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Housekeeping

Find cleaning advice from other Mumsnetters on our Housekeeping forum.

To those of you that live in a show home....

97 replies

Mummy2022FT · 02/07/2023 13:18

Maybe not as extreme as a 'show home' but If your home is presentable and you actually maintain it (the hardest thing of all) how do you do it? What are your tips/routine?

OP posts:
ThisIsACoolUserName · 03/07/2023 06:19

ClymYeobright · 02/07/2023 23:41

Well, that’s what his thread suggests, to be honest. Not that untidy people are creative and interesting, but that people (by which I mean women) who think cleanliness is next to godliness (or secular equivalent), are clenched, joyless types who squeegee the shower cubicle while showering, only let their children eat in a specified part of one room, prune their belongings so there’s no ‘clutter’, and pride themselves on depressing little maxims like ‘Never go up or down stairs without carrying something to return to its place.’

And claiming with faux envy that they’d adore to be the relaxed type, who could ‘sit in clutter and mess’, but unfortunately their own standards are just too high. That’s the housekeeping equivalent of ‘Oh, I wish I was as brave as you about my appearance — unfortunately, I just can’t face the day without a full blowdry, makeup and a mani-pedi!’

I'd absolutely hate to sit in clutter and mess personally.

And keeping on top of the house using the 'little and often' approach - never giving over massive chunks of time to do so - frees me up to enjoy my downtime, hobbies and social life.

ThisIsACoolUserName · 03/07/2023 06:24

Franticbutterfly · 02/07/2023 23:25

I used to live in a show home and would spend 35 hours a week cleaning and cooking so that everything was totally perfect, and you know what? It was a waste of time. I was doing all of that because I had nothing more interesting to focus on. These days I have lots more to think about and can't/don't want to obsess over the cleaning. Frankly there is more to life than floors you could eat your dinner off!

To me, the posts on here support your outlook.
I don't think anyone has said they spend hours a day cleaning, have they?
Most posters are saying 'little and often' gets the job done, thereby removing the burden of housework.

boboshmobo · 03/07/2023 06:24

Tidy all the time and clean once a week at least completely .

It's tiresome but I don't want a messy dirty house .

twoontheway23 · 03/07/2023 06:36

Honestly you have to tidy all the time. I have a naturally messy DH and a toddler but I find mess in the house sensory overwhelming so I tidy and "reset" rooms to how they should look with everything in their place once they've been used. Never go to bed leaving things untidy.

It does take work but it's important for me as a messy house really seems to affect my mental health.

bussteward · 03/07/2023 08:12

ClymYeobright · 02/07/2023 23:41

Well, that’s what his thread suggests, to be honest. Not that untidy people are creative and interesting, but that people (by which I mean women) who think cleanliness is next to godliness (or secular equivalent), are clenched, joyless types who squeegee the shower cubicle while showering, only let their children eat in a specified part of one room, prune their belongings so there’s no ‘clutter’, and pride themselves on depressing little maxims like ‘Never go up or down stairs without carrying something to return to its place.’

And claiming with faux envy that they’d adore to be the relaxed type, who could ‘sit in clutter and mess’, but unfortunately their own standards are just too high. That’s the housekeeping equivalent of ‘Oh, I wish I was as brave as you about my appearance — unfortunately, I just can’t face the day without a full blowdry, makeup and a mani-pedi!’

I think that’s unfair, actually.

Pruning possessions so there’s no clutter is vital for my mental health. Being surrounded by mess makes me feel depressed and fatigued; and thus clenched and joyless. It genuinely saps me of energy.

No one could accuse me of having a clean home right now, and my daughter eats her tea under the table pretending to be a cat quite often, but stuff everywhere clutters my brain. I actually do a creative job for a living! And I much prefer to spend my time doing that or creative things like gardening, painting, baking, than tidying, but visual clutter weighs as heavily as the mental load.

Clutter has been shown to affect stress levels and anxiety in women, tied to the fact women tend to carry the burden of mental load more than men. Tidying isn’t about being an uptight joyless harridan, it’s literally trying to clear your mind. I hate tidying. I hate cleaning. But I like a tidy and clean home so I race round doing it as fast as possible and part of that is having less stuff. 🤷‍♀️

Batalax · 03/07/2023 08:18

When my adult kids aren’t around, it’s easy.

So the obvious solution to me is get the kids adopted.

Not a helpful solution I know.

user1497207191 · 03/07/2023 08:30

I "just do it"! We put things away when we've used them, clean/wipe any mess as soon as it happens, wash up pans etc after every meal and cutlery/crockery in washing machine. Clothes get washed/ironed regularly (we don't leave it all to pile up that needs a few hours to do). Quick run round with the vacuum/duster every few days. If we've had a party or entertaining, everything put away and room vacuumed before we go to bed. Big thing is that I got Hubbie and son well trained right from the beginning to clean/tidy after themselves and help me out when I ask, such as bringing in the washing or emptying the dishwasher. I decided I wouldn't be a martyr for them to be lazy slobs and nip it in the bud if they start leaving things around or being messy.

Little and often is the answer. There's no way I could live in a disorganised untidy mess day to day and then have to spend a day catching up with the household chores. Far more efficient to keep up with it and if you do things as you go, you really don't need to lose much time at all. I.e. whenever any of us go upstairs, it's automatic to take stuff up with us, which saves special journeys to return clothes/bedding etc.

We eat mostly on the dining table, so that means food mess etc is limited to one room - no crumbs etc in the lounge or bedrooms and definitely no manky plates under son's bed etc!

"A place for everything and everything in it's place" means less time wasted trying to find things and means hubby and son are easier to "train" to put stuff away. I'm not that bothered about them actually helping clean the house - I'm happy that they don't make things worse by leaving things out, not clearing up their mess etc.

Elevenerife · 03/07/2023 08:33

Oblomov23 · 02/07/2023 13:32

It's really easy. I'm very organised naturally, I tidy as I go. A quick clean and a quick eufy round the floors, and it looks fine. It's not spotless, it could even do with a dust, but it's presentable and if someone popped in now, I wouldn't cringe.

In fact I've got literally nothing to do for the next 4 hours till I go out with 2 friends for their birthday curry. I always have loads of free time, because I just get all jobs, all washing and ironing done, ages ago.

I have to ask do you have kids and work full time? A partner who contributes (to the mess and to the tidying?)

I think there are more factors that organisation that are important.

Xenia · 03/07/2023 10:25

If soeone is happy messy or happy tidy that's both fine. It's only an issue if a husband or wife hates how the other is or if it is an extreme - hands bleeding from OCD bleach application or other extreme - council wanting to send in exterminators because of extreme hoarding.

My mother liked her stuff and things out on the side and all sorts and my father in this respect was like I am - clear surfaces, not much left out. Neither was wrong or right and it doesn't matter. Just because everything for me needs to be put away doesn't mean I am some sort of God of perfection - it is just that I like it that way.

However if you don't like how things are, people who are tidy can probably give tips. Like many on here I also put things away whenever I go into a room and something is out of place so it is continuously kept fairly tidy - sons came in from before work gym (both working from home today - young adults) and I put both their shoes in the hallway away on the shoe rack. Obviously they are old enough to do it themselves but it takes 2 seconds and keeps me happy.

Jazzyjezzabelle · 03/07/2023 10:28

Franticbutterfly · 02/07/2023 23:25

I used to live in a show home and would spend 35 hours a week cleaning and cooking so that everything was totally perfect, and you know what? It was a waste of time. I was doing all of that because I had nothing more interesting to focus on. These days I have lots more to think about and can't/don't want to obsess over the cleaning. Frankly there is more to life than floors you could eat your dinner off!

I think that’s very different to living in a show home/clean and tidy home. 35 hours a week is a lot unless you lived in downtown abbey

Calloffruity · 03/07/2023 10:29

Elevenerife · 03/07/2023 08:33

I have to ask do you have kids and work full time? A partner who contributes (to the mess and to the tidying?)

I think there are more factors that organisation that are important.

I agree this is true.

Our house is always clean and tidy despite me not being a domesticated goddess by any stretch of the imagination.

However, the house is small, we only have one child, I WFH part time and DH is very tidy/organised, as well as pulling his weight when he's not at work.

I do little and often which keeps it ticking over nicely but I'm under no illusion that my circumstances are easy for that.

Badbadbunny · 03/07/2023 10:56

We are very minimalistic and have the bare minimum of furniture, ornaments, etc., which makes cleaning much easier/quicker, we just have "special" things out on display, not random crap bought from tacky souvenir shops! Dusting and wiping surfaces is so much quicker when you've less to move around. Fewer pictures etc means less dusting of them, fewer places for cobwebs etc.

Basically nothing is left out, we have drawers/cupboards for particular things, i.e. a stationery drawer where we put all pens, sellotape, blutack, drawing pins, notebooks, etc., which isn't just tidy, it saves a shed load of time looking for things. When our son was small we had loads of big plastic boxes, toy cars in one, brio trains in another, craft stuff in another, etc., and we'd put everything back in the right box and stack the boxes at the end of each day, nothing left out on the carpet! That meant it was quick and easy to vacuum! We have a shoe rack and coat cupboard in the front porch so outdoor stuff doesn't come into the house meaning less dirt on the floors, less "stuff" cluttering up the house, we don't have coats flung on the back of chairs etc.

Dirty/worn clothes are put in the washing basket, so I don't need to go around trying to find things/work out what needs washing. We each have virtually identical wardrobes and drawer units in bedrooms, which I standardised so that underwear is in the same drawer in our respective chests of drawers, as are socks, T shirts, swimwear, shorts, sports wear, etc. "Best/Formal" clothes are in the left side of each wardrobe, work/school in the middle, and casual/indoor at the right side of each clothes rail. That means OH and DS can help by putting washed/ironed stuff away for us all, not just themselves, as they know roughly where to put things.

Two vacuums, one upstairs, one downstairs, makes a massive difference and makes it easier to have a quick vacuum around when there are a few "bits" on the carpets, much quicker/easier than having to go upstairs/downstairs to fetch the vacuum.

It's all a matter of being organised and efficient. Obviously having a compliant/helpful partner and child make things easier too, but my OH would never have become my OH if he was an untidy sloth and would certainly have not got close enough to me to father any child of mine if he was unclean or lazy. Son has also turned out to be clean and tidy - he's just done his 3 years at Uni, and always did his own laundry regularly, including bedding, etc., and whenever we've been to see him, his room has been spotless and well organised (inc clothing in order on the rail in his wardrobe!). He must be one of the few students who bring his clothes/bedding home at the end of the year freshly washed and ironed ready for me to put away! I hear horror stories of other students bringing home bin bags full of dirty laundry - urgh!

YellowMonday · 03/07/2023 12:05

My best tip - don't wear outdoor shoes inside. I have indoor shoes which I only wear inside, really reduces the dirt/rubbish that you bring in.

I also agree with a number of poster, you need a routine and rota for cleaning.

Some of what I do... My home isn't huge, so I luckily just need to maintain during the week, everything has its place, and I do my floors (vacuum/mop), shower, toilet, & dust every Saturday morning. Beds clean sheets/covers every Sunday morning.

Fortnightly I also clean my kitchen cabinets and windows.

The last Sunday I do a deep clean.

It may sound a lot, but honestly because I keep on top of it, it's not too bad. I would rather do a couple of hours on average spread over a week vs losing an entire day. I also can't sleep if my place is messy, so that helps.

Xenia · 03/07/2023 13:24

Good tips here. My shoes for the garden are in the garage and I always go out through that so they never reach the house to make a mess.

ThursdayFreedom · 04/07/2023 13:55

ASGIRC · 02/07/2023 22:13

The only thing that I let build up a little bit is the clothes at the bottom of the bed.

The kitchen, for instance, I tidy as I go. If Im cooking, I dont start eating until all pots and pans are washed and the leftover food is in tupperwares cooling.
Then after dinner, I put the dishes in the dishwasher.

Thats also when I clean the stove, if thats needed.

I make the bed every day. And if I have shoes from the previous day, I just put them on the shoe rack.

Even the clothes, if I have a bit of time when Im getting dressed (ie, Im not absolutely rushing out the door), Ill put some things away, like tops go in the drawer (after making sure they can be used again, if not, they go in the wash basket), trousers get hung, etc.

Today I was in a bit of a rush, so I only did the tops, and put one pair of trousers in the wash basket, and one hoodie in its drawer, leaving another paid of trousers and 2 cardigans left to hang, probably tomorrow!

@ASGIRC

Did you know that putting worn clothes back in wardrobes & drawers etc attracts moths?

ASGIRC · 04/07/2023 14:11

ThursdayFreedom · 04/07/2023 13:55

@ASGIRC

Did you know that putting worn clothes back in wardrobes & drawers etc attracts moths?

Cant say that thats a problem I usually have.
Not saying it isnt a thing, but its not been a problem for me.
And Im 100% not gonna wash every item of clothing after wearing it once!

Hippyhippybake · 04/07/2023 14:15

I tidy as I go and I have 2 cordless Dysons, one upstairs and one downstairs. Means I can hoover a room in a few minutes.

Holly03 · 09/07/2023 16:22

Maireas · 02/07/2023 17:31

Don't you need bedside tables? A chair to put clothes on? A chest of drawers?

No I have a floor lamp that offers some light near my dressing table and my clothes get put away straight away so I don’t need a chair. I don’t use drawers as my wardrobe is a 3 drawer wardrobe and I have a capsule wardrobe

LennyBalls · 09/07/2023 16:26

Unfortunately I can't sit too long as my back and legs start hurting so I am always up pottering

KohlaParasaurus · 09/07/2023 16:50

My parents are in their eighties and keep their house tidy and gleaming. Everything is put away, beds are always made, the kitchen is cleared up after every meal, they have a cleaner once a week, and between times they hoover downstairs most days and upstairs at least once. Dad does a task or two in the garden every day if the weather permits. Mess just isn't allowed to settle. They must have been stressed out of their heads when they had children at home.

My oldest daughter and her husband are much the same and when we visit they will clean and tidy their already clean and tidy flat around us.

ForTheSakeOfThePenguin · 09/07/2023 16:53

How do I manage it to keep it like a show home..,

  1. Tidy up the room before you leave it… everytime!

  2. if any chore takes less than 2 minutes do it straightaway as they come.

  3. Trust no guests will look under the beds and hopefully, not under/behind the sofas either,

DustyLee123 · 09/07/2023 16:54

Tidy as you go at all times, and dont have lots of crap so that you don’t have to tidy it or dust it.

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