Housecleaning: are you a clean as you go, or all at once type o' person?

[battlemaiden]

I always love to hear how others get it done.

 

I used to do a zone a day, on each day of the week, but then I had housekeeping help during the deployment and got used to having it all done on one day. Ahhhhh. There is nothing like it. It was also ridiculously expensive for something that is going to be uncleaned in 24hrs, soooooooo, I'm back to figuring my own way in the world of housecleaning.

 

How do you get it done?

 

Everyone has their own way, their own family size, their own house size. This isn't a right or wrong way post. I just need inspiration. :D

 

Thanks.

 

Jo

[teachermom2834]

I just don't think that's possible for me with 4 kids in a 2300 sq ft house ( with 3 bathrooms). I used to try to do it all on Friday (with oldest 3 kids working, too). It just was never all done even after we had worked for hours. The problem with doing it that way was that I never had extra time to work on the deep cleaning.

 

I am now cleaning as I go and using the Motivated Moms schedule. It is working much better and when I do get a couple extra hours the basics are already done and I can tackle a bigger job.

 

It is better for the perfectionist in me. I wouldn't clean the bath tub because I didn't have time to clean the toilet/counter/sink/mirrors/ floor and I wanted it all done at once. Now I just do one job at a time when it is on the schedule. It is always in okay condition, never all sparkling at once. It's working for me right now.

 

I hope you figure it out! It sure would be nice to have it all clean at the same time!

 

Marie

[MamaSheep]

:bigear:

[Kate in Arabia]

I do it all at once, I think partially because that's how my mom did it when I was growing up. She had one day where everyone pitched in together and did it all.

 

I have tried doing bits each day, but my personality is such that I just can't do a little then stop (this is true for many things for me), so I really did not get comfortable with this method. So now I generally take one day on the weekend and get everyone to pitch in and we do it all together.

 

I do spot cleaning during the week as warranted, but the bulk of it we do at one go.

[Shenan]

LOL!! Housecleaning? What's that? Never heard of the word.

 

:lol:

[swimmermom3]

I clean as I go, unless it gets too bad. If the three kids pick up after themselves and the 4 of us work for 15 minutes a day on vacuuming, dusting, and the bathrooms, things stay fairly tidy. I'll try to pick one area to declutter a week but that doesn't always happen. So right now I'm doing summer cleaning which is dejunking and straightening shelves. I do 1-2 loads of laundry a day. Otherwise, I will get behind. I can't stand a dirty kitchen and right now, mine drives me crazy. You can see it from the front door so I have a lot of incentive to keep it clean. I also have 2 teens and a 3rd dc that swims about 12 hours a week. They are always hungry and always eating. A clean counter top is a sure invitation to a major mess.:glare:

[battlemaiden]

LOL!! Housecleaning? What's that? Never heard of the word.

 

:lol:

 

Oh Shenan. ;) I absolutely have to have a clean house. I couldn't operate otherwise. I don't need sparkling baseboards, but the basic dusting, bathrooms, and floors are mandatory for me.

 

I *like* to be visitor ready. That doesn't mean I won't have blocks all over the floor and food out on the counter. It means the floors under the blocks and the counter under the food need to be clean.

 

I have enough uncontrollable factors in life. My house can't be one of them. :D

 

Jo

[ChristusG]

I would love to do a little bit each day....like designate the bathrooms for Monday, the dusting for Tuesday, etc. But I just cannot do that. Once I get started, I am already "in the zone" and just want to get everything done. So I usually take a day every two weeks to do all of the deep stuff (dusting, cleaning bathrooms, scrubbing toilets, mopping, etc). And then of course I wipe the counters, do the dishes, sweep the floors, and tidy every single day....several times a day.

[Shenan]

Oh Shenan. ;) I absolutely have to have a clean house. I couldn't operate otherwise. I don't need sparkling baseboards, but the basic dusting, bathrooms, and floors are mandatory for me.

 

I *like* to be visitor ready. That doesn't mean I won't have blocks all over the floor and food out on the counter. It means the floors under the blocks and the counter under the food need to be clean.

 

I have enough uncontrollable factors in life. My house can't be one of them. :D

 

Jo

 

 

God bless ya! ;)

 

I learned a long time ago to quit stressing over the house. I can scrub a floor to perfection and 5 minutes later someone will walk in with muddy shoes, or bloody noses, or a dirty dog. I have cleaned toilets spotless to have kids 'talking dinosaur' to it within a few hours. I can shine a window to perfection and a bird will fly smack dab into it just as I finish.....I can have all the laundry caught up and that night someone will wet the bed.... It's just life and I have learned to go with the flow. :)

 

I find myself satisfied with the house as long as the dishes and laundry are clean. As long as we have something clean to eat off of and something clean to wear I am happy and not stressing over it. If the guests show up and are not happy with our housekeeping skills (OUR guests understand our chaotic life) then they are more than welcome to pitch in and help us clean it. :D

 

I look into the future knowing that one day our little's will be all grown. That day will come all too soon and my house WILL be back in order like it was in our pre-child days. But for now... I'm not stressing over it... I'd rather stress over my time spent with the littles. ;) Some of which is spent teaching them how to clean.....:D

[battlemaiden]

bumping for more input....:tongue_smilie:

[elise1mds]

I am a do-it-all person. I love seeing the house totally clean, even if it's just for a few hours before DH gets home (clutter is different than clean in my mind). I do sometimes vacuum the carpets, handwash the big dishes, and/or clean the bathroom in between deep cleanings, but I try to clean the whole house approximately once a week. Being "company ready" is nice, but the company level I usually aim for is family, and that's a whole lot easier to deal with than formal company, which is a whole different level of clean and which causes my DH to avoid me for about four hours till the whole ordeal is over ;)

[Mad Jenny Flint]

My kids do the following:

 

Mondays all small trash cans and kitchen trash get emptied to dumpster.

Tuesdays plants get watered and glass doors, mirrors, tables get spot-cleaned.

Wednesdays laundry gets sorted and started. Kitchen trash is taken out again and dumpster/recycling are taken to curb.

Thursdays laundry gets folded and put away (I help).

Fridays backyard gets cleaned (dog) and guinea pig cage gets cleaned. I usually pay bills, or create a grocery list, or both, on this day.

 

Daily:

dishwasher is run, dishes are put away.

pets are fed.

litter boxes are cleaned.

beds are made (I do mine).

toilets are swished and sinks/toilets are wiped down (we each do our own).

I cook the meals and clean the kitchen; dd wipes the table and ds runs the dishwasher.

If Flylady's website has a mission for the day that I haven't done recently, I do it.

 

Saturdays or Sundays are big chore days.

 

ds dusts.

dd deep cleans baths.

dh vacuums unless he is not home, or it is a lawn mowing weekend, then I do it.

I mop the floors (mostly kitchen and baths) and change any linens that need it, wash them, and put them back/away.

Kitchen trash goes out again if necessary.

 

I spring and fall clean, which usually entails doing windows (1x/year) and dusting shutters/clearing cobwebs, as well as decluttering. I also go through closets and donate old/ill-fitting clothing at those times and again after Christmas. If an area of my house starts to get any clutter in it, I get itchy to declutter it; so I do this several times per year but it doesn't feel like anything. If I bring something new into the house I usually dispose of something.

 

I even declutter my bookshelves at the end of the school year (gasp). We only have so much room so I have to clear them periodically.

 

The main thing I do, though, is pick up after myself and remind family members to do it, too. I open the mail near the trash and take care of it right away. I clean as I cook. I attack large projects in small pieces so the room/house does not look torn apart. I really think this is key to keeping things presentable.

 

I like to have a company ready house, too. My family appreciates having a clean and decluttered, comfortable home.

[Rhonda in TX]

I used the Motivated Moms planner. It breaks it down over the week. I love it.

[Peela]

We clean the kitchen as we go- thats the one area that really helps us all if it stays relatively ordered. THe kids are in charge of it. I do the extras (like clenaing the microwave, the stove etc) and the cooking.

 

The rest of the house gets done in bite size chunks, and I am fairly impulsive about it (not comulsive- I am not a neat freak by any means). This morning I got up and felt to tidy my dresser and that led to me sorting my clothes. We are on the holidays- I spent one of the first days completely cleaning out the schoolroom. Now it just needs a vacuum and a quick pick up regularly because I got rid of a lot of stuff that didnt need to be in there.

The bathroom sink area, and the toilet, gets done every few days and the shower every month or so.

I am irregular and sporadic but one thing I learned from Flylady was that housework done imperfectly is still getting done, and that babysteps still gets it done too. I used to feel I had to do it all at once and it used to paralyse me. Now I am happy to just clean here and there as I feel to and it works much better for me.

[Jane]

I *like* to be visitor ready. That doesn't mean I won't have blocks all over the floor and food out on the counter. It means the floors under the blocks and the counter under the food need to be clean.

 

Ah! Music to my ears. Thank you for posting. We too keep a clean, but not always perfectly picked up home. I also was blessed with a housekeeper for a short time and am now trying to get back into a routine with the children's help. What are you leaning towards, Jo? Right now we are kind of going back and forth, some weeks doing it all in one day and other weeks doing a little each day. I'm working on my schedule for next school year and haven't yet decided which way to go.

[Ellie]

Both.

 

I clean the kitchen as I go. It never stays dirty once we finish eating or any time during the day.

 

I keep clutter picked up during the day, and because I have hardwood floors, I try to dustmop daily (I know there's just as much "dust" when there's carpet, but I can ignore that, lol).

 

But deeper cleaning I do once a week, all at once, mostly on Fridays.

[tadoussac]

Our house is never extraordinarily clean, but it has been much better since we have started a daily routine. I do have a housecleaner come for four hours once a week to help with some deep cleaning that we miss.

 

dd16 does dishes and cleans the kitchen nightly

dd13 cleans the three bathrooms daily, and takes care of her bird

ds10 takes out the garbage daily and tidies and vacuums either the living room or play room

dd7 takes out recycling daily and tidies the front and back entryway.

dds 5, 3 and 6 mos are currently chore free.

 

dd16, dd13, and ds10 are responsible for their own laundry and tidying their own rooms. dd13 has a very messy room, and we usually leave her to that. dd7 helps put away her laundry, and tidies the room she shares with dd5 and dd6mos with some protest.

 

In the summer, we usually ask dd16 and dd13 to do one extra household job a day, from lawnmowing to organizing a few kitchen cupboards, to hauling rocks or whatever else. ds10 often offers to help. dd7 usually cleans up the outside toys as needed. dd16 does lots of the cooking, while dd13 helps me lots with the littles.

 

We do better if we have a rhythm to our day, and I found the chores did go more smoothly during the school year when they fit more predictably into the school day.

 

LJM

[Tap]

We all spend about 1 hour every week cleaning together. This gets the downstairs done.

 

The rest of the house is cleaned as needed throughout the week.

[battlemaiden]

Ah! Music to my ears. Thank you for posting. We too keep a clean, but not always perfectly picked up home. I also was blessed with a housekeeper for a short time and am now trying to get back into a routine with the children's help. What are you leaning towards, Jo? Right now we are kind of going back and forth, some weeks doing it all in one day and other weeks doing a little each day. I'm working on my schedule for next school year and haven't yet decided which way to go.

 

The housekeeper came every other week. I really just needed them to do the deep cleaning in the bathrooms and floors. I also liked having all the dusting and vacuuming done on one day. It just made me feel good. :D Actually my husband would like for us to keep them, but I couldn't justify the expense. We did a deep clean over this past weekend and when I realized what we were spending in proportion to what they were actually doing I called and canceled service. :sad:

 

I'm doing my schedule now as well. I just want to make sure I'm keeping up. Having the housekeeper forced me to get all the surfaces sorted and cleared every two weeks. The paperwork pile couldn't back up, and the incidentals had to find there rightful place.

 

I think I'll shoot for an hour a day- Downstairs one day, then upstairs, bathrooms, paperwork/business day, then I'll reserve Saturday mornings for the big projects. I can't make Saturday my main cleaning day- I would blow it off too often to go play at the beach.

 

I need to get in the habit of wiping down the sink everyday, and spraying the showers with alcohol or bleach once a week. I just need to get in a rhythm. I don't do well with checklists for this sort of thing. I just need to find the schedule that works and make it habit.

 

Right now I'm just thinking in type. Thanks for making me write some of this out. :tongue_smilie: The fall season is starting to take shape as I decide on outside commitments. Pretty soon I'll be able to see the whole week plan and see what would work best.

 

Congrats on the upcoming blessing, btw.

 

Jo

[keptwoman]

I don't have a plan at all. We have a 10-15 minute tidy each evening which is a combination of cleaning and tidying and small things like taking the rubbish out.

Other than that I do something when it needs it: if the floor is dirty I mop it. lots of towels and I put them in the washing machine etc.

[Laura Corin]

I cycle round the house, doing a bit each day. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes ten days, I just keep going.

 

Laura

[Tree House Academy]

Both. I clean as I go (especially with meals and dishes), but I also have some things that I do regularly that are scheduled (like laundry, dusting, dust mopping, etc.).

[Carrie12345]

I'm still trying to develop a system.

 

When I attempt "zone" cleaning, I wind up with one clean room and several filthy ones (which really stinks in an open floor plan). When I try to do everything at once, I get burned out.

 

I'm doing my best to delegate more to the kids and I'm attempting to get at least one chore done in each room every day, hoping that will keep things manageable.

 

I HATE cleaning! There are so many more interesting things to do. :tongue_smilie:

[JudoMom]

I can clean the house by myself in about 3-3.5 hours. This includes cleaning the 4 bathrooms, dusting all furniture in all the rooms, mopping the kitchen & playroom, cleaning the counters, and making sure everything is picked up.

 

During the school year, I do this at least every 2 weeks on Sunday afternoon because our small group meets here for dinner and fellowship. During the summer I don't really have a set schedule, but I do it before overnight guests arrive.

 

In the time between the 2 weeks or in the summer, I just do jobs as they are needed. I vacuum & sweep almost daily and I keep things picked up. I do let my kitchen floor go a bit longer than I'm comfortable with, just because with the boys and the dogs and the mud and the sand it is a slightly futile effort.