If I did all the cleaning that I am supposed to do every day/week I would never get time to even have a glass of water - in other words...

[rey]

how do you do it?

Do you own a mansion?

You must be doing too much/too often.

I think the people who have tidy houses are not mumsnetters! we're to busy here to do anything more than the minimum.

'I am supposed to' - who are we talking about? you mum/mil got hugh expectations?

It's just me no pressure from anyone, except I suppose I try to have a clean tidy house like my friends. I know they do have clean tidy homes because (I know this is really bad but) I started going round to a few homes unexpectedly to see if they really are show homes and they were . So I have been trying to keep my home pristine but I can't manage it every week and so wondering where I am going wrong or should that be ? Anyway, as a result I have tried really hard and I can prove it - I hardly ever go on mumsnet anymore!

Oh and no not a mansion very far from it in fact.

There's more to life than housework! I keep the bits people see in a reasonable state, the rest gets done in rotation when I get time. Kids make a mess, I can't see why anyone would expect something different. May be the people you visit have secret cleaners that visit in the middle of the night! Like a cleaning fairy!

slattern
pick up a duster

I think there are lots of things we might regret on our deathbeds', but I can't see anyone saying "Oh I wish I'd kept a tidier house"

As long as the kitchen and loo are reasonably clean and there's milk in the fidge for a cuppa, a house is always fit for visitors imo.

I felt like this, but found fly thread and it changed my life - god I sound like a born again cleaner.

No really - it is all about small chuncks and managable stuff. It becomes a routine and it works for me.

Give it a try - they are not all strange - like me

Depends what you mean - supposed to do.

I have a clean tidy house almost all the time despite working 3 days a week. I hate it if it gets really messy or is in need of a hoover, etc.

I do certain things each day, and DH pitches in too. By doing a litte bit often I manage to keep on top of it.

But I don't make myself extra unnecssary work - you know, like insisting my child has clean clothes every day, hoovering every day, washing bedding weekly, washing windows too often, etc.

perpeptualworrier - you are SO RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!

mines pretty messy and I do about 1-2 hours a day. I figure when all the kids leave home it can be show home spotless then. Mainly just like the kitchen clean (ish)

I clean the bits I can see.

And look away a lot.

Yes stripey.

I clean the bits I can see.

But then I lost my glasses 2 years ago and haven't replaced them...

Actually this is a lie, I don't clean anything.

Rey, your dropping-in experiment is missing a control. Try dropping in on a few shtholes and you will find that, yes indeed, they are still shtholes whether or not you give notice of you arriving or not.

Well you know, behind the fridge is just not somewhere I give a feck about. Same for on the top of things that I can't reach, under things I never move anyway, and so on.

[slattern]