"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?

2+ hours per day for a small house with two adults is excessive.
My DD has diagnosed OCD and doesn't clean that much, it sounds like you're giving yourself work; 3 cooked meals per day isnt necessary.
Even when I had 4DC at home I had a quick whizz round morning and maybe 30/45mins in evening and my house was always clean and tidy.

I'm not very house-proud, but I do all the things you listed every day without feeling like they take any time at all. I think I do them automatically. Some of them I do in the morning just to get active - make the bed and really shake out the duvet to give my arms a workout, do squats and bends when emptying the dishwasher, punch the sofa cushions for some upper arm toning. I think I quite enjoy the physicality of it because I wfh in quite a sedentary job.

I wipe kitchen surfaces incessantly. I hate crumbs and smears, so the counters are always clean. My friend's husband teases me because I automatically wipe her surfaces without thinking when I'm round at her house (she doesn't mind!)

If you can get into the habit of doing this stuff while thinking of something else, or thinking of it as a light mini workout, it feels more pleasurable.

I'm intrigued - how is it a 12 room house if only 3 are bedrooms? (sorry for derailing the thread.)

Housekeeping is an actual job if you do it well. I reckon I spend about 2 hours per day on cooking, shopping, laundry cleaning. House usually a bit of a grubby less and crap dinners though: If I ‘kept’ house well it would easily be 8 hours a day.

Lining paper on top of the cupboards
Silicone fridge liners
Hoover out drawers

Mine is 2 bed, 2 bathrooms, open plan living and kitchen and to get it decent takes me around 2-3hrs (I don't do one of the bedrooms as it's my gym/wardrobe!)

Usually start at the top and work down and do floors and hoover last. Hoover has a brush attachment so I do skirting boards with that

Cupboards and drawers get done when I have a burst of spring cleaning which I think last happened in covid. Turns out it wasn't time I was lacking as I shielded for months and only managed to play rollercoaster tycoon rather than sort cupboards but...

I hate housekeeping. I find it a constant battle. It builds up within a day or two and I'm mainly a one woman show as my husband is great in some ways but also shite at keeping house..he does clean up after the meals though as i do all the cooking. I especially loathe laundry. I'm drowning in it. I dont understand where all the clutter comes from as i dont buy a lot of crap. Once it builds up I cant cope and just ignore it. I'm not one of those people who gets a kick from cleaning the house. I just simply hate it.

@Josette77 But its not just that is it? You asked about the room resetting, that is just one part of the evening routine.

I do not have OCD, not even close, my SIL has it mildly and is on medication for it so I know how it goes.

I don't always cook breakfast but really healthy, whole food is top priority for us, I know not everyone cares about that as much but I do.

I agree I am probably giving myself extra work so I need to see if I can comfortably cut down on cleaning.

But what people are trying to explain to you is "room resetting" is something you have made up as a chore.
In a minute, I'm off to bed. As I pass that cushion over there, that has been left squashed, I will give it a shake. It might add one second on to my journey out of the room. It isn't "a job" for the rest of the population.

You are making things into big jobs that just needn't be.
Like, as I walk round the bed in the morning to leave the room, I give the quilt a bit of a shake to straighten it out. It just isn't "a job". It's what you do as you pass something that's not straight.

@NewName24
has explained it well, basic everyday things ie shaking a. cushion, isn't a 'job' that has to be done or allocated as a chore.
What will happen if you go to bed without resetting a room?
Learn to chill out.

One thing I would suggest is batch cooking if you have enough freezer room. This way every so often there aren't as many pots and pans to wash up ( if you don't have a dishwasher. ) A non cooked lunch or breakfast can still be healthy . We also care about healthy food , but it doesn't have to be cooked.

The cushions on my sofas go all over the place but I wouldn't delay going to bed to sort them out . That's a job for tomorrow. In this little house I deliberately got the top kitchen cupboards to reach the ceiling as I do know they get fairly icky at times , but that would be a 2 - 3 times a year job for me not all the time. Can you get someone in to put a pelmet type thing above your top cupboards so there is no horizontal space for dust / grease to collect It could look neat if painted same as walls or similar to cupboards. Hoovering the crumbs out of pan drawers or cutlery drawers is as and when. Fridge is cleaned about once a month properly unless spillage etc other wise a quick wipe round. Skirting boards cleaned properly 2 x a year , otherwise hoovered where dust. I am not sure microwave needs cleaning daily ( depending on what has been in it)

I've put a squeegee thing in both our showers and who ever uses it squeegees it before they get out . Basin gets done whilst Mr electric toothbrush is going unless I am reading my kindle , in which case next time - it ends up OK .

The daily chores I do are making sure kitchen neat and tidy before going to bed , dishwasher stacked and just generally no detritus ie litter etc left about. . Morning jobs are mopping kitchen floor and hoovering when necessary sitting room.

Behold my slovenly ways !

We only clean the microwave is there's a spill. Everything that goes in there is covered, so no splattering. Every sink has a cloth and gets a rough wipe after each use - so never needs a full clean.

Yes it's friggin relentless and the house never actually looks clean

You sound really sensible, @BasiliskStare

Getting rid of stuff helps.

I think the house makes a big difference. Some houses just need more cleaning or just take a lot more work to feel clean. Things like paint colour, lighting, etc make a big difference.

Your chore list is your choice OP. If you're happy with sacrificing a significant amount of time to clean / tidy daily then so be it.

My standards sound much lower than yours, my choice, no shame.

I don't have enough hours in the day to do everything I need or want to do. Cleaning isn't a priority beyond keeping things ticking over.

Outside of work and parenting I'd rather do some craft, have a friend pop over for a chat, have a swim, take the dog for a long walk, read, or relax.

Maybe I'm a slattern. But I'm happy with my choices.

What stands out to me is that you mentioned several times buffing things dry. You're not damp dusting, you're washing things down and you're being picky about there being water marks afterwards. I found a cleaning spray I'm not allergic to, I spray it on the cloth just a couple of squirts then do an area eg a table top or a window sill. No excessive amount of water and no buffing things dry. This task is done weekly, including kitchen counter, which if you use a plate or chopping board to prepare things the counter doesn't really get dirty.

I suspect you're cleaning too often as well as too thoroughly. I clean weekly everything then it's all left until next week, other than rinsing the bath after use (and I do mean rinsing, with the shower head, no sprays etc and no buffing it dry!) and cleaning the sink after I've washed up (with the remains of the fairy liquid on the washing up sponge, no buffing it dry, water marks don't harm anyone). I use the tooth mug to rinse the bathroom sink round after use, takes about 5 seconds. Bath and sink cleaned properly weekly.

Toilet cleaned weekly, using disposable wipes and bleach/loo brush.

Skirtings hoovered if necessary at the same time as the room is done, which is once weekly.

Bedding/towels changed for fresh ones weekly.

Hard floors swept and mopped weekly, it air dries.

Windows are thrown open each morning for minimum half hour but usually a lot longer, any condensation on them evaporates in the breeze. If I'm in a hurry and airing is minimal I'll take paper towel round and dry them with that, takes 5min whole house.

Washing up done nightly.

Laundry daily if necessary, almost nothing is ironed.

Cleaning under furniture/appliances is done when the thing is dead and a new one has been ordered. It'll be vacuumed or swept and mopped as appropriate after one is removed and before new one is in place. That's it.

Wiping on top of cupboards is a spring cleaning job, so annually. Nothing is stored up there so it takes minutes. Even if it's greasy from cooking, Brillo pad and soapy water does it in minutes, damp sponge to remove the excess water and leave to air dry.

Cleaning inside cupboard is spring cleaning too and I'll run the food stores right down so there's almost nothing to remove/replace. Then do an extra big shop to restock after.

Windows cleaned annually unless I can see a smudge, then it'll be wiped with the same cloth/spray I'm wiping everything else with. Yes it leaves a minor smear, who cares, it's clean.

What does take ages is if people in the home don't tidy up after themselves so you're constantly picking up after everyone. That can take hours per week (I timed it one week, then let rip about their selfishness).

Do you work? I couldn't fit 3x home cooking sessions and multiple hours of housework every day in around a full working day. Maybe you need to take up a hobby, as it looks like this is all expanding to take up any room in your week.

My last day off I wanted to blast the house but didn't want to spend too long in each room so I set a 15min timer. I was shocked at how much can be done in 15mins in each room.

Maybe restrict yourself to that one day for each room as a bit of an experiment.

@LaurieStrode Thank you Laurie. Another way of looking at it is I am just enabling my laziness. Ha ha . I do like a clean and tidy house but I do hold with "never let the perfect stand in the way of the good."

wiping down the countertops after dinner (and sometimes after lunch too),
quick wipe will do - no need to pull stuff out a spray everything every mealtime* *

cleaning the hob, the sink, round the bins, emptying bins if need be, sorting recycling, sweeping the floor, spot cleaning the floor,
This is a weekly thing in my house

sorting washings, putting washing away,
again once a week and an occasional midweek - 2 of you can't have that much washing

giving the bathroom a quick wipe down and squeegeeing the tiles after a shower (partly to reduce mould),
After your shower if you have a mould problem. otherwise bathroom clean doesn't need every day. Twice a week is fine

making beds
Why? You actually better airing your sheets so stick duvet at bottom of bed and be done

resetting rooms when going to bed
what is this?

washing up cups,
Yes washing up daily

general squaring up, organising and decluttering as I go.
Just take things as you go - you don't need a special trip.
Going downstairs - take something down
Going upstairs - take something up

I think you are doing too much.It doesn't have to be to that standard all the time.
Try this tonight when you are clearing up supper in the kitchen put a timer on for 15 minutes.
In that time try to empty and refill dishwasher
Put anything necessary into fridge
Do any dishes that won't go in dishwasher or put into soak .
If you have remaining time wipe surfaces and sweep floor.
Then stop when timer goes off.
That's enough.

I suggested that but she decided I was having a dig at her for being dirty, which I certainly wasn’t, I was just pointing out that jobs take longer if there’s more to clean. I have a hard job keeping my floors clean between the dogs and other free roaming animals. It doesn’t mean I’m dirty because I have to spend longer cleaning. The ops adamant she takes so long because she does a better job than everyone. Going though her list I’d see it more of an ocd problem if constantly cleaning out drawers/cupboards and oven cleaning twice a day is normal for her. And pp may have a point about her turning 2 second tasks into jobs, including the ‘resetting rooms before bed’. Unless she’s living with a Tasmanian devil then I don’t get how a few seconds tidying here and there are such massive jobs, hence my suggestion that she perhaps making a lot of unnecessary mess without realising it

And I’ve only just realised it’s just her and her oh! I thought I read she had one child. What on earth are you doing op?? Where’s all the mess and dirt and clutter coming from 😂

I think PPs aren't factoring in everything they do. And underestimating how long it takes them.

It the same in the posts about life admin. People saying it takes them 5 mins a fortnight. Bollocks.

I agree OP. I spend 1 to 2 hrs a day just doing the maintenance and regular stuff (if you add it all up). And I don't get around to much deep cleaning.

I have a cleaner who does the main clean but only once a fortnight.

If you clean in cupboards and drawers, if you jif the bathtub, do under furniture, wash windows, it can take me 2 hours to proper clean of a room and longer if I was doing the kitchen i.e. on top of cupboards and fridge, the light fittings, in drawers, the fridge etc?
none of that needs done very day, that's madness and you're setting yourself far too much work.