Cleaning....no seriously!

[sunnyside]

How much cleaning do you really do?

I wouldn't say I was bonkers about cleaning but I do hoover at least every other day and I do washing, ironing and all other household stuff on regular basis but I don't put housework at the top of my priorities list. HOWEVER... my MIL and SIL spend all their time cleaning and both their houses look like show homes. They make me feel like my house is filthy!

So how much do you do? and what do we think is reasonable?

See, I'd rather play with DS then clear up at tea time. If someone turns up unexpectedly then they have to take us as they find us. MIL and SIL make comments to suggest I've been idling.

your mil & sil are probably envious of the quality time you spend with your lo.

imo as long as kitchen and bathroom clean for hygene and rubbish out - nothing else is priority over spending time with lo

Dp describes me as obsessive cleaner but i disagree. My home does not look like a show home - wish it did though!
I'm in a constant battle with wanting to clean, and trying not to be so obsessive so as to spend time with dd as you say.

I hoover most days. Each downstairs room gets a good clean once a week. Upstairs is more like fortnightly. Washing gets done every day, ironing gets done when i get sick of the pile!
Kitchen and bathroom are just constantly cleaned whenever i'm in there!

Pretty much same as you Sunny, like the house to be tidy but am definitely not obsessed!!!

i do the bare minimum
i have hoovered about 6 times in a year

as little as I can get away with. hate it! Am even considering getting a cleaner when I go back to work and i'm only going back for 2 days a week.

That said, i'm better since i've had dd.

I do a three hour proper clean once a week (often split over two days), spend 2 to 3 hours ironing (two weeks ago spent 5 hours ironing but must have been catching up, didn't have much at all last week), do three or four loads of washing a day and seem to be constantly wiping round the kitchen, loading the dishwasher and perparing food.

I don't have a clean house by any means but I still feel like I never have much time by the time you add in School and Nursery runs, supermarketshopping etc. I don't know that answer but I don't know how anyone with young children can clean so much that their house is sparkling.

Kitchen is cleaned about twice a day. Dining room swept once a day.

Vacuuming of whole house done once a week.

Ironing twice a week - during any questions on a friday and the commission on a wednesday (Radio 4).

Laundry nearly every day.

Polishing theoretically once a week but usually every 10 days or so.

Windows and glass once a month.

God I think I might be normal!

I hoover and mop the floors daily. Wash up at least once a day. Iron when I can't stand looking at it anymore. Clean bathroom every 2-3 days and polish stuff when i remember.
Definately not a show home but I do notice how clean it is and I'm happy to let dd run riot.

I'm of the opinion that as long as the kitchen and bathroom are hygienic, I've done my bit.

I hoover the living room and hall about twice a week. The bedrooms get done probably once every six weeks .

Ironing - never do it. Ever.

I don't tidy much either - just tend to shift piles around!! We're not overrun by toys atm though, so that's not such a big issue.

Washing up - about twice a day (not necessarily after each meal, I may wait and do two mealsworth at once to save on water)

Always keep up with the washing - ds is in washable nappies so I do two loads per day.

Bathroom - aim to clean it once a week . Kitchen - quick wipedown each day, thorough clean twice a week.

One of my strongest childhood memories is of my mum constantly cleaning - she very rarely, if ever, played with me or my brothers, just complained at the mess we made! So I was determined not to go down that route.

We don't own clothes that need ironed. That's one problem sorted right there.

We do at least one load of wash a day - we have no dryer and no garden for outside drying, so need to keep on top of the washing. I load it and DH takes it out and hangs it up on the drying racks.

Whilst DD goes down for her nap, DH hoovers the living room and hallway and mops the kitchen and bathroom floors - it's a small flat.

After DD goes to sleep at night, I clean the entire kitchen - no dishwasher. And tidy up the living room - including dusting and fold and put away the day's washing.

We do about 2 hours of cleaning a day.

I cannot stand clutter or filth of any sort so I'd rather clean than sleep.

Sometimes I do chores whilst DD is awake - she's 2.3 - and give her little bits to do, like taking some folded clothes from the living room to the bedroom, opening the wardrobe doors or a wipe to 'dust' with. It's important that kids have chores as soon as they're able, appropriate to their age, so they learn that a family works as a team.

We don't own clothes that need ironed. That's one problem sorted right there.

We do at least one load of wash a day - we have no dryer and no garden for outside drying, so need to keep on top of the washing. I load it and DH takes it out and hangs it up on the drying racks.

Whilst DD goes down for her nap, DH hoovers the living room and hallway and mops the kitchen and bathroom floors - it's a small flat.

After DD goes to sleep at night, I clean the entire kitchen - no dishwasher. And tidy up the living room - including dusting and fold and put away the day's washing.

We do about 2 hours of cleaning a day.

I cannot stand clutter or filth of any sort so I'd rather clean than sleep.

Sometimes I do chores whilst DD is awake - she's 2.3 - and give her little bits to do, like taking some folded clothes from the living room to the bedroom, opening the wardrobe doors or a wipe to 'dust' with. It's important that kids have chores as soon as they're able, appropriate to their age, so they learn that a family works as a team.

We don't own clothes that need ironed. That's one problem sorted right there.

We do at least one load of wash a day - we have no dryer and no garden for outside drying, so need to keep on top of the washing. I load it and DH takes it out and hangs it up on the drying racks.

Whilst DD goes down for her nap, DH hoovers the living room and hallway and mops the kitchen and bathroom floors - it's a small flat.

After DD goes to sleep at night, I clean the entire kitchen - no dishwasher. And tidy up the living room - including dusting and fold and put away the day's washing.

We do about 2 hours of cleaning a day.

I cannot stand clutter or filth of any sort so I'd rather clean than sleep.

Sometimes I do chores whilst DD is awake - she's 2.3 - and give her little bits to do, like taking some folded clothes from the living room to the bedroom, opening the wardrobe doors or a wipe to 'dust' with. It's important that kids have chores as soon as they're able, appropriate to their age, so they learn that a family works as a team.

bare minimum. I like to think I have Bigger Fish to Fry. Most of the daily stuff is "maintenance" rather than housework - emptying dishwasher, laundry, cooking etc and gets done in the mornings. Sweep up kitchen once/twice a day. Wiping down surfaces in kitchen - once after breakfast and again after dinner, when dh loads up the dishwasher.

When dd was in highchair and making a mess I used to try and mop the kitchen floor once a day. Now more likely every two/three days.

Hoovering - every two days or so. Upstairs - only when it looks really grim. Ironing tends to pile up in teetering piles until we all run out of things to wear. Dusting/big clean tends to wait until grandma is coming for a visit.

Bathrooms - once a week. Ditto change sheets. Windows - once a year.

it sounds quite a lot when you write it down. The house always seems to be a mess though.

dp and I clean the house on a Saturday morning pretty much top to bottom including dusting the sitting room and hoovering behind the chairs etc, changing the beds and washing down bathroom walls (theyre tiled so need a quick swipe). Dp does all the rest during the week cos hes fab and really good at it. he tends to whizz round in the mornings early so he can get out for the afternoon. dont ask me how he does it cos I certainly cant for sure. Rang him yesterday mornign at 9 and he had made bread!!!! and was doing the housework while waiting for it to rise. He gets dd to help him with the work too.

My DH does all the breadmaking, too! He also makes the tea. I wash up after he goes out to work.

DD loves to put clothes in and take clothes out of the washing machine and press the button to turn it on.

She also has a toy hoover and a broom she pushes round hte kitchen.

We had chores for as long as I can remember, so did both my parents.

At weekends we clean the car. Every weekend. Even if it's freezing cold.

Yuk, dirty car!

I don't understand this idea of clothes that don't need ironing. What clothes don't need ironing??

We usually clean on Mondays. I dust upstairs and do the two bathrooms with DD in a morning. Then I dust downstairs and clean the toilet while she is napping. Then DH hoovers upstairs and the stairs while I play with the children downstairs. I would do this earlier but DD is petrified of the hoover. Then DH or I will clean the kitchen, hoover downstairs and sweep/mop the hard floors in the evening. Sweep kitchen floor and wipe up messy bits with baby wipe 3/4 other days a week. Probably hoover living room one more evening also.

Wash every day. Iron 3/4 times a week - usually while watching Coronation Street.

Jeans, jumpers, trousers, tshirts and button tops. Get them all from the US in 'no iron' fabrics, even cottons. They don't need ironed. I hang them on the rack w/o crease in 'em straight out of the machine, fold them and put 'em away. Haven't needed an iron in years.

I hoover every day in the main rooms (lounge, hall and kitchen). The upstairs and the dining room gets it about twice a week.

Bathroom, ensuite & downstairs cloakroom are all cleaned weekly, the bathroom is generally done twice a week because it gets so much traffic.

Dishwasher is run every day.

Washing machine does, on average, 8 loads a week.

Hard floors are mopped once a week, spills done immediately.

Bedding is washed once a week/10 days, apart from mine and DH's bed which is washed twice a week.

I polish/dust twice a week.

I wish my clothes didnt need ironing. I iron everything, except the obvious.

omg at hoovering every other day!

i try to nag dp to do it. he thinks he does it (he has an idea that he hoovers every saturday, because this was his plan when we moved in together, but actually he doesn't). i hoover, clean bathroom etc. about once a month or before we have visitors. the rest is essential maintenance - washing clothes, basic tidying and kitchen surfaces i do every day, and he loads and empties diswasher.

i never iron except for special occasions like weddings.

I've heard others say that they hang their clothes to dry very carefully so they don't need ironed and I had a neighbour once who used to hang all her husband's shirts out on hangers, I can only assume so they didn't need ironing. This all seems more faff than ironing to me. Something good on the telly and a glass of wine (if it's evening time) and I'm off, don't mind ironing at all in those circumstances.