"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?

The best thing is not to have a cleaning routine but wait until things are actually dirty. I get no satisfaction from cleaning things that look already quite clean.

I just set two hours to spend on whatever needs doing at the weekend and no more as I get bored and want to do things like go to the gym and walk the dog. If it doesn't get done then it gets done the following weekend. The only thing that gets done without fail every weekend is laundry, but that's probably half an hour if that of actual work, sorting, folding, hanging, etc. DDs do some of their own laundry, particularly bed linen, my DM (who lives with us) does a bit in the week and DH is capable of doing it too but usually helps out with other things. I do 2-4 loads at the weekend, usually DD2's stuff and some bedlinen.

In the week all I do is cooking in the evening and wiping surfaces as I go. DH loads the dishwasher after.

I genuinely cannot remember the last time I even thought about my skirting boards, let alone cleaned them. They might get done every few months if they are lucky.

Skirting boards get done when I think they look dirty or dusty.

Not very often. Though I find myself nearly every week wiping the bathroom wall near the toilet as there is always black cat fur stuck to the light blue paintwork. Both cats love bathrooms.

OP, things like wiping out drawers and cleaning windows are things we do once or twice a year, if that.

Still, people often comment how nice and clean our house is, because it's generally tidy and free of clutter.

You're doing a lot of deep cleaning, which is why it's taking so long.

I find coming down to a clean kitchen sets me up for the day, so I will always clean the kitchen before going to bed.

People who clean the whole house in 2.5 hours, how is that even possible? 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? ( I don't do this every day of course but would about every month).

Well if you do all that every month of course cleaning is going to take you a long time.

That sort of stuff is what most people consider deep cleaning and not done all that often.

It would take me over 4 hours to clean the entire house every week, which is why I don't clean the entire house every week.

Perhaps if you use a routine where 1. You get a day every week say Tuesday where you do the minimum and enjoy the change. So cups and dishes all cleared and kitchen wiped etc and washing put away, then go out or do hobby or exercise or something you like. Same with washing, you don’t do it every single day. Find a rest, whether it’s once a week or twice a week or whatever can work for you.
And 2. You do specific bigger jobs once a week or once a month etc so you know it’s the time to do it. For example I thoroughly clean my ensuite every Monday morning, the rest of the time it’s quick wipe of sink and shelf and disinfect toilet and rinse round shower. If your bathroom needs more frequent proper cleaning just apply this idea to somewhere else eg lounge or kitchen floor.
Doing everything all the time is relentless and doesn’t leave space for other things.

clean in cupboards and drawers - once a year, maybe.

jif the bathtub - no need. It gets a rise with the shower and a wipe with a cloth after each bath.

do under furniture - the robot hoover can get under raised furniture, other furniture gets done if it's moved

wash windows - once a year, in between a polish with a dry cloth from time to time when on the phone

on top of cupboards - ours go to the ceiling, but before that it was a once a year job (5 mins to remove and replace paper)

and fridge - quick wipe with a cloth whenever a shelf doesn't have much on it

the light fittings - wipe/flick with a duster every now and then while on the phone or waiting for a kettle to boil (same for dusting skirting boards and de-cobwebbing ceilings).

I think you'd do well with the organised mum method, particularly Friday focus. Her aim was to spend less time cleaning.

Life admin as in car insurance etc? Genuinely probably takes me 10 mins a month if that
No DC (like the OP)
Everything is on DD. Renewal time I use a comparison site which alerts me and I swap if needed

Hospital and NHS stuff probably takes me the most time so I would stretch it to 20 mins a month including that

I wonder if the problem is just perception. You are lumping all these things together under the banner of “cleaning” when in fact most are just day to day living.

Making the bed … that’s not a separate chore, it’s just part of getting out of bed.

Washing the cup after a cup of tea … part of having a cup of tea.

”Resetting the room before bed” … part of going to bed.

”Squeegeeing the shower” … part of getting out of the shower.

In similar vein, I don’t see hanging up my dressing gown, getting a teabag out of the cupboard, walking up the stairs, or hanging up my towel to be chores either.

@zigzag716746zigzag , good point.

Making the bed … that’s not a separate chore, it’s just part of getting out of bed.

”Resetting the room before bed” … part of going to bed.

”Squeegeeing the shower” … part of getting out of the shower.

I just do these.

Changing all the bedclothes is a chore, but unless it's flipping and hoovering the bed, not that much of a chore and the nice clean bedding makes it worth it

Shower is always squeegeed after a shower. Never thought about it until a boyfriend said 'You do that every time?'

Cups get left until just rinsed until there's a bowlful washing up.
Teabags, spoons and used mugs left on the counter makes it a chore.

It's mess that overwhelms me.

having spent years adamant I would only have a gas hob, I'm now a total convert to induction since getting our new kitchen. It's so easy to clean !

And as for skirting boards, well I don't really care if they are dusty.
my mother's favourite cleaning advice was "dull women have immaculate homes". How many men are actively worrying about their skirting boards, whether the insides of their cupboards are a bit dusty or whether they followed flylady religiously ? Not one I'm guessing.

I'd rather do something more interesting with my time than clean. I'd recommend that, rather than adopting various schemes of work, you ask yourself "does my house really need to be this clean ?" And allow yourself to live with a lower level of cleaning.

my home is presentable and tidy. But I'm never going to martyr myself to cleaning it. I did when I was younger, but with age comes wisdom and a higher level of not giving a fuck

It is constant. Dh would prefer to let it get disgusting and sort it out fortnightly or less. I would like it pristine all the time but I’m too stubborn to be the house skivvy. The tidying is never ending though.

What on earth is "room resetting" ?

Getting it back to how it was in the morning

At least you're a happy slattern 😄

But what happens in a bedroom between fixing the bed in the morning and going to bed at night that requires any tidying or cleaning ?

I might do yoga up there - and I'd roll the mat up when finished

I might close the curtains

Truely puzzled !

Oh, tidying up you mean. I didn't realise it had been rebranded

I'm just guessing @StiffyByngsDogBartholomew .

I think most of it has been rebranded. I can only think of tidying, cleaning, spring cleaning. My aim is 'slightly less shit' usually.

I'll do spot cleaning when I see it e.g. might clean bedroom window but not all the windows. I'll tidy up as I go when cooking. If there's a jumble of stuff I panic.

She could easily do that by not worrying so much about how clean her house is ! But I guess overcomplicating keeping a house clean pays her bills

You're probably right, @MyMILisLovely. I have found that these young influencer/blogging cleaning types have found ways to over complicate something that is really quite simple and basic.
my method is quite simple, if I've noticed something looks a bit grubby I'll give it a wipe or run the hoover over it. If it involves scrabbling around on the floor I'll consider how much it's bothering me compared to whether I can be arsed and whether I've got something more interesting I'd rather be doing.