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

Mics_chick

After reading some of these posts I wish... I wish lots of different things...

If I lived in a bigger house so had space for a playroom then I wouldn't care if it looked like a tip coz I could just close the door on it.

If I lived in a bungalow or flat then their bedrooms would be on the same level so they could happily play in there or only bring out 1 or 2 things out at a time.

If I had a dishwasher I could hide all the mucky crockery away making the kitchen look tidier...

...but sadly that's not to be any time soon so I'll have to be like everyone else and tidy up 3 [strike]million[/strike] times a day to keep it looking half way decent :rotfl:

kazmeister

NOOOOOO dont wish for a bigger house - its just more clutter trust me.

When we moved house from a 4 bed detached to a 4 bed terrace I was at work so couldnt declutter and it took my other half and his mate 14 days to move everything 12 miles using a 4X4 and box trailerdoing either 1 or 2 trips every day. We still havent decluttered after 7 years and have to build an attic bedroom to get more space. 4 people 5 bedrooms 3 receptions rooms and not an ounce of space.

Mics_chick

kazmeister wrote: »

NOOOOOO dont wish for a bigger house - its just more clutter trust me.

When we moved house from a 4 bed detached to a 4 bed terrace I was at work so couldnt declutter and it took my other half and his mate 14 days to move everything 12 miles using a 4X4 and box trailerdoing either 1 or 2 trips every day. We still havent decluttered after 7 years and have to build an attic bedroom to get more space. 4 people 5 bedrooms 3 receptions rooms and not an ounce of space.

Wishful thinking was all it was :rolleyes:

When you've only got a kitchen diner which struggles to fit a table in coz there's too many cupboards (God only knows what the previous owners were thinking :mad:), a lounge, a largish porch (which doubles as an office coz it's the only place for the computer since 2 young aliens took over my spare bedrooms :rotfl:) then it doesn't take long for the whole ground floor to look like we've been burgled :eek:

I was only wishing for a downstairs room that I could chuck all the toys in and close the door on - I don't think I'd be so bothered by all the clutter during the day then...

vivw_2

One method of reducing clutter that is slowly working for me is to fill a carrier bag per day. That is not too big a challenge but it does slowly reduce the amount of stuff in the house.

halia

Far too much tine and its still a tip. I'd say minimum of 1 1/2 hrs a day and then big jobs whenever I can find time. I have a 2 and a bit yr old btw.

I just hate the neverending nature of it all and the fact that we don't have decent storage - huge house so more to keep tidy but nowhere to put things away grrrrrrrrr

arlybarly

hi all
i work as a housekeeper/cleaner nearly full time, i have 2 teenagers a hubby 3 cats and 2 dogs, i am a clean freak. i do other peoples homes every day and i cant stand it when i go back the next week and their houses are messy again. i come home and do my house from top to bottom and it takes about 90 minutes as i cant stand clutter, i clean my windows in the kitchen and living room about 3 times a week as the cats snot on them. i
beds are changed every week and bathroom ect is every couple of days, but i hace a confession to make i never ever clean my car out as i hate cleaning cars so this gets done every 6 months lol x

16011996

I work full time and its only over the last 2 years I've finally got organised,

I get up at 6, make breakfast, get kids up, eat it, wash up, kids have to make there beds, and get washed and dressed then we are out at quarter past seven, I nearly always get washed up in a morning, as the kids take much longer than me to put clothes on.
Packed lunches are done night before and kept in the fridge, so just grabbed on way out.
washing is done a load most nights, pegged out/on rads in morning, then ironed each night whilst i watch my soaps, lol as this takes the chore out of it.
housework is done in bits each night, kids have to dust/hoover/tidy there rooms sat morning, before they get there pocket money (great incentive, lol) other rooms i do on a nightly basis in a rota, living room monday, bathroom/kitchen tuesday (as kids are out so i can mop floor and its dry before they tramp on it!!), my bedroom wednesday, dining room thursday and friday hoover through.
little jobs are done as i go along, whilst cooking i wipe down kitchen, fri night whilst cooking i make shopping list and empty anything out of date from fridge, sunday we bake cakes for packed lunches etc, and quite often make meals to make it easier through the week.
sunday is also bed stripping morning, all beds are stripped, and washed over sun/mon, have to admit i dry them outside often as possible as I can't be doing with ironing bedding!!!!!
every week (usually on a saturday when kids are doing there rooms, I do the equivalent of a flylady 27 fling thing, get a large bag and get rid of carp til its full, old tv guide, papers, etc, plus this way i've reduced clutter from shelves, once i got started its quite addictive, lol. cleared 2 black bags this weekend. every 3 months, we have a sunday marked on calender which is clear out day. the kids have half an hour sunday morning after stripping beds to clear out any carp from there rooms thats no longer needed, give them a carrier bag and let them get on with it, first couple of times they were only half full, but once they got into it, its amazing how much stuff they get rid of when they see the space, i even get asked for extra bags occaisionally.
every six months (end of march and end of sept) we do a wardrobe clear out of out grown clothes, which are then passed on to hcarity or friends with kids whom they'll fit.
my top tip is to start small, get in the habit of doing one thing, (i started with beds every sun morning, then added from there) then add one at a time, small steps, but it gets you there.

hex2

Mics-chick,
My boys are 2 and 4, and the house is mostly reasonable in that I am not really ashamed all of the time! Captain Chaos and his side kick generate a silly amount of mess all day. I work two days a week and try and get everything done in the daytime so that DH and I actually spend the evenings talking to each other.
I used to follow the Fly Lady thing and it helped me to de-clutter and get into a routine. I don't need to do it so much now that the worst of the clutter has gone. I have disciplined myself not to switch the laptop on until the mess is cleared in the morning and the boys are dressed. I clean up for 20 minutes at lunchtime, and again just before OH comes home. I do another 20 minutes after the boys have gone to bed just to get the house straight again. I use a lot of disposable wipes - not enconomical but convenient, and by having a quick tidy and wipe of main rooms (bathroom, living room, kitchen) every day I can mostly stop it from sinking back into chaos. I try and do ten minutes in one of the other rooms on the days when I am home. About once a month I have a whole house clean - tedious but necessary. The boys usually destroy the living room whilst I am doing this which is heart breaking and frustrating.
A lot of it is self discipline and multi tasking eg clean the downstairs loo while the kettle is boiling, don't handle things twice - ie open the post and deal with it, bin or file the mess daily. Deal with the small mess before it becomes a big mess. Ask yourself if you would be ashamed if someone knocked on the front door right now. If the answer is yes then switch the computer off and have fifteen minutes tidying. Buy things that dont need ironing - I mostly only do work things if I can get away with it.
Above all don't fret about it. At the end of the day looking after small children is hardwork. It is more important that they have a nice time with you learning things and developing than it is for them to live in a show home, however nice it would be.
Hope this helps.

vivw_2

hex2 wrote: »

Above all don't fret about it. At the end of the day looking after small children is hardwork. It is more important that they have a nice time with you learning things and developing than it is for them to live in a show home, however nice it would be.
Hope this helps.

That is so true.My daughter,Sian talks so warmly about her childhood and all the things they used to do. Her friends always said I was like a second mum to them and loved being in our house, even if it was less tidy than their own

vivw_2

Think the problem is often motivation which is linked the belief there's not time. Also the idea of not doing it because you haven't time to make it perfect.
Some of us were having that problem a few weeks ago and so got together under the banner 'Good Enough' ....see this thread http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=419650

Anyone is welcome to join us