What is your housework routine?
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Anonymous
| We don't have a cleaning lady, so I do all the laundry and cleaning myself. I don't really have a routine--just do what needs to be done when it needs to be done, but I find myself spending at least 2 hours a day on just laundry and cleaning/organizing. Does this seem like too much? I find it takes a lot of time to put things back where they belong/straighten/gather laundry/fold, etc. And I'm just doing a superficial cleaning daily, not a deep clean or anything like that. The kitchen seems to take the longest. I'd love to hear examples of others' house cleaning routine. |
Anonymous
| How do you have two hours a day to do all that? |
Anonymous
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I don't know. I was planning to spend 30 min cleaning the kitchen (including mopping the floor), and ended up spending 90 minutes and still haven't mopped the floor. Like you, I feel like I'm always putting things away and doing superficial cleaning, so that when I set out to really clean, it takes me forever (and I'm not a slow person). I'm trying to follow the Fly Lady's tips, because it seems to make actual cleaning, as opposed to just straightening up, more manageable. I think today's task is to dust all of the pictures frams/nicknacks in the living and dining rooms. Since we don't really have many/any of those, it will take me about 3 minutes. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
But, seriously, try Fly Lady. There's also a cleaning program on Apartment Therapy called "Fall Home Cure" that looks like it could be worth implementing: http://cure.apartmenttherapy.com/2011/fall/. |
Anonymous
| PP here: Also, I do stay on top of laundry by throwing in a load as soon as I wake up. It's ready for the dryer before we're even having breakfast, so I'll toss in another load while we eat, and then put it in the dryer before I leave for preschool drop-off. I either fold both loads while DS is at preschool or, more likely, I do it when I'm watching TV at night. |
Anonymous
| I don't have a routine, spend less than 30 minutes "cleaning" a day, and obviously can barely manage keeping the house half-decent. Will check out PP's tips, thanks! |
Anonymous
I don't do a lot of other things in order to take care of housework. |
Anonymous
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If both spouses are working, I can't stress how beneficial a cleaning service can be to your quality of life. I know it's hard to afford, but it's worth seriously looking at.
The second best thing is to insist on a better division of labor. That helps tremendously. Having said all of that, before we got a cleaning service, I was the only one doing the lion's share of the cleaning, and I gave up because I wanted to spend the time with my son. Pre-Cleaning Service: Before work: Daily: 1 load of laundry, clean but not folded Daily: Unload dishwasher and put dishes away Monday morning: mop kitchen floor Tuesday morning: vaccum 1st floor of house Wednesday morning: clean master bath Thursday morning: clean upstairs bath Friday morning: clean hall bath After work: Daily: 1 - 2 loads of laundry, again clean but not folded Daily: Scrub down kitchen pretty well after dinner. stick vac the kitchen floor. Monday evening: dust whole house Tuesday evening: clean out fridge, wipe spills, throw out old food Wednesday evening: fold and put laundry away, or at least some of it. (always dropped the ball on this one) Thursday evening: pay bills Friday evening: nothing Weekends: Major projects like raking leaves, cleaning out a particular closet, sorting things to go to goodwill or bulk trash, repairing things around the house, etc. |
Anonymous
Both DH and I WOTH 40+hrs a week. I would love to be able to afford a regular housecleaner or a yard/lawn person, but we don't have either. Here's what we do, take it or leave it. 
DH usually does: Groceries ordered from Peapod (we pay $6.95 per order over $100 plus $5 tip, but that $12 is the best we spend all week, and saves us an hour+ on the weekends) Most of the cooking (can't tell you how awesome this part is!) Mows the lawn once a week during summer, rakes the yard, etc. Usually one of us cleans up dinner/loads the dishwasher while the other bathes the kids we both put the kids to bed In evenings I usually: 1 load of laundry on Tues, one on Thurs. (Take showers M, W, F) Straighten up kitchen/paperwork/living room for 15 minutes each night Vaccuum and dust on weekends or whenever everyone is out Saturday mornings, I: change sheets (usually every other week) clean bathrooms, empty trash, etc. ONce in a while I: clean other rooms (guest room, etc) do other stuff like reorganizing a closet, decorating project, etc. |
Anonymous
| write check, pay cleaning ladies |
Anonymous
| Get rid of the crap! |
Anonymous
LOVE it! |
Anonymous
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Daily: clean kitchen (dishwasher, dishes, wipe down counters). Take out trash, spot vacuum/sweep as needed. Toss in a load of laundry or two if needed.
Weekly (or biweekly. Typically Saturdays or Sundays): full or maintenance clean of the bathroom, full vacuum, clean bathroom/kitchen floor, catch up on laundry. Once or twice a year - attempt to overhaul/declutter/full clean It helps to just do maintenance cleaning during the week and full cleans on the weekend (or whatever days you have off, if you work weekends). As long as you keep up with it during the week, it lessens how much time it takes it takes when you're home and have time. Do what you can when kids are napping or in bed, then it doesn't detract so much from the rest of the day. |
Anonymous
Well, that's the problem right there. Fill your life with the important things first, then hire a cleaning service 
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Anonymous
Agree completely. Get rid of anything and everything you can. It makes a world of difference. Other than that, DH and I both work (me just part-time). I try to do a load of laundry a day. Clean the bathrooms once a week. Clean kitchen nightly (just a really quick wipedown). And, vacuum weekly. I should be doing more - dusting, etc. But, I just do it when it gets really bad. |
Anonymous
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Two hours does seem like a lot. DH and I both WOH full-time, and we have a 15 month old DC as well. I think we each spend about 30 minutes cleaning each weeknight, and maybe an hour per day cleaning on the weekends, usually during DC's naptime.
Weeknights the schedule goes: Get home @ 5:30 Unload the dishwasher and start dinner while DC eats a snack DH takes DC up for a bath while I finish making dinner and wash pots and pans Dinner @ 6:30 DH does dishes, wipes down the table while I play with DD 8:00 brush teeth and bedtime for DD I spend 20 minutes picking up toys, wiping down the kitchen, packing lunches 8:30 I take a shower, and usually try to scrub down one side of the shower per night while I'm in there On the weekends, we always do laundry - usually 3 loads (fewer b/c we have a lot of dry cleaning) - vacuum, and clean tubs/toilets/sinks. Other chores rotate probably on a monthly basis and include: Polishing cabinet faces Cleaning out appliances, especially microwave and refrigerator Dusting all surfaces, knick knacks, baseboards, and AC return vent things De-cluttering cabinets and drawers Moving things into and out of storage (seasonal) General mess and clutter control (especially in DC's room) I think one thing that helps a lot is that everyone pitches in. Even DC "helps" with laundry, and she's actually pretty good at picking up her toys and putting them back into the toy chest. |