What is your household cleaning schedule like?

[AngieMouse86]

Or, how do you regularly clean your house? Are certain rooms on certain days or is there a designated day for attacking everything?

Just curious because my living situation changed somewhat recently and I still can't believe the lack of cleaning that goes on here!

Backstory: I moved in with my DBF and his family a few months ago (motives were partly financial; his house is minutes from my job and it allows us both to save a lot so that we can get started on our own down the road). In the house are me, DBF, his brother, his GF, their DS(6) and their mom. 3 bedrooms but only 1 bath, but I figured I've grown up with siblings, that's no big deal, I can make it work.

Thus far, I have. Sharing the bathroom has been fine but what hasn't is how little these people clean! Dishes pile up in the kitchen sink until they look like they're trying to escape out the window above the sink. The bathroom tile is touched once in a blue moon, and not skillfully either, just given the once over with inferior products. The tub and ledge are almost never cleaned. Vacuuming the living room is a weekly occurrence and the coffee tables are wiped down on the same schedule, but anything *on* the table gets wiped around.

This is completely different than the way I was raised. The kitchen was done daily... counter tops, dishes, stove top, etc, mopped every 1-2 days. Bathrooms are done about every other day, shower/tub cleaned from top to bottom weekly. Carpeted areas are vacuumed every other day. End tables & coffee tables were given a full cleaning every week, more as necessary for the coffee table (rings from glasses). As you might guess, I now find myself doing a lot of cleaning, which I don't mind in theory, except these folks really have no appreciation for true cleanliness, so it goes rather unnoticed.

ETA: The GF only works very part-time and DBFs mom doesn't work at all anymore. She's not very old or infirm, either, so it's not like light dusting would be tasking for her. And I can't say either of them use their time at home for anything productive, like preparing dinner or some such. Nope. It's tv and talking on the phone for the both of them.

/tangent

So DISers, what is your cleaning routine like?

 

[Christine]

Both my husband and I work full-time and we have one kid left at home.

Dishes are cleaned and put away nightly.

After I cook dinner and we eat, all counters/tables are wiped clean. We don't have time to do it in the morning but we don't really eat breakfast here.

During the week, I do a load of laundry here and there, nothing else.

On the weekends:

Three bathrooms get cleaned top to bottom.
House gets vacuumed.
Grocery shopping gets done.
Car gets cleaned out (I carpool).
Sheets get changed.

Every two weeks, I dust furniture. It should be done more often but I really run out of time.

 

[Handbag Lady]

Or, how do you regularly clean your house? Are certain rooms on certain days or is there a designated day for attacking everything?

Just curious because my living situation changed somewhat recently and I still can't believe the lack of cleaning that goes on here!

Backstory: I moved in with my DBF and his family a few months ago (motives were partly financial; his house is minutes from my job and it allows us both to save a lot so that we can get started on our own down the road). In the house are me, DBF, his brother, his GF, their DS(6) and their mom. 3 bedrooms but only 1 bath, but I figured I've grown up with siblings, that's no big deal, I can make it work.

Thus far, I have. Sharing the bathroom has been fine but what hasn't is how little these people clean! Dishes pile up in the kitchen sink until they look like they're trying to escape out the window above the sink. The bathroom tile is touched once in a blue moon, and not skillfully either, just given the once over with inferior products. The tub and ledge are almost never cleaned. Vacuuming the living room is a weekly occurrence and the coffee tables are wiped down on the same schedule, but anything *on* the table gets wiped around.

This is completely different than the way I was raised. The kitchen was done daily... counter tops, dishes, stove top, etc, mopped every 1-2 days. Bathrooms are done about every other day, shower/tub cleaned from top to bottom weekly. Carpeted areas are vacuumed every other day. End tables & coffee tables were given a full cleaning every week, more as necessary for the coffee table (rings from glasses). As you might guess, I now find myself doing a lot of cleaning, which I don't mind in theory, except these folks really have no appreciation for true cleanliness, so it goes rather unnoticed.

/tangent

So DISers, what is your cleaning routine like?

I don't have one as I don't have time. I am dedicated to work from 8 am to 7pm each day. When I get home, I can barely make dinner for us and then clean the kitchen afterwards. We clean what needs to be done on the weekends, but then that takes away from our personal time. We REALLY need a housecleaner, but who has time to find one?

We did buy a new vacuum this past weekend. I got the one with the most things on it, fascinated my husband, so now the place is at least vacuumed now.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

Yeah, we don't really have what you'd call a "routine". It's more of a "things get done when we can get to them" sort of thing. I mean, I don't like to let dishes pile up, but sometimes it happens. And our master bathroom right now is a disaster area. As for vacuuming the floor...well, we just got a roomba, so that pretty much tells you how often we were doing it before (it actually works quite well in our absence and our carpets look much nicer!). We leave the house around 7am and often don't get back until after 8pm or later. After cooking dinner, taking care of the cat and plants, doing any extra work our bosses handed out as homework, and spending a little quality time with one another, there generally isn't much time for cleaning. Mostly, stuff gets done on weekends...and only then if we don't have other major plans.

Sorry, you'd totally HATE being our roommate.

 

[AngieMouse86]

Both my husband and I work full-time and we have one kid left at home.

Dishes are cleaned and put away nightly.

After I cook dinner and we eat, all counters/tables are wiped clean. We don't have time to do it in the morning but we don't really eat breakfast here.

During the week, I do a load of laundry here and there, nothing else.

On the weekends:

Three bathrooms get cleaned top to bottom.
House gets vacuumed.
Grocery shopping gets done.
Car gets cleaned out (I carpool).
Sheets get changed.

Every two weeks, I dust furniture. It should be done more often but I really run out of time.

That seems like a perfectly reasonable amount of cleaning, especially considering you're both full-time workers.

I don't have one as I don't have time. I am dedicated to work from 8 am to 7pm each day. When I get home, I can barely make dinner for us and then clean the kitchen afterwards. We clean what needs to be done on the weekends, but then that takes away from our personal time. We REALLY need a housecleaner, but who has time to find one?

We did buy a new vacuum this past weekend. I got the one with the most things on it, fascinated my husband, so now the place is at least vacuumed now.

Again, that sounds good to me too, as you work full time, but you do make the effort to clean after dinner. That doesn't go on around here! I should mention, and am going to edit my OP, that my DBFs mom does not work and his brothers GF only works part-time, so there's not a lack of people in the house during the day, lol.

 

[chicagodisneyfan]

I dont have time. I work crazy hours and a crazy schedule - currently in Bahamas for work.

I call the housekeeper.

 

[zurgswife]

No routine. If I can I try but that's about it.

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

Different stages of my life had different types of cleaning. Growing up, there were 6 of us in a tiny 3 bedroom one bathroom house.

Bathroom was cleaned daily, house dusted every other day, vacuuming done every day, dishes and kitchen cleaned up every night after supper. Mopping done twice a week.
Us 4 girls were responsible for alot of it. Mom supervised.

Then in my late teens/early 20's, I quit cleaning. Barely did a thing. Let everything pile up until we were out of dishes and the place got nasty before I cleaned. I figure I was rebelling from having to do it when I was young.

In my late 20's and 30's, I was working full time and did the cleaning once a week, dishes and kitchen cleaned up every other day. Had kids and then added having to do laundry every other day to keep up.

In my 40's now and I work part time in the mornings - kitchen cleaned up every day, bathrooms cleaned once a week except for the guest bathroom which I clean twice a week. vacuuming and floor mopping done once a week. Dusting done every tuesday now which is fairly new. I hate to dust so I used to let it go for months and months. Don't have a coffee table but do have 2 end tables. The one near my chair gets cleaned once a week - everything off of it and wipe it down. My husband is responsible for his which means it's been over a year since he's cleaned it.

Clean bathroom tiles once a month. Same with dusting baseboards in the house because with 2 cats, if I don't they get pretty yucky.

Laundry 3X a week.

I think that's about it.
You are brave for moving into a house with 6 people and 1 bathroom. I never ever want to go back to that again.

 

[Southernmiss]

Dishes are done daily, multiple times each day. Counters/table wiped as needed about every other day. Supper is cooked daily. Snacks are prepared all day long--3 teens in the house and 1 at college.

General pick up daily, as needed. There's always a loose soccer ball, baseball, or something that DS has dropped somewhere.

Kid's bathroom wiped down about every other day. DH and I pick up after ourselves daily in our bathroom.

House is vacuumed, dusted, mopped and microwave wiped out each Thursday or Friday (my days off). Each week I do a different task but not the same task each week--one week it might be dust the blinds, the next week it might be wipe down the baseboards--just whatever cleaning I haven't done lately that I notice needs to be done.

We have about 3 loads of laundry every other day.

Our home is usually not in a state that would embarass me if we had drop in company. Usually, it's decent.

 

[J3nn78]

Dishes are done after each meal and kitchen is kept clean
Saturday we dust, vacuum, and clean the bathrooms (sinks, toilets, shower)
Laundry is done throughout the week.

We don't leave things out of place, so there is never much of a mess to deal with.

 

[AngieMouse86]

I dont have time. I work crazy hours and a crazy schedule - currently in Bahamas for work.

I call the housekeeper.

Well see, you don't have the time but you do get it *done*, via a housekeeper.

You are brave for moving into a house with 6 people and 1 bathroom. I never ever want to go back to that again.

Haha, yes I do realize I'm a little crazy, but it's all in the name of savings and the future, so I try to stay positive about it. And I know what you mean about rebelling against cleaning, I attempted a phase like that in my teens but my mom and gram (who lived with us at the time) were having none of it. So cleaning has just stayed embedded in me.

Dishes are done daily, multiple times each day. Counters/table wiped as needed about every other day. Supper is cooked daily. Snacks are prepared all day long--3 teens in the house and 1 at college.

General pick up daily, as needed. There's always a loose soccer ball, baseball, or something that DS has dropped somewhere.

Kid's bathroom wiped down about every other day. DH and I pick up after ourselves daily in our bathroom.

House is vacuumed, dusted, mopped and microwave wiped out each Thursday or Friday (my days off). Each week I do a different task but not the same task each week--one week it might be dust the blinds, the next week it might be wipe down the baseboards--just whatever cleaning I haven't done lately that I notice needs to be done.

We have about 3 loads of laundry every other day.

Our home is usually not in a state that would embarass me if we had drop in company. Usually, it's decent.

Sounds very good to me, lol. The bold is something that was always instilled in me as a kid, the house doesn't have to be immaculate, but should look good enough for unexpected visitors.

 

[Liberty Belle]

My husband and I both work full time. I clean when I can. I wish I could afford a housekeeper, but can't. I've been laid off and given 90 days notice (with about 65 left), so while I am on unemployment and before I find another job, I'll be able to clean my house like I like to.


Sometimes people get in a rut, though, and get a little lazy. And, they may feel that you're looking down on them for not cleaning as much as you and so are just not cleaning now out of spite?

Who owns the house?

 

[goofinoff]

I always have Mondays off and go in late on Wednesdays so those are the days that I get most of the house work done. Mondays is bed changing, bathroom cleaning, floor washing day. Wednesday mornings is dust and vacuum (the few rugs we have) day. Everyday is laundry day. If I work all weekend my husband is really good about helping out so I don't have to spend my entire Monday cleaning!

 

[marlynnp]

So, OP, I have to ask - what is your cleaning routine?

Have you tried leading by example? Because it sounds like you want to complain how things are not being done, but you're not willing to do anything yourself.

 

[shortbun]

The cleaners come every other Tuesday and clean the whole house. I do the bathrooms, kitchen and sweep the floors in between.

 

[AngieMouse86]

Sometimes people get in a rut, though, and get a little lazy. And, they may feel that you're looking down on them for not cleaning as much as you and so are just not cleaning now out of spite?

Who owns the house?

I definitely thought the household was in a rut when I first started to visit, last year. Then as time wore on I realized that is just how things are here. My DBFs mom owns the house.

I always have Mondays off and go in late on Wednesdays so those are the days that I get most of the house work done. Mondays is bed changing, bathroom cleaning, floor washing day. Wednesday mornings is dust and vacuum (the few rugs we have) day. Everyday is laundry day. If I work all weekend my husband is really good about helping out so I don't have to spend my entire Monday cleaning!

You've got a good husband!

So, OP, I have to ask - what is your cleaning routine?

Have you tried leading by example? Because it sounds like you want to complain how things are not being done, but you're not willing to do anything yourself.

As I still feel 'new' in the house a little, I don't have a set in stone routine for the common areas. Our room is kept in order every day. 1 day vaccuming, the next cleaning the end table and dusting. Another day for the windows, etc.

As for the common areas, I've stuck to doing the bathroom once a week, usually Sat or Sun. Not sure where you think I'm not willing to do anything as I said in my OP that I find myself cleaning a lot now. I do dishes before I'm going to cook and after. Some days I'm not going to eat at all home and I won't do ones I see in the morning because, frankly, other people live here too, so I shouldn't carry the burden completely. I clean the stovetop and countertops around every other day, as well.

Also, when someone else does clean something clearly in need, say the dirty stove or the kitchen sink, it's only HALF done. Like, it will get wiped down but there will still be visible gunk or food! Half-butt job, that's what gets me. But that passes for actual cleaning.

The cleaners come every other Tuesday and clean the whole house. I do the bathrooms, kitchen and sweep the floors in between.

 

[AngieMouse86]

Just want to reiterate, I'm not looking down on anyone for not scrubbing their house down every day or anything!

I know I grew up with a rigorous cleaning routine at home and not everyone does. Was just looking for some confirmation that other households, all across the country and globe, do in fact, clean on some kind of regular basis.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I don't know if you and the GF are paying rent, but maybe the mom feels like she shouldn't have to clean, if you're not?

Or maybe her priorities/opinions of "clean" are just different. If she's lived this long, it's probably not hurt her any. Can't say I'd want to live like that, but to each her own.

 

[Mom_Rides]

99% of the time our house is lived in, pure and simple. We both work FT, with me working a lot of 6 day weeks in one way shape or form. DD dances once a week, we're knee deep in football 2 times a week right now and as soon as football is done, art and swim start for the younger 2.

Cleaning gets done when we can. We do about 2 loads of laundry during the week and the rest on the weekend. Dishes are done daily if not every other day. Bathroom wiped down weekly scrubbed down monthly, kitchen scrubbed down weekly. Sweeping and dusting whenever.

I'd love to have a cleaning schedule during the week but it's too hard and I'd feel bad when it didn't get done. There are times when I'd be totally embarrassed if someone came over, now is not one of them...hahaha!

 

[Poohforyou]

Didn't house cleaning schedules go out the window in the 50's? I clean when things are dirty but I try to keep up as I go. I have many things more important to do than making sure my floors are spotless.