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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

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Original poster

How many hours housework do you do in a day?

55 replies

ClarasMummy · 22/10/2010 15:51

Arrggghh. I am currently 28 weeks pregnant and have a 2 year old DD. We have recently moved from a flat into quite a large old house and I am having a nightmare keeping it clean and tidy. I try to prioritise playing with DD but really some housework just can't be ignored.
It's really starting to get me down as I'm suffering from depression as well so have very little motivation and the place is always a mess.

How many hours housework a day do other SAHM's do? Maybe i'm just not doing enough but it always seems filthy...

OP posts:

mazzystartled · 22/10/2010 16:08

none if i can help it

but realistically with 3 small kids - I tidy up as I go along during the day. usually manage to do a washload and hang it up and cook an evening meal. each evening i blitz the kitchen, sweep the floor and give the loos a cursory clean. everything else is done on saturday mornings (bed changes, hoover stairs, proper bathroom cleaning) when dh is around to take the heat off me child-wise.

Make sure your OH does his share, lower your standards and de-clutter and it makes life a lot easier

thighsmadeofcheddar · 22/10/2010 16:08

About 2 hours daily and then usually 5 hours on the weekend.

DooinMeCleanin · 22/10/2010 16:11

Today none. I work a split shift. Tuesday none - I work a split shift. Saturday - none I work and the get drunk. Sunday - none I am hungover. The rest of the week none stop trying to catch up the days I did nothing as no-one else is capable it would seem

Sanesometimes1 · 27/10/2010 00:17

try to tidy as go along but do a room a day usually - so takes about 1 - 2 hrs i suppose depending on how busy i am with other stuff - try to keep washing down though and thats at least one load a day but dosn't take long really.

IMoveTheStars · 27/10/2010 00:20

...

ooooozathon · 27/10/2010 00:31

Jareth

IMoveTheStars · 27/10/2010 00:35

I'll stick some washing in the machine, wash up etc. I haven't hoovered since I was 6mo pregnant (DS is almost 3) The bathroom gets wiped round, the kitchen is clean, the house is relatively tidy but I don't spend any time on housework... it's all 5 mins here and there.

DS does all the hoovering, apparently he does dusting too

Bonsoir · 27/10/2010 08:12

You won't be able to manage the housework on your own in a large old house with a toddler and being pregnant/having a newborn.

Somebody needs to help you. Can you afford a cleaner?

Ishtar2410 · 27/10/2010 08:45

I suppose I spend a couple of hours a day doing bits around the house. I loosely follow Flylady and things are a bit chaotic but clean-ish.

With two DCs it's not as easy to keep it as clean as I would like - and with the school run twice a day (which is an hour each time), I find I'm disinclined to work too hard in the house!

I sometimes look around and wish things were tidier and the washing a bit more organised, but if my kids are happy then I can live with it being a bit .

Does your OH help out?

Orissiah · 27/10/2010 09:06

I'm not a SAHM but work from home and DD (2.4 years old) is at nursery fulltime. But:

Every day:

Clear clutter and clean up as I go along - max 15 mins in total a day now that I'm on top of everything.

Every two/three days:

As soon as we are up for the day I put a load of washing on a 60 min wash and hang it out or pop into tumble dryer so all washing done and out by 8am. No ironing - only DH's shirts which he does on Sundays.

Every Sunday:

Dusting and hoovering only once a week for 1 hour tops for large 3 bed house.
My DH deep cleans bathroom once a week on Sunday morning after his shower - max 15-30 mins.
While he's doing that and DD is eating breakfast on Sunday I deep clean kitchen - max 30 mins.

Honestly, once you keep on top of everything, housework doesn't take much of my time anymore. Besides, life is too precious!

Orissiah · 27/10/2010 09:09

Biggest tip: de-clutter. Honestly, black bagging stuff regularly and chucking out/donating means a clutter-free house which also means less time to clean.

rosie17 · 27/10/2010 09:09

What is this 'housework'of which you speak?

nancydrewrocked · 27/10/2010 09:16

Not a lot and TBH my house always looks pretty great (even if I say so myself ) I do have a cleaner once a week and that obviously helps enormously but I swear by the 5 mins here and there approach.

Plus two top tips from MN:

Giving the bathrooms a quick once over with a babywipe does indeed keep it sparkly between proper cleans.

everytime you leave a room take something with you and put it away.

Orissiah · 27/10/2010 09:22

NancyDrew, my "rule" is similar in that I try never to go up or down the stairs empty handed! There is always something that needs to be put away.

TheProfiteroleThief · 27/10/2010 09:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ariane5 · 27/10/2010 09:35

i seem to spend every day clearing up after my 3 so cant really say how many hours i do it just seems to be a relentless round of tidying/cooking/washing up that goes round in circles every day.

and dont get me started on the washing-its never done ! washing machine always on!!

it can be depressing i find it hard to cope with.try to just keep one room (i use front room) as nice as you can and retreat there when the rest gets too messy and just pretend rest of the house is as tidy!

mapoftheworld · 27/10/2010 09:37

Probably about an hour a day solid, then litte bits and pieces around that.

MaudOHara · 27/10/2010 09:45

If DH asks I spend all day doing housework, in truth a quick whizz round for a hour or two after dropping the DC at school leaves me free to mumsnet the rest of the day away

DebiTheScot · 27/10/2010 09:46

Hahahaha, it needs to say 'how many hours a month...' before I can answer that. And even then it's not many.

Gory09 · 27/10/2010 09:47

""- Dusting and hoovering only once a week for 1 hour tops for large 3 bed house.

My DH deep cleans bathroom once a week on Sunday morning after his shower - max 15-30 mins.""

How do you get away with doing that once a week only? (I really could do with some tips) I am really not obsessed with cleaning but if I do not hoover the house or clean the bathroom every day, it really looks terrible! How do you do it, have youo got especially tidy children (I am willing to do a swap if the answer is yes)

I would not be able to put a figure on how much time I spend a day because I never thought of counting. Also I suppose it depends if it is an "ironing day" and if you include cooking as well. I do not think I spend too much time cleaning and some people who visit my house might wonder if I do at all spend any time cleaning . I do but no sooner have I cleaned/tidied something, it seems to need doing again as the dcs have no concept of "tidy" and by the time I have finished cleaning dishes, washing work surfaces ,mop the kitchen there is a very small amount of time before the next cooking session and all starts again!

Last week I was so proud of myself because by 11am I had managed deep cleaning of my bedroon, the dcs's bedroom and the batrhroom whilst still entertaining DD4 and write a couple of posts on here. A friend lknocked at the door and I was completely ashamed of the looks of my livingroom and kitchen that i had not yet touched at all. My tip of the day woul be

Bonsoir · 27/10/2010 10:08

I have a very strong "no lingering toys or mess in the sitting room or kitchen or hall" rule which really helps.

The children can leave stuff hanging around in other areas, which get cleared up from time to time.

lydiamama · 27/10/2010 12:37

I work full-time, so clean the house every two or three days, about 1 hour each,DD follows me around, and only a quick tidy up and brush the other days, no more than 30 min. But there is no any decorative complex thing to clean in my house, toys a stored in the bedroom, in their proper boxes, without cover, so DD can access them easily, and it takes 1 min to put them back, and in the living room I only allow a few toys, that we change regularly. So as they recommended before, just bag and put in the store everything that is not essential in the house until your new baby is big enough, all these figurines are not necessary!!!! And do not allow your toddler to play with everything at the same time, and leave it everywhere!!! You can give him the building blocks, and when tired of that, put them back in the box (they like helping to do that) and take next thing out.

Original poster

ClarasMummy · 27/10/2010 16:02

Thanks all for the replies.

I think one of my problems is that I let DD play with everything at once. We're lucky in that we have a large playroom for her now but she doesen't like to be in there without me so usually everything she has ends up in the living room anyway.

Ishtar2410 OH doesn't help out around the house at all really. He's constantly leaving hair in the shower (hair on the floors/shower is a real pet hate of mine) he doesn't even know how to the load the dishwasher/washing machine. I tend to let him off though as he works hard for us and is brilliant with DD and looks after her in the evening. I sort of see the housework as my job, even though I'm doing pretty crap at it at the moment. He cooks as well which is a good thing as I hate it with a passion.

Bonsoir ,We can't really afford a cleaner but when the new baby comes we will hopefully be in a position to put DD into nursery one day a week leaving me with time to catch up with things. It's a nightmare though, moving from a small flat into this big old house that is constantly dusty and looks a mess all of the time, ergh, I'm starting to feel the strain.

Again, thanks all for the replies/tips.

OP posts:

lucyspangle · 27/10/2010 20:50

90 minutes a day mon-fri I work f/t and 4 hours on a sat am -get cleaner in for mega blitz twice a year

CeliaFate · 27/10/2010 21:10

I do about 2 hours a day inc. washing anc cooking. I'll have a blitz now and again and do 3 hours in one go if I do a deep clean (hoover and polish under/behind furniture, do the skirtings and door frames etc.)

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