How do you keep your house clean?

[Anonymous]

I work FT and have 3 DC. I can't seem to find time or energy to clean and/or sometimes even straighten up. When do you clean? If you do it all on one weekend day how long does it take you? Or do you prefer to do a little every day after work? After homework, dinner etc I really can't make myself do serious cleaning so it has to get done on the weekend. Do you go room to room with cleaning supplies and the vacuum? I end up just flitting around trying to straighten up and never really getting to the deep (dusting, vacuum) cleaning. Any tips on what works for you?

[Anonymous]

I have one night a week where the kids go to bed at 7 and I clean until midnight. It sucks, but that is my only option. I only work four days a week, so It works for me.

[Anonymous]

Do you clean your house top to bottom? Do you spend 5 hours cleaning? Doesn't the vacuum wake up your kids? Do you do this weekly? After working all day you come home and clean all evening? Wow, I'm impressed with your energy. Does your husband clean too?

[Anonymous]

I clean almost every night when I get home from work. Our nanny is the messiest human being I have ever met, and she seems to go out of her way to make a huge mess every day - floors filthy, paint splattered on walls, etc. I hate this routine, but I can't ignore the filth when I get home.

[Anonymous]

OP - are your kids old enough to help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I clean almost every night when I get home from work. Our nanny is the messiest human being I have ever met, and she seems to go out of her way to make a huge mess every day - floors filthy, paint splattered on walls, etc. I hate this routine, but I can't ignore the filth when I get home.

NP here. I'd revisit that with the nanny. Part of childcare includes cleaning child-related mess. And depending how old your kids are, she can start modeling good tidy behavior for them.

[Anonymous]

Hire someone OP, to do the actual cleaning (floors, bathroom, kitchen, dusting) every other week. It is beyond worth it. Get rid of stuff to keep clutter at bay.

[Anonymous]

1) Don't make a mess to begin with (ex. leaving toothbrush in the sink after brushing, dirty towels on the floor).

2) Clean as you go (ex. wipe down counter tops each use; put dirty dishes directly into dishwasher after rinsing; dirty clothes get dumped directly into washing machine).

3) Create an environment that's easy to keep clean (e.g. no over abundance of toys; easily-accessible crates for toy storage).

4) Everyone participates (ex. my 2yo knows to put all of his bath toys in the wall frog container at the end of each bath).

5) Fit in small tasks throughout the week. For example: I'll vacuum the small carpet (5x7) in the living room if I see my toddler's getting cranky. It's a distraction that's useful. While he's busy in the tub, I may wipe down the bathroom. I mean, I have to be there anyway! I'll sweep the room if the kids are engulfed in some tv program. Etc.

[Anonymous]

I don't have the highest standards for cleanliness. I work outside the home and have three kids too.

What we do is every evening we'll call "clean up time" and one parent will help the kids clean up the toys in the living room and then vacuum, the other parent will clean up the kitchen.

On Saturday morning, one parent takes two kids to the grocery store. The other one with help from one kid, goes around to each of the bathrooms and does a 10-15 minute clean of each bathroom.

Before bed everyday I put in a load of laundry. My husband who stays up later will flip it over into the dryer. A few times a week I'll fold a bunch of laundry...usually while watching monday night football or DVRed bad reality tv.

[Anonymous]

We try to clean as we go so the mess doesn't build up. Dishes never sit in the sink. Pots and pans get washed immediately after they're used.

Also, I clean the bathroom (except the tub) while giving my toddler a bath. She can happily spend 30 minutes in the tub while I clean. Depending on which bathroom I want to clean, she'll bathe there that night.

Tubs get cleaned while I shower. I get in and scrub down the walls and the tub then get on with my shower. I find that if I get around to each tub once a week, there isn't much buildup and it's a quick process.

Each night, I go around and do some clutter control -- take care of mail, put away toys, etc.

Saturday mornings the whole household gets involved in cleaning up. This is when we do our dusting, vacuuming, fridge and microwave wipe down, and general organizing.

I run a load of laundry in the morning before work and move it to the dryer when I get home.

[Anonymous]

Work FT, two DC here. We all straighten up every single night. Spot clean as necessary. Cleaning service to do the full blown clean every other week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't have the highest standards for cleanliness. I work outside the home and have three kids too.

What we do is every evening we'll call "clean up time" and one parent will help the kids clean up the toys in the living room and then vacuum, the other parent will clean up the kitchen.

On Saturday morning, one parent takes two kids to the grocery store. The other one with help from one kid, goes around to each of the bathrooms and does a 10-15 minute clean of each bathroom.

Before bed everyday I put in a load of laundry. My husband who stays up later will flip it over into the dryer. A few times a week I'll fold a bunch of laundry...usually while watching monday night football or DVRed bad reality tv.

Love the idea of putting in one load before bed, and having dh put it in the dryer. I have a really tough time keeping up with laundry especially since dh went from working from home, to working in an office..

[Anonymous]

Clean as you go. Everything has a home or it leaves the house. My level of clean has been reduced since having kids. My absolute pet peeves are toys lying around, clutter on counter tops, a dirty kitchen and bathroom. So dishes are always cleaned, kitchen counter tops clean every meal. Kitchen floors once or twice a week. Bathroom cleaned once a week. Laundry is done several times a week. Kids toys must be put away where they belong each night. If not they are put in the "donate" box. The kids have a week to earn them back (by doing other helpful stuff around the house). If they don't the toys are donated. Clutter is more of an issue with my DH. Once he puts it down he never moves it again. Magazines are put in holder, Sunday mornings we review them and recycle those no longer needed. Mail that needs attention has a place and junk mail is either shredded or recycled the minute it enters the house. We vacuum the rugs once a week unless they really need it. Hardwood floors swept once a week. Dusting rarely happens - or only happens when we are expecting visitors.

[Anonymous]

I've never done cleaning in one day or one night. For me ,it's impossible. So I'm used to clean gradually . I clean the bath rooms twice a week .Dishes and living rooms every night .clothes washing twice a weak .....etc

[Anonymous]

Honestly? I schedule playdates or company at our house every weekend or two so I have an incentive to do stuff like cleaning the bathrooms, etc. Other than that, I do what needs to be done, period. I sweep when I notice dust or dirt. I clean the sink or bathroom when I notice it doesn't look that great. I try to put all toys away every night when my daughter goes to bed so I can relax and have my adult time in an un-cluttered room. I wash sheets and towels every week or two, and I'm great about keeping up on laundry, though sometimes the clean clothes lay flat in the basket for a week before I get around to folding them.