OT-time spent cleaning house?

[sk!mom]

I would bet the easy answer to that is, because she wants one and that's the size that works for her.

As a semi-messy person who has lived in all different houses, I can tell you definitively, unlike some other things, size does NOT matter when it comes to keeping a house clean. Unless you're like, Aaron Spelling and you need a staff to run the mansion. I think there's not much difference between keeping a 5k house clean and 1500k house clean.

In fact, I would actually go so far as to say that it's easier to keep the big one clean because everything has its own spot and no area has to do double duty.

Seriously, my sewing room, which is also the kids' craft room, looks like a bomb went off in it. That used to be what my dining room looked like all the time because that's where all the sewing and crafts were done. Now, the dining room looks nice and I can close the door to the disaster that is my craft room until I have an hour or so (or TEN) to clean it.

I disagree, cleaning 3.5 bathrooms would take me longer than cleaning only 2. Vacumming 5000 sq. feet and dusting all the furniture to fill it would take much longer. Not to mention all the extra windows and baseboards. I do get what you're saying about more storage space allowing everything to have a place. However, decreasing clutter and stuff works better for me.

So your advice to the OP would be, Since you have a big house and a small family just confine the mess to areas that can be closed off and ignored?

Her question was how to keep a house clean and she later mentioned that as well as being overwhelmed by the cleaning, she and her DH are having to work 2 jobs each and can't afford cleaning help. In that situation, for me the greatest stress relief would come from downsizing. With one less job there would be more time for upkeep.

 

[skip323]

In this day and age I don't know that downsizing is the most practical answer to someone's plight....the economy sucks. While the OP is in her current home, there must be some options.

I personally am still trying to find the answer of how to keep everything clean. When I am "on it" it is GREAT! The minute I let the house go for a day or two it seems like I have 2 weeks worth of stuff to catch up on (how is that?)!!

The one thing I purchased a few months ago that has been so very helpful is the roomba. I bought a cheap, on clearance one and I love it!! I have a dog that sheds like crazy and I really needed to be vacuuming every day but it wasn't happening!! I now run the roomba 6 days in my main areas and use my regular vacuum one day. While the roomba is running I make dinner and clean the kitchen or do some other chore so that "we" are both cleaning at the same time.

My dh has dish duty but he has no problem leaving dishes overnight and doing them in the a.m. I want a clean kitchen to wake up to so most of the time I just do it.

I have a tutor that comes over once a week so that is my main area vacuum, dust day and I also clean the guest bath that day (talk about incentive)! I take one of my dd's and her best friend to dance once a week so that is my clean out and vacuum the van day (again, incentive). For me it is helpful to have "days" for everything...even if the tutor is not coming I try to always do those areas on that particular day!

The kitchen I try to do every evening while I am cooking and right after we eat dinner so that it is done. My roomba sweeps up the floors while I load the dishwasher and make lunches for the next day.

I hate to admit it but I loved the roomba so much that I invested in the scooba and use it once a week in my kitchen to mop the floor. I thoroughly clean the kitchen then let it wash and scrub while I relax Sunday night before the chaos of Monday begins. (the two combined were so very much cheaper than a cleaner and I can truly tell the difference)! I still pull out my mop or hand clean my floors, just not as much.

We meant to build a manageable house but it is not. We have a full basement under a ranch and we have a bonus room The basement has a bath, the bonus room area has a bath and then our "ranch style" home has the master bath, kids bath and guest bath...yep, 5. Ridiculous! It all made sense when we were building ...didn't want folks to have to run upstairs to use the bath from downstairs. Wanted to use the bonus room for company since we do not have a spare room so we wanted a bath up there. It is a pain! I try to use flylady's mentality on baths when it comes to my master room. I try to swish and swipe everyday or just as often as I think of it. My girl's share a bath and I used to spruce that up while they were bathing but now they are 8 and 9 and are into privacy so I have something new to figure out.

Paperwork is my enemy. My girls bring so much crap home from school it just makes me sick. I have not figured that out yet but I am working on it!!!

Good luck!!

 

[Vility]

1. How much time do you spend cleaning your house a week and how do you break it up (one room each day, big clean on wknd, etc...)?

We are like you.
We look at eachother every single weekend and say, how did our house get this messy in ONE WEEK!
We do a huge overhaul every Sunday as best as we can.
I do about 4 loads of laundry every weekend, but never fully finish it, or fully put it away.

2. Are there any routines that work especially well for your family? (my son is FAB at his chores so we're lucky he "polices" his own areas as well as other "whole house" chores), hubby not so great

My children are very young still 4 and 2 so to get them to do anyting like pulling teeth. I can get them to pick up their toys and help me wipe stuff down, but I can't expect much from them.
The worst part is as we clean they pull out either more or the stuff we just cleaned.

3. Any tips for having a house that is always 15 minutes away from being ready for company?

I try my best to keep the areas guest would see clean first, hence why the upstairs rarely gets finished.

4. Tips for dealing with paperwork (mail, bills, school papers, etc...)

Sadly my husband is horrible with this.
We have a wall mounted thing for mail and bills.
We have a filing cabinet down stairs in our basement to keep the past paid bills, but no he keeps them in my china cabinet.

5. Friendly ways to get hubby more on board? Suspect adult ADD and he has worked fairly well off a list and for short bursts with breaks, I just get annoyed at being "in charge" and having to do a list every week and also that his "breaks" tend to start taking up the entire day- need tips for self sufficiency and so I'm not treating him like a second child.

Well my husband told me I had to work full time, so the agreement from the begining was to share the house work.

Sadly we both work jobs that are about 50 hours a week.

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

This sounds like my DH, we have 5 kids and one day he asked me "Hey, if you're doing any laundry tomorrow would you mind washing my...(I don't remember what)?" I said "IF I'm doing laundry tomorrow?? Honey, I do at two loads of laundry a day." He was actually surprised by that .

I'm a SAHM so of course I have more time, but one thing that has really helped me is Flylady's idea of taking one hour one day a week to clean, I can't even remember what she calls it, it's been so long since I've actually followed her, but that has stuck with me. On Tuesdays I scrub the bathrooms, clean all of the mirrors and screens (like tv's, computer monitors), and dust. I also have a designated day to change sheets, Sundays.

Everyone in the house is expected to do things to make the chores easier, like put their own dishes in the dishwasher, put their clothes in the hampers, taking their things to their rooms. Dishes are done after dinner.

DH and I like to sit down after the kids are in bed and watch tv or a movie together and it took DH YEARS to understand that I didn't feel that I could relax if there was still all of this work to be done, but now that he does he will help out alot more without me asking in the evenings. On the other hand, on weekends especially, if I want him to do something I either have to make him a list or ask. Because DH is away alot with the military dividing up the labor doesn't work for us because eventually it all becomes my job anyway and we would have to straighten it all back out when he gets home.

 

[flipflopmom]

My single best advice is this - de clutter nightly, 15 min. of picking up (my dd does most of it, DH helps sometimes. He was also a mama's boy!)
Clean kitchen nightly (counters, dishes, etc.) and laundry of some type nightly

Then I pick one thing and ONLY do it that day - Dust Monday, anything that can be sprayed with all purp. cleaner, Tuesday, glass Wed, floors Thurs.... however it works for you. I just take one bottle and an old sock and concentrate on that. Sometimes, I take a basket with me, and if there is something in that room that belongs in another, I pitch it and and put it up when I get to that room......

 

[DawnM]

I can never have the house clean.....I feel like the kids walk around behind me like little tasmanian devils as I clean they destroy!

And we are home all day, which adds to the messes. And we are doing some home repair/renovations, which is also an issue.

But I could do much better. We live in a large house.....the largest we have ever had. We would like to sell and downsize or move back home, but we need to finish the home repairs first. Hopefully much of it will be completed this summer. This house isn't strapping us financially really.....when we moved from CA to NC we were just like kids in a candy store because the houses were "just so cheap!" Now we realize we should have purchased something smaller......oh well.

But the size isn't really the issue.....I never kept our small house clean.....

Dawn

 

[koolaidmoms]

I feel as if I am constantly battling my children and partner at times. They will unwrap a straw and drop it where ever they happen to be! I say pick it up please and they look at me as if I am an alien. Clothes are dropped where ever they happen to undress - don't ask me why but usually the toy room. It takes 4 spoons to make one can of soup - A small one to get it out of the can or bag, another one to stir the soup in the pan with so it doesn't scratch the pan, a ladle to put the soup in the bowl and one to eat it with - drives me CRAZY!!! I of course have to clean them all and the clothes.

We also have 2 ancient dogs (we inherited after their owner died last year) and the stuff they track in is amazing. I feel like the story of the little Dutch boy with his finger in the dike just waiting for it all to collapse around me.

I am glad I am not the only SAHM who feels like all they do is clean.

 

[StitchFanZ]

1. How much time do you spend cleaning your house a week and how do you break it up (one room each day, big clean on wknd, etc...)?

I'm a SAHM now but I used to work 50+ hours when the kids were younger and learned a few survival tips.

Keep a full set of cleaning supplies in every bathroom, the kitchen, the laundry, the garage and any other room that makes sense.

3-4 hours for a large house of appx. 3,500 sq ft. spread out over the week. Our trick was to keep it simple. We have less furniture then most people in 1800 sq ft houses. And less stuff=more room to play and less to clean. Got rid of the carpet as hard surfaces are easier to keep clean. No white doors as they collect fingerprints. No curtains or other things unless absolutely neccessary.

Limit the surface areas. i.e only one end table in a seating area. If there is no place to set stuff, it tends to not stack up. Nothing is allowed to remain on the kitchen counter tops or the floors for more then a few days! Enforcing something like this might be a good task for DH to take on as an eye opening experience. I keep a few folding trays in the coat closet to pull out when guests my need a spot to set a drink but they get put away as soon as guests leave.

Minimal nicknacks or things sitting around. Anything that collects dust goes into a cabinet or dust free place. My house is a bit bare but if decorations are limited to stuff on the walls then I don't have to dust it. As things seem to appear over time, I put everything sitting out away when the christmas stuff comes out. Then I don't get anything back out after the christmas stuff is put away. Its a super easy way to clear out everything once a year.

If there isn't a shelf or spot for something then it or something else needs to go into the attic or go away.


3. Any tips for having a house that is always 15 minutes away from being ready for company?

Realize that when people visit a slightly messy house, they will feel more comfortable and at home. And it makes them willing to let you see their real life mess. Real friends will love and appreciate your mess


4. Tips for dealing with paperwork (mail, bills, school papers, etc...)

Designate a drawer or basket as the only place it can end up.

5. Friendly ways to get hubby more on board?

I remember walking into the familyroom one day and stating that I was no longer doing any laundry. I was overwhelmed and just couldn't handle it. Same thing with the bathrooms. For a while, my husband even gave up part of his weekly cash to hire someone to come clean the bathrooms.
Have you tried keeping track of everything you do in a given week and the time spent per day?

Hope some of this helps.

 

[StitchFanZ]

Clothes are dropped where ever they happen to undress -

I'd be tempted to sweep them into a corner and leave them there... or since that would drive me nuts I'd put a big rubbermaid container in the corner of the room and just sweep them in there until they realize that clothes left on the floor don't get cleaned or returned to them.

 

[Kit'smommy]

We have a 2800 sq ft house that is usually company ready. I probably spend 20 minutes a day tidying things up and DH and I spend about 2 hours in total on cleaning on the weekend. We rotate through the heavy tasks such as windows, baseboards, cleaning out closets by doing one a month.

Laundry gets about 10-15 minutes of attention a day (including ironing other than DH's shirts which go to the laundry).

I think the only "secret" is to keep on top of things. Don't let anything stay in your house that you don't love or really use. Don't let laundry pile up until it takes a day to wash and fold everything - and put everything away immediately.

I heard someone say a few years ago to erase the evidence you did something immediately and I think that was my lightbulb moment. After we bathe, we clean up the bathroom immediately. After we cook, the kitchen gets put in order. After we do a craft project, the supplies get sorted and put away.

And I think the idea that it is as easy to keep a large house clean as a small one is crazy. We keep a couple of the bedrooms and one of the baths shut off as the three of us do not need them. If I "had" to clean them every week it would add considerable time to our routine.

 

[PollyannaMom]

...Anyone else do a sporadic clean from a service?

Am just about to! For various reasons, we've gotten WAY behind, and I need a boost to get back on track. But I'm bookmarking this thread to read after and figure out a plan.

 

[Bektasmic]

To everyone who has posted so far, thank you for sharing all your tips. I feel like I've benefitted from knowing how other people have been successful. Grew up in a household as the oldest of 5 with two full time working parents and things always were messy and chaotic (understandably), so I never really learned those "systems" for keeping a house

To address the "why not just downsize?" topic, i'ts not really an option. Firstly, as one poster stated, the economy is bad right now, we actually looked at selling last year, but it's a really tough market, and having just bought the house a year ago, it would have been a bad financial decision...would be a temporary solution as this is the dream house we would someday want to be in again-bought as an investment in our future family. We are expecting another child in Sept. and often have family guests from out of town, so the size of the house works great for us...the working multiple jobs is a temporary measure to replace emergency fund, savings, and IRA that were cashed out during layoff and prior move. While I will likely always work full time now, our situation with the multiple jobs is temporary. Even so, even if we can afford help again someday, I really want to learn to do this on our own and get some systems put in place now before baby arrives so that we're a well-oiled machine someday.

Also, not a neat-freak. I tend to leave projects out mid-stream when creativity breaks (hence one of the bedrooms is a craft room/sewing room/art room/fixit room for me and kiddos) and don't freak out (much) if the socks don't quite make it into the laundry basket. Just want to have a house that is clean enough to be healthy and where there is not junk piled on couches if someone stops over for a chat.

Loving hearing what everyone else does and have a list of things to try at home...keep the tips coming!

 

[SLK1]

I haven't read this whole thread, but I'm sitting here at the computer in complete pain!!! I was vacuuming our new wood floors (using the brush attachment so I wouldn't scratch said darling floors) and completely threw my back out. I'm waiting for the three Motrin I took to kick in. This is why we should never, ever clean our house!!!

 

[SLK1]

Ok, STILL waiting for the Motrin to work and I have had time to read the thread. The most useful thing I read was to keep a stash of cleaning supplies in every bathroom, and on each floor. I might be on a roll cleaning away, but if I have to stop to go down and get the vacuum or a dust rag or whatever, I lose my momentum and get completely distracted.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

So your advice to the OP would be, Since you have a big house and a small family just confine the mess to areas that can be closed off and ignored?

Her question was how to keep a house clean and she later mentioned that as well as being overwhelmed by the cleaning, she and her DH are having to work 2 jobs each and can't afford cleaning help. In that situation, for me the greatest stress relief would come from downsizing. With one less job there would be more time for upkeep.

Yep, that works for me!.

I will say that with the kids each having their own bathroom, the bathrooms are MUCH cleaner because they're just getting used less. I don't know if this makes rational sense, but instead of the toilet being totally gross in three days, it still looks ok after a week. The other thing is that since the girls each have their "own" bathroom, it's their "own" mess and when I tell them to clean their bathrooms, I don't get the whole "it's not my mess" drama.

I think trying to sell your house in this economy and the costs associated with buying a new one would far outweigh any savings. I also meant to add that I don't have a 5k sq ft house, it's about 3400. Our first apartment was less than 500 sq feet! One thing out of place in that apartment and it looked awful...

I also like the cleaning product and tools at hand-Short Attention Span Theater here will see a dirty toilet, go downstairs to get the cleaner, and by the time I make it to the laundry room I'm completely distracted by the laundry. Which seems to breed freely, I don't know how it happens...

 

[rbork]

Housework has indeed taken many years of experience and I have mastered the task. I've had homes from 1200sqft to 4000sqft -so experienced here. Here are some things I do that work:
1. declutter/ have a yard sale get rid of non essential stuff
we adopted this minimalist style a couple of years ago during a move and it really helps cut down on picking up "stuff" and frankly is friendly to the environment and my bank account. kwim
2. paperwork/mail/school papers get put in a assigned place and cleared through EVERY day. it goes to the trash, inbox (bills to be paid etc) or filed.
I have 2 hanging folders 1)inbox 2) outbox,stuff to be filed. I purge my files one day every year and start over with the current years filing. The last years filing goes to a storage bin in our storage room for the mandatory 7? year save.
3. We have rooms we "live" in and rooms that never get messy like the formal living room and dining room. Kid's have their own area for their toys in the playroom or bedroom. THEY are responsible for it. They pick it up on Sunday nights before the school week. We use storage bins for each toy like legos in one, knex in another, matchbox in another. Toys are not left or played with in my bedroom, formal living room, or dining room. Kid's have been trained since day 1 and don't complain about it either.
4. pick up everyday. clean once a week.
5. I've had to have our homes ready for "showings" (bought and sold several homes) so this would apply to being ready for company If on short notice and this happened quite a bit, each kid DS7, DS9 and DH has a job/room
For example, I'll get the kitchen, DH does the bedroom, Kid's get the playroom/bedrooms. Powder room is always neat, everyone cleans up after themselves in the powder room/company bath. Masterbath, usually me
6. a caddy of windex/antibacterial, roll of p-towels, comet and a toilet brush are under each of the bathroom sinks. This can be used for the bathroom itself and the rooms nearby.
7. Each floor has a vacuum. please don't laugh. It's extreme but works well. I don't have to lug the dang thing up and down stairs and technically can have all 3 run at once by a family member thus cutting down on vacuum time.

Containment in KEY here. Stuff is not all over the house or spread out through several rooms.

All this has taken time to "train" the family.
I've found that giving DH and kid's certain specific tasks first works best at first since DH tends to get cleaning ADD himself.

Good Luck and perhaps you'll start with one little step at a time. Don't expect perfection immediately. A little at a time.