How long do you spend cleaning per day? per week? especially anyone with kids under 5

tiamai_d

I just typed a huge post about how I run around all day, get NOTHING done, then run around all night actually getting stuff done, and my windows and bedrooms get cleaned couple times a YEAR if they are lucky

but guess what?

Kids deleted it!

kazmeister

Hi

Your house sounds just like mine.

I've got 2 kids and currently not working, but I used to spend all weekend trying to get the place clean and keep up with the washing ironing etc and couldnt. What I wasnt doing was decluttering so that by the time I got to the last room all I had done was moved stuff round from one to another. This time I mean business as I'm back at work end of July methinks.

Over the last 2 weeks I have decluttered and cleaned the kitchen and dining room so now tomorrows list on the flylady thread will be a doddle. and hopefully I can get the 2 living rooms and hall done this week so that they'll be a doddle when I get to the day I should be doing them.

My kids are aged 8 and 15. 8 yrs is a nightmare for putting anything away and at the moment I refuse to do her room as she refuses to but son 15 is actually ok but needs nagging first.

My plan is to use trolley bags for each person at the bottom of the stairs which I can just put anyhting into as I find it out of place. Its then up to the person involved to take it upstairs and put it away.

Hopefully by the time I do go back to work I'll be able to do a little each evening so that my weekends arent all housework.

Good luck

morganb

I find it very helpful indeed to lay out the breakfast things the night before; bowls, spoons, cereals, fruit and juice, which buys me enough time in the morning to tidy away before we head off out of the house ...

Mics_chick

kazmeister wrote: »

Hi

Your house sounds just like mine.

I've got 2 kids and currently not working, but I used to spend all weekend trying to get the place clean and keep up with the washing ironing etc and couldnt. What I wasnt doing was decluttering so that by the time I got to the last room all I had done was moved stuff round from one to another. This time I mean business as I'm back at work end of July methinks.

Over the last 2 weeks I have decluttered and cleaned the kitchen and dining room so now tomorrows list on the flylady thread will be a doddle. and hopefully I can get the 2 living rooms and hall done this week so that they'll be a doddle when I get to the day I should be doing them.

My kids are aged 8 and 15. 8 yrs is a nightmare for putting anything away and at the moment I refuse to do her room as she refuses to but son 15 is actually ok but needs nagging first.

My plan is to use trolley bags for each person at the bottom of the stairs which I can just put anyhting into as I find it out of place. Its then up to the person involved to take it upstairs and put it away.

Hopefully by the time I do go back to work I'll be able to do a little each evening so that my weekends arent all housework.

Good luck

What's a trolley bag - is it one of those things old ladies put their shopping in with wheels on or am I completely wrong...

Mics_chick

morganb wrote: »

I find it very helpful indeed to lay out the breakfast things the night before; bowls, spoons, cereals, fruit and juice, which buys me enough time in the morning to tidy away before we head off out of the house ...

Thanks morganb but I'd have to find a place to put all the [EMAIL="cr@p"]!!!!!![/EMAIL] that's on the table first

JillD_2

Hi
My kids are jusy turned 4 and 2 and a half, and I am 29 weeks pregnant. I am a bit obsessive about things being tidy but am hopeless at the actual cleaning, and being knackered all the time just now doesn't help.

Every morning I run around madly tidying the bedrooms til they look ok - beds made, clothes off the floor, any dirty cups or beakers downstairs, toys vaguley off the floor so noone loses a foot LOL
I put on a load of washing if needs be, every second day is enough.

After breakfast I load the dishes into the dishwasher and wipe down the surfaces and table. If I have time I pick breakfast detritus off the floor.
Until recently I was working 2 1/2 days a week, on those days nothing else got done in the day at all.

Now I am off on leave though, in the morning if kids are at preschool all I really do is put away laundry if its needed, tidy up paperwork or kids artwork or other stuff, hang out the washing when its done. This takea about an horu I'd say. I've been having a massive declutter so normally do some of this and have finally gotten nearly to the end of it.

Pick up kids for lunch, feed them and tidy kitchen afterwards.
I hardly ever do housework in the afternoon because we are nearly always out at the park, or swimming, or seeing friends.

Then tea time, do tea and get them to tidy playroom before tea. After tea tidy the kitchen - AGAIN aarrghhh I hate that job - and put on dishwasher.
Then bathtime and bedtime for kids.

After that I empty the dishwasher and do any bits of laundry that need doing.

Other jobs:
The bathroom gets cleaned while they are in the bath.
The ironing piles up for weeks til I can't see the spare room bed - luckily their preschool uniform is polo shirts and sweatshirts, washes really well and doesn't need ironing.
This week I have decided to try and hoover and dust once a week, so I had a mad hoover round on Friday while they had lunch. Only got downstairs done though.
I do the bedsheets about once a month. Probably everyone thinks this is minging but its all I seem to get around to.

I'm sure once the kida re a bit oder and better able to entertain themselves it will get easier.

JillD_2

Oh yeah and to get back to the obsessive about being tidy thing, I declutter every day. The massive declutter I mentioned earlier was of the spare room dumping ground in preparation for it being turned into DDs bedroom before baby comes and has her room.

But every time we get in from being out anywhere I put things away - hang up coats etc, get any dirtyclothes out of their preschool/nursery bags, get beakers or snackboxes into the dishwasher. I try to open mail as soon as it gets in and deal with it, file it in the study or recycle it. Toys are returned to relevant rooms asap.

I find if I don;t do this for eben one day (like today as I've not felt great all day) I get really stressed and hate coming down to a mess in the morning, which then sets me up for a bad day as I spend too long on tidying befoer we leave the house , then we are late for preschool etc etc

vivw_2

For anyone who wants support from others when lacking motivation ...check out this thread:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=419650&page=159

milkydrink

I'm a mad-thrower-away-er, that makes it easier to have a tidy home.
I also love my dishwasher, you can load it as you go & the kitchen doesn't get all messy dishing up dinners. Keeps the kitchen tidy.
I do a big clean on my day off & I spend about an hour or two a day doing a little laundry & little jobs.
I do a big iron once a week, i've got a really good Philips steam generator & it saves so much time on ironing. I do about 2 or so hours a week, its a massive pile I iron everything & we all have a clean ironed outfit everyday.
I try & get a bit of gardening in as well, but this isn't nice gardening. We moved in last year & are still trying to sort out our overgrown jungle (& its 115 foot long!!!!!! & even the bl**dy front garden/drive is big & overgrown. Spent about 3 hours out there today with hubby.

kazmeister

Sorry Micschick

A trolley bag is just one of those big plastic bags you can pick up in the supermarket for 99p, really strong plastic that you can clip into sides of your trolley to just bung everything in.

Just as an example for being able to fly, since my last post I have managed to do the following off tomorrows list

Lev 1 Clean & Wipe kitchen surfaces - done

Lev 2 Clean floors - will do when eldest goes to bed SHORTLY
Clean cupbaord doors and front of appliances - done
Sort fridge - did that earlier when putting shopping away and getting
lunch
Dust dining room furniture and cobweb - done
Lev 3 Wipe D/Rm table - done
Wipe window sills - done
Clean marks on windows - will have to do when light outside
Wash drawer out of washing machine - done last week
Clean oven - still HIS job not mine :rotfl:

Extras Wipe appliances - done including ones in utility room
Clean out vacuum cleaner - done last week
Clean out freezer - doesnt need doing and is another of HIS jobs :rotfl:
and list of contents up to date !!! (I need one I have 3 freezers)
Sort one cupboard, empty wipe out etc - still to do tomorrow

Oh and packed lunches done

First time ever and its an inspiration (and only 2 rooms out of 13 but heh what a start)