Does anyone else feel like they are ALWAYS cleaning?

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

I like a tidy house but sometimes I feel as if I am ALWAYS cleaning. Below is my basic cleaning schedule (I may be forgetting a few chores):

 

 

Daily:

Dishes

Make beds

Wipe down kitchen counters and table

Clean kitchen sink

Sweep kitchen floor

Laundry (at least 1-2 loads a day -- I've done 4 so far today)

Tidy up (pick up misc. items left laying around the house)

Empty all the trash cans

 

Twice Per Week:

Vacuum

Mop kitchen floor

Clean bathrooms

 

Weekly:

Dust

Wash bed sheets

Clean classroom, kids' room, etc. (they help me with this)

 

Monthly:

Wash comforters

Clean refrigerator

 

Quarterly:

Shampoo carpets

Polish hardwood floors

Clean windows

Clean out closets and get rid of old clothes, toys, etc.

 

Does anyone clean more or less often than this? Does anyone else care to share their schedules?

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I clean a lot less than this but I also have older children who do half the things on your list.

[riada]

I think mine looks pretty much like yours. I vacuum and mop daily because we have a dog and I can't stand her pet hair everywhere. I also do a swish and swipe of the bathrooms daily. I only do laundry on Mondays.

 

My children help some. I designate rooms instead of chores. So they rotate what rooms they are responsible for helping to clean. They are pretty young so I have to do most of it but it is atleast starting them on the right track of keeping things clean.

 

And Yes! I feel like I am always cleaning or picking something up. I figure that is a part of being a mom that has her children home all day with her. If they went to ps then we would have 8+ hours of a clean house, personally I'll just take the job of cleaning constantly! :001_smile:

[Danestress]

Yes. I do feel like I am cleaning all the time. I vacuum the downstairs area of the house daily (which includes the master bedroom) because of the dog.

 

My children help with chores, but I still feel like cleaning is just a huge part of my life.

[j.griff]

Either I am cleaning all the time, or the house gets trashed in one day. Blech. It ain't just a "feeling" here, it's a fact, LOL.

[pixelroper]

UGH. Yes, cleaning all the time. And it never seems to look like I do, which is the source of my frustration. I do have a system-- we are here all the time and cooking what seems like all day, etc. :banghead:

[KIN]

I feel like I pick up and do laundry all the time, but I don't feel like I clean all the time. :) I decided a while back that I liked things picked up, but I wasn't going to spend every waking minute cleaning. So, here is my schedule:

 

Daily:

Laundry 2-3 loads, M-W only

Sweep under table

Dishes

Picking up

Wipe bathroom counters and toilets

 

I clean the upstairs every other Saturday (bedrooms/bathrooms) - sweep, dust, mop, etc.

I clean the main level every other Saturday - living room, kitchen, bathroom, dining room, toy room/office

I do sweep the living room more frequently.

Each Saturday cleaning takes several hours, but not all day. I do big jobs occasionally over the summer usually, when we aren't doing school. I feel my house is clean enough. :) Maybe you could decrease your standards a bit to not clean all the time?

[Closeacademy]

I really should be doing your list but instead:

 

I pick up toys

Put markers away

Put crayons away

Ask the dc to help me put this or that away

Going through stacks of precious papers to see what can be thrown away, what needs to be saved, what can be used or reused, etc.

 

Basically, I am on a two-week cleaning cycle and it looks like this:

 

Week 1:

Monday--Laundry

Tuesday--Living & dining area

Wednesday--Girl's bedroom (I pull the beds away from the wall and everything)

Thursday--prep the next homeschool week and get ready for Friday

Friday--Co-op day

 

Saturday--Bathroom and Kitchen deep clean

Sunday--rest

 

Monday--laundry

Tuesday--Food Co-op

Wednesday--Grocery Shop

Thursday--prep next homeschool week and get ready for Friday

Friday--Co-op day (enrichment, park, library)

 

Saturday--Errands with dh

Sunday--rest

 

I wish I could do everything in a week but it just doesn't happen. The Food co-op takes up to 5 hours and because I shop sales and put menus together it takes up to 2 hours to prep my grocery list and another 2 hours to get all the shopping done.

 

It is working ok for us right now though.:001_smile:

[ClassicMom]

"Does anyone else feel like they are ALWAYS cleaning?"

 

YES!!!:banghead:

 

If I get it clean, the five-year-old is right behind me messing it up.

I have a schedule and our house is clean but it is also cluttered. I got tired of picking everything up over and over again. Since he is autistic, I can only pick one thing at a time to work on.

[SmallChanges]

Yes, I feel that I am constantly cleaning or picking up something. My kids provide some relief with their daily chores. My older ones have a chore bag, and they select 5 chores to complete. Their chores range from clipping coupons to taking out the trash. They are a big help! I feel most stressed when I'm trying to do everything myself.

[GreenKitty]

Yes, I not only feel like I clean every day, I DO clean every day! Their is always something to clean, wipe, pick up, put away, dust, etc. etc. etc. Some things like dusting....UGH What's up with that! I could dust EVERY DAY and never be done dusting!!

[jail warden]

Either I am cleaning all the time, or the house gets trashed in one day. Blech. It ain't just a "feeling" here, it's a fact, LOL.

 

That's how it goes here too! Right now the house looks trashed and it's all since yesterday. I can't seem to get it picked up yet!

[Emmy]

I want to come live at your house - it sounds like it's REALLY clean! :tongue_smilie:

 

Ok my serious response - I *do* feel like I'm always cleaning but man I'm not doing nearly as much as you are....it's all I can do to keep it relatively picked up, kitchen floor clean, run a vacuum once a week....dishes done, laundry semi caught up, etc.

[Michelle My Bell]

I did until recently I complete emptied our basement (Homeschool Room/Play Room/ Laundry Room) painted it and then brought back in only the really big toys (play kitchen, fisher price dollhouse) and 1 box of accessories. When the kids get tired of playing with the accessories, they pack them up and take them out to the garage where they exchange them for something else. Our basement has never been more than 5 minutes dirty since and therefore the kids LOVE to play down there instead of upstairs now. It has helped A LOT!

 

Michelle

[percytruffle]

Yes, housecleaning is a thankless job :tongue_smilie:. I have a schedule similar to yours, except my dc are teens and do their own laundry, mostly, and clean their own rooms, or not. But, they do make a lot of messes! No matter how old they are they still leave their stuff everywhere and leave a debris field whenever they have something to eat.

 

We also have three cats and a dog and dd has fish. I really should vacuum daily because of the pet hair, but I don't. The pets really are the biggest contributors to the mess around here. I'm always picking up cat hair or hairballs, or washing pet bowls or the floor around them, or cleaning litter boxes, or scooping the yard, or washing muddy prints off the floor or dirty snout marks off the sliding doors...it never ends until they do :D

 

I think I just heard a cat puke, be right back........:leaving:

[Jenny in Atl]

Either I am cleaning all the time, or the house gets trashed in one day. Blech. It ain't just a "feeling" here, it's a fact, LOL.

 

Yup, and then add a Golden Retriever (hair, hair, hair). It never ends.

[Cheryl in NM]

I do, but I wish I could keep up with a schedule! I go in spurts. I'll do really good cleaning frequently and then the house will go 2 weeks without a cleaning.

Here's what's done daily:

Sweep kitchen (ds)

sweep laundry room (me - b/c of litter box)

scoop litter box (me)

wipe down guest bath (ds)

dishes (me)

Then I just get caught up in life. Watering trees/bushes, feeding the horses, chickens, cats, dog. The rest of the housecleaning is supposed to get done on Sat. but I have a hard time with that. I wish I could remember this is done monthly and this is done quarterly and do it! Funny, I used to consider myself a very organized person!

[Ohio12]

I want to come live at your house - it sounds like it's REALLY clean! :tongue_smilie:

 

Ok my serious response - I *do* feel like I'm always cleaning but man I'm not doing nearly as much as you are....it's all I can do to keep it relatively picked up, kitchen floor clean, run a vacuum once a week....dishes done, laundry semi caught up, etc.

 

:iagree:

boy, glad I am not the only one. there are some seriously clean people on here! I am supposedly the neat freak in my family but vacuum, mop and dust twice a week!!! No way. I do keep picked up and wiped down. Also, I only have 2 kids and no pets, so maybe that helps. (and yes I also feel like I am always cleaning with just the daily stuff and meals)

[Vida Winter]

And with two golden retrievers, AND the snow is melting into mud, and all our papers, science experiments, etc. - we *are* always cleaning. Always. And the laundry seems to never stop.

 

I literally worked all day yesterday (kids, too) and didn't get done. Springtime in the mountains is an awful mess. I wanna go to Disneyland where it's impossible to get dirty and I don't have to cook.

[PinkInTheBlue]

Yes but last week I rebelled and refused so now it's even worse. :glare: Our older boys are learning much lately about how to do things. It definitely helps, and better late than never. If only I could get them to do it with a happy attitude. Is that asking too much? ;)

[steppingstonemomma]

I feel like the actual CLEANING takes a back seat to just PICKING UP! I'm so tired of the clutter!

And I'm NOT a packrat. I'm constantly tossing stuff! It's just that no one cleans up after themselves. I'd love to get into a better cleaning schedule if I could actually find the floor!

[newsong]

Old Victorian house.

Slow moving renovations on all of it, which we are doing ourselves.

Biggest dust-accumulating (talking daily dust piles) place I've ever lived.

Very few closets.

Not nearly enough shelves.

Seven dc still at home and running around the place on a daily basis.

The gathering and purging of stuff that comes from nine people of varying ages sharing space together 24/7.

Not sure whether we're schooling and fitting cleaning in or cleaning and fitting school in, but the two together make an all-day affair.

Yup, definitely constantly cleaning...and dreaming of clean spaces and a place for everything...and at least one finished room!

But glad for what we have!

 

Sandy

[lynn]

YES....that's all

[Melissa in FL]

YES!!!! I'm always cleaning. I've told dh that I might need a cleaning lady when all three of my kids reach "school age". I'm not sure this is true, as my youngest makes most of the "pick-up" mess. Right now I'm trying to go through all of our rooms and deep clean before summer. So, yesterday and today I've been really working on oldest dd's room and our school room. I'm happy to say I'm done with those two rooms, but the rest of my house looks like a tornado hit it since I haven't been doing my "normal" cleaning the last two days! I just repeat: "Someday my kids will be gone, I will have a clean house, and I'll miss this time in my life!"

 

Keep up the good fight.

Melissa

[Mekanamom]

Yes. If I take a weekend off from the house stuff to do horse stuff or gardening, the house gets absolutely trashed.

 

WHEN we keep up with the Motivated Moms planner, we only have to clean a little bit each day. When we fall behind (like right now), I have to do a big marathon cleaning (like I should be doing at this very moment) to get caught up again.

 

The Motivated Moms thing really helps if we can stay on track with it.

[gardenschooler]

My daily:

 

garbage

dishes

make beds

clean kitchen counters 56 times

spot-clean bathroom

sweep the entire house (hardwood floors and dogs - it looks like tumbleweeds blowing around if I don't sweep)

make everyone pick up after themselves continually

1-2 loads of laundry

cook dinner

heavier cleaning of the kitchen at night

 

Everything else is weekly, like dusting, cleaning windows, changing sheets, and scrubbing the bathroom. My girls do a lot, though, on any given day (even sometimes cook), so it doesn't feel like a lot. Having a small house helps.

 

It's the *stuff* out that bothers me. You can't clean around stuff!

 

Edited to add: Except for my older girls' room - I don't sweep that because you can't see the floor. I don't go in there that often. They're supposed to clean it, change their sheets, etc. They want to live like this. Really. I only hope the clean gene will kick in later.

[Punkinelly]

Sometimes, but I'd rather have that than a clean house, but no children in it. :)

 

Train up your children well and it will get better as they get older. Teach them to work and to do so with a good attitude. There are blessings in the future from that. I am living those blessings now.

 

Mary

[Mamabyrd]

Dishes are the bane of my existence. They are NEVER, NEVER, NEVER done... (never)

 

I wash them and there are always more coming.

 

(Repeat the above statements and replace "Dishes" with "Laundry".... also true.

[Melissa in FL]

Edited to add: Except for my older girls' room - I don't sweep that because you can't see the floor. I don't go in there that often. They're supposed to clean it, change their sheets, etc. They want to live like this. Really. I only hope the clean gene will kick in later.

 

Just to let you know, this was me. My mom believed in just shutting the door and letting us live as we pleased. I remember her often complaining about how she didn't want to see my house when I grew older. My older sister kept her room very neat and tidy. When my mom comes down to FL she now stays with me, in my clean house. It may not always look neat, but under the stuff it is always clean. My bathrooms are CLEAN. (Hence, why I feel like I'm always cleaning). My sister's house on the other hand is a scary place. I would not want to stay there. Her shower is one that you are careful not to touch the sides of the tub while you clean yourself. Needless to say, we keep house in the total opposite way that we kept our rooms. Just wanted you to know there is hope yet!

Melissa

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

I want to come live at your house - it sounds like it's REALLY clean! :tongue_smilie:

 

It's amazing how fast my dc can trash an entire room! I had to step over tons of stuff in the classroom in order to get to the computer!

[WTMindy]

I honestly don't feel like I'm always cleaning. I have a similar schedule to yours, but it just seems to kinda flow.

 

The kids and I do a weekly cleaning (they have a bathroom checklist which is everything but toilets and tub, wash kitchen floor, room checklist) I do vacuuming and the rest of the bathrooms and clean the kitchen and take care of piles. This takes a couple hours and we do it on the weekends or Monday.

 

Then, we all straighten things up before dad gets home and it doesn't take too much time.

 

After dinner one kids sweeps the other wipes up and we all do dishes.

 

The other chores kind of happen as needed.

 

I don't know why it doesn't feel like a lot to me. It just, for the most part, seems to stay pretty clean. Everyone in the house helps keep it that way.

 

Don't hate me.

[JenniferVA]

I used to keep a super clean house until a year and a half into homeschooling. I got tired trying to do it all. I have boys who like to put grass stains on their pants, and are blind to clods of dirt stuck to their shoes (yes, I have a shoe shelf). I'm training them slowly, and they have chores, but...right now I succeed in getting my "really clean house" one or maybe two days a week when I host something like a co-op committee meeting. My house is almost always picked up, but it's so difficult to get to those deep cleaning chores.

 

Also, I realized that I'm the type of person who gets pleasure from completing jobs--checking things off the list. So, cleaning can be a little demoralizing for me because it's a job that gets undone so easily. Thankfully, the germ-a-phobe in me overrides the task and I do the hygenic thing.

 

I have Proverbs 14:4 taped to my desk, "Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; But much increase comes by the strength of an ox." Just insert "boy(s)" for oxen and "house" for trough and you'll know why I have that verse taped to my desk. The verse reminds me that what's a little mess compared with raising 4 princes.

 

Mom to 4 boys, ages 12, 10, 8 & 6

[Frontier Mom]

Yes, yes, yes. I get soooo upset but reading your posts have helped me. I cannot stand dirty rooms, especially from my ds's. I was just thinking today that I should just stop going in there and let them get tired of never finding anything. But I just can't stand a mess if I see it. Should I let them keep their rooms their own way?

 

We are constantly doing stuff daily. One thing that helps is that my dc's do their own laundry. Each of them has a day and they know how to wash, dry, fold and hang their own stuff. I have to remind them to put it up, but it really helps with my laundry load. I only have to do mine and the reds and/or towels on the weekends.

 

I have learned to let some things go, although I would like it cleaner. For instance, I could vacuum daily but don't. I just don't find the time. I am happy at this point if everyone puts their dishes in the dishwasher and picks up their own mess.

[asher]

Using your schedule, this is our schedule LOL.

Daily:

Dishes

Make beds

Wipe down kitchen counters and table

Clean kitchen sink

Laundry

 

Every Other Day:

Sweep/vacuum kitchen floor

Vacuum main level

Tidy up

 

Twice Per Week:

Vacuum

Mop kitchen floor

Clean bathrooms

Clean kids' rooms

 

Weekly:

Mop kitchen floor

Clean Bathrooms

Dust

Wash bed sheets

Clean classroom, kids' room, etc. (they help me with this)

 

Monthly:

Shampoo rugs

Wash comforters

Clean refrigerator

 

Quarterly:

Clean windows

Clean out closets and get rid of old clothes, toys, etc.

[Aubrey]

I honestly don't feel like I'm always cleaning. I have a similar schedule to yours, but it just seems to kinda flow.

 

The kids and I do a weekly cleaning (they have a bathroom checklist which is everything but toilets and tub, wash kitchen floor, room checklist) I do vacuuming and the rest of the bathrooms and clean the kitchen and take care of piles. This takes a couple hours and we do it on the weekends or Monday.

 

Then, we all straighten things up before dad gets home and it doesn't take too much time.

 

After dinner one kids sweeps the other wipes up and we all do dishes.

 

The other chores kind of happen as needed.

 

I don't know why it doesn't feel like a lot to me. It just, for the most part, seems to stay pretty clean. Everyone in the house helps keep it that way.

 

Don't hate me.

 

I'm forming the club. Who wants to be VP? :D

[percytruffle]

:seeya: Pick me, pick me!

 

My ds is the same way. He is a natural cleaner. Every family should have one. :D

[WTMindy]

I'm forming the club. Who wants to be VP? :D

 

Do you mean the hate Mindy club, or the clean house club? Don't get me wrong, I gots issues, lotsa issues....this just ain't one of them!

[WTMindy]

:seeya: Pick me, pick me!

 

My ds is the same way. He is a natural cleaner. Every family should have one. :D

 

I wouldn't say my kids are natural cleaners (although my dh is, which helps), but they don't get a choice in the matter. :001_smile:

[Elisabeth in IL]

I definately feel like I'm always cleaning but I also definately clean less then your list.

[percytruffle]

Your new fan club is coming to visit. We want cleaning lessons. :patriot:I'll bring the tea and scones. Wait, scones make too many crumbs...

[Dayle in Guatemala]

I like a tidy house but sometimes I feel as if I am ALWAYS cleaning. Below is my basic cleaning schedule (I may be forgetting a few chores):

 

 

Daily:

Dishes

Make beds

Wipe down kitchen counters and table

Clean kitchen sink

Sweep kitchen floor

Laundry (at least 1-2 loads a day -- I've done 4 so far today)

Tidy up (pick up misc. items left laying around the house)

Empty all the trash cans

 

Twice Per Week:

Vacuum

Mop kitchen floor

Clean bathrooms

 

Weekly:

Dust

Wash bed sheets

Clean classroom, kids' room, etc. (they help me with this)

 

Monthly:

Wash comforters

Clean refrigerator

 

Quarterly:

Shampoo carpets

Polish hardwood floors

Clean windows

Clean out closets and get rid of old clothes, toys, etc.

 

Does anyone clean more or less often than this? Does anyone else care to share their schedules?

 

 

Well, I like things clean and orderly as well. I think in the long run it saves a lot of time!

 

Most of the daily chores the kids help with. I have the house divided up and they are responsible for certain areas and their own rooms. Once a month, I deep clean their rooms with them (now, I don't have to so much because they know what to do) and they make their own beds before school and pick up all their things before going to bed every night. They also do the supper dishes (I do the others because, usually, they are doing school work).

 

I'm particular about laundry, but, my oldest likes to do her own now so she has a day that she can do it because it's a light laundry day for me and the machines are available.

 

It does seem like I clean a lot. Right now it's dry season and it hasn't rained for months, so the dust is pretty thick if you don't take care of it daily. During rainy season, it's mud. So, there you have it! It's just a lot of work all around.:glare:

[Peela]

No, not really, and the house is pretty good really, considering. But I may not have high standards compared to others :001_smile:

I have been a Flybaby for years but I still clean in bursts. Today, a beautiful autumn day, I cleaned out two cupboards and threw a lot of stuff away, and then decluttered all the bench tops. It felt great! And I cooked date bread, and corn bread. But I am a bit behind on washing, I haven't changed my sheets in a couple of weeks, and I haven't vacuumed in a couple of weeks either, but the floors aren't too bad. It will all get done.

My kids also do a fair bit. I will get them together some time in the next couple of days (we are on autumn holidays) and we will vacuum and change sheets and things. But I am pretty loose with all that. Theres no strict schedule. It gets done literally when I feel like doing it. And when its a nice sunny day, usually.

Mess does irk me, but as long as the kitchen is clean and the tabletops are clear, my desk is relatively clean, and my bedroom relatively clear, I can go for days without thinking about cleaning :001_smile:

[Punkinelly]

I think the thing that helps us the most is having a place for everything. I have to make it easy for us to put things away or we don't do it.

 

Now and then, I look around and see what kinds of things are being left out and then make homes for those things. I am also reminding everyone not to put something down on the table and then have to put it down again later in the right place. That is twice the work. Put it in the right place in the first place!

 

It is hard because we are naturally lazy, but we are getting better at it.

 

Getting rid of things we really don't need helps, too.

 

The more stuff we have, the more time it takes to manage it.

 

Mary

[*anj*]

I understand what you're saying, but no, I don't feel that way. Now I do have a higher tolerance for clutter than some people do. I don't mean the amount of clutter that lands you on a TLC Makeover show or anything, but I do have piles of "stuff."

 

Anyway, the only bed I make is my own (and that's only if I'm the last one out of it.) My kids have been doing their own since they were 4 years old. I never cared if they did a less than perfect job, I just cared that they did it themselves. And if they had trouble with it or needed help, I got an older sibling to help them.

 

I do most of the dishes, but I have children empty the dishwasher sometimes. I also have them rinse their own dishes and put them into the dishwasher. I am starting to teach ds10 and ddalmost9 to do dishes.

 

The children wipe down the table after meals.

 

They also help with laundry. We hang our clothes to dry, so it's all hands on deck when it's time to hang things up or take them down. I use fabric softener, and ds10 goes down to add it to the machine. He also knows how to wash his own clothes, although for now I prefer to do family loads. They all fold their own clothes. When things are dry, they come down from the line and everyone meets in the living room to fold and put their clothes away. I fold dh's stuff as well as my own, but I often get them to take his piles up and leave them on his side of our bed. Everyone folds towels, napkins, etc.

 

Tidying up: again, they do it themselves. My girls in particular love to draw. They will draw and do paper cuttings all day if I let them. I think it's great that they are so creative, but the paper trail is just amazing. Anyway, they are in charge of all that. They have to clean up their own stuff. Whatever makes its way to the living room during the day has to make its way back upstairs at night.

 

Now I know that the OP's kids are younger than some of mine. Even so, there is a lot that they can do. It makes mom's life easier and it is good for them to be involved to the best of their ability.

 

And just a few other jobs: ds10 can vacuum, all of my children dust, they all clean baseboards, they set and clear the table at mealtime, and I am starting to teach the two older ones to cook.

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

Thanks, everyone, for your responses!

 

It was great to hear from people who feel the same way I do, as well as from the people who don't feel bogged down by cleaning. By reading all of your posts I have realized that both of my children can be doing a lot more to help out.

 

Since I am not homeschooling fulltime right now (both dc go to a private school), I have a lot more time to clean. Otherwise, I'm sure the whole house would be a complete mess!

[Part-Time Homeschooler]

Your new fan club is coming to visit. We want cleaning lessons. :patriot:I'll bring the tea and scones. Wait, scones make too many crumbs...

 

 

Hee hee! No problem, I'll have the vacuum cleaner standing by! ;)