"Little and often" is actually quite a lot of time and work?

[oldsprouts]

I have a smallish house and it is just me and DH here. I am the sort of person who really needs to keep on top of the housework and clutter as if it gets too bad I feel really overwhelmed and start procrastinating and when the house is unclean and messy its just bad for my mental health as I feel like I need to get the house sorted before I can do anything else but I feel so overwhelmed I just can't take action.

Currently though I am on top of things and the house is ticking over. However it feels like it still takes a long time to do all the daily chores that need doing besides cooking so things like wiping down the countertops after dinner (and sometimes after lunch too), cleaning the hob, the sink, round the bins, emptying bins if need be, sorting recycling, sweeping the floor, spot cleaning the floor, sorting washings, putting washing away, giving the bathroom a quick wipe down and squeegeeing the tiles after a shower (partly to reduce mould), making beds, resetting rooms when going to bed, washing up cups, general squaring up, organising and decluttering as I go. It all takes hours work every day and that is not even counting a proper clean of a room. It is little and often and it does mean I keep momentum and don't get that overwhelmed feeling but little and often is also quite a lot of work and time if I am honest!

Does anyone else find this?

Did I miss people wiping inside their windows daily? Ours are wet in the morning so have to to stop mould, does nobody else have to do this?

What do you mean over eating? I am not eating too much if that's what you mean.

No I am not over estimating the time I take, I will do a drawer window at any time if I see it needs doing.

@stayathomer I don't get condensation in my house unless I use my humidifier which I do in winter (that's another time consuming thing to clean)! I usually have my windows open year round but if I have any condensation due to the humidifer I use the karcher to suck it up then I polish with a cloth.

How about an air purifier to pull dust out of the air?

I feel the same @oldsprouts. Just me, DH, and 3 pets. To keep on top of it definitely takes a couple of hours a day. I'm not very good at keeping on top of it though!

But the question is, why are you cleaning inside of cupboards and drawers all the time ? That's an annual job at best.
Why are you cleaning on top of your wall cupboards ? That's a 'pre-moving house' job.
I don't think I've dusted a skirting board in my life. When I vacuum, I will raise the nozzle along the top of any bits that are exposed and look as if they need it, but it's hardly 'a job'.
I'll wipe the kitchen surface as I go along, if something is spilled. It's not something that is even really 'a job'.
I'll empty the dishwasher whilst waiting for the kettle to boil.

No, I find I only spend a few minutes a day on chores in the week and a couple of hours over the weekend.

Have you looked at TOMM?

i have 3 kids and it doesn’t take me anywhere near how long as it does you

I meant over estimating.

None of the jobs you listed should take hours a day.

Op people doing it quicker than you does not mean they’re not doing it thoroughly or don’t have as high standards as you. I can keep my house spotless fairly easily, and that’s with a lot of children and a lot of pets. Are you particularly messy? You keep mentioning having to declutter and organise things all the time. I spent zero amount of time having to declutter and organise, except perhaps once or twice a year if I’m updating a room or cleaning out the children’s wardrobes. Everything has a place and that’s where it’s kept. If things are taking you so much longer to get clean then I can only imagine they’re getting very dirty in the first place?

There are five of us, two cats and a dog. I probably do the most but everyone does some chores here and there. I can't imagine what I'd possibly do housework wise that would take hours a day, and I wouldn't have the time to do that anyway.

@NewName24 I don't have a dishwasher. I know that the tops of the cupboards in the kitchen get a kind of dusty, greasy layer on them so I want to clean it off regularly. We are vegetarians and don't fry much and use and extractor but its is there so I need to clean it.

I do hoover my skirting but sometimes I also dust it with a kind of feather duster thing I have except it is synthetic and I also will damp dust them i.e. give them a proper clean now and again.

I can see now I am just doing more than most people so it takes longer.

All houses are different.

Live for any length of time in anyone elses' house and you soon see their everyday chores are different.
Bit weird really.

For instance. Laundry in this house barely takes any time.
DH was manual. Not shirts to iron for work etc.
Plus the layout of the house means everything needed for laundry is only a few steps away from each other.

Someone elses' house - was talking to someone - house on 4 levels with washing machine in basement. No thanks!

I feel I work pretty quickly and from what I am hearing other say they do it is quite clear I am doing a good bit more than others and probably do have higher standards.

I am the same everything has a place, even drawers are all organsied.

"If things are taking you so much longer to get clean then I can only imagine they’re getting very dirty in the first place?"

Nice attempt at a dig there, my house is not and is never dirty!

Types of flooring are different.
Number and sizes of rooms.
How much cooking.
How big are windows. Yada yada.

I hardly ever clean in cupboards and drawers, wash windows or clean under furniture.

if you’ve got high standards I guess you have to accept it takes a lot of time!

@lightand That is a good point, each house is different!

Yes it is fucking relentless

What is "resetting rooms when going to bed"?

If you have to buff dry after damp dusting, you're probably washing rather than damp dusting.

Top of kitchen cupboards, if you really must, cover with newspaper and then just change the paper.

Do you have a lot of 'stuff' - ornaments, things out on surfaces? Cleaning takes a lot longer if you have to move things rather than swiping a cloth over a clear surface.

I get it op! I have diagnosed ocd and for me
that means I clean so thoroughly but have an issue with order and things have to be perfect and that is with me being medicated. I am not a germophobe at all but have a ridiculous amount of cleaning products. Add in ADHD and fibromyalgia and I’m fighting between wanting to clean and wanting to rest.
we live in a 30 year old 3 bed semi which isn’t big at all but it takes me way longer than 2.5 hours to clean the house, even before my fibromyalgia started. I can spend that deep cleaning my kitchen.

thing is op that we’ve all got different size houses and different size families. You do what works
for you, it’s ok to be thorough and it’s ok for others to be quicker than us!

@NoBinturongsHereMate I don't have a lot of objects as I don't like clutter. I don't like the idea of newspaper on my cupboards but perhaps I could use something else.

Resetting a room just means having it in order so in the living room, squaring up the sofa, plumping cushions ( cushions and the sofa last longer and keep their shape this way), folding blankets etc. With the kitchen it means rinsing cups and plates, putting things away. Just normal stuff.

I use a damp well rung out cloth but if I don't dry down the surface I can see water marks.

I'm wondering how much stuff you have too?

My house is always clean and organized. It doesn't take long because there's not much to do.

Good point.

Might you have OCD?

But even that shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes a night.