Mumsnetters with immaculate houses - tell me your secrets!

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I find housekeeping a never-ending battle. Every now and then I'll do a massive deep clean (which takes me several exhausting days!) and get everything in order and it looks fabulous. But it's never long before things inevitably drift back to their former state, with stuff all over the place, dust everywhere, cobwebs, dirty floors and just general untidiness, disorganisation and mess.

Does anyone on MN have a lovely, tidy, organised house all the time, without using a cleaner? If so, how do you manage to keep a house looking immaculate and crucially, guest ready 24/7? It must be so "freeing" (is that a word?) mentally to have a lovely home that you can just breeze in and out of with no clutter, everything in its place and every single item in the house something you can genuinely describe as either "beautiful or useful".

If you have any insights into how to achieve this I would love to hear them!

I don't even live in a mansion either by the way - it's only a two up, three down!

My mum has a house like this. Her secret is: she does nothing else. Nothing but housework all day every day.

I too long for an immaculate house and I do my best, I definitely feel mentally freer and happier when it's clean and tidy, but I'm not prepared to sacrifice my all to the cause. I prioritise clean, tidy is a bonus. And I invite a guest over every so often so I have a deadline to which I need to clean!

People often say that my house is always tidy I but I do think that mess is actually part of life! Your home is not there for the benefit of guests- it's there for you and your family. My grandma used to refer to it as "clean muck" when we had our toys etc out and I think this is actually really healthy.

My approaches to maintaining some kind of order are to make sure that the kids tidy up when they've finished playing and to always end each day tidy- a quick 10 minute sort at the end of every day works miles better for me than one hour each week. I try to avoid the big purges as I always resent that time and would far rather just do little and often.
Also, make sure you have storage so that everything has somewhere to be or you'll always have mess!

Watching!

My issue is clothes. We have three adults and two children living here and it’s like a tidal wave of clothes in the utility room. I’ve just been stood in there feeling totally overwhelmed.

I do a massive clear out of clothes every five/six months but it’s never enough!! I work from home and every one leaves me to do it all despite me regularly protesting! If I didn’t do it the place would be shocking and I can’t live that.

Can’t help personally but I do know that those friends who do have immaculate houses without a cleaner tend to have well organised storage (& enough of it, which is a constant battle for me) and spend a LOT of time doing housework, which I don’t have the time or inclination for. I imagine it’s a lovely feeling if you are willing and able to sacrifice that time, I’m unlikely to ever find out!

The only people I know who does this have very few other interests in life, are ruthless with possessions (which doesn’t greatly lead to hobbies, vinyl records sporting goods or craft materials are regarded as junk) and tend to have had damaging childhoods often involving neglect and filthy (not untidy) homes.

Our house is always very clean and tidy, not a clean freak but equally I can't stand it being messy, it helps that there are no DC just us two adults , I tidy away as things are finished with and we don't have endless junk, we do have lots of books but they always get put back into the bookcase after use . A quick clean and tidy takes around10-20 mins twice a day

Not a lot of stuff
No kids at home
Work 5 days a month

My friend has an absolutely immaculate house. Inside and out.
She gets up at every day 4:30am to start the housework. Her DH spends his day off practically hoovering the driveway and garden. She cleans all her cupboards and drawers weekly.
It's bloody ridiculous. Her home has no warmth or cosiness. She has lovely things but it's sterile. If I have a coffee there as soon as we have finished it she washes, dries and puts away the cups. I think she just can't relax or enjoy her home if someone else is in it.
My house is tidy and clean, not to the point of obsession. I like to tidy up when I'm alone - so much simpler and quicker but not everyone can do that.
For most people who have immaculate homes I think it's because they have tidied up for your visit.

Everything has a place, and is put back in that place when finished with. No clutter.

Little bit each day (I vaguely follow the organised mum method), one load of washing a day, that's then dried, ironed and put away straight away. Again, space in wardrobes so each to put a pile of washing away. I have to rotate my clothes by season as my wardrobe is too small, but put my summer dresses away in autumn to bring out the winter jumpers from the loft.

Encourage kids to keep tidy by demonstrating tidying with them. At 5 and 2 nine are mostly pretty good at putting one toy away before getting the next one out.

Pots straight in the dishwasher. Dishwasher emptied as soon as it's finished.

I house is very clean and tidy. Mostly because I really enjoy organising and cleaning. The main thing to do is keep organised. Everything in my house has a home. All boxes are labelled. I don't have a large house but I have really maximised all my storage spaces.

Once you have that done the cleaning is easy. I never go upstairs without taking something up and visa verses. I clean everything once used, ie kitchen sides as soon as I have cooked. Always have a hot bowl of soapy water and was cups as soon as used.

The children's toys are cleared up at the end of each night and is really the only thing left out.

Mine's apparently very tidy and organised (people comment on it), but not spotless at all (but people say they don't notice that because of the tidiness!).

Tidy and organised I think is down to two things:

• Not too much clutter (regular viscious sort-outs and chucks, and also not keeping anything that we're given that we don't actually want. Also, I scan paperwork and file it electronically now, using Evernote).

• Systems in place for keys, shoes, coats, school stuff, etc etc, so that things have a place to go, and go straight in there (glances sternly at the teenage DC1's scattered belongings!). Also, having little boxes within drawers, so that things can go in the right place rather than all sloshing around together, really helps (and I mean old cardboard boxes, not special fancy ones!).

Cleaner house - I find this really hard, as it wasn't really modelled much for me as a child. What's been revolutionary for us is buying a robot hoover which we can put on every day....I was really unsure whether it would make any difference, but I CANNOT recommend highly enough. And then we''ve actually diarised once a week for changing bedding/cleaning bathroom etc - if we wait until we want to do it, it just never happens.

Weirdly, the robot hoover's help has really made me feel like getting off my arse and doing the other stuff, as I feel less overwhelmed and can get on top of the rest of it more quickly. And it all looks a bit spanglier to start with.

Hope that's of some help!

My mum and dads house is always like this. My mum says the secret is little and often, so spend 20 mins - half an hour tidying every day. Don't let dishes or washing pile up etc. That and she always keeps my sisters door closed so her mess can't be seen I think she is right because whenever I do this my house is never far from "guest ready" but a lot of the time after work I just can't be bothered. I just want to get my pyjamas on, have my dinner and sit on my arse for the rest of the night!

I'm with you OP, my house is always a mess, I just stand staring at it, loathing it with every fibre of my being but seemingly unable to make much of an impact

I do not have this, but I am a step up in cleanliness from how I grew up which is progress of a sorts. However I do have Polish relatives who all have immaculate houses, and I know how it's done.

• Everything has a designated spot so you know where to put it (this is my downfall).
• You tidy as you go, immediately, and don't let things sit, ie a little often and not a lot once a month.
• Women do almost all the work, there is no discussion of division of labour. They are team leaders and organise, execute and delegate (not a lifestyle I accept).

Oh and a robot hoover!!

Marie Kondo

Oh yes - we also have a big plain laundry basket in our hallway into which everything that needs to go back upstairs gets dumped. I then take it upstairs when the kids are getting ready for bed, sort it out into everyone's different stuff, and then dump it in their rooms/my bedroom - they then have to put theirs away.

Main thing is having a DH who's not a man child and is part of it all, and kids who at least get the concept of tidying their stuff away before they get to settle down and have screen time (latter doesn't always quite work, but the principle's in place!).

I live in a tiny house. One kitchen/living room/study downstairs and a bedroom in the attic. DH and I HAVE to keep it tidy or it’s impossible to walk around (or crawl around it upstairs 😂). Tips I have learned:

1. Get rid of EVERYTHING you don’t need
2. Have a rule of one in, one out - new shoes? Chuck the old, ruined pair.
3. Do not buy or accept unnecessary tat clutter
4. Do a job once. I.e. if I’ve opened the mail, I file it/bin it straight away.
5. Have a place for everything.
6. Take your shoes off indoors (soooo much less mopping)

There are probably other things but it’s become ingrained in me now. It really does help having less space. Also it really helps having a DH who does more than his fair share.

Her DH spends his day off practically hoovering the driveway and garden.

I actually considered hoovering the front garden once - so much quicker than sweeping!

I don't think a clean house necessarily has to feel sterile personally - though I'm sure some do. When I've deep cleaned and tidied mine it looks so lovely! Every time I swear that I will keep it in that gorgeous state, but it always slips back.

I'm thinking little and often is the key to this, from what people have said so far. I tend to leave it until it gets really messy and then spend hours cleaning! It's just finding the discipline and motivation to keep on top of it on a daily basis I guess.

My grandma used to refer to it as "clean muck" when we had our toys etc out and I think this is actually really healthy.
^ I like this.

My tips are:

1. Always take something with you when you leave a room. (Eg going to the kitchen? take that mug and bit of rubbish with you.)
2. Use pockets of time. (Eg while the kettle’s boiling wipe down the sides.)
3. Declutter drastically. The less stuff you have the less stuff you’ll be moving about while you’re cleaning and the less stuff you’ll actually have to clean!

Ive accepted that my house will never be perfect until my kids leave home....Once that happens id like to move into a brand new house on my own and it will stay immaculate.

I wouldn't say my house is immaculate but it is clean and clear.

For me a lot of it is about choice of furnishings and decor, to be honest. I prefer a minimalist/Scandi style, which in practice means lots of square things with straight sides and flat surfaces. And very few ornaments -- just a few picture frames here and there, the odd vase and some foolproof houseplants.

So I can dust and vacuum the whole place in about 30 minutes flat. I also have a robot vacuum, which isn't great, but does an acceptable in-between job a couple of times a week.

I outsource some jobs too. I don't iron -- there's a lovely retired man near here who takes in people's ironing so he gets the pleasure. And I have someone in to clean the oven twice a year.

Oh and I use glass cleaner on the bathroom fixtures (sink, loo, bath etc) -- seems to keep them shiny and dust-free a bit longer somehow.

Not having clutter. I'm ruthless about it.

I also outsource - ironing, washing and drying bedding and towels. I do all the washing on one day a week, as soon as it's dry it goes away. The kids clothes get separated into piles and they have to put their own things away.