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?

Whip about in the morning before I start work and grab a coffee.
Daily:
all floor, hoovered or swept and washed.
Make beds
throw a load of laundry on
kitchen and lounge smartened up if need be.
Open upstairs windows to air the place.
clean bathroom/ toilet

Weekly bed sheet changes
grab cobwebs from. Ceilings.
Dust

Does t take long and keeps ontop of things.. Still leaves time for work and dc's

The only time I make the beds is when I put clean sheets on them. I don't wash up every day.

To me, the minimum is that everyone has to have clean clothes, there have to be enough clean kitchen things to cook a meal, and your house has to be clean enough to avoid the intervention of social services.

There was a couple on 'how clean is your house' whose dogs had fleas and had infested the house. That is neglectful, of both dogs and children.

I don't think that spending a lot of time cleaning makes you a bad parent or person, but I do think that cleaning skirting and ceiling every week is a hobby - it isn't work.

I agree with you, MillyR- I do the bare minimum as a rule, and anything else is an occasional joint effort with DP.

Wash dishes about every other day ie when running low on clean ones. Laundry ditto. Hoover when I notice the floor's looking a bit grim.
Housework is such a WASTE OF TIME. I honestly think that one of the biggest enemies of women's progress is this idea that houses have to be clean and tidy all the time - as long as you have clean underwear and your kitchen doesn't smell, that will do.

Have to agree with you there, SGB. That's pretty much the principle I run things on.

work 4 days one week 3 the next. seem to do most work when kids are in bed at 8.

put on dishwasher
put on load of laundry + fold things from dryer
pickup toys + tidy sitting room
wipe down worktops in kitchen
clean loo
sweep all floors, wash when needed
empty dishwasher before bed

during the day if off

make beds, change every week - 10 days
cook and freeze dinners.
put away laundry - iron when needed
dust when needed
wash outside windows in summer and christmas

all very clean and tidy if you dont look to close

I've never really thought about it before... I don't have a 'set' list things I do - I'm more of an 'as it needs it' type of person really...

Beds - covers thrown back 'to air' while I'm showering, pottering about, then beds made. Kids beds changed once a week unless necessity dictates otherwise! Mine - at least once a week, usually twice - I love clean sheets.

Dishwasher - load it till you can't fit anything else in it, empty it when you need to put something else in it and you can't cos it's full of clean dishes... [bugger]

Kitchen benches you could eat off - wiped with anti bac wipes all the time. I'm a bit retentive when it comes to kitchen hygiene.

Bathroom, sink & loo daily with wipes - cleaned properly once a week.

Hoover - once a week properly - maybe once more in the week in the 'traffic areas'.

Hardfloor - hoovered when the hoover is on, often swept daily/every other day in the kitchen/dining area. Simply because the little monsters make a mess. Done with steam mop at least once a week, usually more.

Dusting - damp microfibre cloth once a week, occasionally more if the dust on the TV is annoying me.

Laundry - put a wash on when there's enough to do a dark or light or white wash - or bedding etc - it's on at least once most days.

Ironing - about once a week, whatever needs it while I watch a movie

Toys - LO's keep the playroom tidy (toys get put away when I'm doing dinner).

Windows - when I can't stand the finger prints any longer - other windows - ummmmm ummmm hmmmm not very often

Ceilings - cobwebs when I see them, other than that - when they get painted!!

General tidying - all day, everyday

When you write it all down it sounds obsessive - but I am so not like that - it gets done, when it gets done. I would never not do something (go out for coffee, out for the day) because something around the house hadn't been done!!! Life is too short to care that much about it!!

You are right.
The minimum is none

I'm a bit of a clean freak tbh.

We have a cleaning lady. On Thursdays, she spends 4 hours doing upstairs. This means stripping and changing all the beds, cleaning all the bathrooms thoroughly and hoovering and polishing everywhere. She also does all the ironing on Thursdays.

She also does 4 hours on a Friday, when she tackles downstairs. This means hoovering and polishing everywhere, and wiping the (wood/slate) floors and worksurfaces.

Me? I clean the windows every week (all of them), change the flowers, clean the fridge and microwave, tidy around and do all the shopping (food and clothes) and cooking and bulk cook for the week.

All rooms are tidy at all times. It sounds simple in theory and once you get used to it, it is simple in practice as well.

We have a chap come in to do the garden once a fortnight but we do loads in there too, particularly DH and especially at this time of year.

DH is in charge of clothes and does a load of laundry every day.

In terms of school stuff, DH does the kitbags (eight per week) while I do the homework duty and piano practice. I do all the cathedral runs (six times a week) while DH does the tennis club runs (twice a week).

We have a complex rota involving four different sets of parents for school runs. It's a logistical nightmare because we both work full-time plus.

All in all I reckon we both do around 20 hours of housework and chores per week. On top of our work, which in my case is around 60 hours a week. The rest of the time I sleep ...

My minimum is very little! Washing-up, trying to keep the kitchen tidy enough so that I have space to cook, and a load of washing most days.

Things like hoovering and cleaning the bathroom get done when it's starting to look a bit messy or if someone's coming over.

PfftTheMagicDragon I do use that excuse of not being able to do housework because of spending time with my DD. HOwever, I think that makes you a better mum than me, not a worse one, if you can fit everything in! The most stressful part of my life is definitely managing my time between work, spending time with DD, time with DH and keeping the house at a standard that I find acceptable. I am in awe of anyone that can do this!

My daily minimum is making the beds and putting a load on/hanging it out, cleaning cat litter. Also tidying away all toys etc at the end of the day and clearing the dining table which fills up with all manner of rubbish throughout the day. Dh is obssessed with a clean kitchen so he keeps that tidy constantly. In practice we often vaccuum every other day but its not a strict rule, just as needs.

Once a week, usually saturday, I do a few hours vaccuuming, mopping, dusting, cleaning bathroom, change bedding.

Things like cleaning windows etc happens when we notice it needs done (not that often!).

pozzled, I don't think it makes me a better mum than you! It makes me more organised, but that's how I am, there are many aspects of life in which I fall down that I am sure you do not!

Like Quattro, I think the key is to keep it tidy all the time. I don't mean that everything is pristine all the time and people are scared to make a mess, more that you keep on top of it all the time. Sounds exhausting but it's more a case of sorting it then getting into a routine with the things that you do to maintain it.

I certainly don't think that keeping the house tidy and in balance with the rest of my home life makes me a better parent. I also don't think that my friend, who has a spotless house, and spends hours cleaning daily is a better parent than me, we just do things differently.

My dh works away mon-fri. I like the house to be really clean on a Fri.
I have a cleaner who does a couple of hours a week. In between, I ensure all the surfaces in the kitchen are clear and the dishwasher is loaded before I go to bed.
I also make sure both lounges are tidy with cushions tweaked.
I do all the washing and ironing and make sure its all done by Fri.
I am a bit anal about wardrobe tidiness and have a strict order that items can be hung in. Not only mine either, dh, ds & dd. I drive everyone mad with this.

I think it's harder to keep on top of the house with pre-school-age DCs. IME, anyway. Also our garden was a bit neglected at that time as well.

Things that get done daily in our house:

washing up x 2 at least (small kitchen, there is no room to do anything if even a meal's worth of pots are hanging around)
laundry x 1 at least
picking up toys x infinity
reshelving books, ditto
kitchen surfaces cleaned
any obvious spills wiped up

Everyone is well fed and has clean clothes and bedding. Anything else gets done on an as-and-when basis.

Agree there is a minimum to be done to keep the house ticking over on a daily basis.

This translates into 2 hours of cleaning a weekday for the aupair: 45 minutes of routine clean/tidy of high traffic areas like living room/bathroom/kitchen and 75 min deep clean of one room according to a roster. She also does ironing, washing up of dishes, light tidying of small garden and inside of our car.

Dh and I (both work ft) do cooking, tidy after the children have gone to bed, house admin, school admin, laundry, small tasks like sewing loose buttons, food shop, clothes/shoes buying for dcs.

It all sort of works without too much stressing or chaos.

Well I have cleaners once a week who blitz the house.

But everyday I tidy, make beds, do a couple of loads of laundry, hoover and wash kitchen floor. Oh and wipe bathroom over.

But I have 3 small dc's so they make a lot of mess!

I do prefer to live in a clean and tidy house too.

Yes, there is definitely "daily housework". There is also housework that needs doing every other day, and twice weekly, and once a week, and fortnightly, and monthly, and once every three months, and twice a year, and once a year... I expect you could make an excel spreadsheet and a powerpoint presentation of how to organise it and spend most of your day reorganising it and developing new strategies to get it done .

i make a habit of pulling out one or two bits of furniture each time i hoover so it doesnt build up

tv unit needs pulling out monthly as dust builds alot....i take everyuthing out and use brush attachment on the hoover!!!

i also aim to clear one drawer or cupboard a day so clutter doesnt build....takes little time

I do housework every day but I couldn't tell you what or how much - it probably takes up about 2 hour a day in total. I'm on mat leave at the moment - when I'm working it's probably about an hour.

Our flat is very, very small, and with 2 DC's, it has to be kept tidy or it looks awful - I think it is easier to be relaxed if you have a dumping area - like a playroom, dining room, conservatory, etc. So I do make the effort to keep on top of it. I save time by not ironing though, in fact DS1 - nearly 4 - could not identify an iron in a shop the other day

Bear in mind that most people, particularly women, do far too much housework and this is not a virture, it's actually a Bad Thing.
Over-reliance on anti-bacterial chemicals are messing with children's immune systems
Over-use of multiple chemical-based cleaning products are fucking up the environment.
A bit of mess and a bit of dirt won't kill you, and I can hardly imagine that anyone will say on their deathbed, 'I wish I'd done more housework and read fewer books/spend less time sitting in the sun'.

I can rest assured that doing too much housework is a worry I will never have.

Agree SGB.

Unhealthy obsession with housework or a clean and tidy house is not only environmentally unfriendly, it actually holds women back from achieving in other more worthwhile areas.

SGB, for the first time ever I disagree with you. I think that the idea that a house has to be clean is fine - it's the idea that the state of the house reflects solely on the woman that's the issue.

Talking of which - so, OP, your husband does no housework then?

I work 40 hours/4 days a week and have a clingy 16month old of whom I have sole care the remaining 3 (I mean, we have no weekend in my house, one parent is always at work, but we're both there evening). The hardest thing for me about this age is that I find it hard to clean; I like cleaning, a lot, but she hates following me about, hates it when I'm not paying attention to her and in her worse moods, hates it unless I'm actually carrying her around at all times. And she won't nap unless on a lap/in the car/stroller. Oh, and she cries if I try and get her to spend time with her Dad and go to another room.

So I find it really tricky. A lot of my weekly chores are done throughout the week because I don't get a chunk of time on the weekend anymore.

But:
Daily

• at least one load of laundry in/hung out/put away
• cook and clean up from between 1 and 3 meals depending on who's home (dishwasher, wipe surfaces, sweep floor)
• tidy toys, clothes, etc.

Doesn't sound like much but between me and my husband we do 2 hours a day. The cooking/etc is a huge chunk. And we use cloth nappies which adds a bit.

Weekly

• mop floors
• clean toilets, wipe down bathroom, etc
• vacuum 3 times a week
• cook ahead/bake
• gardening
• strip beds and towels, air out house, make beds with new bedding
• damp wipe wooden surfaces/sofa/TV/etc

I won't allow antibacterial products in the house, nor disposable wipes.

Whilst I agree, SGB, that no-one wishes they had done more housework when they are dying - you don't have to be an anti-bacterial freak to have a clean and tidy house. I use next to no cleaning products - I dust with a damp cloth use Method cleaner for the work tops and a textured cloth for the windows.

I think my children are healthier for the dirt and do not keep my house pristine, and am nowhere near vigilant when it comes to handwashing. But that doesn't mean my house can't be clean and tidy.