How Clean Is Your House?

[emma'smom]

We're waiting for out-of-town guests to arrive and right now my house is "company clean". We had the cleaning lady come today. The floors are scrubbed, laundry done, clutter away. We even cleaned out the fridge and swept the pantry floor. I even cleaned the closet in my bedroom so that we could move the laundry baskets into the walk-in closet and out of the bedroom.

The house looks fabulous...and it won't last a day! Ours is usually not dirty...meaning we wash the dishes and sweep up daily (and cleaning lady comes to do bathrooms, floors, dusting, change bed linens, etc. every other week). I do touch-ups on the off-week...but she is just much more thorough.

However, we usually do have clutter. Kids will leave out art projects, mail left out, half-folded laundry in a basket in the family room, just little things here and there.

It has me thinking, how clean is your house on a regular basis?

 

[disneyworldmama]

Our house is fairly organized but we do have some toys and stuff out! I do try to do a good cleaning weekly but it is hard. I wish I could have a nice clean house all the time.

 

[gasperdam]

Sad to say our house is a mess!

We have tons of clutter, and I get tired of doing the dishes,
sweeping, etc. all by myself all the time. (Dh and dks don't help)
Dks rooms are constantly a mess too.

I have been trying to convince dh that we need to hire a cleaning
person to help, but it is just a battle! He is convinced I am acting spoiled
about this for he doesn't know ANYONE with a cleaning person and he
cannot get over the cost of hiring someone!

He just doesn't mind the mess!

 

[ThreeMusketeers]

Latley, we have a messy house. I don't know why, i think its the nice weather, i would rather be outside than cleaning. But, I don't like a messy house and normally i am a germ and clean freek.

 

[KMZOB]

Right now my house is a disaster! I started last weekend...Spring Cleaning. You know how the area has to get worse before it gets better? well that's where I'm at. I only get the chance to clean on weekends due to work and a toddler...and I definetly bit off more than I could chew last weekend...so this weekend I will have to finish up my projects. Our house is clean but cluttered most of the time...but we are in the process of finishing our basement so that we can organize better. It's so depressing to be in a house that always looks cluttered to me...unless I clean up for company and throw anything that doesn't have a "place" into my bedroom.

 

[Stephres]

Our house is pretty clean except for the dead love bugs all over! We do have a problem with clutter (mostly kid stuff) and I have yet to find a way to control. I mostly just hide it when company comes.

 

[Starr W.]

My house is clean and tidy after my cleaning people leave, the length it stays "tidy" has gotten longer as the boys have gotten older. By this fall, when both are in school full time I might make it 12 hours before I have to start picking up.

I do have to wipe down their bathroom sink, everyday as they get very messy with the toothpaste.

Gasperdam, my DH insisted we hire cleaning person when we had our first child. We had talked about it before the kid and afterwards were kicking ourselves for not doing it sooner. I talked to the owner the other day and we laughed about our 11th aniversary coming up in September.

 

[catbertdave99]

So I've been a single dad for 5 years now, and did most of the cleaning prior to that. My DS's are 16 and 13, so old enough to help. I pay them a minimal allowance each week to take care of their rooms, but then I pay them additional small amounts for doing various chores around the house each day that I assign. I don't sit still and relax well, but I hate cleaning and have zero time for just me... so tell me what you think of this --

My DS16 is a baseball player, and now that the high school JV season is over, he's playing in a summer baseball league -- I'm fine with that, by the way. My DS13 is also a baseball player, but his league is about half-way done now.

With baseball, and the local economy, my DS16 really can't find a job that he can work (he had one last summer, but can't have that one again this year).

I've "hired" my DS16 as my summer maid -- he said he prefers the term "butler", at which I told him to go fetch me my shoes!!! Anyway, he's going to vacuum, do the trash, clean the bathrooms, mow the lawn and trim it, and sweep and mop the kitchen floor every week (I already have them help with laundry and dishes for their daily chores). I'm paying him $25/week (it won't take him that much time if he splits it up through the week) and I made a spreadsheet for him to fill out each day as he completes various parts of the list. The money will cover his auto insurance and gas, and his allowance and daily chores will get him to a movie and Taco Bell with his friends each week if he wants, etc.

I told him the work has to be done the way I would do it, so I'm really hoping this works out well for both of us -- and he'll learn to clean and be an active partner in keeping up a house someday!

So what do you think? Suggestions, warnings, ideas, thoughts??!

Thanks!

 

[arielsleepingbeauty]

Everyday all my children's things are picked up before we go to bed and the dishes are washed and put away. I sweep and vacuum at least once a day. I wash my floors maybe twice a week. I dust, well not so often. It depends

I clean my bathrooms, windex the appliances and windows and doors once a week.


My house looks the best after the kids go away.

 

[Starr W.]

My house is clean and tidy after my cleaning people leave, the length it stays "tidy" has gotten longer as the boys have gotten older. By this fall, when both are in school full time I might make it 12 hours before I have to start picking up.

I do have to wipe down their bathroom sink, everyday as they get very messy with the toothpaste.

Gasperdam, my DH insisted we hire cleaning person when we had our first child. We had talked about it before the kid and afterwards were kicking ourselves for not doing it sooner. I talked to the owner the other day and we laughed about our 11th aniversary coming up in September.

 

[eliza61]

Sad to say our house is a mess!

We have tons of clutter, and I get tired of doing the dishes,
sweeping, etc. all by myself all the time. (Dh and dks don't help)
Dks rooms are constantly a mess too.

I have been trying to convince dh that we need to hire a cleaning
person to help, but it is just a battle! He is convinced I am acting spoiled
about this for he doesn't know ANYONE with a cleaning person and he
cannot get over the cost of hiring someone!

He just doesn't mind the mess!

Hooray!!
Mine is a mess too but I long ago let it go. I have 3 teenage kids (along with a dog) and we all have busy schedules so I stop stressing about an immaculate house years ago. Friday night and Saturday mornings are chore time. All the bathrooms (toilets) get thorough cleaning, rugs get vacuumed, furniture gets dusted. During the week I mainly concentrate on keeping the kitchen under control (my dsons don't help graciously but I'm not above threats) and staying on top of laundry (I think I'm up to 427 loads a week, my washing machine is begging me for mercy)
Between class projects, sporting equipment, electronic gadgets, mail, newspapers etc. Clutter is the result.
I don't have a clean house but I have a happy home

 

[pigletof4]

I follow the flylady way where anything can be accomplished in 15 minutes. My downstairs is usually only about 15 minutes away from being company ready. Now the kids bedrooms that a different story. My son's room is usually always picked up nice and neat, but my older dd hates to clean. We do have some clutter and junk to get rid of, but that's something I am working on this summer. You check out flylady's website at www.flylady.com

 

[1000th happy haunt]

Clean enough to be healthy, and dirty enough to be happy.

 

[utahkennedys]

At least twice a day I pick up clutter and have my 5 year old help with our family room/play room areas and her own room. I feel better even if all of the clutter is gone and things are still dusty/slightly dirty.

Every other week I also have cleaning help, and it's the best $ I spend! I decided about a year ago that instead of an occasional pedicure or other splurge, I'd rather have someone clean floors, baths, etc. It helps keep up on things like baseboards I could never do otherwise...

The other thing I like to do is pick a room to focus on and COMPLETELY clean it, meaning if I clean the office, not only is it surface clean, but everything is organized, files are cleared, blinds are cleaned, etc. I think if you do one room this way each year or so, things don't get too out of control.

But it is SO, SO hard keeping up on the clean! I told DH the other day that someday I won't have crumbs or fingerprints over and over on the french glass doors, but that will mean my 2 dd's are gone which would be much sadder than some dirt!

 

[CampbellScot]

My husband is seriously OCD about cleaning. I'll be mean sometimes and move something when he's not looking...he'll notice within 10 minutes that something is out of place. I'm not complaining of course, it's great to have such a super clean house...but he gets a little nuts sometimes. If people are coming over, good grief, he goes on turbo clean mode. He's a "take a toothbrush to the corners" kind of guy. He doesn't like dust. If he can see it, he's got a problem. He's not obnoxious about it, he doesn't demand that I clean anything, he just can't sit still and relax if thinks things are "cluttered". He hates "piles" of things too, so my magazine obsession makes him a little anxious. He's forever saying..."Can we throw the old ones out yet? That pile is getting pretty high..." Yes dear, but two magazines does NOT a pile make! He also has allergies pretty badly so I vacuum at least once a day during the winter and morning and night in the summer. (We got one of the new Dyson vacuums...the really light one. It made a HUGE difference!) He breathes so much more clearly when I started vacuuming twice a day during pollen season.

He's taught his kids to be tidy monsters too. If they get out a toy, they put it back before leaving the area. It's the way they are. They don't have to be reminded...my step daughter has been known to tidy at toystores.

I always thought I was clean...I feel like a slob next to my dear husband. Poor guy...his mom is OCD about cleaning too...she created a monster.

 

[xoprincessmomxo]

Sad to say our house is a mess!

We have tons of clutter, and I get tired of doing the dishes,
sweeping, etc. all by myself all the time. (Dh and dks don't help)
Dks rooms are constantly a mess too.

I have been trying to convince dh that we need to hire a cleaning
person to help, but it is just a battle! He is convinced I am acting spoiled
about this for he doesn't know ANYONE with a cleaning person and he
cannot get over the cost of hiring someone!

He just doesn't mind the mess!

Nice to know I'm not the only one. With a 5 year old and a 7 month old, I just can't find the time to keep up with the house on top of taking care of them and working on my coffee shop! And my DH doesn't mind the mess either. Even if company comes over! He says if they really like us, they won't care about the mountain of toys blocking the entryway!

 

[3jsmommy]

All I know is that it was alot cleaner before I discovered the Dis!!
Must stop reading TR's..Must

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

However, we usually do have clutter. Kids will leave out art projects, mail left out, half-folded laundry in a basket in the family room, just little things here and there.

It has me thinking, how clean is your house on a regular basis?

Ours is probably about the same as yours. I call it eye-clean. Now if we have guests or company coming, then we do the whole Better Homes and Gardens routine, but it never stays that way for long-you just can't live like that 24/7 unless you have ocd about cleaning (IMO). I don't know about anyone else, but I have teens and they are always leaving stuff out in the kitchen-I could clean that area 20 times a day alone!

 

[jenrein]

Wow- I guess I am a little OCD compared to a lot of you. First off my kids each have a job- the 11 & 8 yr old take turns vaccuming every day. The 7 yr old picks up shoes and organizes them and also fetches all the dirty dishes around the house. I do dishes everyday, laundry every day. The kids have to keep their bathroom clean and the oldest cleans it once its is picked up. I clean counters and floors everyday after dinner. I also dust 3-4 times a week and vaccum the curtains and baseboards and moulding once a week. I hate dirty houses!! The kids are also responsible for putting their clothes away and their room must be clean before bed. They all get an allowance if they do their job/room and homework. The oldest gets her cell phone bill paid for and the younger 2 get 6 dollars a week.

 

[IluvDonald!]

I had to make a decision - more time with my daughter - or more time cleaning?

Needless to say, our house is not the cleanest house on the street. We have laundry in baskets on the couch, toothpaste smears in the sink, "unloved stuff" stacked in the basement, doghair around the dog's cage, pop cans in the sink, unopened mail strewn across the computer desk, and when company comes over, I sometimes don't have enough time to properly clean and our master bedroom becomes the catch-all for all the stuff I don't want to worry about.

Now - let me tell you why:
3-5 nights/week involved with DD's (12) softball
5 nights/week teaching/helping with homework, school projects, etc
Going to middle school plays/concerts with DD to watch her friends
Bike riding
Walking/playing fetch/training dog
Visiting family members
Occassional treat of going for ice cream - yummy!
Going to the park for cookouts, a ball game, etc
Bonfires at my sister's house

Now....just let me add - DD & I & DH all pitch in and do the housework, and I would not be embarrassed of the condition of our "lived in house" if an unexpected visitor popped in. (of course I may run upstairs and wipe out the bathroom sink while my DH is inviting someone in.......


I'm sure my daughter will remember the quality family time we all spend together - rather than having a spotless house every day. Housework can wait - children shouldn't.