to wonder if there is a mimum standard of housework to be done each day

[ben10isgr8]

I am just being nosey really .

I am aware everyone has different time, responsibilities, capabilities etc but is there a generally agreed minimum expectation of what should be done daily?

I have ds (3yr 6mo)and dd (15mo) DH works m-f 06:30 till 19:00 and I work one 13hr shift at the weekend.

For various reasons I like my house to be tidy...I don't mean totally gleaming palace like...just tidy!.

Every day I get up tidy the beds and see to the childrens breakfast, get them washed and dressed then leave them playing about while I empty/fill the dishwasher, (just got one and I am very overexcited about it so had to fit it in somewhere)sort washing, read mail and watch The Wright Stuff

By the time that is done, (with stops to sort out squabbles, get toys, wipe noses, change poo nappies etc) It is time to make lunch 11:00 so they are fed and tidied again by 12:00 ready to take ds to nursery at 12:30.

Then it's home to settle dd for nap and I get my lunch then spend the 1 hr remaining before I wake dd up to collect ds watching CSI/ reading a book/ going on MN or something I want to do

After school activity depends on what needs done, e.g shopping, tidy the house, change beds, updating a topic on MN . The kids have a snack then play outside/ do arts and crafts etc while I get stuff done.

At 17:00ish I cook our dinner and they play while I sort the kitchen and cook dh dinner. When dh comes home he plays with the kids then has dinner and catches up with email while I tidy the toys and get the kids ready for bed.

20:00 the kids go to bed and I load the dishwasher, tidy the books, clothes etc then we sit with a cuppa T and catch up.

Cleaning wise I spend my days keeping on top of things so the house stays relatively tidy and over two afternoons I do a full clean: dusting cellings and skirtings, washing fingerprints off doors, (lot's of glass doors) and windows, change beds, thorough bathroom clean, brush and wash floors.

This week I haven't been feeling well, (bad cold) so haven't bothered with the big clean and holy crap my floors look minging, (which makes my house look dirty despite the frequent tidying), and I feel really guilty...and feel guilty for feeling guilty.

Do you try for a daily minimum or just go with the flow? Am I a crazy ott person or just average? and Why do I feel so guilty when my house isn't clean?

I'm not working at the moment and my house is cleaner and tidier than it's ever been. It hardly takes much time, it's just being able to do it as soon as you see it that makes the difference for me.

omg DAILY housework?? WHY WHY WHY???????

I do what I feel needs doing today If that means the dishes are left in the sink overnight whilst I have a hug with my kids then it means that..

As a general rule our house is tidyish but no I dont worry if we go through a period where it is not I try to hover weekly (mainly laminate downstairs so sweep as nessesarry) and I try to ensure I keep on top of the laundry pile (hard with 7 people in the house) and dishes plus food gets done dailyish.. (we have a take away near if nessesarry lol)

I truthfully dont see the point in getting worked up about it why give yourself such strong rules> If I feel like taking the day off spending it playing games on the pc all day I do then I pick up a bit extra the next day..

and I dont think it makes me a slut I think it makes me someone whom has a good idea of hwo to balance what she feels is important in life and housework does NOT get on the list

What Lonnie said.

DAILY.
empty dishwasher
make breakfast
Make beds
put washing on empty dryer etc
clean up stairs, wipe everywhere over
go down stairs wipe sofas, surfaces.
cup of tea
make lunch for kids
clean kitchen over
hover up stairs
hover down stairs
wipe bathroom and kitchen floor
go out for the day
come back
do dinner
bath kids
chill out

Hubby always cleans up after dinner,and emptys dishwasher, he's a star i hate doing that.

Once a week i do the beds, nets, cobwebs, dusting awkward places.

At the weekend when kids are at home things are diffrent i make beds and run a wipe over bath and toilet etc thats it.

I think there has to be. Can't stand that dusty, grubby feeling from lack of daily housework.

Daily, I hoover living room and hall, polish and keep on top of all washing up etc. Clear straight up after meals etc. One load of washing a day.

Every other day I clean bathroom.

Twice a week I mop kitchen and bathroom floor and hoover stairs and bedrooms.

I must admit that changing beds and ironing do slip. Fortnightly is probably a generous estimate.

Doing housework while the kids are small is like shovelling the pavement while its still snowing.

That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it! So long as the kitchen and bathrooms are hygenic, don't care about much else!

Daily---
hoover and mop floors,dush, plump cushions and also de-cobweb, little dc is crawling so everything needs to be clean and nothing small for him to put in his mouth.

bathrooms, every where bleached and moped.

kitchen, bleached and moped, work surfaces, empty/fill dishwasher, and 2 load of washing a day.

Dinning/playroom, tidy toys, bleach dinning room table, hoover and mop.

weekly

All 3 beds, windows, sils, skirtings, doors and also hoover stairs.

I dont iron anymore, everything gets folded as soonas it comes out of the tumbler.

I always hear this

"I do what I feel needs doing today If that means the dishes are left in the sink overnight whilst I have a hug with my kids then it means that.."

and other things - like it's a choice between a tidy house and spending time with your kids/being affectionate. It is possible to do both. Not in an "I'm perfect" way, (I'm not) but I hear it as lot, usually as a reason for having a messy house - as if because mine is tidy (not spotless) I never see or talk to my children.

I also find that too pfftthemagicdragon it annoys me.

I'm far from perfect but by me liking my house clean, that does not make me any less of a good mum.

I get this alot from MIL.

I have to say, though, pfftthemagicdragon and babylove...I would MUCH rather hang out with the DCs or get on with uni work if I have a spare minute...I like the house tidy, but if it's between building a fort in the lounge with all the couch cushions (which happens daily) or washing up...the choice is pretty much a no brainer!
LittleMrsHappy...I can't believe you do all that daily AND your DC is crawling!! I am convinced that my horrid housekeeping is why my DCs have ox-like consitutions and never get sick!! I didn't have time to do all that when they were crawling.

I cannot believe how much housework some of you do!

I am not going to write what I do as you would all think I was a huge slattern.

But let's just say the hoover only comes out once a week at most.

it just depends on what you are used to/are happy with, i have two very good friends, one who has a house like a showhouse! seriously its always spotless and one whose house is umm lived in? but neither bother me, they do what they do, i do what i do. we are all different and i certainly wouldnt judge anyone for the amount of cleaning they do!

for me i have eczema, asthma and hayfever, so i HAVE to hoover/dust etc or my eczema especially plays up

with the bathroom, i have FOUR boys, i have to wipe round the toilet, the tiles etc as they seem to have an amazing ability to get their pee everywhere i would REALLY rather not wipe round the bathroom everyday, but hey ho.

AND i def have days/the odd week even where i let it slide, but then i just have a blitz day when i catch up, at the moment i have a weeks worth of clean laundry upstairs waiting to be folded and put away...

its all swings and roundabouts tbh

PMSL

God, my minimum standards are 'can see floor and wouldn't be ashamed of the loo if someone popped in to use it'.

I work, study and have two under fives. What si this daily hoovering some of you talk of?

I'm at stay at home mum, oldest dc goes to school and my little one is at nursery 3 days a week, so majority of the time im at home on my own, hubby works alot so i see it as my "job" to try and make sure every thing at home is organised. Strangly enough i enjoy it.

Obviously like i said at weekends or when youngest dc is at home it's not as easy and we spend most of out time out playing etc, she has her playdough out and paints which doesnt bother me at all, aslong as i know my house is clean i dont mind it being messed up by the kids, its just a case of keeping on top of it and doing bits everyday.

I must get ot from my mum she is a mad cleaning lady lol

I never really knew how often i cleaned the bathroom or changed the bed sheets (well the kids bed sheets get changed when the vom/snot gets too awful) but we moved house 5 months ago so I now know I'm the sort of person who changes our bedsheets and cleans the bathroom once every 2.5 months

Daily I wash up and straighten our duvet and usually do one laundry load. The washing up is out of necessity as we have no dishwasher and hardly any worksurface so if you don't wash up breakfast, you can't make lunch. I hoover the floor when we've had a particularly messy meal

I'd like to do more, but I have two kids under 3 at home full time, and there are times that they're playing nicely and I could sneak away to do some chores, but really I'd rather playwith them/put my feet up!

And I'm clearly the sort of person who goes more than 5 months without dusting too

I am total slut, in my defence I am work long hours.

I don't make my bed when I get up, I roll the duvet back to let the air get to last night's wet patch.

I learnt a whole new principle this week.
Every day, the minimum you do is to clear the mess you have made that day. Ideally you do a little bit more each day, and gradually your house becomes sparkling.
I can cope with keeping on top of kitchen cleanliness, and doing one colour or whites wash every day, (not exactly what we've worn each day or they'd all end up grey), but I think I should be hoovering the hall and playroom every day, and I'm not sure I could bear it mentally.
Also, putting everything away where it belongs as you go along; a principle to be beaten instilled into children ASAP, otherwise you just have to do it yourself after they have gone to bed, which tends to eat into the eating chocolate and mumsnetting time.

Spending a few days with my brother always gees me up. I am terrified that I could end up like him, where you have to clear a space on the table before you can make a sandwich. I threw some stuff out of his fridge this week, which was eat by AUGUST 2009!!! also some cream left over from Christmas pudding!! I think he has not bothered using the fridge all winter, (his house is very cold) as it actually looked quite clean until I looked closely at the dates.

I too am a sluttern, clearly. I hoover about once a month - will sweep laminate floors about once a fortnight.

I do have a thing about bathrooms, so that's always clean.

Kitchen gets surfaces wiped down every day. Dusting I hate and do about once every six months - actually I usually just use the brush on the hoover.

I do work full time currently, though and know that I could more usefully spend the time I spend on Mumsnet doing housework, but just can't be arsed! Will have a massive super clean about once every six months.

daily;

dishwasher
usually 2 loads of laundry
tidy toys off floor
wipe kitchen surfaces
de-junking and general clearing out of old toys / clothes / books (I'm being ruthless at the moment and the house is too small so the clutter has got to go!)

2/3 times a week;
cook & freeze meals
tidy up of either my bedroom or the dc's bedrooms

My fantastic mum pops rounds and runs the dyson round and does the bathroom & kitchen once a week while I'm at work so it never gets filthy and I can just wipe it down and keep it presentable.

The dc's are only 3 & 1 so it's pretty pointless trying to keep the house spotless as they will mess it up within seconds.

I am reading "The Women's Room" at the moment and you sound sooo much like the protagonist!

I grew up with a mother who was always too busy cleaning to play with me. We are now estranged...

Seriously, you sound like you have OCD or something, have you ever thought of counselling/psychotherapy for all this obsessive cleanliness?

I mean where do people (and by people I mean women)'learn' that this is what is expected of them?

I loved reading The Women's Room!

I'm not sure the OP has OCD though- but certainly higher standards more energy than I do.