# How do you maintain your house clean?



## Babyoil (Nov 13, 2014)

Hello girls,

Just wanted to ask for some tips on maintaining the house clean. Sometimes it seems to me all women (at least those that I follow on instagram ) have ideal houses without any effort - on the contrary, mine gets messy very easily (even though both me and my husband try to maintain the order). How to maintain permanent order, please?) What's your routine?


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## Cloudy (Jan 26, 2012)

Just remember honey - they probably wouldn't photograph something if there was a mess in the background. Just because somewhere looks tidy from one picture doesn't mean that they have dusted their skirting boards in months!

I just generally tidy up every morning before work so the house is tidy when I leave: takes 15mins max to make the bed, tidy the pots and sofa and cushions and things, maybe put a load of washing on. As long as everything has a place it's easy to keep on top of it. 

My DH does the hoovering and washing, and cleans the kitchen, and I do everything else. It's normally a 2/3 hour job each weekend, but every now and then I will spend a good few hours moving everything out and hoovering under/behind everything, scrubbing every nook and cranny.

I sometimes think I could very easily slip into a cleaning obsession, but work too long hours to succumb!

Nowhere is perfect, it's just ok.

Don't worry honey xxx


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## Blondie71 (Oct 26, 2011)

Cloudy you sound like me, most of the week I skim over everything and just keeping it in order, as long as I have a well bleached clean kitchen and bathroom the rest can wait, at w/ends I take the place apart, hoover everywhere I can get into first and then get the mop out and methodically go through every room and then out comes the scrubbing stuff it takes a few hours and once I start I can't stop finding another area to do.... If I had any sense I'd clean one room a day every day and that way it wouldn't take me so long x


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## Babyoil (Nov 13, 2014)

Thank you girls, you cheered me up  I usually keep to the similar routine: 15 minutes a day to maintain the order basically, and then about 2-3 hour cleaning session over the weekend.. but I always start getting nervous when I see photos of my friends from immaculate apartments even with toddlers in o.0


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

i find low powered light bulbs help disguise mess. also a good strategy is to give all guests wine immediately on arrival.

another trick is to leave some rolls of wallpaper about and blame the mess on the decorators.

or a more long term solution is to buy a huge eye catching ornament as a focal feature for your living space. Who will notice your undusted skirting with a 12 foot long taxidermied crocodile on hand?


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

on a more serious note, your home should be a space that makes you happy. if you're happy cleaning it, do, if you're happy not cleaning it.....

it's nobody else's business 'how' clean it is.


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## Cloudy (Jan 26, 2012)

goldbunny said:


> i find low powered light bulbs help disguise mess. also a good strategy is to give all guests wine immediately on arrival.
> 
> another trick is to leave some rolls of wallpaper about and blame the mess on the decorators.
> 
> or a more long term solution is to buy a huge eye catching ornament as a focal feature for your living space. Who will notice your undusted skirting with a 12 foot long taxidermied crocodile on hand?


     

That's really cheered me up! Very true though


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## ayah (Dec 18, 2013)

Oh I wish I could keep an emaculate house!  Some times I dispair that the carpets looks like it needs going over before Ive even finished hoovering!  Sure ds1 folliws me with crumbs and paper cuttings and OH with sock fluff!  

I bought a little mimi bust pan and brush for the kitchen work surface so OH could sweep up his toast mess but he never used it.  Not until I found him using it on the floor instead of the floor one   .  Hhmmmm that went in the bin.  I didnt ask how many times he used it on the floor.  As he rarly does house work hoping it was the first and last.

I say have friends that arent too house proud!  My best friend ** pic has her, her DH, DS1 DD ans DS2 pictured in thier front room with the clothes hourse full of washing in the back ground.  Real life!  

Happy cleaning ladies .


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## Blondie71 (Oct 26, 2011)

Hahaha so true Ayah, the houses I'm the happiest in amongst my friends and relatives are the most untidy ones and you know I never even think about the mess cos I'm made feel so welcome and given such a lovely time.


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## Jonsgirl80 (Jun 6, 2013)

I do a quick 10-15 minutes every day - just picking stuff up off the floor, wiping surfaces and generally tidying - it helps to have lots of storage where I can just quickly throw things so they are out of sight  

Hubby does the washing up and the clothes washing. I do the rest - things like bathroom cleaning get done in an evening when DS is in bed. 

Cleaning on weekends is banned in this house. (Other than bare essentials like putting dirty plates through the dishwasher.) Weekends are the only time we get together as a family (I work mornings and hubby works late shift during the week) so we make it a rule to go out and spend time together.

My house is clean but in no way immaculate and that suits me fine - life's too short to be spent scrubbing


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## Babyoil (Nov 13, 2014)

goldbunny, so funny - made my day, thank you)))))

ayah, my husband also "likes" using my special purpose smart dusters for the wrong purposes: like he can dust the wardrobes with the one for washing the windows.. I'm trying to hide them from him 

Johnsgirl80, that's an interesting approach you practice  I will try it (I just like the sound of it - very family-oriented))


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## Tone (Apr 16, 2013)

lol gold bunny! 
Ayah, I also have a dh sock fluff problem and also a toast and cheese and biscuits secret night eating crumb issue, also Dhs fault lol. When I had my cs I was unable to use the Hoover for 12 weeks. Well I thought the world would end lol but then I found this gtech rechargeable lightweight Hoover sweeper thingy for £50 on Amazon and it is brilliant for quick tidies. The other thing I do is have lots of plastic big boxes to store stuff. It helps that I'm moving house in a month as I can just sa I'm packing early lol. Seriously though sometimes I think I'm going crazy with the sheer amount of stuff we have in our 2 bed flat. I'd kill for a loft!


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## SWGirl (Aug 19, 2004)

Hmmm.... I would really love to find a great cleaner!  That would just leave me the mountain of unsorted paperwork and clutter and toys to sort through/bin/shred etc.  I would also love a dishwasher and a tumble dryer.  I can keep most of the rooms in the house looking pretty good but there is always one bedroom currently being used as a dumping ground.  The rest of the house looks fine and then you open that bedroom door and it's sometimes like looking into a room that could be on one of those hoarding TV programmes.  It drives me a bit mad.  I don't have the hoarding attachment problems with it but I just never seem to find the time to sort through it.  We talk about just shoving the whole lot in a skip and being done with it but I worry that somewhere in the middle of the stuff that I'm desperate to just throw away is one item that I need... Like my birth certificate.


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## Ms Gnomer (Jan 15, 2015)

goldbunny said:


> i find low powered light bulbs help disguise mess. also a good strategy is to give all guests wine immediately on arrival.
> 
> another trick is to leave some rolls of wallpaper about and blame the mess on the decorators.
> 
> or a more long term solution is to buy a huge eye catching ornament as a focal feature for your living space. Who will notice your undusted skirting with a 12 foot long taxidermied crocodile on hand?


And this will be my new tactic!

I absolutely hate cleaning! If I ever manage to sell my pre-marital flat, some of the proceeds will be going towards hiring a cleaner to do three hours a week. I can vacuum, clean the sinks, etc, quite happily, but dusting the Venetian blinds is not something I'm willing to spend hours of my precious free time on.


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## suedulux (May 27, 2006)

Oh wow,  I need this thread, 
please please please does  anyone else have advise , tips, fool proof routines?
x sue


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## Tone (Apr 16, 2013)

Suedulux, since having a baby I can't do mass weekly cleans where I do the whole house anymore so I got an upright Hoover and it lives in the corner of the living room half hidden by the sofa so that I can do a quick blast of downstairs living room kitchen and dining room every other day or so. Only takes 15 minutes or so and it just keeps things tidy before it gets out of control. Also stops people walking dust and fluff upstairs so I don't have to do upstairs that frequently and I use a carpet sweeper so I don't have to carry heavy Hoover up. I also have a duster brush attachment so go round cleaning surfaces that way! I try to do washing everyday so clothes don't pile up and I have a big play pen which means the toys stay in there and not all over the floor in the house! I've learnt bit by bit but this is the best way for me. I used to kill myself doing the whole lot once a week but now it's all in bits! Have to be very organised and disciplined but it works!


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## Charmars (Sep 14, 2014)

I'm a clean freak! But I was spending too much time cleaning so I now have a cleaver! £12 a hour and does 2 hours a week. Cos she doesn't get distracted she can clean the whole house and iron in that time. It's a lifesaver! If you can afford it get a cleaner is my advice!!


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## suedulux (May 27, 2006)

Oh wow , Tone, thanks that's interesting.
Charmers , cant justify a cleaner, I am a stay at home mum. I really need someone to teach me how to  clean the house efficiently. I'm up and down the stairs , I never manage to complete a room. Bit here bit there , clean that as I'm passing through a room.
Anyone got a cleaning daily routine I could try and copy? 

x sue


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## Charmars (Sep 14, 2014)

Try doing a room a day, although I hated it all not being clean at the same time.

I used to dust every room, then Hoover every room, then clean the bathrooms, then mop the rooms that needed it. Managed to get more done doing it that way x


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

sue pick six things that MUST be done. then allocate each one a day of the week (you get a day off). 
then aftre that put two or three smaller tasks on each of the six days, in such a way as they complement the main tasks. eg tuesday, i do the utility room, and then the bins round the rest of the house since it makes sense to do them all at once. mondays, admin is my main task, smaller stuff includes laundry and getting some exercise.

so you should have a list now, of six main things, with two or three smaller tasks attached to each day.

now just make sure the main things get done, 
try and do the smaller tasks
and sod the rest. 

😄


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## suedulux (May 27, 2006)

This is  great , noting this stuff down. 
How about loo cleaning, I spray all purpose bathroom cleaner and wipe with loo roll or use loo brush. 
What do you use? I'm always flushing then then find I've missed a spot. And . . . bleach at the end or something different? 
Oh and the floors ? Got a quick way to do those , they're lino?


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

buy a lint broom (rubber bristles) or a brush that gets up dust, leave it handy so you can use it often, clean spills as soon as they happen to reduce the need for scrubbing. wear those fluffy cleaning sock/dust mop slipper things. 
try toilet duck fresh brush disposable toilet brush thing.


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## Blondie71 (Oct 26, 2011)

poundland has sterilising fluid in a 1 litre light blue bottle, you only need a little of it mixed into water in a spray bottle and I guarantee you totally effortless but spotless cleaning with it, you could eat your dinner off the floor after using it   for toilets & bath etc use it neat leave for a while and flush/rinse, use the spray bottle on loo seats though as neat is very harsh.

ps it's great for fridges & drains too, kills all odours


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## suedulux (May 27, 2006)

Great great  keep them coming. Maybe I could write a book with all the tips??


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## MandyPandy (May 10, 2010)

goldbunny said:


> i find low powered light bulbs help disguise mess. also a good strategy is to give all guests wine immediately on arrival.
> 
> another trick is to leave some rolls of wallpaper about and blame the mess on the decorators.
> 
> or a more long term solution is to buy a huge eye catching ornament as a focal feature for your living space. Who will notice your undusted skirting with a 12 foot long taxidermied crocodile on hand?


LOL!

Fantastic.


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## suedulux (May 27, 2006)

I know , no excuses! I now have a few solutions to these , thanks to this thread.

http://www.baby.co.uk/life_and_home/20-reasons-my-house-is-a-mess/


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## goldbunny (Mar 26, 2012)

That kind of article is completely annoying. They have a basically tidy house with a few toys around it. And they are complaining.

That's not mess!


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## MandyPandy (May 10, 2010)

goldbunny said:


> That kind of article is completely annoying. They have a basically tidy house with a few toys around it. And they are complaining.
> 
> That's not mess!


*hits 'like' button'

TBH, our house is a tip most days and gets cleaned once a week when the cleaner comes around. If we couldn't afford a cleaner, then DH and I would divide up the chores and spend a few hours every Saturday morning doing them. That's it really.

I don't put pressure on myself. I know everything is clean so other than that, it's just mess. Honestly, with a toddler, if you wanted to maintain a clean house, you'd be doing nothing but cleaning all day every day so it's more about learning to adjust your standards.

xxx


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## miss sd (Apr 24, 2015)

Never have time do any cleaning during the week other then tidying a bit, obviously dishwasher and surfaces wiped, and a few loads of washing.  

Saturday morning we both spend about three hours cleaning , he does hoovering and mopping , I clean the bathroom scrubbing it all thoroughly and the downstairs loo , change bed sheets and then general to tidying together.


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