I you have a clean house and don't use a cleaning service....how do you do it?

[Anonymous]

Laundry every night and after kids are in bed, no TV for me or husband until we've done an hour of something productive like cleaning or meal prep. Also, I get my kids to bed early, so there is time for stuff in the evening.

[Anonymous]

Make sure DH and your DCs are Helping out

[Anonymous]

After years of hand wringing, I now have someone who comes twice a month to clean. I think I do a better job, but I know that the real value in having someone come in to clean is that it forces us to get the house company/camera ready every two weeks.

Why company ready? I want the cleaners to do the jobs I don't/won't do - the shower walls, the floors. Occasionally, I will pull the furniture into the middle of the room to force us (the house cleaners and me) to clean the hidden places.

My house is somewhat large, though not a mansion, and it's old, therefore very dusty.

Good luck SAHM. I was you with little ones once. I would definitely CAYG. I even had baskets for the toys, so that everytime DC napped, I would restore the living room to a camera ready state.

[Anonymous]

NP here. Could some of the PPs give the amounts of time you're spending on whatever you're doing? Some of the responses on this thread are interesting, but would be much more helpful if you could say how many hours per day (or per week, if you would rather calculate it that way) you're tidying. Or cleaning. Or whatever.

[Anonymous]

Hmmmm. Value of time with kids vs value of time cleaning house.

This makes sense until you get like one PP whose house is so messy that she can't have people over. Then you are sacrificing everyone else (friends, other family, play dates for kids) for the sake of your kids. Others may disagree but I don't find that healthy. Depending on age, a nap, some TV, some quiet time in their rooms, or a few chores won't hurt a kid while you get things done.

[Anonymous]

My kids are 4/5 and we're an active family. I have a laundry basket for each family member for clothes so if I don't get to it, I don't feel so bad- put it in their room. Otherwise, I fold in front of the Tv. Lysol wipes in each bathroom; They come in pretty canisters now. I have paper plate days when I don't feel like cleaning up a mess or need a day of not doing anything.

I do have a cleaning person evo week. It's worth every penny of missing my lattes or going out to lunch every week or for another clothing item for myself. You can hire someone for once a month too.

I've learned to live with a little disarray, I just get crazy if people are to come that

[Anonymous]

OK you lost me on "if you have a clean house"

But, when I was only working part-time, my house was clean.....some of the time. And when it was, was when I did what others have said. I planned out the cleaning activities. Dusting one day, vacuuming another, bathrooms a third. And I did tiny clean ups in between (stick vacuumed daily). When I stuck with it, my house was pretty good. Although you did point out a good irony - the more you are home, the messier the house!

[Anonymous]

We both WOH, and it makes me crazy that we have such a strict routine, but if we didn't our family would fall apart.

Kitchen is cleaned as we go - on weekend, I feel like one of us is constantly wiping down the counter (two toddlers - two snack a day).
House is policed each night - shoes go to the right place, toys go in bins, etc. If I had a playroom, it might be policed once a month. I just wouldn't care.
Friday night - all clothes are laundered.
Saturday/Sunday - bathrooms and floors.
Sunday morning - sheets.
Sunday night - towels.

If I stayed at home, I would not feel badly about letting kids veg in front of the TV for 30 minutes to an hour while I cleaned bathrooms or something. Assuming they sit there and don't (like my 21 month old) get into trouble. 3 year old will just sit and watch.

[Anonymous]

11.07 here. I forgot, I dust maybe once every 3 weeks. HATE dusting.

[Anonymous]

I struggle with this myself. Four kids and a FT job make it tough to find time to clean. I usually do a load of laundry most nights, and we try to tidy up the family room and kitchen every night. But it's tough to find time and energy to CLEAN....so it usually waits until the weekend and I end up spending an entire day trying to clean, but my efforts usually fall short (ie, I'll get the bathrooms and kitchen done, but I run out of steam and can't do the floors or bedrooms). And the dust on the baseboards constantly mock me

[Anonymous]

I only use one section of the kitchen counter whenever possible. That way the crumbs are isolated to that one area and it's quicker to clean up.

I keep the vacuum underneath the dining room table for easy access to suck up crumbs, dog hair, dirt/grass (especially when it rains), and anything else. I use the duster buster daily and the vaccuum every other day usually.

I clean the powder room when needed (usually every 3 days) especially the sink area.

I buy clear soap or use bar soap to eliminate the "mess" from colored soap.

Just a few tips...I could go on.

SAHM to 3 kids under age 4. Like you OP, the kids (the 2 and 4 year old) "help" when the can. I know what you mean.

[Anonymous]

Get off my ass and actually work. How else? Kids don't need to be entertained 24/7, it is actually bad for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work outside of the home FT and our home looks ok, not pristine but ok.

I have a Roomba, without it I wouldn't be able to do it.

I wake up at 5-5:30 and do chores then before everyone wakes up.

Bathrooms are done a little bit here and a little bit there.

I take a day off each month to do a deeper cleaning.

You use up 12 of your vacation days a year to clean? That's intense, PP. That's on top of waking up early? I am impressed that cleaning is such a priority for you. I don't know if these would work for everyone though. Cleaning up the floor is the least of my worries. It's staying on top of all the paper that comes into the house everyday, the huge amounts of laundry that needs to be done all the time, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work outside of the home FT and our home looks ok, not pristine but ok.

I have a Roomba, without it I wouldn't be able to do it.

I wake up at 5-5:30 and do chores then before everyone wakes up.

Bathrooms are done a little bit here and a little bit there.

I take a day off each month to do a deeper cleaning.

You use up 12 of your vacation days a year to clean? That's intense, PP. That's on top of waking up early? I am impressed that cleaning is such a priority for you. I don't know if these would work for everyone though. Cleaning up the floor is the least of my worries. It's staying on top of all the paper that comes into the house everyday, the huge amounts of laundry that needs to be done all the time, etc.

Yes, I have a ton of vacation accumulated from a mishap of when I was on maternity leave, they were supposed to use it to cover my leave but didn't. I have a 25 days of vacation/days off a year, so I don't run out. I wake up early to read the paper and drink my coffee in peace, then take an hour to clean up, fold laundry, etc. I go to bed by 9:00, 9:30 at the latest.

I have a two year old and a 4 year old, when they are home before day care and in the evenings and weekends, I spend all my time enjoying them. We do chores together like folding laundry and cooking and putting toys away, but I really don't want to take time from them to spend cleaning.

And I like a clean enough house, we just bought it and it's the house of my dreams, so I like to keep it clean enough.

DH is working on kitchen renovations in the meantime, so he does his fair share.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If someone's house is too much for that family to clean on their own, that's too much house.

We have a home appropriately sized for us. We don't need a 2,500+ sq home. We have a schedule for different days (bathrooms on Mon, vacuuming on Fri, etc). We all pitch in. There's no way I'm paying maids to take care of my home for me.

Wait now, I live in 750 sq ft with two kids under 3 and that does NOT solve the problem. Frankly, your comment came off a bit nastily. I work out of the home and pretty much exhaust myself trying to keep things clean. Or rather, I should say that WE exhaust OURSELVES as my husband does more than his fair share.

OP I didn't read all the responses, but sadly my answer is that we clean after our kids are in bed 5 nights a week. It's really hard and exhausting. And my house is NOT Martha Stewart clean, but rather tidy and at least surface clean.

One answer is that deep cleaning only happens once a month. I define deep cleaning as anything involving breaking out into a sweat with a scrub brush, or anything involving moving furniture. Deep cleaning happens on the weekend and involves a nap and then my husband or I taking the kids out post nap for a meal/activity while the other cleans. During this time we steam clean the floors, vacuum furniture, organize closets, move things for dusting, scrub the tub, and wash things like chair covers, mats, and shower curtains etc.

Day to day, when my kids and I get home, we immediately put away our bags, take off shoes, and put on slippers. Coats and hats etc. immediately go in their places. Then the kids play in the kitchen while dinner gets made. I clean as I go as much as possible, but my first job is speed so there is always a mess in terms of the pots and pans at least.

The kids have a couple chores, and one of them is setting their table and bringing in their plates. After dinner we clear the table and then start bath. While the water is running, I usually throw the dishes from dinner into the dishwasher, but then focus on the kids and helping them finish getting undressed.

While I am giving the kids their bath, my husband rushes around the house to do a basic "pick up" and put things in the right room, and he makes sure that the kids' room is tidy. I maintenance clean the bathroom while my kids are in the tub about once per week, but I only clean the tub once a month, when I move everything out and scrub the whole thing down.

Then, once the kids are in bed, my husband and I tackle the house. He puts away extra dinner/makes lunches for the next day and then cleans up the kitchen (which usually involves breakfast and dinner prep dishes as well). I clean the remainder of the house in a counter clockwise fashion, starting at the entry table by the front door. I deal with all the piles my husband has made in each room (during his speed tidy) and carry around a recycling bag and trash bag. I organize mail and recycle junk mail, throw away any trash (a broken toy or some packaging etc), then I move on to dining room and wipe down the dinner table and sweet the dining room (ALWAYS a mess on the floor). Then I clean the table in the living room, clean the cat box, straighten the furniture and put living room toys in their place. Depending on the day, I quickly swiffer dust the surfaces or vacuum or fold laundry and put it away. My husband wipes down kitchen counters and sweeps, and depending on the day, he may wet swiffer the kitchen and the entry way.

We have a couple rules that help. The kids have their toys in bins that are organized by type (so balls, cars, imagination, art, music, etc.) and they can only have one bin out at a time. If they want to get a new bin, they have to clean up their old toys or activity FIRST. The kids clean up their toys before dinner, usually with our help. The kids also "make their beds" in the morning (just pull up the sheet) but that at least tidies their rooms, and we make our bed each morning as well. We try to do the same and put things away as we use them, but we all fail sometimes.

Basically, my answer is that we clean alllll the time and I'd give ANYTHING to have enough disposable income to pay someone to do this.