Home & Garden Discussions

Ugh - it's a system. Cleaning is one of those things I really hate, especially when I'm exhausted as normally is the case now days.

 We give 30 minutes to each level (have a 3-level house). Whatever we get done in the 30 minutes is great. Sometimes it's just the dishes. Sometimes it may just be picking up.

About once a month though EVERYONE helps with the big cleaning. We wash the windows. possibly steam vac the carpet, etc.

   That must be night to have everyone pitch in. My hubby helps me out when he's not tired from work. My son likes to help me out by wiping the lower cabinets and the front of the stove down and picking up here and there, but he's only 5 and I'm unsure what other chores to introduce him to at his age. He does clean up his room, but it's often like pulling teeth to get him to. 

   We have my hubby's folks are with us for practical, lonesome and health reasons. It's easier for them to work at their jobs than to be at home cleaning. So I do most of it, although, it'd be really nice if they'd at least pick up after themselves a lot more or at all. It's like I have 2 extra kids I'm picking up after!

   I try to balance my chores with giving myself personal time, too, but I should probably put myself on a schedule and divy out the responsibilites a bit more, so I'm not feeling so overwhelmed all of the time.

I have a system.  It's called "if this room is so dirty that I can't stand it anymore, it's time to clean it" :)  I really clean at random depending on what looks dirty or what's been annoying me - like if the mail starts to pile up, one day that just annoys me and I go through it all.

It's amazing how little things being done here and there will add up to a house that looks pretty clean for the most part.  My friend was coming over last night and we were a bit messy.  I took 5 minutes putting away some blankets and dirty glasses and was amazed at how my living room looked spotless.

I have help - two cleaning people come in twice a month. I'm allergic to dust and mold and vacuum cleaners make my Sjogren's painful. If I didn't have help I wouldn't clean; my husband would have to and I'd be obsessing all week that I should be cleaning!

We don't have a large place and it's just the two of us so it's a bit easier. We just try not to clutter and keep up as we go along. But if we both don't feel well it's amazing how fast things can pile up out of nowhere!!!!     : )

I do a heavy cleaning, top to bottom, once a week and then I do maintenance during the week.  Big things like waxing the cabinets or cleaning the windows is done quarterly.

Clean house? What's that?

Frankly, I never get done. As I'm cleaning one area, the baby is unrolling the toilet paper in the bathroom. Or the 4-year-old has just spilled spaghetti on the freshly mopped floor. Or the kids decide to "help" wash the windows.

I do a heavy cleaning every week from top to bottom.

     Yay for Katrena!
     The only way I stick to cleaning (usually 20 minutes to a half hour at a time) is if I set a timer and offer myself a reward for doing my time. 
     The only other way is if I'm having what I call a "dumb day".  Then I plug along on auto-pilot, half asleep (sometimes from allergy meds) and generally wishing I had stayed in bed.

I am with Katrena -- I no sooner make the bed for one child and they are jumping on the bed I made before it.  But I try to do a full clean once a week then each day the kitchen is a must.  Then I hit whatever I can't stand to look at anymore. But it's tough since I work at home too. I look around while working and think -- I should clean that -- no I should work.

I had a cleaning lady come once a month to do the top to bottom -- ceiling fans to baseboards but it was tough to build into the budget. It seemed there were so many other things I wanted to do with that money. 

I also do the timer thing with the children. If they are going to help out we set the timeer for 10 minutes each room and then a treat if we get done sooner.  Especially effective with teenagers -- ie she gets to go somewhere soon if it's done faster.

Once a month I take all the dirty dishes and put 'em in a burlap sack, take 'em down to the river and let 'em soak for a week or so. Ditto with the dirty clothes. The dog takes care of cleaning the floors. I like to draw little dust pictures on the tabletops and other horizontal surfaces. My artistic side, ya know.

LOL!!!

My system is....I clean a few rooms, my back begs me to stop, I clean a little more....and then my back forces me to lay down.  It's not a perfect plan, but it works.  :-)

I used to have a maid service come in once a week. To save the expense now, everyone in the family helps out with the cleaning once a week.

I "clean" on almost a daily basis. Just the basics usually. But recently, I got into the mode of organizing and ditching everything I possibly could. In two days, I managed to get 2 and a half rooms completely done, top to bottom. WHEW! I'm beat.

Now it's time to tackle behind the stove and fridge.....and I am AFRAID! :-)

I use the flylady system. The basic principle is that your house didn't get messy/cluttered overnight, and it won't get un-messy/cluttered in one day.  It's a system that seems crazy, but totally works. You clean in zones and declutter 15 minutes at a time...Baby Steps! If you actually follow the system, you will be totally amazed...good luck! =)  http://flylady.net

We have one hour a day to pick up, but once a week we all clean the house form top to bottom.

OMG, I love the Flylady!!!  You can even become a fan of hers of Facebook and get her emails.  It's a great system, esp. if you work outside your home, and she even gives you Sundays off.  So practical.

I love that it's an organization system, too, not just a cleaning system.  It's helped me with little things, like remembering to lay my clothes out the night before to cut down on morning scrambles. 

Click here for my FlyLady.net review.