How many hours housework do you do in a day?

[ClarasMummy]

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...

Why don't you get a cleaner for a day (or two half days - even better) instead of putting DD in a nursery for a day? Honestly, your cleaner will achieve much more than you can with a baby in tow!

depends on what you mean by housework.
I put on the washer
do the dishwasher
cook for the kids
make thebeds

doesn't take long.
I have a cleaner who does the proper cleaning stuff once a week.

My top tip is to have child free rooms:
Then you can take visitors in there or retreat when the mess is too great to bear!
You said it was a large house, that's the BENEFIT of having all those rooms to clean.

Otherwise, follow the rule about not leaving any room when it's a mess. It doesn't take too long to pick up cups/plates or straighten cushions or draw curtains or chuck all toys in a box.

Speaking of toys, (and I KNOW I'm going to get pilliaried for this one) throw out all the annoying ones with little bits. Mine delight in emptying these all over the floor continually and they are a pain in the butt to pick up. Secondly, have a big toy box (old school trunks really good for this) in each room. Out of sight = tidy in my world!

Really the world won't end if there are toast crumbs all over the place. Even better, get a dog and these will be banished permanently.

I think I spend at least one hour a day on basic cleaning and housework, plus ironing for about 1 - 2 hrs a week, and DH does grocery shopping. No kids, but three large dogs so floors need quite a bit of attention!

If you've got a large house, consider keeping one vacuum upstairs and one downstairs, and also a little tub/basket of your cleaning essentials upstairs in a cupboard so you are not having to run up and down to get things.

Your DD is not too young to begin to learn about the concept of tidying away.

I would also think about menu planning (this makes life so much easier, since you don't have to plan every night) and invest in a slow cooker.

Even if you won't invest in a cleaner, I would certainly consider a professional window cleaner (especially if you have large sash windows)- this makes a huge difference. Also, although you say you are happy for your DH not to do too much around the house, you sound as though you are finding it difficult so maybe it is time for him to make sure he steps up a gear. Maybe he can do the weekly shop (better still, have it delivered), take you out for a meal on the weekend, make sure he cooks a nice meal on a Sunday?

It's easy to feel overwhelmed, I find making lists very helpful - I usually have a little notebook and pen which I write down all my domestic stuff in, and it is lovely each evening to look at the list and see things crossed off. And I do mean everything - it does include things like "Walk Dogs. Feed Dogs. Have Breakfast. Make bed." and so on - I've had depression so know how hard it can be. Please be kind to yourself.

I work full time, I probably do about 2 hours a day. I have to get up at an Uungodly time to do an hour in the morning before setting off for work.

I then do another hour in the evening.

DH works flexi time so he will do an hour or so during the day.

Gory09 - honestly, it's all I do. I'm too busy to do more (and also even if I wasn't busy I'd rather read a book or watch a movie). My DH is relatively tidy himself though and I only have one child who is a toddler and who I encourage to play with only a few things at a time. Perhaps my standards are lower? The key thing for me is that I've ruthlessly de-cluttered the house top to bottom so cleaning is easier without all the knick knacks lying around. DD must put all toys away before her bedtime (with alot of help from me!).

hours in a day??? What?? I run round like a headless chicken washing the dishes, shoving toys in the cupboard and brush crumbs under the rug before DH gets home. I am Martha Stewart's nemesis!

If I allow myself I can clean all day and still see things to do it seems endless I have 3 DC, but I can be a little obsessive, when it comes to cleaning, so settle for no dishes in the sink a load in the machine and a clean floor, then I can relax a little, usually takes 1-2hrs and I work FT

ClarasMummy, I think you and I have a similar problem. We have moved, we have larger houses, we are depressed and it all seems totally overwhelming. I also think my house seems "filthy" because it does not have the walls painted, new carpets etc and even though I do clean, I don't feel impressed or pleased with what I have done.

During the week I work and study most nights/ weekends so I delegate my nanny to clean dds rooms x 1 per week including hoover and dust and change bedding. She puts washing on and changes to drier daily. Ironing 2 x per week. I hoover downstairs most nights or DH does it while the other baths dds. Dusting downstairs ???? rare 4-5 times per year! Wipe surfaces down etc in kitchen daily if I do the dishes but not if DH does dishes. DH does our bedding/upstairs hoovering approx once per week.
Bathroom at the moment is a no go area and it has been a while since it was thoroughly scrubbed (not horrendous btw, no black loo or anything!).
Not as many hours as I would like (or should I say like to pay for ).

Regardless of the size of the house a family of 3 and a bump shouldn't be bad to keep clean.
I always tidy toys away in the evening and don't worry about it during the day, just put away if they aren't being played with.

We have a system of all done between 430 and 630pm

PS at the moment it is my books that form most of the clutter in our house. The children seem positively OCD tidy compared to me!

m,.;'«

I try and do 30 minutes a day and separate house into zones. For example my routine is as follows:

Every morning:
Tidy beds, pick up clutter in bedrooms and rinse sink after use and clean toilet quickly with toilet paper. The above is done very quickly.

Afternoon I will try and do lunch and try and do meal prepping for evening and do a quick kitchen clean if I have not done it in the morning after breakfast.

Evening is taken up with eating and bedtime routine for two sons. After that I don't like doing anything.

General housework I do as follows:

Monday: Kitchen, laundry, playroom.

Tuesday: Lounge, Porch, WC & cloakroom, hallway & sweep and mop floors

Wednesday: Washing, drying, put clothes away & ironing.

Thursday: Bedrooms, landing & bathroom thorough clean. Bathroom is usually done whilst sons are in the bath.

Friday: Vacuum & mop

Saturday: sort out filing, baskets which I dump things in and leave in garage to sort out at a later date.

Sunday: Washing, drying, put clothes away & ironing. Meal Planning, Meal Prepping & Shopping list.

Other half will do the shopping on Monday. Occasionally I will do it on a Tuesday. If I have not done the vacuum OH will do it on Friday or Saturday.

Don't spend longer than 30 mins on doing the housework on each day. Anything left can be done the week after. When I have put the rooms down it means thorough clean like dusting, antibacterial cleaning if required.

If you have a place for everything then putting things away should only take 10 minutes if that.

Have less clutter - if things are just sitting around the house and you ain't using it then sell it on shpock/gumtree/Facebook. All you have to do is take a photo put description up and advertise for free. If it sells it's a bonus. Money in your pocket and less stuff to tidy and clean in the house. Let me know how you get ob

Toys I will clear up in the evening after or before dinner.

I find that if the house is maintained as above the house is clean and tidy so if Someone turns up last minute house is tidy and clean.

Put a timer on or some songs which total 30 mins and stop when timer finishes or songs finish.

Whilst pregnant you will need help from your other half. He will have to pull his finger out. Maybe start with small steps and ask him to do the vacuum for you.

Not much?

I cook most weekdays, and keep on top of laundry, load dishwater etc. DH unloads dishwasher before he comes to bed and often cleans the kitchen. We send the robot hoover round every couple of days in the evening.

We have a cleaner 2 hrs a week who cleans the bathroom and kitchen and does hoovering and dusting in rest of house.

It's a small 3 bed house.

Maybe 1.5 - 2 hours per day that I'm at home with 2 kids (neither at school yet). This includes 1 load of washing and 1 lot of putting away, vacuuming round the downstairs, sweeping up the kitchen floor, sticking bleach down the toilets, tidying up, washing up.
On the weekends I try to dust, Hoover more thoroughly and clean the bathrooms properly. I hate cleaning though it's the bane of my life

Let us know how you get on OP

As few as possible! I do a load of laundry a day (or nearly), between DH and I, we cook, load and unload the dishwasher and buy food. Nothing else is regular - neither of us are terribly bothered by mess, so the house isn't terribly clean or tidy. We're lucky to have a fairly big house for the 3 of us. Though we have people coming round next week, so I'll have to at least tidy the living room a bit. However I'll probably spend longer making a cake - more fun for DD and I, and I'm sure our guests will care more about cake than an immaculate lounge.

It is much easier having cleaning sprays and cloths upstairs preferably in the bathroom so when you are bathing kids you can give he bathroom a quick clean whilst keeping an eye out on the kids at the same time. I even keep window cleaner in bathroom to clean mirrors.

Kitchen you can clean and load dishwasher whilst watching your child eating in high hair. Whilst the kettle is loading, load the dishwasher too.

Lounge you can clean whilst watching tv.

Wc you can clean quickly after use and that's a thorough clean which should take no longer than 5 mins. I keep cleaning products in WC cupboard so I can give it a quick blitz.

If you have to go downstairs/upstairs to get cleaning products or tools then you will get distracted along the way and things will take much longer.

Don't go upstairs empty handed and don't come downstairs empty handed - always bring something down / upstairs and put away in its place.

Having a place for everything is key because it will take you a few minutes to put things away. Also rather than putting things down put it away in its place otherwise you are creating more work for yourself.

If it is a chore to put it away then have a basket to put stuff in to sort out later. For example we have to keep the garage door locked because eldest son is desperate to go in there at every given ppportunity so anything that has to go in the garage goes in a black basket so I can take the stuff together when I unlock the door - I have to be quick because I am followed by my eldest son!! Even when be wakes up or comes home from a day out or nursery eh wil check to see if the garage door is open lol

Not sure- it's more 'as I go', although we do have a cleaner 2 hours a week which helps massively (she does the beds and cleans bathrooms/ kitchen and hoovers everywhere)

Generally I unload dishwasher in morning while getting DC's ready and pack their lunches and make our bed as soon as I'm up.

after i drop them off, I clean up breakfast mess, load dishwasher/ wipe off all kitchen surfaces with anti-bac cleaner, sweep floor and take out the bin and sometimes do a few leftover dishes if DH hasn't done it the night before. Total- 10-30 mins depending on thoroughness and can be botheredness.

I work from home, so at some point during the day I take a break and do a load of laundry or put away a load. Also usually tidy up living room a bit/ straighten up throws/ cushions put away toys in there.- 10 mins prob.

Cook an evening meal- either in the evening or prep some of it during the day- about half and half (usually 30 mins-ish depending on what it is)

Wipe down the bathroom a bit- ie wipe off toilet from the bad aims of two young DS's and wipe down the sink/ put away wet towels (5 mins)

Prob a total of 45 mins- 1 hour a day including cooking.

DH does washing up in the evening from dinner and clears up kitchen/

If guests are coming I do loads more but those are the basics. The house is never that clean and tidy but also not a health hazard/ embarrassment either if someone pops round unexpectedly. Do it as I go works best for me.

I work full time and do very little apart from cook in the week. DH works fewer hours from home and vacuums every other day, cleans the kitchen, does a bit of laundry, mops the floors, washes the bedding most weeks.

I clean for about five/six hours over three days at the weekend if people are visiting, half that on a normal week.

Five beds and receptions but there are only three of us so it doesn't get too messy.

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