If you don't have a cleaner...

[curiousxxx]

...how long per day do you spend cleaning, on average?

I'm asking because it feels as though I can never fully keep on top of things even when I feel I clean all the time!

I should say we have three small children though!

About 15 minutes. DH does about half an hour a day. I do a bit of a longer clean of the bathroom on Saturdays.

This doesn’t include bigger jobs that get done less regularly, eg DH is defrosting the freezer this weekend as its getting quite icy and he’ll probably give the fridge a clean at the same time.

@SickAndTiredAgain

About 15 minutes. DH does about half an hour a day. I do a bit of a longer clean of the bathroom on Saturdays.

This doesn’t include bigger jobs that get done less regularly, eg DH is defrosting the freezer this weekend as its getting quite icy and he’ll probably give the fridge a clean at the same time.

Ahh your husband sounds great .!!!!

I felt like this but I've been loosely following the organised mum method for the last couple of months and it's been excellent. Mon-Thur 30 mins per day, Friday 45mins and then 5/10 mins Saturday and Sunday just to do basic things. The longer you do it for, the better the house gets/ easier it is to clean and I'm at the point now where it's always looking nice and presentable. I've stopped feeling like I spend all my time cleaning and no longer panic when I have visitors coming!

An hour most days, 5/6 on Friday.

@curiousxxx it used to be more even but I’m 29 weeks pregnant and have quite bad SPD so some things are too painful for me - hoovering seems to really aggravate it for example. So I’m doing more wiping down surfaces, sinks, laundry and he’s hoovering/mopping, going up and down stairs tidying things away etc.

But I’ll be honest, with a toddler we generally settle for a clean house, and have half given up on it being tidy. And I’m sure when DD2 arrives in May we’ll slip further!

The "baseline" you're working off of is really important when it comes to keeping your house clean. If your home is cluttered and filled with useless tat, it's like shoveling sand against the tide.

Do you have too much stuff?

Are you including tidying? I have been vaguely following the organised mum method (Instagram). I can't keep up with it though! What I seem to actually do is, alternate between cleaning the toilets and basins or vacuuming the basin living areas every other day, one load of washing a day, plus then 20mins more cleaning doing rooms in a rota. Not much cleaning at the weekend. Starts well on a Monday, which is living room day, Tuesday bedroom day is good, Wednesday do the bathroom well, Thursday is my kitchen day and doesn't seem to happen, Friday focus doesn't seem to happen. I reckon including tidying I do the best part of an hour Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, less on Thursday and Friday, less still over the weekend. Repeat.

I think these threads always have a different idea of what 'cleaning' is.

I do have a cleaner now, but have had the previous 30 odd years without.
I have always 'done things as I go along' ..... so rarely "clean the kitchen" as I wipe things as I spill them, or use the long handled dustpan and brush n the kitchen to clear crumbs as I see them. I keep a cloth and spray in the bathroom and give it a wipe round when I see things.
Then vacuum when it looks like it needs it.
So I don't ever spend 30mins thinking "I must clean".

Maybe half an hour a day.

About 2 hours a day, maybe more, then 2 full days of cleaning

About an hour a day, early in the morning before work. This includes everything. So every day jobs like hanging out washing and emptying dishwasher, but also the bigger jobs like bed changing and vacuuming. Just do something different each day. Then I go to work. 😴

@Workinghardeveryday

About 2 hours a day, maybe more, then 2 full days of cleaning

How? Why?

I think theres truth in the saying that ‘cleaning a house with kids in is like being brushing your teeth while eating cookies’

No kids living here, I can either blitz my 2 bed 2 bath house in 3.5 hours, or I do several chunks of around 45 min a few times a week and do eg kitchen 1 day, bedrooms another, living room another, it just depends on what I’m doing and if I’m home with free time I’m or not on the weekends

Probably about an hour a day, occasionally two. I try my best to tidy as I go etc but it does feel never ending some days. I also feel like no matter how long I spend cleaning the kitchen it's always in a mess a couple of hours later.

About an hour including laundry but not including cleaning up after cooking. I don't have any children at home during the day though.

DH would like me to get a cleaner but I don't see how it would make much difference.

@BeanStew22 First time I've heard that saying and it definitely rings true 😂

It takes me an hour a day to do the dishes never mind the 100 other things that need doing, how do people to less than that a day?

Posted too soon - I think with 3 kids (& a 3-4 bed house?) it’s probably a good 5 hours or more

• several loads of laundry a week
• daily dishes, wipe up & kitchen/dining sweep up
• bathrooms need attention a couple of times a week
• tidying
• hoovering 1/2/3 x a week

Etc

My 1 friend with 3 young kids and a v clean house says she never stops and I believe her!!

I think it’s actually time efficient to clean a smaller house in 1 go vs chunks, but with a bigger house & kids it’s too much

In your case, I’d suggest a few routine times on the day for : dishes/laundry/quick swipe round basically every day so it never gets too crazy, then do a few ‘chunks’ on different days

I do;
Monday- kitchen & utility
Tuesday- bathrooms
Wednesday- off
Thursday- bedrooms
Friday- living room

And laundry /catch up cleaning sat morning
It’s a lot harder to fit in if work FT outside home of course

It entirely depends on the size of the house and the number and type of people living in it. We have a 5 bed large detached both working full time with 4 kids. We have a cleaner 15 hours a week and I still do 30 min a day.

A couple of hours most days, a little less on Saturday and a little more on Sunday but if I miss a day it doesn't bother me.

I feel the same as @Kite22 , since having kids I’ve got into the routine of doing bits when I can. Wipe down and pick up as I go.
I’ve taken to doing one wash a day because I find it less overwhelming to put the small loads away and I also wash dishes as I go.
If I’m stuck on a call then I can do the dusting and pottering around.

Husband does the cooking and hoovering in the evenings and we tidy up together before we settle down.

Tidying: hard to quantify as i feel like i'm doing it all the time, moving toys, shoes, discarded socks, empty cups around the place. I find the basket method works well: basically sweeping the whole house starting in the kitchen with an empty laundry basket and in each room I put anything that doesnt belong there in the basket, or put away anything from the basket that I have picked up in a previous room. It doesn't take long.

Actual 'cloth in hand' cleaning: maybe 30 mins to an hour but not all in one go. I try to confine the kids to the kitchen and playroom as much as possible to limit the impact on otherwise acceptable rooms.

How are people spending a couple of hours a day on housework?! What are you doing??

In all honesty less than 15 mins between us, I bleach the loo and wipe down the worktops with antibac daily, on a weekday we try to bother to hoover but doesn't always happen

3 small children here too. I'd say at least an hour a day, sometimes more.

This includes washing up, wiping the kitchen after meals, gathering laundry and putting it on, sorting out washing, hoovering 1-2 rooms a day, putting toys away (over and over and over again!). It's quite depressing when I list it all out. I work 4 days a week, DH full-time (he helps out a bit with meals during the week and tidies at weekends). On my work days I let things slide a bit though.