How do you clean your house?

[DisneyMomOK]

You all are so inspiring! I am going to go do a load of laundry and put away the dishes right now. Thanks for the push!

Sharon

 

[Caradana]

How do I clean the house? BEGRUDGINGLY.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Whoever posted the flylady site, thanks a bunch!

 

[laura001]

I have had a maid off and on over the years, been happy with some and sometimes not.

If you cannot or will not pay for a cleaning lady, here is the way that I do it.

First of all, keeping the house clean or doing the cleaning is definately a family job, everyone in the house! As parents it is part of our mentoring to teach our children the concept of being responsible, working together, taking pride in our work and accomplishment (cleaning being a part of it) etc. etc.
For years my DH did absolutely NOTHING in our house, nor did the kids. Boy, did we miss the boat! Finally, after me being super MOM and WIFE did we figure out that we were doing a diservice to our children and family. Once we were past all of that, here was the plan:

To clean it up to begin with we made a list of every room and everything that had to be done: ie. clean baseboards and wipe down walls
clean out closet
clean out drawers
wash floor
wash mats etc.etc.
The lists (which were very long by the way) were then posted on the fridge and every night we worked away at the list, one room at a time. Of course there were nights that not everyone was home etc. which we worked around but we all worked at least a little bit every night. The rule was that no one else sat while others worked. (the kids had their homework etc to do). It took us almost three weeks to get the house back into perfect order, everything spotless, drawers and closets organized etc. It was awesome and very rewarding.

After the initial clean, the rules were:
-No one has anyone in the house after school etc until the house is straightened up (no dishes laying out, beds made etc.) That way we didn't have to come home after work and find a mess and the house full of kids.
-We made Sunday our day of rest, which it had been for everyone except me.
-Through the week my DH did a few loads of laundry (which he had never even touched before)-he does it while he watches tv.
-Either Friday night or Saturday morning everyone in the house pitches in and we clean clean clean for about and hour and a half. This is the heavy cleaning of washing, dusting, vacuuming etc. I usually do some laundry at this time also. No one stops until the house is done.
-The kids have their rooms to keep tidy during the week.
-I only work 3 days a week so usually on Tuesdays I do a quick clean of the bathrooms, dust and vacuum, wash the kitchen floor etc. which takes me about an hour. It isn't difficult because everyone else keeps up with tidying after each other.

That is a quick rundown of how we do it. Just remember that it doesn't work unless you and your DH act as a team and set the example for your kids, eventually they will fall in line with the program. It is so nice to be able to relax at home for me without having it all hanging over my head...ahhh!

 

[bigbabyblues]

Everyone helps out as they are able. The kids pick up the toys and put the dishes in the sink, they like to help unload the dishwasher, at least the things they can reach, and put the dirty laundry in the bathroom. We make a game out of it. 5-yo takes the stuff out to the recycle bin when he sees it on the counter, that's about all they really can do, but every little bit helps.

DH and I both do what we can, when we can. Our schedule is terrible right now (DH is in medic school 3 nights a week, works full time midnights, 2 days of clinicals every week, and a part time job at least one afternoon a week, and I work during the day when he's home with the boys), and the house shows it. I try to do all the vacuuming at least once a week and keep up with the dishes and laundry. The bathrooms get done on Friday by whoever is here and the rest of it just waits until we get to it. We try to each do a little bit every day.

Edited to add: I used Flylady for awhile, and it worked until I went back to working so many hours at work. I still will set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much I can get done in that much time, and it's a lot more than you would think. It helps to focus on one thing at a time.

 

[CanBeGrumpy]

Well, I won't hire a maid/cleaning service because I found out that some of them use the same rags to clean from house to house!!! Sorry, I don't need other people's "cooties" spread around my bathroom/kitchen/etc. I'd rather it stay dirty with just OUR germs hanging around! (also I would be too cheap to pay someone to clean anyway).

So, our house stays pretty messy, I rant about it, I spend days cleaning, and it never gets any better. I have been decluttering for a long time now and it never seems to get any better. The only answer I see is to lower my standards, but I can't seem to do that. Oh, and my Dh and kids all help out, so I don't get what we are doing wrong except that we simply have too much stuff and not enough storage space!!! I need a bigger house but am too cheap to pay for one. So, in squalor we live!!

 

[crazyme5kids]

In the nude!











Only kidding

 

[froglady]

I found that using the "rule of 10" helped me a lot.

Basically, if I'm cleaning an area, say my closet, I get rid of 10 things every time I do it. Today I went to get something out of a mug on my desk. I got rid of 10 things; 3 pen caps, 1 old button, 1 keychain, 1 old paperclip, 2 old erasers, 1 old key that goes to a lock I don't have anymore, and 1 old marble.

So you break it down depending upon the size of the project. If I'm cleaning a whole room, it might be magazines, etc. Closets it would be old clothing. Medicine cabinet it might be old make-up, etc. We all know that we have too much "stuff" and can live very well (and sometimes better) if we just got rid of it once in a while.

I also found that renting a climate controlled storage unit for the things that you don't use but just can't part with is cheaper than hiring a maid. There is a really nice facility about a mile from my house, so that's where DD's "stuff" was moved, along with extra furniture that is in the way now but we want to keep, some baby things (hand made quilts, blankets, etc) Brios, that sort of stuff.

 

[DisneyDotty]

Well, I won't hire a maid/cleaning service because I found out that some of them use the same rags to clean from house to house!!! Sorry, I don't need other people's "cooties" spread around my bathroom/kitchen/etc. I'd rather it stay dirty with just OUR germs hanging around! (also I would be too cheap to pay someone to clean anyway).

When I had a cleaning service (many moons ago **sigh**) anyway, back when I had a service the person always used my stuff--my mop, my rags, my cleansers, etc. So no problem with that.
(Now I'm also too cheap to pay someone else to do what is essentially my job--I am a SAHM!)

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I confess I'm a terrible housekeeper, and it's just DH and I and 2 cats! I have no excuse - I'm between jobs right now (I start as a nanny March 6 and the prior job ended much sooner than expected), but the house is still a mess. I can't stand cleaning, and both DH and I are cluttery people. Unfortunately, we have different clutter "styles". I'm a "stack it in a basket and sort through and put away the basket contents when it overflows" type of clutter person, and DH is a "spread it all out over every possible horizontal surface so I can find it again with a minimum of digging" clutter person. We drive each other crazy - I stack up his stuff in piles (so I can at least see the top of the table!) and then he can't find anything, and then he spreads out his pile all over and drives me crazy with the messy look it creates.

The funny thing is that I really can't stand dirt, either, and I really prefer living in a perfectly clean and clutter free house. I just don't want to spend the energy on cleaning because I'd rather be doing something else, and I'd like DH to help with picking up and cleaning, but he always gets frustrated on major clean days and then says he can't find anything anymore.

Fortunately, we have a friend who is trying to earn money for grad school by doing housecleaning/childcare stuff in our neighborhood, so DH agreed that we could "help her out" by hiring her to come and clean our house once a week! I don't know what I'll do when she finds a "real" job, but in the meantime it's a major blessing! Plus, DH is learning what it's like to live in a clean house and starting to like it. He was living by himself with no housecleaning service for 10 years before I married him...had no idea how to dust, no concept of what cleaning products were used for various tasks, and only cleaned the bathroom when he could smell it from his bed...

 

[FreshTressa]

I don't, lol

Well, I do, but like you, it is a never ending battle.

What I hate is that I don't like having people over because I am embarassed.

 

[Tiffann4k]

well I have 4 kids so I have to clean every day. I hate it but it needs to be done. It would be a waste of money to hire anyone since we can clean 2 times a day and the house would still look messy ( regular kids stuff, dishes, laundry etc) I hate it but I am hoping that eventually the kids will learn to put it back when your done with it

 

[Tiffann4k]

I don't, lol

Well, I do, but like you, it is a never ending battle.

What I hate is that I don't like having people over because I am embarassed.

I hear ya Same here