Question for those with a generally organised house

Violettatrump · 2015-01-27T11:23:25+00:00

How long do you spend cleaning/tidying each day if your house is already quite organised

shovetheholly · 27/01/2015 13:40

It depends on the day and that is the honest truth. If you go out for a muddy walk and come back and mud is traipsed everywhere, it could be a while!!

I generally have a routine that gets done in 1-2 hours a day, but that includes jobs like putting washing away and unloading the dishwasher.

HowCanIMissYouIfYouWontGoAway · 27/01/2015 13:46

less than 2 hours. Sometimes less than one. Some days I just do a wipe down and that's it.

It really is much easier if everything has a place. I am a very lazy person so I always go for the easier option which is no clutter and everything allocated a compartment/drawer/etc.

Artandco · 27/01/2015 13:49

About 15 mins. We both work so not really any more time. We do have a cleaner though as well who does a deep clean once a week.

In 15 mins in eve that's small children tidying toys/ clothes away, dh tidying something ( ie bathroom) and I'm tidying another ( ie kitchen) so I suppose it's about 45mins if just one person did it. We live rather minimal

WipsGlitter · 27/01/2015 13:49

Less than 45 minutes a day. Wipe round the kitchen. Load dishwasher. Do a bit more at the weekend. But I have very low standards.

2 hours A DAY?? What are you doing????!

BiscuitsAreMyDownfall · 27/01/2015 13:53

Im hoping to find out this year The house is getting more organised and clean as the weeks progress though.

HowCanIMissYouIfYouWontGoAway · 27/01/2015 14:02

It depends what needs doing - if the beds need stripping, etc etc.

hoovering, damp dusting, cleaning the kitchen, cleaning the bathrooms, changing bedding, putting stuff away. and so on and so forth.

if I get the stuff out of the cabinet to wash it that's very time consuming, but it doesn't need to be done often, just maybe once a month. all the glasses in the corner unit need washing now and again, otherwise when you use them they'll be covered in fluff.
shoe storage always gets messed up so sometimes everything has to come out and be reordered.
bookshelves need sorting.
Every now and again I'll brave the bear pit and put all the kids stuff back in its proper boxes
I'll pick a drawer and make sure that what's in it is what's supposed to be in it and if not I sort it out.
It's not the same stuff every day, but every day the usual stuff plus one or maybe two things that don't get done a lot but take more time when they are done - iyswim.

Artandco · 27/01/2015 14:04

Damp dusting? Cleaning stuff inside cabinet? I've never done either. Soft nozzle on Hoover to suck up dust, cabinet glass is there to stop stuff inside needing cleaning surely?

WipsGlitter · 27/01/2015 14:09

I think the amount of housework is inversely proportional to the amount of time you have!

Viviennemary · 27/01/2015 14:10

I haven't got a tidy or well organised house but I know quite a few people who do. They do things right away. Finished cup of coffee, put it in the dishwasher. Constant tidying and clearing up immediately. I try to do this but fail dismally. And get rid of stuff. Not many people with a lot of stuff have tidy houses. But I do know one elderly lady who does.

HowCanIMissYouIfYouWontGoAway · 27/01/2015 14:11

Nah, dust still accumulates, albeit more slowly.
I never polish, that just pushes dust back up in the air and so it settles again. The hoover doesn't do as good a job as a damp cloth.
I just prefer to do it. dust is a bugger. Sets my asthma right off.

DeanKoontz · 27/01/2015 14:17

I do, in this order, this:

Kitchen, dishes and surfaces, including table, after every meal.

Washing, put a load on, circulate wet washing round the radiators and airer.
Put dry clothes away.

Then 1 thing off my list. (List is very long, but I can post it if you want.) if I do 1 thing a day, it all get kept on top of.

I'm not too bothered about tidiness, just as long as everything is clean.

Beds get stripped very week (ish).

I have a guy who cuts the grass once a fortnight.

justbatteringon · 27/01/2015 14:21

I wish I could be this organised currently in bed after shipping kids of to grandparents. I'm very sleep deprived though

forago · 27/01/2015 14:26

about an hour a day on tidying and putting away, probably another hour every other day doing laundry, couple of hours a week ironing. Cleaner comes once a week which has massively cut down the amount of time. Nice to have my evenings back.

I am very tidy and house is pretty organised so generally do a quick tidy up after kids gone to bes putting everything back where it goes and doing laundry. Playroom sometimes gets out of control in the week and I make the children do it at the weekend.

DeanKoontz · 27/01/2015 14:28

just sleep always comes first.

Your cleaning will wait. Close your eyes while you have the chance.

flanjabelle · 27/01/2015 14:35

Probably about half an hour a day. My house isn't super organised, but the clutter is restricted to cupboards that get a good sort every month or so. the half an hour is spent tidying toys away, hoovering and quickly wiping round.

Original poster

Violettatrump · 27/01/2015 15:05

Deencoon can you post your list please.

Ok so formulating a plan now.

clean/tidy as I go
allocate x amount of time daily to complete a bigger task (hoovering or mopping or changing beds or food shopping or )
ensure the boys tidy up their own stuff and complete set chores

I think I prefer the idea of doing a bit every day. The thought of a massive cleaning day for bigger jobs fills me with dread.

OP posts:

DeanKoontz · 27/01/2015 15:18

Here goes: I just do as much of one thing as I can each day and then move on to the next thing the next day. Iyswim. But, even 5 mins can be enough. Anything that falls on my day off gets a good blitz.

Cleaning

Back garden
Garage
Shed
Living room
Kitchen
All floors
Bathrooms
Our bedroom
Front room
Conservatory
Hall
Living room
Kitchen
Bathrooms
All floors
Ds bedroom
Living room
Bathrooms
Our Wardrobes
Front room
Ds wardrobes
Conservatory
Dd wardrobes
Hall
Dd bedroom
Living room
Kitchen
Bathrooms
Switches doorknobs and walls
Fridge
Front garden
Porch
Car
Living room
Kitchen
Bathroom
Our bedroom
All floors
Under stairs cupboard
Kitchen cupboards
Living room
Kitchen
Bathrooms
Ds bedroom
1 big job
All floors
Dd bedroom

WingsClipped · 27/01/2015 15:22

Daily:
General tidying and putting things away
Wipe down dining table
Wipe down kitchen surfaces
Wipe down bathroom areas
Quick toilet clean
DH does washing up after every meal

Once a week:
Towels wash
Bedding stripped and washed
3 loads of clothes washed and tumbled
DH normally folds and puts away
Kitchen cleaned (45min)
Bathroom and toilet deep cleaned (45min)
Hoover and floors mopped (we are shoes off household so floors actually don't get very grubby)

Ad hoc:
Decluttering
Windows cleaned
Damp dusting
Venetian blinds cleaned

LillianGish · 27/01/2015 15:36

viviennemary that's me - clearing up as I go along. Have shower, quick wipe round loo and bathroom hang up towels etc - leave bathroom tidy, make beds, clear up breakfast things straight after breakfast - wipe sides, clean sink, wipe table, run vacuum round if necessary, leave house - take rubbish out with me etc etc. I don't spend hours cleaning (well I might focus on a particular job if there is something good on the radio), but if you have an organised house you can generally do it as you go along - and teach the kids to do the same (make beds when they get up, dirty laundry in basket, hang up towels, put dirty dishes in machine). Much easier to have a quick wipe, dust or polish if surfaces are already clear, it doesn't really take any time at all - I often do it in the moments when I'm waiting for everyone else to be ready to leave the house which is otherwise just dead time.

TheAuthoress · 27/01/2015 15:46

We keep clutter to a minimum and tidy as we go (eg put the coffee cup in the dishwasher as Viviennemary says) and that definitely helps.

Daily chores:
Before work:
Make beds & open curtains and windows
Tidy breakfast stuff away immediately into dishwasher
After work:
Tidy dinner stuff away immediately into dishwasher
Put on dishwasher
Handwash any other dishes and clean worktops & table
Prep lunch for the next day
Get kids clothes ready for the next day
Put a load of laundry on
Put clean laundry away
On my days off (work three days a week):
Tidy lunch stuff away immediately into dishwasher
Hoover after lunch
Tidy kids toys after lunch and at the end of the day

Weekly chores:
Properly hoover downstairs (under chairs etc), dust and mop
Hoover upstairs & dust
Hoover stairs
Clean upstairs bathroom
Clean downstairs toilet
Strip and remake beds
These are usually done when we have the energy / having a visitor, or one will do it while the other baths the kids in the evenings but I do try to ensure they are done weekly.

All other random chores like cleaning the windows, cleaning the insides of kitchen cupboards etc are done when we have the energy or they are looking pretty grubby.

I'm constantly thinking of things to help keep the place tidy so have things like:
Shredder at the front door so post is opened at the front door and dealt with immediately.
Accessible home for everything (if you don't have one, find / buy a solution)
Regular decluttering
Putting things away immediately after use

WipsGlitter · 27/01/2015 18:19

45 minutes to clean a bathroom. faints. How big is it??

howcanimiss what mean was if you've only got 30 minutes then you'll just do what you can then to make things passable. If you've two hours you'll do more.

Original poster

Violettatrump · 27/01/2015 18:22

Thanks all and Dean. I think I could implement something similar

OP posts:

ILikeToClean · 27/01/2015 19:15

Like others I do as I go along which means nothing is ever that dirty so for example bathroom can be cleaned in 5-10 mins. I do hoover every day (have a dog) and my routine is that every time I do a whole house clean (twice a week) I do one room really thoroughly. So every room will take 10 mins each, then maybe 30-60 mins for my designated thorough clean room, depending on size, so kitchen and utility room might take longer as I go through all the cupboards, steam tiles, extractor etc, same for DDs rooms but lounge doesn't take long as I go through cupboards in there but because I'm doing it regularly clutter doesn't build up too much. Sounds arduous but actually never takes as long as I think because every few weeks each room gets a deep clean. Every day I just go round And make sure things are put away etc, takes 5 mins. To me it's less stressful just doing it then I can sit and relax, I can't sit down if I know there's stuff to be done!

wobblebobblehat · 27/01/2015 19:25

Off work at mo so couple of hours a day.

Probably about 10 minutes a day when I am working. Too tired to do much more. Our house was a pig sty before Christmas.

Spincyclist · 27/01/2015 20:28

Interesting thread, thank you oh organised ones!

I'm taking from this what a moveable feast housework is. There's so much we do day to day - washing, cooking, washing up - and often we reach our limit without even touching the cleaning and tidying.

i think I need a routine. I know that if you do it regularly it's much quicker, but equally I can never prioritise it over MNing more important stuff until it's dirty!