Managing a biggish house

[Filofax]

Without wishing to offend/irritate does anyone have a biggish house i.e. new build 4+ bedroom not 'and in the east wing' type, and feel like they are forever cleaning. Would be very interested how others manage. Do you just clean rooms that you use? I have a baby and a toddler to add to the mix. Baby isn't sleeping through yet and I can see sometimes a look of dissapointment at the state of the place when DH gets home. Takes me a good 3+ hours solid at the weekend to clean and change beds. xx

Don't clean spare rooms unless someone is coming.
Change floor tiles in kitchen to dark colour
Break down into small daily chunks
Give DH bathrooms to clean at weekend
Kids have to make token effort to tidy up after themselves, even if it is only take small ted upstairs
Lower you cleanliness threshold

Ha! Can't believe am giving cleaning tips - mine is a filthy mess.
Sounds like DH needs to pitch in to be honest...

i have my mum come in and help

[extreme slattern emoticon]

Do a little each day, better than doing it in one hit.

Agree re lower cleanliness threshold

Get a window cleaner if you don't already have one

Only invite people round who tidy up after their kids - seriously - you have a baby

I do a quick tidy round with DS (6) before DH gets home so he doesn't think I am too much of a slob

Really I think a lot of it is about deciding where you want to invest your precious time. If keeping dust at bay is a priority for you, by all means go ahead, I have friends that love cleaning. I find it boring, I like cooking and gardening so that's where I tend to spend my precious few hours......until the state of the house pisses me off.......or I have people over....

Oooh thanks for replies, but please keep em coming. Ive got window cleaner and would never cancel them ... mainly because they are so scary, DH is good but managing two little ones at tea time is a nightmare. Dark tiles on kitchen floor - got and are handy. I seem to be one of those people who have a lot of people dropping in for a couple of hours and its difficult with family, especially as we have a large extended family (some of who don't speak so can't be combined) to say no. I think I need to lower standards a bit x

In our house the kitchen is the central room. Huge kitchen. Back door opens directly into it, which is where everyone comes in. I have found that if I keep that tidy and clean the rest of the house tends to follow on. At least then the first thing I say is not "oh, excuse the mess". I also make sure that one lounge is hoovered and clear for any visitors - not always the same lounge, so visitors never know where to head for a seat!

Big house, but 5DCs and a very hectic lifestyle with lots of people of all ages droppping by at any time of the day. It has taken me years to get to the point I am at now, where I am happy that the house is tidyer.

Don't stress out about it, DCs are far more important than the dust levels! Dust will still be there tomorrow, but before you know it the children will be grown up! Enjoy them now.

I do a little every day as well.

Once a week we:

• hoover round the whole house
• dust the whole house
• clean bathroom, en-suite and cloakroom
• give the sink a thorough clean

Takes about 1.5hrs but we do half each so not too bad.

I dust the living room and hall every couple of days (2 mins!) and give the cloakroom basin a quick spray and wipe too - those are the only bits people really see when they come round

Kitchen gets wiped down daily as needed but the floor is only washed when it looks dirty. And will often then just mop the marks off

I've got a mini Dyson which helps - I don't need to hoover more often as I can just run it round the edge of the kitchen or vacuum up crumbs from the living or dining rooms in two mins flat.

Mess-wise, we have boxes of toys under the coffee table. So I can just chuck everything in boxes and shove it away. Same under beds upstairs.

Washing machine goes on every morning - I hang it out when youngest DC in bed and pop it in the airing cupboard while DH is doing their bath, putting previous day's stuff away at the same time. If I don't have a lot of washing on any day, I change the beds.

Get lots of baskets!! I have 2 teenagers and a pre-schooler so mess is part of everyday life. I have learned to lower my standards!

I try and do a little everyday. keep those bathroom wipes in each bathroom and wipe round after you brush your teeth say, in the morning- then it never gets bad and needs deep clean.

I have lots of baskets and throw everything in there and then at the end of the day take everything and put it in its proper place!

I find hoovering makes everywhere look instantly better and only takes 5 mins so do that daily in living room.

I have a large kitchen and it always clean but messy- its just part of having 3 kids , 2 dogs and a hubby!

Tell yourself its ok if the house isn't perfect and ignore any looks from your hubby- you know damn well if he had a baby and toddler to look after nothing would get done and the kids would be lucky to get fed! men can't multitask but are very good and subtle' disappointed" looks!!!!

I have 6 beds/5 baths, and 4 receptions and yes it is hard work! I try nd do a bathroom a day and a room a day too, all the childrens beds on the same day, ours on another.

keep cleaning materials hidden all over the house