I clean most days but my house is filthy. ....where am I going wrong??

[Feckinlego]

I work 2 12 hour shifts a week and do nothing on those days, but otherwise every day I do at the very least an hour. House is not that cluttered (apart from one junk room ), but by the time the floors bathroom dusting etc is done I've no time for anything else.
Not sure what I'm asking really, but I'm struggling to keep the house clean. Visitors probably wouldn't notice, but skirting boards/ windows/fridge/ cupboards etc are manky. I need a better routine I suppose, something simple. How to stay on top of the bigger jobs?? Please excuse and feel free to ignore this stream of consciousness but any tips will be most welcome.

I've found a set routine for deeper cleaning doesn't work for me.

I (mainly mentally) tackle it like this:

I don't view the following as cleaning/housework but 'basics' and try to force myself to get on top of this before I allow myself to do anything else (fun or otherwise). Ideally, that is at least once a day (to fully done) and preferably almost continuously - it can take up to an hour if most is left for over a day...

• Dishes - collecting/loading & unloading dishwasher/washing-up/drying up
• Laundry - sorting, putting a load on, drying, putting away (but not ironing)
• Whole house tidy - getting everything back to where it should be
• Swish and Swiping - very quick clean of toilets & sinks and kitchen surface + anything very obvious (spill etc)
• Emptying bins (with tag-on of picking up any dog poos from lawn)

Only after that do I consider it cleaning/housework and I do that on a 'see it - do it' basis. So, basically I do the things that are bugging me most until I have run out of time/can't be bothered to do anymore. This includes:

• Vacuuming
• Ironing
• Dusting (with damp slightly ecloth generally) including skirting boards, pictures and shutters
• De-cluttering
• Deeper cleaning of bathrooms
• Deep cleaning of any room
• Mucking out fridge/cleaning
• Oven cleaning
• Washing floors

....you get the idea!

Only system that has ever worked for me!

Is it just you doing it?

I find you need to enlist the other members of the house.

If kids leave shoes out for instance then that's one little job you have to do before you can sweep, then there's moving plates/mugs to the kitchen before you can wipe down in the living room, and then putting things away in the kitchen before you can do that - it all adds up, and isn't actually cleaning.

Anyone you live with needs to pitch in and put stuff away as they go too, or you're on a frustrating, losing battle.

I go round each week day and clean as I go so every room gets a quick clean and tidy and I Hoover most days (have pets) and this takes less than an hour, but then what I do is every day I focus more on one room/area and go that thoroughly. I have 15 rooms/zones so every 3 weeks I know that a particular room has been deep cleaned and decluttered. Might take another hour in the case of kitchen but if it's the cloakroom will still only take 10 mins to deep clean so I'll pick another less regular job as well that day, like oven clean, descaling something or cleaning outside or just don't bother! As things are cleaned so regularly it actually never gets to be a massive job. With washing I do a load a day, tumble dry and then put away things that don't need ironing, then iron once or twice a week.

It seems like a lot to some people but in actual fact it's quick to whizz through and means the house always looks tidy until everyone comes home.

we have a total of six rooms and I struggle to keep it to a standard I consider clean! I hate the fluffy dust that builds up in bathrooms on toilets and sink secretly dreaming that we will one day be able to afford a cleaner

Like some of these tips thanks.

I do mine as and when usually family room/ kitchen daily,bathroom when 3yo has his bath, dd does the stairs for pocket money (every 2 weeks ish), playroom dh does while watching football on telly usually on a Saturday, utility/cat room (its where the cats "live") probably once a fortnight but should be more regularly!, bedrooms ad hoc while waiting for baby to fall asleep. Dh's office , never. Dh's shower - never. Although I did it today as it smelled like something had died in there, it was rank. One thing I've accepted is that with 3dc it will never all be clean at the same time! My tips are: be more tidy and finish jobs (eg. Take the washing up immediately, do the skirting etc when you dust the surfaces); be ruthless with 'stuff' and read Marie kondo!; I get dd and older ds to do their stuff even if it means calling them back to clear plates or put fruit juice back in fridge etc and eventually they might just do it I live in hope All of these have helped me keep it tidier and generally more pleasant at home. Also, once a week I do a big 'put away' rather than clean, while baby is napping I will literally spend two hours moving individual things, organising cupboards, pairing odd socks etc. Its amazing the difference it makes and how much I can do in that time- things that would otherwise just sit there forever because no one in my house sees mess except me!

Thanks everyone. I think I'm doing too much in one go, and not doing anything properly. For example, kitchen floor is washed every day but I got on my hands and knees today and it was disgusting! It's a tough tile and needs a scrub. I'd be better doing it properly once a week than a half arsed job every day. But some great tips. I think I need to rethink how I clean.