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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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. [/quote]

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.[/quote]

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