say every Friday clean the bathroom but I don't stick to it as it doesn't look like it needs doing every week but that's probably the issue if I just did it it wouldn't then go from zero to out of hand.. looking forward to reading the full thread.

OP, as pp have said you are amazing.
I also wanted to say that there is no need to bleach the toilet. A bleach free toilet cleaner will do. If you start to bleach or inherit a toilet from a previous owner that has been bleached then you will need to keep bleaching it. That is because the bleach gradually degrades the surface of the toilet bowl and it will stain more easily.

You are amazing and should be so proud of achieving so much.

My house is not sparkly clean. Do not believe what you see in pictures. The reality is many homes have far too little storage.

Always leave the washing machine door open. If you have white towels put them through on the hottest wash to clean the machine at the same time.

For sinks try to get some vinegar cleaner and give them a spray, then come back to wipe over. I do not like a tonne of chemicals in the house.

If you have pets one of those stick hoovers is great, I use mine daily.

Swiffer mops are great, particularly if it isn't a huge area.

If I have any clothes that get damaged and I need to throw I use them to go over the windows or window sills before.