When do you clean your house?

[Guest]

I know this is a topic that gets talked about a lot, but funny how the search doesn't bring up what you're looking for when you're looking for it! I tried to do a poll for the first time on the new forum, hope it works...

[Desert Rat]

I like my house to be clean all at one time. If I clean a little bit each day if feels like I always have something to clean.

 

So, I clean my house Wednesday evenings. Dh takes the boys to taekwondo and I stay home. I have a 1500 sq ft house. It takes me 2.5 hours.

 

I clean other people's housesTues-Thurs one week, Mon-Wed the following. I double up on Wednesdays so I don't have to spend an extra day in grubbies cleaning. I start linens in the morning on Wednesday so I can put clean sheets on the all the beds after cleaning the rooms.

[Arcadia]

I vote other. I clean the kitchen whenever I am done cooking. Hubby does the vacuuming and laundry.

[Joshin]

We clean once weekly on Sundays. My kids are old enough that they share in cleaning -- bathrooms, dusting, wiping down sills etc., vacuuming. I take care of the kitchen and mopping, and DH cleans up the basement living areas. It takes about an hour for all four of us to knock out the 1200 SF upstairs and the 800 SF downstairs. Laundry is also done weekly on Sunday mornings.

 

I wipe down the kitchen daily, DS12 does the dishes daily, and DS7 clears and wipes down the table each evening. We also put away everything each evening, so my house is never really that dirty. In the summer I usually have to sweep the kitchen daily because we track in a lot from the garden and duck pen outside (back door opens on the kitchen). My house is always neat but it's only really clean on Sundays. My goal is to keep it neat enough I am never embarrassed when unexpected company comes knocking, and so I don't get all twitchy about clutter.

[carriede]

I'm a FlyBaby - Flylady.net

[dbmamaz]

My house is not clean. I've been a LOT less able to keep up with it since I injured my knee last year, but i really have a hard time cleaning and cooking and doing school. school and cooking cant be dropped. My husband helps a lot . . . when we have jr lego league at the house the downstairs gets a quick clean that day . . . when my knee was working, i'd do bigger cleans during our quarterly school breaks. i really miss the year the big kids were in school and I was home with a baby and i kept up w flylady. everything was so nice and clean!

[MommaOfalotta]

In order to feel productive I need to follow a routine. Hah. With homeschool and a baby its a little difficult. I like to have a scheduled time to clean but some weeks school runs a lot longer than usual. Or maybe the babys nap is earlier/later than normal. Sometimes a gazillion extra things pop up. I know Im preaching to the choir on this board :)

 

This week... all of the above happened. :glare:

 

Ive been feeling off ever since. It bugs me when I dont have time for cleaning. I feel like Im living in CHAOS.

 

So I guess my answer is.. some weeks I have scheduled cleaning time.. some weeks I clean when I can.. and some weeks I dont clean at all (and then my dh gets annoyed because he has no clean clothes.) Oops.

[Guest]

I said "clean whenever I can," but it is a combination of daily routine, daily spur-of the-moment and usually at least one block on the weekend. My kids also have weekly jobs and a couple of daily jobs.

[justamouse]

Spurts and one block on Saturday morning. My kids also have chores, and I vacuum almost every day because I have to.

[boscopup]

I clean when someone is coming over soon, usually my inlaws. :D

 

Actually, I do BEST if I clean a bit every day. That doesn't always happen, however. Cleaning once a week won't work here because the house gets trashed within a few days. Plus I have German Shedders and a Maine Coon, so vacuuming needs to be done at least every other day (preferably every day).

 

This morning, I tried something different... I've been trying to have an "hour of cleaning time" scheduled for kids AND me to do together each day, and it worked ok the first day we tried it, but then subsequent days we just never got around to it, or I was too tired by time we finished school. So this morning, we did our hour of cleaning time FIRST - right after breakfast. The kids were actually quite happy about it. My 8 year old volunteered to clean up my bedroom (it was the kids' stuff in there), my 6 year old volunteered to clean off the dining room table and vacuum the floor, and my 3 year old volunteered to sweep the playdoh off the kitchen floor. They handled vacuuming 5 rooms (I went back over a couple myself, but they did well), and I was able to work on some cookie sheets and bread pans that hadn't been hand washed yet, scoop the litterbox, empty the trash (boys took it outside - they love that job for some reason), cleaned a toilet, and clean all the kitchen counters. When we were done with our cleaning hour, we started school. This worked VERY well, so I'm going to keep it up this week and see how it goes long term.

[tearose]

I have an idea of what needs to get done each week, and I try to squeeze it in when I have time. I especially try to get a lot of things going in the morning when the kids are eating breakfast--starting laundry, emptying dishwasher, starting the floor cleaner in a room (I have a Mint, which is useful for maintaining wood floors--I basically have it swiffer my house on a rotating basis)--and then do small spurts during the day.

[Dandelion]

In short spurts throughout the week. I actually have a great plan that (when I stick to it) keeps me on track to clean the major areas once a day, keep things picked up, and thoroughly clean each room of the house once a week. That plan just doesn't always materialize. Baby steps. ;)

[Guest inoubliable]

Other - I'm cleaning as I go along. As soon as enough laundry to make a load is available, in it goes. And it's folded as soon as it comes out. Used a dish for lunch? Washed immediately. Bathrooms are wiped down every day. I vacuum every day and sweep all through the day. It's a small house, so it's not *all* day, it's just all through the day. Also, I'm a nutter. According to the children.

 

I think it's rubbing off, though. Or genetic. Today at the dentist office, there was a mom with a bunch of kids. She was completely ignoring them while she was on her cell phone. Every time one of her kids would take a magazine out and then throw it back down, DS5 would race over to pick it up and put it back on the table *just* so. DH was mortified.

[lea_lpz]

I voted weekly block but also clean in short spurts throughout the week also or my house would be crazy by the time we got to clean day!

[peachskittles]

I clean whenever I can. I babysit two extra children and never can seem to get the schedule straight to clean the house and take care of the children. Like this weekend, I'm going 6 days straight. Yesterday was a morning, not so bad. Now starts nights 2pm-midnight or later. These are killer for me because I can't get this two baby thing down pat. So my goal each day is to do the dishes and get some laundry done. On my days off, I try to catch up.

 

We are moving from a 1800 sq ft place to a 3600 sq ft place if everything goes right in 2 months. I have no clue what I will do then, especially if I continue to babysit.

[Farrar]

There is no rhyme or reason to how and when I clean my house. Basically I do it in spurts throughout the day everyday. I always keep up on dishes and laundry. To me all is right in the world if that is done.

 

 

Ditto. I am all over the place with cleaning. I generally keep up on the dishes... and dh does the laundry once a week. Everything else is uneven. My house is cleanish, but not perfect by far.

[twoxcell]

I do basic cleaning everyday of the week, but tend to do deeper cleaning on the weekends.

[regentrude]

I clean what is dirty when I notice that it is dirty.

The dishwasher runs when it is completely full. Laundry is done when a full load has accumulated.

[Parrothead]

I clean, I tidy, and I make it presentable on 5 minutes notice. All three require different things.

 

Five minutes notice is all junk downstairs is shoved out of sight into the mudroom, and all the doors closed to bedrooms upstairs. If there are clothes on the bathroom floor they get shoved to the attic stairs and that door closed.

 

I tidy twice a day. After lunch and before dh gets home from work. Then again after dinner we have family tidy up time. Either of those may involve a broom and/or the vacuum.

 

I clean every other Saturday morning. Everyone pitches in and the house is cleaned in an hour.

 

Every six months or so I declutter.

[jar7709]

Uh. I clean either when A. Someone is coming over or B. I just can't stand it anymore. This averages about once a week I guess. We keep from living in complete squalor somehow. DH does dishes in the evenings and I do laundry when we've run out of clean clothes.

 

All my time not directly involved with the kids goes to working (or pretending to work) so I am afraid keeping things spic n span is just not high on my list.

[Audrey]

I know this is a topic that gets talked about a lot, but funny how the search doesn't bring up what you're looking for when you're looking for it! I tried to do a poll for the first time on the new forum, hope it works...

 

I am now cleaning all on Saturday mornings. I used to clean every day, but that, for me, has become too close to an unhealthy thing. So, I'm trying this. So far, so good. The only things that get cleaned everyday are the toilets and sweeping the kitchen floor and wiping the counters and stove after cooking.

[Ellie]

There are things I do daily, such as always keeping the kitchen clean, making beds, keeping clutter picked up; IOW, there's basic maintanance.

 

But I like to do the whole shebang on one day: move the furniture and vaccuum/dust, clean the bathroom, do all the laundry, change sheets on the beds. I do this on Friday, so that our weekends are free for whatever we want to do--even if that's just hanging around the house--and we have clean undies on Sunday morning for church, and on Mondays, we can just...get up and ease into the week.

[SKL]

A little of this, a little of that. Kitchen - as soon as I can get to it, usually at least daily. Clutter - catch as catch can. Bathrooms, floors, dusting etc. - the hired maids do it, once every 3-4 weeks.

[myfunnybunch]

I voted that we clean in one block of time (which happens to be Saturday morning) because that's when we do a whole-house clean: Bathrooms, floors, etc. But we also have smaller jobs that we do regularly throughout the week, one or two each day.

 

:)

 

Cat

[pehp]

I clean as I go--routine things (kitchen, make beds, wipe down counters in bathrooms, etc.) daily, also try to tidy up the main room and our bedroom daily. I will let my son's room get to Pit Status and shovel it out once a week to vacuum it. I try to vacuum the house a few times a week (we have an indoor dog and allergies). Do laundry daily. My children are 5.5 and 2, and they help a bit, but I figure in this season of life some things just aren't going to get done. I am not sure when I last scrubbed down the shower stall or washed a window. But I'm training these little ones to help...ultimately I want us to clean daily for about half an hour before starting school. Probably wont happen until my youngest is 5. ;)

[Laura Corin]

I tidy every day, put on a wash and dry, and I keep the kitchen clean. I tend to wipe over the bathrooms midweek. But most of the cleaning takes place on Saturday morning. I find it easier to be accountable that way.

 

Laura

[PachiSusan]

I find myself picking up all. day. long. Repeat ad nauseum. Actual deep cleaning? Once every week or so for the bathrooms, vacuum about every two weeks, kitchen daily. However, I'm living with my IL's right now so I don't have to do anything but our bedroom and bathroom right now.

[Melissa in Australia]

well, I do both a big clean on the weekend plus clean all the time. laundry every day, including line drying and folding. vacuum most of the house every 2-3 days clean kitchen every few hours. once a week I do the bathrooms and wash the floors, sometimes I dust.

[MissKNG]

I am constantly cleaning my house every day. The kitchen is always cleaned after using it and I vacuum 2x a week usually. I am always in motion (thus I don't formally exercise - daily activity keeps me fit so that gives me time) and always cleaning something, playing with the girls, school, etc.

 

I can not stand the phrase "Please excuse the mess". We don't have any pets roaming around so I bet that really helps. And I am teaching the girls to pick up one activity (ie. game, puzzle, blocks, Legos) before moving onto the next.

 

Yes, I am an OCD neat freak! :laugh:

[creekland]

I clean either when company is coming or when something gets too "unclean" for me to stand it. That can take a while if the weather is nice outside. Our house is cleaner in bad weather. ;) Dishes and laundry stay done on a regular basis.

[Night Elf]

Clean whenever I can, only that might mean something different for me than for the OP. For me, it means I do what needs to be done whenever I'm in the mood. My house is small and I don't mess with the kids rooms at all anymore nor are there toys and stuff everywhere. I don't clean every day which is probably what I should do, but our house stays mostly clean. You might find a layer of dust on the furniture sometimes. With my kids being teens, my cleaning habits are very different from when they were younger. Things are much easier now.

[Cassy]

We have a big house, a dog, a bird and four boys who always make a big mess. During the week I tend to do half an hour first thing, either cleaning a bathroom, vaccuuming, or dusting, before the boys get up, then another half hour in the evening between the end of school and starting dinner. I do about an hour on Friday evening, then two hours Saturday morning and two hours Sunday. It does feel as though I'm never finished, and the house is never immaculate, but cleaning this way does mean that I never completely wear myself out.

 

I got very burned out over Christmas with too much going on and lots of illnesses going round, so I've let things slide a bit just recently while I regain my energy, but I'm OK with that, the house is just a little dustier than usual ;). My kitchen and the bathrooms are always cleaned, no matter what.

[AngelaNYC]

I clean in short spurts throughout the week. I do my 1 hour AM routine which includes my daily stuff, 1 weekly chore, & 1 larger chore. Only an hour from about 8am-9am. This way I never have to do it all on the weekend or do a "spring cleaning".

Then in the evening I do a 30-minutes PM routine - I start this somewhere between 10pm & 11pm.

[TXMomof4]

I clean as I go during the day. The kids clean the kitchen after every meal, we all tidy our places every evening. Laundry is Wed and Sat. Dh and the kids scrub the bathrooms, mop, and vacuum Sat morning and I sleep late.

We're preparing for a move so I super clean/organize one area a day. Closets, drawers, pantry - hopefully I can get through everything before March.

[Runningmom80]

I voted "other" which means, "not very often."

 

 

I have toddler twins. My goal right now is keeping ourselves clean. I will worry about the house in a year or 2. ;)

[mytwomonkeys]

i clean & tidy every morning before school (beds, vacuum, laundry, kitchen). i continue to tidy throughout the day as the sink fills with dishes, etc. i tend to do bathrooms and mopping once a week, unless needed otherwise. i rotate sheets and linens so that i'm not washing them all at once.

[TravelingChris]

I said I have cleaners but of course, we clean too. THe kitchen is cleaned after every use, normally though sometimes, the next morning. Trash is taken out every Sunday night and when needed during the week. The pet things are cleaned every other day or every day or with one cat, litter cleaned twice a day. Laundry is handled by everyone for themselves though normally either dh or I do linens and towels.Mail is handled every day it comes. BUt things like shower and tub cleaning, wet mopping the floors, dusting, etc, are all done every other week by the cleaners.

[Guest]

I grew up cleaning our house with my mom once a week, and that is the way I like and prefer to do it. However, it took me 4 hours last Saturday (house is brand new, so not overly dirty) and everyone was SO cranky afterwards. I don't know that I can do that every weekend. On the flip side, I just don't think I have it in me to spend an hour a day doing extra things (dusting, vacuum, bathrooms, mopping, etc.) I do dishes, laundry, wipe up spills daily, but the other stuff? You guys that do that amaze me! I need to find some kind of routine....I'm going to read through all the responses again. :)

[I.Dup.]

Other - I'm cleaning as I go along. As soon as enough laundry to make a load is available, in it goes. And it's folded as soon as it comes out. Used a dish for lunch? Washed immediately. Bathrooms are wiped down every day. I vacuum every day and sweep all through the day.

 

 

This is pretty much what I do as well. But I voted "clean in short spurts".

[sassenach]

We have guests every Friday evening, so the bulk of our cleaning happens on fri afternoon. Laundry is mostly done on Sat (except linens, which run all week).

[Evergreen State Sue]

We clean before we have company over!

[Amethyst]

I checked other, but I really wanted to check A, B, and C, but not D. There are certain things that always get done on Saturday morning, but it is by no means a whole house cleaning (this mostly involves bathrooms). I also clean at certain times during the day/week (eg. when dd is at school in the afternoon). Also, I clean whenever I can fit it in the schedule (eg. daughter working independently on her math - sweep a floor).