Cleaning help poll

[Bookaddict]

How homeschooling parents get the home stuff done has been a topic in the past. I thought it would be interesting to take a poll.

[creekland]

For those of us with no outside (assuming non-immediate family) help, you need to have an option we can choose with your second question.  ;)

[regentrude]

Can't vote. No outside help, no option for #2, none really fits in #3.

I simply don't find cleaning that big of a deal. I keep on top so nothing every gets really filthy. I use small chunks of time so cleaning is not a big production; I may spend 5 minutes to swiff a floor, or 10 minutes to clean sinks or scrub all toilets. It gets fit into the nooks and crannies of the day and the time spent is barely noticeable.

My house is ready for unannounced company all the time, but not sparkly clean like an ad for household cleaner -we live in it. I guess that may mean I learned to "let go", but it does not really feel like that either.

 

 

[Bookaddict]

For those of us with no outside (assuming non-immediate family) help, you need to have an option we can choose with your second question. ;)

Sorry! I didn't realize you couldn't skip the second question.

[creekland]

Sorry! I didn't realize you couldn't skip the second question.

 

Voted!  I have learned to let a lot go - with no regrets!

 

I also take solace in knowing many folks/kids who grow up on farms and in "less clean" areas tend to do quite well with their immunity.  ;)

[Entropymama]

I wish we could choose more than one for #3. My kids are old enough to help and they do, but I've also learned to let some things go and to schedule things. Bathrooms, for example, get cleaned on Tuesdays and Fridays. If it's messy on Sunday I have learned to let it go, knowing it will get done Tuesday. I've also had to let go of my standard for a 'perfect' house, understanding that it will rarely be model-home level, if ever. And that's ok! Someday I will have a beautifully clean  house, and will long for the days of chaos. 

 

I've found that keeping on top of it rather than having a cleaning day each week is much easier. My kids have learned that if all five of us (everyone old enough to actually help) work hard for half an hour it pretty much all gets done. That is doable. 

[carriede]

I voted no help, gets cleaned in shifts.

 

But it's worth noting that, while I SAM and cleaning is indeed part of "my job", DH helps with a lot of the deep cleaning chores. He often cleans the tubs/showers and vacuums under furniture.

[Arcadia]

Does spouse count under relative?
My kids are older. They can sort their own laundry, cook and wash their own plates/bowls and utensils.
My guinea pig kicks out bedding so that area near her cage has bedding on carpet.
My house is clean enough for friends' kids to drop by and play but not clean enough to be photographed :)

[idnib]

I didn't answer the poll because I had a cleaner until this month and it felt disingenuous to mark that I have no outside help.  :)

 

I got a cleaner when my DS was born and I was very ill after DD was born so I kept her on longer than I had intended. Recently, though, we moved and I realized I could just set up new cleaning routines for the new house and apply those.

 

Plus the kids are older and help a lot. They do laundry if you don't care about well-folded clothes, take out the trash and recycling, make the beds, vacuum, sweep, dry dishes, mop if you don't care about edges, clean bathrooms, etc. Not that all of that falls on them, but I can call on their assistance for any of those things and they can get it done. I've taken a modified Montessori approach with training them and getting them their own child-sized cleaning tools. DD still uses them but DS uses the adult tools now.

 

It helped to simplify the materials. I've got it down to a bottle of diluted vinegar with pine essential oil for most cleaning, bleach cleaner for the occasional thing that needs sanitizing or bleaching, glass cleaner, and a shaker bottle of baking soda with pine oil mixed in. I made a cleaning tote with those bottles, sponges, paper towels, and microfiber cloths. I have a broom, a mop, and a vacuum. DD has her own smaller versions of gloves, broom, mop. That's it.

 

If I had houseguests coming to stay over, I would probably call the service again to help me deep clean. My house is clean enough for people to stop by, but not great. 

[Laura Corin]

You need a not-applicable option for the third section - I can't respond to it and I have to reply to all three parts for my vote to count.

 

For the first five years that I was home educating, I had full-time home help/cleaning.  It made all the difference in the world.  For the last two I had no help, but my children were bigger.

[beaners]

I do have help, so I can't vote on part 3 and it won't let me submit. A friend comes over about once a week and we pay her $25-ish a visit. Mostly she just does the bathrooms, but the bigger benefit is that my house needs to not be squalid when she stops by. For us, we started having her help because our family had grown by several members in a short period of time. It wasn't because of homeschooling but because I was adjusting to caring for twice as many kids. Now that things have settled down I could do the work she does, but I honestly wouldn't have the motivation to make the house presentable if someone wasn't coming over. Plus I know the extra money helps her family.

[JustEm]

I have 4 kids, the oldest being 6, and 2 dogs. My house is never truly clean. It's not filthy since I do dust and sweep regularly. Cleaning would not be an issue for me if I found a good way to manage the stuff! I've been trying hard to minimize the stuff in our house and feel like I'm always purging my house of stuff. Once I get that under control the weekly cleaning will be easy and take a small part of each day.

 

So if I could afford to pay someone to help me get organized I would.

[MsAlimar]

I had a cleaning service for 4 months last year when I was recovering from surgery.  I've been lobbing DH ever since to get them back and make it permanent.  Until I succeed I'll keep trying to find a balance.  My girls are old enough to help more but not quite old enough to be very thorough.  The basics get done okay but the detail cleaning tends to only get done when it gets bad.

[wendyroo]

I only have little kids, which means little help, but also minimal time schooling.  Most of our school work fits into an hour in the morning, so I have time to deal with the cleaning.  I can normally keep up (with the things I haven't let go) by spending about 30 minutes in the morning split into 5 and 10 minute chunks between taking care of the kids, 30 minutes in the afternoon during rest time and 15ish minutes in the evening after they are all in bed.  On top of that is meal prep and clean up which I keep simple and the kids help with.

 

During my morning cleaning chunks I do two loads of laundry (my 6 and almost 4 year olds sometimes help) and clean one bathroom.  I only spend 10ish minutes cleaning the bathroom, so I just wipe the counter and sink and clean the toilet; the floors, mirrors and tubs/showers are dealt with on an as needed basis. 

 

In the afternoon I: Monday - dust the main floor, tidy the office and my desk and pay bills; Tuesday - sweep and vacuum the main floor, tidy the family room and clean out the car; Wednesday - clean and dust the bedrooms, change the sheets and put away clothes (I tidy the nursery, change the crib sheet and put away those clothes while the kids eat lunch so I don't disturb the baby's nap); Thursday - clean out the fridge, clean the microwave and collect the garbage; Friday - clean the laundry room, change all bath and hand towels and tidy the school area; Weekend - vacuum upstairs, put away clean clothes, thoroughly tidy the basement play area, misc jobs.

 

In the evening DH and I mostly just do a final cleaning of the kitchen and start the dishwasher so everything is ready for the next day.

 

Wendy

[SebastianCat]

My kids are old enough to help now - they sort and fold their own laundry, make their own beds (and put bedding back on the beds), do a cursory cleaning of bathrooms once a week, and vacuum their bedrooms.   DS mows the grass (and DH does trimming, edging, etc.).   DD vacuums the whole house once a week.

 

When they were little, we weren't as busy with outside activities, and Fly Lady saved my life.   Having a system and a routine was the only way things got done.   My house has never been spotless, but it's always been manageable.   I use the crock pot and/or a variation on "once a month" cooking and try to plan meals around our schedule.

 

We've never had any outside help with cleaning.

[Alice]

Can't vote. No outside help, no option for #2, none really fits in #3.

I simply don't find cleaning that big of a deal. I keep on top so nothing every gets really filthy. I use small chunks of time so cleaning is not a big production; I may spend 5 minutes to swiff a floor, or 10 minutes to clean sinks or scrub all toilets. It gets fit into the nooks and crannies of the day and the time spent is barely noticeable.

My house is ready for unannounced company all the time, but not sparkly clean like an ad for household cleaner -we live in it. I guess that may mean I learned to "let go", but it does not really feel like that either.

 

This is pretty much what I would say. I voted "cleaning is not a big deal" but I could also have said "I've learned to let things go". It's probably somewhere between the two. I don't find the daily or weekly cleaning that big a deal. Dh and I are naturally "do it when it needs to be done" people so we both stay on top of the clutter and things are always fairly tidy. The kids help, and have since the age of 3 or 4. We all clean the kitchen after every meal. I sweep the main areas and stairs once a day and since we got a dog have added in vacuuming at least twice a week.  Once a week I do the bathrooms, dust and vacuum more thoroughly. I'd say that the amount of time cleaning is never more than an hour a day and that's all spread out in small pieces. 

 

Where I let things go is that I feel like I don't worry as much about deep cleaning as some people. I do things like clean under the fridge or scrub the tile in the bathroom or clean all the windows or wipe down the baseboards but it's not frequent. 

 

For me, if surfaces are uncluttered, floors are clean, the kitchen is clean and the bathrooms are clean, the house feels clean and I'm good. I don't find it that hard to keep it that way. 

[kirstenhill]

The options weren't quite right for me, but I voted "if it was in my budget I would" for the first one and "cleaning service" for the second because on a few months where it was in the budget I hired a service, or bought a groupon for a service, etc. I think also if I found a somewhat reasonably priced service that worked well for us, I would probably try and find a way to make it work.

 

One service we worked with for a few months a couple years ago just could not do their scheduling in a way that worked for our schedule, and sometimes cancelled or changed the time of the cleaning at the last minute - probably not a big deal for people with an empty house all day but a big deal when I need to leave the house with my kids while the cleaners work. Another service worked way longer/did more than what I agreed to pay for, and expected us to pay them for it "because it really needed that much cleaning". Another service started a job, and then left without finishing hardly any of the job for what was (in my mind) a pretty lame reason. So, hard to find a good service to work with, for us.

 

I've always hated to clean even before I had kids, so the fact that my house is cleanliness-challenged most of the time can hardly be blamed on homeschooling, though that certainly makes it worse. ;-)

[Bookaddict]

You need a not-applicable option for the third section - I can't respond to it and I have to reply to all three parts for my vote to count.

 

For the first five years that I was home educating, I had full-time home help/cleaning. It made all the difference in the world. For the last two I had no help, but my children were bigger.

Added it in just now! Sorry, designing the poll has turned out to be a fine tuning process!

[Jackie]

Well, I have an only child, so there's only three of us here to mess up the house in the first place. DD is 4, she is responsible for putting her own toys away. She also helps out by Swiffering the hard floors daily.

 

The two things that helped get the cleaning under control for me were (1) moving to a just-big-enough-to-be-comfortable smaller house and (2) merciless decluttering. The cleaning isn't a big deal.

[happypamama]

I voted no help and still trying to find a balance, but in reality, it's a mix of several things.

 

No outside help. DH helps when he can, and some, of the children are old enough to be helpful, but I also have a lot of littles still, and we live in the country with no garage or sidewalk (so a lot of dirt gets tracked in). And I spend a fair amount time schooling my children; they do have a lot of independent work, but I can't spend less time without sacrificing attention and discussion and reading aloud.

 

We get the basics -- dishes and basic kitchen tidying, laundry, tidying of public areas/putting away of toys, mostly daily vacuuming of public areas -- done, and the children help with those things. I clean bathrooms when needed, aiming for once or twice a week. The kitchen floor gets vacuumed or swept several times a week, but not mopped as often as I'd like. Every couple of weeks, I make the kids tidy their rooms, and either they or I vacuum them. I do the same with our room and office. I tidy the pantry and fridge when I see that they're looking cluttered and grungy.

 

Deep cleaning -- uh? That's really hard. The kids do most of the vacuuming, so in an ideal world, I'd vacuum each room once a week myself very thoroughly. Doesn't always happen, but some frequent vacuuming is better than infrequent deep vacuuming. Deeper cleaning happens on school breaks if possible, but I have had to let things go. I'm planning on spending large amounts of June doing deeper cleaning, washing windows and blinds and curtains, decluttering, cleaning out closets, sorting outgrown clothes, washing walls, maybe even painting, all the things I never have time to get to.

 

If I could afford to pay someone to do deeper cleaning, I would.

[SeaConquest]

I can't answer in the third option. I have a housekeeper. 

[Bookaddict]

I can't answer in the third option. I have a housekeeper.

I just added an option. Thanks for letting me know.

[SeaConquest]

I can't vote because I can't NOT answer #3.

 

I hired my first housekeeper when I had 15 month old twins and was pregnant again.  That was 17 years ago, and I've had one almost non-stop ever since then.

 

My dh knows that he can either pay for a housekeeper, or he can pay for my interment in the insane asylum.  (LOL)

 

Currently I have a housekeeping service that comes every two weeks. 

 

This is pretty much us as well. We hire a housekeeper because it is cheaper than therapy.

[FairProspects]

This is pretty much us as well. We hire a housekeeper because it is cheaper than therapy.

 

Ditto. We outsource cleaning because we don't outsource education to the public schools. One person can't do it all and a housekeeper prevents a lot of fights in our house.

[frogger]

Each kid has a cleaning chore everyday as do I for the most basic needs such as wiping the bathroom counter, dishes, etc. We have once a week chores when we do a half day of school on Friday. Then about three times a year I have a "I can't take it anymore week" where it's all cleaning all the time or younger ones get booted outside to play after an appropriate amount of helping. When they were younger I had those times too but finished a smaller percentage of the house than I do now with older children helping and often resorted to the electronic babysitter after they helped mommy a bit.

[Mom22ns]

I could have voted for so many of the things in the third group.

I have definitely learned to let some things go.

My home does get cleaned in shifts. It is only all clean at the same time if we are having company.

My kids are old enough to help, and they do, but more with everyday cleaning than any deep cleaning.

My house is rarely clean or always clean.

I've yet to find a balance. I get tired of it being dirty and I clean more (I do this every summer) and then I get tired of being tied to cleaning and it is rarely clean, after Christmas until March. 

 

I'm inconsistent at best. I'm hit my break point and started spring cleaning, but I threw my back out when I was steam cleaning carpets almost 2 weeks ago and haven't been able to seriously clean anything since. We have major events every weekend in May, that are going to make getting things really clean again hard, but ds's graduation is among those and we'll have out of town guests, so I'm motivated to find a way.

 

Ever feel like you're riding a yo-yo?

[rwilk]

I am constantly grateful for the help of my DH in cleaning.  Everyone has strengths in life, and his is dealing with the random daily cleaning that typically needs done.  He has a regular laundry day weekly, does dishes nightly, helps DD with the vacuuming (we have a very light vacuum) and deals with the trash/recycling.  I typically deal with the larger cleaning/organizing projects--cleaning bathrooms, kitchen, paperwork, and so on. 

 

I am also lucky to have a DD who is obsessed with everything being in the right place.  Her things are pretty much cleaned up without us having to prod her at all. She is the one who can't stand it disorganized. She also keeps incredible track of our stuff---she always knows where daddy took off his glasses or mommy put down her phone. She's a handy lady to have around the house.

 

 

[pehp]

I voted no help and no big deal, it stays clean. My daughter is 4.  I will write more 'tips' once my children are in bed, if I have time! Or tomorrow....

 

One thing I will say is that I seriously considered hiring help.  And after discussing it w/ the housecleaner (who was darling! loved her! and she was amazing--she cleaned for a friend and did a brilliant job, on her office) I realized: I had to do it on my own. Not b/c of finances, but b/c I knew it would never be clean  enough if I hired it out.

 

More on that later. :)

[TracyP]

No cleaning help here.

 

I could have chosen several from the third question. I do let some of it go - my house is never really dirty, but it is also never spotless. The kids do help a lot more as they get older. Mostly, I am still trying to find a balance. The house is rarely as clean as it would be in my ideal world. I continue to try to find "the plan" that will give me a decluttered, clean house.

 

A couple things that do work for me:

I have a good daily plan so that dishes, sweeping, bathrooms, and laundry are always under control.

 

I plan my school year with 6 weeks on, 1 off and try to get deep cleaning done during that week off. This would work great if only I was always able to get the deep cleaning done those weeks. During the school weeks, my tub/showers get away from me, paperwork piles up, dusting isn't done, windows aren't washed, and on and on. If life happens and nothing gets cleaned that week, it only puts me further behind later. Still, most of the time this schedule helps me stay on top of everything.

[Farrar]

No help.

 

I chose "let some things go" for the last one, but the truth isn't really any of those. I don't mind having some mess in general. Our house is old and it's never really clean the way a newer house can be. Dh helps a lot - the laundry is his big job, but he tidies as needed and sometimes cleans the kitchen as a surprise for me when he's at home working in the middle of the night. The kids pitch in when needed and have some routine chores like their own personal laundry and cleaning the basement really well once a month and emptying the dishwasher most days. We do a deep clean every so often. In general, this just isn't where I put my energy or thought. I'm okay with some mess. If company is coming we clean up. When it gets really messy, I take a day and reorganize.

[pehp]

As it turns out I had written about this elsewhere so I will link to it here. This is from last fall; my routine is a bit different now. I change it from season to season. 

 

http://thejoyfulhouse.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-work-of-my-week.html

 

Of note: I do not stick to the face mask/manicure stuff I put on there. I did for a while but winter got hold of me.   :)  Now I am happy to just WASH my face every night.  

 

I do not follow my schedule slavishly. It's a tool, a guide, a help for me.  So I don't walk around wondering what to do, or feeling overwhelmed and like I HAVE to clean everything, all at once, in half an hour, one morning a week.  

 

My 7 year old has chores.  My 4 year old does not but she's required to tidy up with him each evening.  

 

When I had a lady come look at my house, we talked about a cleaning every other week.  After she left I thought about this .I realized if I was PAYING someone to clean my house I would not really want to do any cleaning myself.  And if I do not clean my house for 2 weeks it would be FILTHY (with 2 little children, a large dog, living in the country, etc).  So I realized that during this season of life hiring a cleaning lady would not really help me keep my house clean.  Plus I really want my children to learn to keep house and this is prime training time for them. But mainly I decided to forgo the cleaning help b/c I realized...my house would be clean for a few days after she came, but really by the third or fourth day without vacuuming or bathroom wipe-downs, it would be edging its way to dirty again...and I'd still have a week and a half before she came to clean.

 

I *could* run the vacuum in between times, but I broke down my tasks so that really I don't do much more than half an hour of cleaning each day (not on Sundays).  I do spend more time than that on laundry, dishes and cooking but no cleaning lady was going to handle that for me anyhow!

 

And, I will say that if I ever have another baby, I WILL BE HIRING HELP for the first few months at least. I wish I had done that when my daughter was born....instead I just did nothing, and let my father vacuum when he came to visit.  It was pretty grimy there for a while.  

 

I also think we have to be realistic about having young children.  Staying on top of the laundry and dishes and making good food really sometimes is enough, for the most part, during that season of life, esp. w/ a lot of young children at once.

 

To everything there is a season and I believe in living within our current season and doing the best we can. Perfectionism is never my goal!!  I am happy and my house stays reasonably neat and clean, and that's enough for me. 

 

 

[Guest ninizhebeg]

you need to have an option we can choose with your second question.

[Targhee]

My house is rarely as clean as I want it to be.  But it isn't *that* bad.  EverySaturday we deep clean, the kids taking care of their bedrooms, kids' bathroom, school room, living room, family room.  I do other bathrooms, kitchen, dining, floors throughout.  It has taken years of training and being consistent about my expectations for the kids to be able to contribute as they do now.  I think I would LOVE house cleaning service, and I think we could budget for it.  However, I want my kids to learn how to clean, and feel like their work is a valuable contribution to our family.

[Another Lynn]

I think the biggest obstacle for us is needing to "pick up" first.  Evidently we don't put things where they go until there's an ultimatum or deadline of some kind.  So, while cleaning itself might not be a big chore, it must be preceded by the gargantuan job of putting a million things away.  This is the same reason why, though I may dream of hiring cleaning help, I never do it. 

[eternallytired]

I used to do a little each day when the kids were napping.  This year we instituted a new system: on a daily basis, we still do dishes, put laundry away, do a once-over on the kitchen (spills and crumbs), and pick up the worst of the toy mess at the end of the day.  Then each Friday after lunch, the kids and I spend about two hours cleaning.  I list everything that needs doing on a white board, and they sign their name by it as they choose a task to complete.  (Then I can check their work and call them back if need be.)  They're only 3, 5, and 6, but they can satisfactorily clean toilets and sinks, pick up and put away toys, sort laundry, vacuum floors, shake rugs, mop floors...  It might not get quite as clean as if I did it myself, but I usually rotate through jobs so everything gets super-cleaned about once a month.  And not everything is as clean as I'd like on a daily basis, but it'll have to do for now.  (I actually blogged about this very thing recently!)

[Bree]

Right now I have a little help. We are bartering cutting my mother-in-laws yard for her and she comes and helps with cleaning so it is not an ongoing thing. We don't start school work till 10 so before that I have time with the little ones and between 9-10 I will tidy up some, but not the whole time ;).  We are almost always done by 3 so break from 3-4 for me then 4-5 is cleaning time. I really hate clutter so we tend not to have a lot of stuff that can get too messy. I also love the book Large Family Logistics and she has a great weekly schedule to get everything done. For us Monday is laundry day (well it happens every day too), Tuesday focus is kitchen, Wed bedrooms, Thursdays is bathroom and Friday make sure everywhere is tidy. My 8 & 10 year olds are a big help. My dh is a neat freak so he can't relax unless things are clean so the house does get messy quick but also can get tidy quick too.

[Coco_Clark]

I don't have outside help, and it's not really an issue, despite having 2 (sometimes 3 or 4) kids 5 and under.

 

A. I have a small house. One bathroom means only one toilet and one shower to scrub.

 

B. I do not have lots and lots of stuff. Some of that is house-size related, my kitchen is small so I do not have a mixer AND a blender AND a food processor, ect and so on. A lot of it is choice, I only have enough dishes for a single day, I only have as many toys as can be easily picked up by my # of children, I only keep books that are actually read, ect.

 

Those are the biggest helps. As far as routines go...

 

C. We have short clean-up bursts before breakfast, before lunch, and before dad comes home in the evening. Everyone in the house is assigned a job. Really, everyone too old to be in a mobywrap has a job. Even toddlers can wipe the chairs (or walls!) down with a sponge. Anyone new to the house or under 4 is with me, helping prep for my job (pick up everything on the floor, so I can sweep, ect). Bigger kids can load the dishes, clean bathrooms, put away laundry, ect. Having those daily tasks done by someone else gives me time to do the harder tasks. 3 jobs a day per person adds up!

 

D. I do a deep clean of sections of rooms on a weekly cycle, hitting heavy use rooms 2x and lighter use rooms 1x. M- living room and office. T. Kitchen and bathroom. W. Bedrooms. Th. Living and office again. F. Kitchen and bathroom again. S. Backyard. Because there isn't any clutter (see a and c) I can get right into the real cleaning and it only takes an hour or maybe two if I've got an infant in a carrier slowing me down.

 

E. We take a week off school every 6 weeks, and this is when I play "catch up" if things have been slipping. Or do seasonal chores like taking down all the mini blinds for a soak or vacuuming the refrigerator coils.

[Coco_Clark]

I think this is also something that's hard to compare family to family.

 

A family with 7 or 8 kids has different cleaning needs than a family of 1 or 2. Houses are different sizes. Kids at different ages make more/less messes.

 

Not to mention different opinions on what constitutes "clean". I mop my kitchen 2x a week in general. But I have a friend (similar #of kids and ages) that shudders at that, and mops hers every single day. And yet another (again, similar # of kids and ages) that has admitted she thinks regular sweeping is plenty and mops maybe once every 4-6 weeks, generally when something has spilled. We all consider our floors clean.

[Ausmumof3]

I could choose several options from number 3. I constantly readjust and try different things which work for a while. I tend to do lots of extra cleaning in the holidays. It's never as clean as I'd like. The main areas get done but the kids rooms and the study get left longer than I'd like.

[Ausmumof3]

I think the biggest obstacle for us is needing to "pick up" first. Evidently we don't put things where they go until there's an ultimatum or deadline of some kind. So, while cleaning itself might not be a big chore, it must be preceded by the gargantuan job of putting a million things away. This is the same reason why, though I may dream of hiring cleaning help, I never do it.

Us too!

[Ausmumof3]

Our house is poorly built (owner builder with lots of unsealed gaps, no paving etc), rural and big. I've always been messy. It when we had a smaller newer house it was manageable and didn't get that dirty. Where we live cobwebs, dirt and millipedes are a daily event and lots of stuff is falling apart, that we can't afford to fix at the moment. So even when I clean it feels dirty.

[Butter]

I don't have outside help.  I also don't have children under 5.  I have often thought it would be nice to have cleaning people come in every 3-6 months and do the deep cleaning.  Baseboards, windows, blinds, things like that.  It would be fabulous.  Cleaning is not a big deal to me.  I have a list of things I do every day and I check them off as I go along.  The kids help clean some things, too.  Maybe I should pay *them* to do the deep cleaning stuff I hate.

 

As for tips, I divided my hard floors into 5 rooms/areas and I sweep and mop one of them each weekday.  I walk around reading a lot (gets my steps in AND reading, so bonus) and I pick things up and put them where they belong as I do my circuit (it takes me around the entire downstairs, about 100 steps per time around).  The little things get tidied up easily that way.  I do one thing per circuit.  It's kind of a game to me.  I never let laundry pile up.  If I notice my laundry basket is getting full, I add laundry to my to do list for the next day.  The little boys' clothes go in my laundry basket.  The big kids have to start their laundry themselves.  I'll often move it to the dryer or fold it if they don't get to it first.  As soon as they start a load, I add it to the to do list to be sure it gets done and not forgotten.  I do sheets on specific Saturdays (mine one, the kids' another).  Sheets get washed, dried, and beds remade in the same day.  The little guys have very few toys.  They are expected to always put them away after playing with them.  The kids are in charge of keeping their rooms clean.  If they get messy I remind them to clean them.  They are all very good about keeping them neat.  Dishes get run at least once a day.  The only time dirty dishes are allowed on the counters is if the dishwasher is running (or the dishes have been run and are cooling/drying before they get put away).  Otherwise, dirty dishes get put in the dishwasher immediately.  I almost always have to run the dishwasher at night.  I put the dishes away first thing in the morning so we start the day with an empty sink and dishwasher.  Everything has a home.  I hate clutter.  It make me anxious and puts me in a bad mood.  I'm just a happier person and my kids are better behaved when the house is neat and organized so it's very important to me to keep it that way.

[justme824]

My kids are 11, 4, and infant. Here is how things go around here.

 

Me

• Maintain the kitchen by making sure things get done. We all work together in the kitchen. If the dishwasher needs to be emptied somebody empties it. All dishes need to find there way in the dishwasher when you are done. Clean as you go is the motto we live by. It only takes a few minutes if you do it right then. If you wait until it is a disaster it will take quite some time to get it all cleaned up.
• I go to bed with a clean kitchen. Because we stay on top of it all day long this takes all of 5-minutes or so and makes my mornings so much better.
• I do laundry as needed, make sure it gets folded and put away. Some weeks I'm on top of it daily. Others I let it go and we have a laundry marathon on the weekends. I just stopped stressing about it and it seems to help my mood over Mt. Laundry that seems to always exist with five people living here.
• I sweep at least every other day, but I prefer to sweep daily. I try and do this during full house pickup at the end of the day.
• Once we have completed full house pickup the kids can only take out things that they can clean up in 5-minutes or less. Usually I make them go outside!
• Every Sunday I clean out the car, restock diapers & wipes in there, vacuum if it isn't a car wash week, make sure we have sunscreen in there, fill up the gas tank, etc. I want my car ready to go on Monday. I also check the calendar and get a feel for what is happening and make sure there won't be any sudden surprises.

 

11 year old has daily chores.

• Monday & Thursday he empties the bathroom trash and swishes the toilets while there. He also empties the laundry room trash.
• Tuesday & Friday he works on his dusting loop. Basically I typed a list of all the places to dust, he dusts for 30-minutes, checks what he did, then starts there the next time he dusts. I'd say it takes him two weeks to get through the house before he starts over.
• Wednesday he cleans his bathroom.
• Over the weekend he needs to make his room mom clean - vacuumed, dusted, picked up nicely, sheets washed if needed, etc.
• Thursday evening he takes out the trashcans to the curb, Friday he brings them back in.
• Daily - wipes his bathroom sink/counter, folds his laundry as needed, empties kitchen trash, empties recycle bin in garage, helps in kitchen as needed, wipes the table/island after meals, and helps with full house pickup at the end of the day.

Almost 4-year-old

• Helps set the table for dinner - placemats & silverware are his jobs
• Clears the table after meals to the counter
• Sweeps up under the table/island after meals
• Helps put away his laundry
• Cleans up his room every evening
• Helps with full house pickup at the end of the day

Infant

• smiles, looks cute, and I'm sure is gearing up to follow us around and undo our work :)

Nitty Gritty Cleaning

• I only do this once every six weeks. Basically, I scrub my house super duper clean, clean out cabinets, clear off counters, make sure books are shelved nicely, clean out the fridge/pantry. Really anything I can to make my house look sparkling in all areas I do over the course of a week. I make a run to Target and stock up on anything we will need over the next 6-weeks (only going to Target once every six weeks saves me SO MUCH MONEY!!!), stock up on non-perishables in the kitchen, etc. I rotate/donate toys so we don't collect too much junk. Clean and resupply the art closet.
• Then we hit the books and school for five-six weeks. Once I feel the house needs a reboot we take a week off and do just that. 

[Sarah0000]

I have two kids under five. Here's one tip: Do a bit of cleaning for a few minutes in whatever room your child is in. So if my toddler is playing in the tub I'll be cleaning the chair rails and baseboards. If he's playing in the computer I can dust the cables. If he's reading in bed I can clean the bedroom windowsills.

[LMD]

I have 4 kids, including a toddler. They have inherited my lazy and disorganised leanings.

 

When we are in our routine things go ok. The older 3 kids are very helpful, they have their assigned jobs. I have a good schedule that works and includes deeper cleaning, generally only taking 2 hours a week. Then adding the daily grind, that's what kills me. Dishes again? Toddler dumps out meal onto floor? Puzzles and games spread everywhere? Mountain of laundry? I'm just so tired and it's hard to make cleaning a priority.

 

We rarely stay in our routine. Life happens, a lot at the moment.

 

My house is rarely clean. My floors are desperate for a vacuum and mop...

My house was cleanest when I was 9 months pregnant and nesting! 😄 of course, no school was happening which freed up time for psycho cleaning!

[idnib]

C'mon, put those lazy babies to work and make them earn their keep!  :D

 

[Amira]

Having outside cleaning help is common and affordable where I live, but we don't do it. There are lots of reasons for that, but the main one is that I'm not interested in having someone in my house two or three (or more) times a week, all day long. If I were in the US and could afford to hire a professional cleaning service once a week for two hours, I'd do that because we could arrange to be out of the house and I'd feel like I was paying a fare wage.

 

So everyone in the family helps clean. The house is never very clean because it's designed for full-time help instead of a mom and teenagers cleaning it.

[idnib]

Having outside cleaning help is common and affordable where I live, but we don't do it. There are lots of reasons for that, but the main one is that I'm not interested in having someone in my house two or three (or more) times a week, all day long. If I were in the US and could afford to hire a professional cleaning service once a week for two hours, I'd do that because we could arrange to be out of the house and I'd feel like I was paying a fare wage.

 

I understand.

 

I have family in South Asia and they extoll the virtues of having someone come everyday after breakfast and clean for an hour or so, followed later by someone coming before dinner to clean the day's mess and help with dinner. I just wouldn't want someone in my house that much. It would feel like an imposition, like I couldn't just sit and relax and have privacy. When they visited us in the U.S. they were shocked by what I had to handle alone and they said they were glad they didn't live here because life is too difficult. They are used to cheap labor.

 

And the cleaners are underpaid everywhere in the country, not just by my family. I always slip them extra money when I visit because of their increased cleaning burden and just because they need it. The last time I was there the cleaning woman, who has 6 children, is illiterate, and brings her school-age daughter to help instead of sending her to class, took me aside and asked me if it was true that in the U.S. there are pills women can take to not have children. Also, did I have one I could give her before I returned?  :crying:  (She thought it was a one-time pill you took and voila, no more kids.) She's the daughter of the original house cleaner, who became too old to work, and she's training her daughter to take over when she's too old.

[lea_lpz]

No oust side help. If I could afford it I would. We've tried cleaning zones each day as a family on weekdays (kids and I) or we do it all together on the weekend (dh, kids, and I). They are only 8 & almost 6 but they can help quite a bit.