How I keep my house clean-ish
A reader recently emailed:
It seems like you still fit in gym visits and walks, and of course you've outsourced your lawn mowing - a huge win! But I'm wondering how you keep your house clean, or clean enough, I should say. I'm finding it tough to fit in even spot cleaning at times, and it feels like there must be a simple way to get cleaning efforts into my weeks, but I can't quite identify them. Would love to know how you keep your home cleanish with your busy schedule!
I love how you phrase that: clean-ish. That's what describes my house most of the time. It's not ever white-glove ready, but it's reasonably and functionally clean.
I think letting go of perfectionism when it comes to house-cleaning is actually helpful for most stages of life. I mean, if we wanted our homes to be perfectly clean all the time, even underneath the furniture and on top of the picture frames, we could clean all day, every day!
But that is not a very good use of a life, in my opinion, so I prefer to settle for a clean-ish home.
Also: since my life has no routine right now (my work shifts are different every week), I do not have a regular cleaning day. 🙂
Here's how I make it work.
1. I lean slightly minimalist
Emphasis is on "slightly" here, because a true minimalist would faint at the amount of possessions I have.
But in general, I don't keep a wild amount of possessions around. This makes it much easier to clean and tidy my house.
For example, if you own 52 shirts, you could end up with a pile of 52 dirty shirts. If you only own ten shirts, though, you're never going to have a dirty laundry pile with more than ten shirts (nine, probably, because you need to be wearing one!)
Same goes for dishes; they can only pile up so high if you own a limited number.
Also, it's easier to clean/wipe/dust areas that aren't full of stuff.
2. I focus on tasks that pile up
When I am very busy, I prioritize jobs that would get progressively bigger if left undone. Laundry and dishes are two such tasks.
I also count something like organizing/cleaning out the fridge, because if you don't get moldy food out right away, the problem grows!
On the other hand, it takes the same amount of time to vacuum four weeks of dust off your mantel as it does to vacuum one week of dust. No biggie to let that slide for a bit if you need to.
3. I try to tidy as I go
Some of keeping your home clean and tidy is about how you move through it.
For example, I typically:
- put dirty dishes in the dishwasher right away
- put dirty clothes in the laundry basket when I get undressed,
- recycle empty containers right away
- sort mail when it comes in (most gets recycled)
- wipe up messes when I spill things
And when I come home, I try to put things in their spots; keys go in the key bowl, lunch box in the kitchen for unpacking, workout clothes in the hamper, backpack hung on a hook, and so on.
These habits help me keep things decently neat even if I have no time to do a dedicated cleaning session.
4. I own three vacuums
This seems a little crazy, I know! But hear me out.
When I moved here, I had no vacuums, so I bought an inexpensive little vacuum to get me by.
(Mine seems to be discontinued, but this Kenmore one is sorta similar.)
Then, since my nice vacuum was at my other house, I bought one just like it on eBay.
However, I noticed I missed having a robot vacuum (also left at the other house), so I bought one for myself.
(Here's why I like having a robot vacuum.)
About once a week, on a day off, I run the robot vacuum. This takes a little bit of work, because I have to move all the curtains/chairs/other stuff out of the way so it can thoroughly clean my floors. It's definitely less work than regular vacuuming, though, and it does a great job of getting cat hair cleaned up.
I use the inexpensive little vacuum when I have a minute to do a touch-up, like the bathroom floor, the kitchen, and under the dining table. It's also great for a quick run to get up any stray cat litter bits.
The big vacuum is the one I use the least; I mostly get that one out when I want to use the dusting attachment, when I vacuum my car, or when I need to vacuum my living room rug (all the floors here are hard surfaces; no carpet.)
For quick cleaning, I do highly recommend having one of those inexpensive vacuums around! And the robot vacuum is an overall time-saver as well.
5. I fit small jobs "in the cracks"
In my imaginary ideal world, it seems like it would be nice to have a set weekly time when you clean the entire house. That appeals to my routine-loving self.
But my life is not routine right now, and honestly, it hasn't been ever since I started nursing school in the fall of 2023!
So, I have made peace with here-and-there cleaning. Got five minutes? You can wipe down the bathroom sink. You could fold a single load of laundry. You could wipe down one shelf in the fridge.
A tiny bit of cleaning is better than none, and tiny bits do add up.
6. I do bigger cleaning jobs on an occasional basis
Growing up, we always cleaned the house thoroughly once a week.
Currently, I...don't. Ha. I don't do a whole bathroom clean each week. I also don't wash my floors very often. And I don't dust every week either.
Ideally, it would be lovely to do those things weekly, but I settle for "occasional" instead, and interestingly, nothing terrible has befallen us as a result.
Busy readers, what tips would you add to mine?
P.S. If you have kids, I recommend giving them responsibilities. You do not need to do this all yourself. My kids were responsible for their own spaces and their own laundry from a young age (I think Zoe started doing her own laundry when she was maybe six years old!), and I also gave them chores for shared spaces (like the kitchen and bathroom).
I also think significant others should be sharing the load (the two Patreon posts I have this week are sorta adjacent to this, and I 100% did not even plan it that way!)
As a full time working mum of teens, my cleaning schedule is similar to you. My teens have jobs, laundry and dishes are done daily and the rest is tackled as and when. I wipe down the loo, sinks and shower pretty regularly but rarely have time for a deep clean. Nobody has caught anything from our low standards as far as I'm aware 😂
Low standards! lol. I really laughed at that. I have the similar standards.
There's a Dollar Store squeegee hanging in my shower, walls and curtain/door squeegeed after every shower.
When our kids were still young, I decided our 3 focal points would be 1 healthy meals 2 clean bathroom and kitchen 3 clean and whole clothes. All the rest would be optional. As emptynesters we still more or less work according to this approach, with my husband doing more of the "optional" chores and me still being the household overseer, bathroom cleaner and cook. The balance may shift in the coming years, as my husband is on pre-pension for 2 days a week. We have so little laundry in comparison now, and right now decluttering has become more of a priority. I'd really like to go through our house room by room, so we will have less stuff to maintain as we are becoming senior citizins. My husband is working on his study this summer.
What I have been wondering: how many sets of scrubs do you have? How many shifts can you manage in between laundry loads (taking Wednesday pink scrubs into account as well).
I work 5 days a week in an ICU (although in an administrative role taking care of the nurses' needs) so I wash my uniforms (scrub jacket and pants) on Tuesdays so I will have enough for the whole week since I have three uniforms. Then I wash them one of the weekend days.
With 5 of us living at home ( 3 kidults) we are all on different schedules and timelines of availability. Sunday night trash getting taken out to the curb is the responsibility of the 3- one of them is always the last in so they are in charge of making sure its out for Monday pick up. #1 is always in charge of Monday supper, #2 & #3 will take responsibility for a supper occasionally but their schedules are much more chaotic and full. I keep a notebook that I scratch jobs on and leave on the table on my way to work most mornings- heads up things like
" flip laundry into the dryer and start a load of darks to washing, recycling needs taken its stacking up too much"
" laundry in the dryer needs folded and put away, stuff in washer needs dried, empty clean dishwasher"
I also believe in "Letting the machines do the hard work" when I am planning to leave for a while. Husband asks what I am doing but I have made him wait to leave 4 more minutes for the washer to stop so I can toss those items into the dryer and another load into the washing machine! Finish loading the dishes in and starting that also! Might as well come home to a dry load, one that needs dried and clean dishes! Wise use of the "negative space"
I am a horrible duster so if you come over no judging. I run a air purifier in our basement bedroom and in the upstairs living space to help catch dust. My routine in our bedroom is damp dust the bedside tables and dressers, vacuum the entire room. Strip the bed( bedding onto the floor which is why 1st sweep), remake beds, vacuum the room and out into the hallway when I finish. Upstairs had to gets swept multiple times a week- I will tell the people My feet are reading braille and they all know what I mean- 5 people make a lot of crumbs and messes!
am not much of a duster. no judgement from me.
LOVE the term kidults!!!
This is definitely my weak spot. I live in a small space which is good and bad - it doesn't take long to clean but it doesn't take long to get messy either! Add that by nature that I don't really care about things being tidy plus working fulltime and it easily gets overwhelming.
I'll try and implement some of the tips! I could definitely put my keys in the key dish for a start lol (and it has Snoopy on it). I do always wash the dishes every night, so that something!
Small homes are tricky because every area is a “high traffic” area!
I know this won't work for everyone, but being realistic about how much space one actually NEEDS has a domino effect that includes cleaning time. One of the many reasons I love our compact castle (1000 sq/ft). As Kristen said, less STUFF also helps immensely.
Our little house has changed how I clean. Instead of purposefully marathoning the whole place at once, I prefer chaining chores together, where one naturally leads to another. I wipe down the bathtub after using it and then just chuck the towel in the washer, also in the bathroom. (I have long hair, so a towel is usually only good for one bath, anyway.) The bathroom gets a proper scrub down roughly once a week--that is, whenever the current kitchen sponge is on its last legs. One final round of dishes, then off to the sink, tub, and toilet (in that order). It also helps that our lone bathroom is right off the kitchen. 😛
Re: vacuuming, we have three black cats and beige carpet. Vacuuming once a week, minimum, is a must! I so look forward to finally tearing the carpet out this fall.* Thankfully it's only in two rooms; everything else is the original hardwood (with more under said carpet) and sweeping takes only a few minutes.
*There were more urgent tasks when we were preparing to move. I did shampoo the holy heck out of the carpet first, though!
Argh, I lost a sentence! The first paragraph should read: One of the many reasons I love our compact castle (750 sq/ft) is that it takes so much less time than our last apartment (over 1000 sq/ft).
Ooh, I'm excited for you that you get to tear out the carpet. Long live hard floors!
You change your kitchen sponge EVERY week?
Wow….please do not visit me! 🤣
Lol No judgement here! We wash dishes by hand and cook from scratch, so our kitchen sponges see some hard living before their final use in the bathroom.
The amount of space makes a HUGE difference! I could not count the number of times I've pined for the lower weekly cleaning investment (500-800 sq ft) in our old rentals. Our 1300 sq ft now is too much for me!
I love reading/ listening to other people's cleaning routines! My husband and I both work full time and have 2 young kids. We are busy, but cleanliness and tidiness are important to me. I don't have a schedule, but these are the things that make a difference in keeping things to my (admittedly high) standards: vacuum main living spaces daily, kitchen clean daily, quick bathroom counter wipe daily, bed made daily. I also have everyone put things away, or at least in their rooms, each day. Dusting, moping, and bathrooms are done when they need to be, but my threshold is low for things looking dusty or dirty, so this happens every week and a half or so! I would love to be less intense about the cleaning, but I've tried, and it just makes me unhappy 😬
It's good to know what makes you happy/unhappy, and prioritize accordingly. I can't stand waking up to dirty dishes, so I alwaysalwaysalways clean my kitchen at night, no matter how tired I am. I get the feeling from some people they think this is too uptight or something, but why would I allow something to persist if it makes me unhappy? All this to say, if having a clean home is important to you, then you're not "intense" at all; you're just self-aware. And that's a good thing. 🙂
Agreed! It's YOUR house, and you should run it in a way that serves you and your family, not the way that other people think you should run it.
i hate dishes in the sink too. especially when put there by the fam after i have cleaned up.
It's good to know what's important to you and plan accordingly.
I don't notice dirt/dust as much as I get irritated by clutter.
Way back I'd been reading one of those "you, too, can live a perfect mom life" blogs and happened to mention it to my grandma, who in turn told me to remember to stop and smell the roses, and I've been smelling roses ever since. Heh.
We live here and we farm here. Presentable enough and healthy enough? — then we're good to go — that's my position.
I second kid’s learning to be responsible for their own spaces and things once they are old enough. Also, both my sons became responsible for their own laundry most of the time as soon as they were big enough to reach the bottom of the washer. They both thanked me once they went to college and saw the red underwear their male peers magically produced by throwing all their laundry in one load lol.
YES! Young kids can do their own laundry but lots of parents don't seem to realize this.
Juhli,
Oh, the memories your post brings up!
When I was in college, I was a dorm worker. Every spring toward the end of the school year, we were asked to "grade" the laundry appliances, esp. the washing machines. The A's and B's stayed in the women's dorms; the C's and some D's went to the upper class men's dorms; and the very worst D's and F's to the freshmen men's. Why? Because the university knew the guys who were doing their own laundry for the first time would no doubt ruin the washing machines. Talk about a comedy of errors: Some poured entire containers of detergent or bleach into a single wash load -- full sized bottles, not the small ones designed for one wash; some stuffed the washers so full with clothes that there was not enough room for the water; and so on. Flooded basements/laundry rooms were not uncommon in the men's housing. When a washing machine would be unrepairable, they'd switch it out with another old clunker, and rearrange the laundry appliances so that the women would get brand new washing machines in their laundry rooms. No reason to have the guys total a brand new appliance!
Anyway, your story makes me laugh because it brings back that memory.
Moms, teach your sons how to do their own laundry! Buying them new jeans and T-shirts (to replace what they ruin) is not frugal.
One time my kiddos were whining about being bored. Well we dusted the ENTIRE house. Towards the end they were begging to not have to do more. Upside, I *never* heard them utter the words "I'm bored" ever again.
In their adult world today, older kiddo handles most of their household cleaning. Younger kiddo and partner divide and conquer their cleaning.
I tend to figure out a day (or a weekend - depending on how one works) where I am ''off'' as in, technically at leisure and then dedicate 1hr-90 mins to properly cleaning. The rest of the day is my own beyond just putting dishes in the dishwasher and wiping surfaces I've used. My husband does the same and between us, the house gets cleaned. He cleans our little en suite every week from top to bottom - it's an internal room and would get mouldy otherwise. My kids take turns to thoroughly clean the bathroom they share (i.e., they each have to clean it thoroughly fortnightly), and on weekends, one gets washing up Sat, dishwasher/ counters Sunday and vice versa.
Otherwise, it's as Kristen says, you do odd bits when you can. The kitchen gets grubby quickly through use, so there's always a moment around a Tues - Wed where I give it a 20 min clean and vacuum!
I also grew up with the whole family doing a big Saturday cleanup, vacuuming and washing floors, changing sheets, etc. Afterwards, the kids would get some treats as a reward.
I liked this because a) it would teach us kids how to take care of our house; b) every Saturday night and Sunday we could relax and enjoy a completely clean house.
I implemented the same routine in my family with varying success. The kids cleaned their rooms before a weekly treat and my husband and I would take turns who did the vacuuming and who cleaned the toilets. If we had Saturday morning games we would move this later to the day or the next day. We both work fulltime and had afterschool activities during the week so this was the only way we could avoid having the house go into disrepair. Together with grocery runs, kids activities and yard work it felt like we were on the run the whole weekend.
Now, we hire a cleaner who comes in every other week, and we still clean on Saturday mornings every other week. Admittedly, we can take it a bit more easy, or we pick and choose spots to focus on where the cleaner doesn't go as much.
We do maintenance cleaning mostly in the kitchen as we cook a lot of meals which creates a mess. The kids help out with the dishwasher and recycling, and I take care of the laundry during different days of the week while my husband cooks.
Kristina M.,
I, also, grew up in a household where we all cleaned the house on Saturday mornings. It was my mom, myself, and three sisters, and each week, you were assigned a different task. I have no idea what my dad was doing, but he was never made to help clean. Unfortunately, there were no treats following the cleaning; instead, my mom would inspect your work, and she ALWAYS found fault with what you did, no matter how hard you tried to do it "right". As a result, when I moved out on my own, I did not clean on a regular basis, and after marrying and adopting an infant, it fell even further down the "to do" list. Don't get me wrong - we DO clean - but I refuse to spend my hard earned weekend cleaning the house. It's more of a "clean this because I have 10 minutes/half hour/etc".
That is tough, I can understand why you wouldn't want to clean ever again at all! My husband had similar experiences where his mother would inspect his work and point out everything he did wrong.
As parents, my husband and I now tend to be on the wrong side of "I'll just do it myself" which doesn't really teach your kid how to do it. But cleaning your own room at least helps.
Because of LIFE happening right now, we prioritize to keep up with dishes (no dishwasher) laundry (some extra laundry around here for reasons), and the cat boxes! (The Commodore has two, one out in the garage that he prefers for *ahem* important business, and one inside that is for immediate necessities). Bathrooms do get blitzed once a week--ideally I'd do them twice a week. We vacuum every day since we have a small house and one common area and a fluffy cat. I have a philosophy that if you keep the kitchen clean, the rest of the house will generally follow. I clean the floors when they start to bother me.
My sons have had their own laundry duties since they were tweens, and I don't even do DH's laundry per his request, he believes everyone should be responsible for their own laundry, including him. Every now and then I relax by reorganizing the fridge or the cupboards--it genuinely calms me down and makes me happy. I love to declutter, so that helps.
My mom was a big clean freak, or at least it seemed so when I was a kid, but when my DH (then fiance) came to visit once while I was still living at home, he offered to help me clean the house (my parents would pay me $20 to clean it top to bottom once a week) before we went out. I said if he could do the floors, my most hated chore, that would be great--my mom insisted on us doing it on our hands and knees, no mops, not that we owned one. He said sure, and then five minutes later he found me and asked where the kitchen broom was. I said, "What?" We didn't own one! My mom never, apparently, thought it was a good idea to sweep before cleaning, so our buckets would get disgusting with cat fur and crumbs! I sure learned the right way to clean a floor that day!
Oh my gosh, I cannot imagine mopping an unswept floor! BLECH.
We didn't mop it, though...we didn't own a mop! My mom insisted floors got cleaner when you went on your hands and knees with a cloth and bucket. And we had two black cats. Once I got the vacuum cleaner out and vacuumed up all the crumbs and fur from the kitchen floor with the attachment wand and it was so much nicer to clean. But my mom freaked out because "you don't use the vacuum on hard floors, just carpet!"
Ooh, good to find another member of the Love to Organize club! I have been known to revel in my tidy and organized maker/craft space, because it is, frankly, glorious. What's your favorite organized space?
WilliamB, I'm in that club, too! The kitchen is probably my favorite organized space since everything has its place, is used regularly, and is corralled or stored in something that's nice to look at. Both form and function.
Right now it's my spice cabinet...it was so satisfying to get in there and clean out the old and the duplicates! I also reorganized DS#3's room--he has a lot of medical supplies and I love setting the room to rights and storing things in a more logical way.
My cats use the basement box for "solid waste business". It started with our had to leave us too soon male cat and the other cat we took in shortly after him. The latest two additions must have gotten the memo.
We have a neat home, but not always the cleanest (I blame the golden retriever and his tumble weed fur balls). I try to live by the saying "don't put it down, put it away" since it usually takes only a few more seconds for something to go where it belongs. I will also do 15 minutes quick cleans to put things away each day. We run our dishwasher every night, I make the bed every morning, mail gets sorted as soon as it comes into the house, spills are wiped up right away, trash is taken out as soon as it is full (or stinky). There is no designated person to do specific chores - we all live here and we all take care of the house.
I love my robot vacuums!!! Yes, 2 - because I have a dog that wants to be bald and who brings all of the outside inside. I often turn them on as I'm heading out the door for work - my house feels so calm when I come home to a clean floor. Also, I've found that they make good "body doublers" when I think I'm too exhausted to do household tasks. There's something about those two little guys bouncing off the walls that gets me up to do the laundry and calm the kitchen. 😂
This is definitely not a natural strength of mine, so I have to give a shout out to the Passionate Penny Pincher home planner. It has lists of things to ideally do every day, once a week, once a month, once or twice a year... and it tells you when to do them. To be honest, this is an area where I need someone to tell me what to do! I don't do it perfectly or anywhere close to perfect, but it's been incredibly helpful for me, helped me build good routines, and reminds me to do things I'm likely to forget.
I’ve seen those lists and think they can be helpful, but they make me feel like your whole life revolves around cleaning your house. I feel exhausted Just reading the list
Ha! I get it. But since I have 3 kids, work part time, and volunteer part- time, there's no risk of cleaning taking over. 😉 Learning where to give myself grace has been key!
As a solo mum with a five year old and a busy job, I have made my peace with the fact that the house will never be clean if I am the one responsible for cleaning it. We have a lovely cleaner who comes every other week and does a top to toe scrub down of the house. In between I do my best to stay on top of the chaos and the dishes. I do three loads of laundry every Saturday (kid darks, kid colours, and swim stuff) and then a load of my stuff on Mondays while I work from home. We have three sets of sheets for every bed so I can have one on the beds and two in the wash on alternate Fridays, and then on Tuesdays I alternate washing towels and cleaning rags.
I am toying with spending some of this year’s bonus on a professional organiser to help me declutter, because I think I need help being accountable for doing it…
Serious question: whats the difference between darks and colors?
Sincerely, someone who still occasionally get their white slightly pink
Darks are black, navy and dark colours that I’m worried might bleed. Colours is anything else, including things that mix colours and white. Whites is only solid white and can go on a hot wash if needed.
That's basically my method too!
Do you wash darks and colors differently?
Not usually. Occasionally I have a load of kid colours that got extra grubby and needs a warmer wash or longer wash than usual, but mostly I separate darks because whenever I decide not to, something will bleed and ruin something else.
i wash everything in cold and so far nothing has bled. been doing that for a long time. and i use dryer ball that constantly get "lost" stolen in my apt building laundry room.
My suggestion is to not confuse "tidy" and "clean". They're both part of the equation but are done differently. "Clean" is washing your clothes. "Tidy" is putting them away rather than dumping them on the couch.
Another suggestion is to use little bits of time or efficiencies. When waiting for food in the microwave, spray and wipe down a counter. Clean the shower right before taking one. Sweep a floor while waiting on hold.
Third suggestion is to put things in their place now, rather than putting them down thinking you'll put them away later.
Fourth is to try to follow the 3 min rule: if it'll take just a few minutes, do it now. I find I can't do this all the time - either I don't have 3 min or I have so many of these tasks that I need an hour - but it doesn't have to be perfect to be progress.
I agree strongly about keeping on top of jobs that get harder if you put them off. Wipe up that spill now but it won't be harder to fold the clothes tomorrow.
Finally, think about the circumstances under which our mothers kept our homes. Did they work outside the house? How much work did the kids do? Did they have hired help? How big was the house? Adapt your expectations accordingly.
My advice is to keep doing what you’re doing! HA HA!
In retirement I find we have a much messier house.We are here all the time! Both husband and I have hobbies. We leave our stuff out sometimes, that we are working on… We have books we’re reading, and I always have a cooking project in place.. a pot of soup to make or whatever.Soo.. my house is never “straightened” all at once..there are always messy areas and I have made peace with that.
This is how we live now!
I do as you do: I dust every couple of weeks,I do have to mop my floors weekly.
I have enough clothing that I can do our laundry just every two weeks.
I run the dishwasher every single night and empty in the morning.
My strategy these days is mostly “lower your standards!! ‘’As you say, nothing horrible has befallen my household from doing this and I have more time for fun!
When my daughter came home sick from hospital (she had been 5 months in the NICU) and with a 2,5 year old at home, I got "prescribed" a cleaner (yay German healthcare system) and I never looked back. I now pay for them myself, and we have someone come bi-weekly now. We still do regular dishes, laundry etc but this avoids the house to ever get overwhelmingly dirty, and I prioritise this spending over other things like mini-breaks, trips to the theatre, hair dresser, or clothes. I rather not go out, then have to clean. The amount of headspace this gives me, and the amount of resentment this avoids is worth more than I pay per month TBH. If anyone has ADHD kids and partners out there, I recommend a cleaner to keep the peace. I know this comes from a super privileged position.
Sasa, just sending a <3 for your last sentence. The people in this space are so gracious to each other.
I think that's a fantastic use of resources. As I mentioned below, How To Keep House While Drowning is a great non judgemental book on the challenges of cleaning when you are neurodivergent (the author has has ADHD). I'm pretty sure she recommends a cleaner if it helps you.
Sophie in Denmark,
I love that book! I love how she says (paraphrasing here) that having a clean home is morally neutral. 🙂 I don't have ADHD, but my son does, and my husband has admitted to being ADHD/neurodivergent.
Liz B., so do I! It helps me feel less ashamed about not being tidy by nature (especially as a woman) and having some executive dysfunction issues.
I found the Slob Sisters books of some help. I particularly liked the one sister's "penalty box" idea. I'm not into the lists - The FlyLady is a bit too much for me.
I think that sounds like smart spending, much in the same way that for me, it makes sense to pay to have my lawn mowed.
Do you have a post about kids and chores? If not that could be super helpful!
I want my 7yo to do her own laundry. But... Stains. What do I do about stains? She won't check for them, unfortunately she lacks that kind of motivation this far. 😑
Here's one! https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/by-request-my-kids-chores/
I do think that delegating laundry to children requires lowering your standards to some degree. I mean, you can teach about stains and sorting and what shouldn't be dried, but most seven year olds are just not going to do as good of a job as you do. And that is true with basically any chore.
The point of it is less about having the chore done perfectly, though, and more about having the child practice and learn and be responsible.
You could always go in front of her and check for stains before she puts a load in if it REALLY bothers you. 🙂
My favorite cleaning tool is a Swiffer duster. I can quickly move around a room dusting everything, even the floor, without a lot of effort by expanding and shrinking the handle. I also keep a microfiber cloth in the shower to wipe it down after every use and another in the kitchen for quick clean ups. I simply throw a dirty one on top of the washing machine to go into the next load. We load the dishwasher all day, run it after dinner, leave it open to dry overnight, and empty it first thing in the morning. All those things keep the house looking good all the time with very little effort.
I love my Swiffer! It makes so many things easy--
Mainly, I do dishes as I cook. Then after dinner everyone washes their plate/fork/knife and dishes are basically done. I feel like if my dishes are done daily, then the house just seems more clean and the next day is easier. I hardly use my dishwasher cause it seems to take more time to fill it, run it, unload it then to just do the dishes.
I bought a steamer mop a couple years ago and LOVE it. I can do the tile in the kitchen in less than 5 minutes. Same with the bathroom. I mop much more often now because of that mop (though my wood floors don't get done as often as they should haha).
Bathrooms get cleaned in segments. Wiping down/scrubbing a toilet takes less than 2 minutes. Sometimes I'll do that while waiting for the water to get hot in the shower. Wipe down a sink is 30 seconds and gets done when it needs it (I do have disposable wipes if it needs it quick before company or something).
My biggest issue is the cat hair from two cats. It especially sticks to my wood stairs. I keep a hand vac that I run over the steps every 2 days or so and even then it seems like it is in clumps. I hate cat hair.
I have multiple things that are fast and I do them daily. Before brushing my teeth at night , I pour some cleaner in the toilet bowl. Ather 2 minutes give it a quick brushing up. I quickly run a rag on the sink and the rim of the toilet. In the morning, I open the window and let the bed breathe, after breakfast, I make up the bed. In the evening, my husband put everything in the dishwasher and clean the counter. I run my robot vacuum daily while I walk the dogs. Also a job is done once everything is put away . My daughter keeps her living room and bed and bathroom clean. I also don’t let clutter build up and keep things contained, not having 50 Tupperware with no fitting lids helps.
I love my robot vacuum! I love my steam mop and my stick vacuum and my rainbow vacuum. I do the floors in the mudroom, kitchen, family room and den everyday, the 2 1/2 baths that we use daily, I clean daily. The other two are closed off and only in use when we have guests. I live on a farm, on dirt roads and even though I have an electrostatic dust filter, I dust a couple times per week. The pictures, metal sculptures get brushed once per month or if I notice a spider web.
I have an open door, everyone is welcome attitude, so I clean first thing, then outdoor chores, then laundry. My fridge gets cleaned out most Saturdays as I prepare for Sunday family dinners. I have 3 fridges!
I wash the pet blankets weekly. I hang dry dirty towels, then throw them in the laundry basket so no stink. Same goes for my sweaty work clothes. All of these dirty clothes live in a closet until there is enough for a load. We conserve water, so I soak my loads overnight, then finish the process in the morning. This is for the dirtiest clothes and towels.
I have a minimalist wardrobe and am working on my mom's wardrobe as she wears only a fraction of what she has. I put her outfits together as her dementia has worsened.
When I had a husband, so many kids going every direction with activities, running our businesses, my work and our farm, I think I only slept 4 hrs/day. We were so happy, we didn't know we were tired!
Wet clothes in the hamper is a non-starter for me.
At one time we had a vacuum for upstairs and main floor. Older kiddo took one after kiddo moved out. We now have a couple of small Simplicity vacuums - one of them came with 2 batteries and a handy attachments. One resides in the basement and the other is far lighter than the upright Simplicity for use on the 2nd story. Not frugal to buy but as we are now older, a lot easier for us.
Better half would never use the floor setting on the upright but does on the smaller unit. Does a much better job than sweeping. We have a mixture of tile, hard wood, and carpet.
when i was alone i was a total slob. never made the bed, vacuumed or dusted. i didn't have to wash dishes as i always ate takeout. i didn't have many things. had a whole empty closet and night table for prince. once prince and my kids arrived i became a cleaning nut. the mail gets thrown out before i leave the mailbox. my apt complex has a box there for junk mail. i clean the dishes, dry them and put them away. i vacuum every other day (mostly) laundry three times a week. put the laundry away immediately. i hate having more than one machine. when i lived in brooklyn, the laundromat was 8 blocks away so i did laundry when i ran out of clean clothes. my family are pack rats. we have 5 laptops, 7 flashlights, and various other multiples that drive me crazy. when i lived in brooklyn i had a cleaning lading every other week. that was wonderful. when the kids were small we had a terrific nanny who cooked and cleaned for us. if not for covid i would still have her. she came to my son's 15th birthday this past april. and she will b at my daughter's high school graduation party june 22. we couldn't get her a ticket for the ceremony (sigh).
One thing I'll do sometimes is set a timer for a set period of time, (15, 30 or 60 minutes depending on the day) and clean for that period of time. I make sure I know what task I'll do when the current one is completed so there's no in-between time.
It's amazing how much you can get done in that period of time. I'll also use the time when waiting for my tea water to boil to tidy the kitchen and then five minutes while it steeps to put a load of laundry in or some other short task.
This method works well for me.
Agreed! While I'm waiting for my scrambled egg pan to heat up, I unload the dishwasher. 🙂
I have had the same vacuum for over 15 years still going strong!! I am such a Miele fan. Definitely not the worlds cheapest vacuum, but it works great and they last forever…so all in all a great frugal purchase!
I forgot to say that How To Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis is really helpful for those of us who are neurodivergent. Davis had ADHD and, although I don't have that diagnosis, I am on the autism spectrum and find it hard to stay focused as she does.
*has ADHD
I grew up in what I somewhat affectionately refer to as slob city. The house was cleaned when 1) my grandmother was coming to visit (she was a judgmental neat freak) or 2) when my father simply couldn't stand the mess for even one minute longer. My mother suffered from depression and part of that was no energy to clean.
As an adult I run the gamut from clean freak to "I don't care" Right now the kitchen and dining room are disaster areas. My bathroom and the guest bathroom are clean, ditto for the living room, laundry room, and the guest bedroom. My bedroom is somewhere in between clean and disaster area. I grew up comfortable with messy, but as an adult I would prefer clean if I had any energy!!
Washable rugs.
Even if you take off your shoes, you are a few steps inside. Put a nice decorative small rag rug on the inside of every enterence. It catches so much - even the muddy catpaws. I am a fan of washable carpets on hard floors - warmer feet in winter, ommited in summer, but still catching so much dirt!
I have three vacuums too. One is a auto robot, cheap, but effecient. Every bag of dust that leaves the house is good to me. Then I have a dyson style model that I use the least. It works great, but it is heavy and needs more time to clean afterwards.
Then I have a very loud and cheap model that is great for carpet and floors, so once the cat leaves the house to do his thing, I use that one.
I put things in their proper place right away as I go along, and it really does help keep the house tidy. My husband does most of the cooking, and he’s a sloppy cook. So that’s the brightest issue chez moi!
These are great tips, Kristen!
I do a lot of pre sorting, too. When I check the mail, I immediately recycle anything useless. Important things get stacked and dealt with once a week. I have separate hampers for laundry.
I read 'touch it once' and that's been helpful. Basically, you see a task through to the end (like the dishes). If I get a package delivery, it's opened that day and the box/packaging goes straight to the recycle/trash and the thing I bought goes to its home (bathroom, pantry).
When I had two bathrooms, I kept cleaning supplies in both, and in the kitchen. That made it so much easier to do a quick on-the-go clean instead of rounding everything up. And fridge gets a run through before groceries- old stuff tossed and inside wiped down before I load it again.
Kristen (or any readers),
Which robot vacuum do you have? Reviews are all over the place and I am looking at purchasing one, if only for the doggy hair!
Thank you!
My late mother, a trad wife of the 60s/70s always told me if you don't move anything, no one can tell you haven't dusted. Our home was always clean and I know think she didn't spend every day of the week cleaning.
Better half and I have always split cleaning chores. He shut down his business during the winter so he did the house cleaning - I mostly did laundry. During the good weather months, I did the house cleaning (on Saturday, I worked FT). He was not into reading laundering instructions. After he unintentionally shrunk one kiddo's favorite shirt, both kiddos would check labels and put them aside lol. But I knew he was a keeper as I met him at the laundromat.
Like you, laundry (which you'd think would be less now that the kiddos are grown but that is not always the case) and dishes are priority one. Better half does the cooking and the grocery shopping. I do bills and paperwork. Bottom line is you do what works best for you/you and better half.
In addition to regular chores, I try to do one very small task every day: clean a drawer? wipe down a doorway? sort thru a box? If I do enuf of these "small tasks" they ADD up. I look around and randomly pick on every day to do. Like whatever attracts me: walk around for five minutes and dust the rafters of cobwebs? sure. Or, look? the front bell need scrubbing? or maybe the fridge magnets ALL need scrubbing? The other day I washed the laundry room sign. Another day I did a load of all the towels in the towel rack. The fact that it is random, cheers me up and makes it more fun. Whatever my eyes land on I clean, scrub or straighten. It HAS to be a 5-10 min task and it has to be doable quickly.
I’m in your camp, Kristen. My house is neat, though rarely perfectly clean and dust free.
Keeping flat surfaces relatively clutter free does help.
I do have some dust, and I’m ok with that!
I sort mail immediately after I bring it in the house- bills go in my bill backed in a kitchen cabinet, and recycle other items.
This is basic, but have a place for everything. If you have more items than the ability to store them, things will pile up quickly.
I limit the number of decorative pillows I own. If I had 10 on the bed, I can assure you that would be an obstacle for me making the bed fully.
I don’t have many personal care items puked around my bathroom sink. Only toothpaste, toothbrushes both in a holder, and soap.
Makes it easier to do a quick clean.
I also use cleaning wipes between deeper cleans to do a swipe of the bathroom sink and toilet to keep things fresh.
I lean on the clean as you go process, and I make sure the kitchen is the #1 cleanest room. From there, I both launch, and end, my day. The dishwasher gets loaded, everything wiped down each night. Shoes and clothes always get put up - no draping on chairs, no tripping on shoes. This is something I taught my kids as well. The bathroom gets a wipe down every week - makes it easier to keep clean. Sheets once a week - room smells fresh. Housework can be an accumulation of little habits that definitely add up. Most of them take a few minutes each. Listening to music while you work makes it less chore-like. The reward is coming home to a calm sanctuary each day after work. (:
As an ADHDer, I've always struggled with piles, clutter and follow through. There are soooo many other things that give me a dopamine hit that putting stuff away just doesn't. When I was married, piles were the norm, as were dishes in the sink. We actually put an extra deep sink in our remodeled kitchen to be able to "store" more dishes before doing them (????). My ex was not terribly motivated to help contain the clutter either, so that didn't help. I wasn't diagnosed until my 30's and only have really studied the ramifications of and how to manage the quirks of ADHD in recent years, which has definitely helped. My significant other (of 18 years) occasionally comments about the "bomb" that went off in my office, but it's my space and he stays out of it. Unfortunately, it bothers me too, and is a source of stress, but 12 hr night shifts, life, and the inability to let go of things (because we "lose our memories if we lose the item" as I've learned) haven't helped. It's a work in progress...
However, I do work hard to keep the clutter to a minimum downstairs because my guy is more of a minimalist. Our routine is that we ALWAYS do the dishes and clean the kitchen after meals. He tends to miss the counters (the granite hides crumbs), and the cooktop gets cleaned less often, but the kitchen is basically clean all the time. He empties the dishwasher in the morning, I put away the few items left on the counter to dry. I run the vacuum over the kitchen floors once a week or as needed.
We have a cleaner come once a month for the "deep" clean (bathrooms, floors, polishing up appliances). I will vacuum between as needed, dust when needed, clean bathroom mirrors and counters every couple of weeks, or as needed. He empties all the garbages, does the white laundry (mostly his) and I do the rest. He mostly changes the sheets (and washes them). Because it's just the 2 of us, and we are pretty clean people (no shoes in the house, wipe up spills, etc.), it's just light cleaning between the cleaner. I now tend to start to feel a little overwhelmed when I notice clutter downstairs so I work to keep it in check). I definitely helps that I "clean" before the cleaner comes, so at least once a month I focus a little more on putting things away. Fingers crossed as I move into retirement, I can get a handle on purging and organizing my closets and office. We have a robot vacuum out in our detached garage that I bought him after he built it, thinking that it would be fantastic for "dusting" the floors. He hasn't really used it in the 5 years he's had it, so I'm thinking it might make it's way into the house...
My mom and dad are both on the neat freak spectrum, my dad more so, and I used to think I was unconsciously rebelling against that haha. Little did I know. My oldest is a minimalist, and a clean kitchen neat freak, but because of her perfectionist tendencies, has not really taught her kids to do things like load the dishwasher, do dishes, etc. The 2 oldest have lived on their own, and have figured it out. The teen boys have learned to do their laundry as needed, and have learned to cook for themselves (yay for microwaves and airfryers!). Not sure what the youngest 2 will end up learning. They are moving from a 1600 sf house with 2 baths, to a 4300 sf house with 4 baths, so I'm thinking there will be much higher expectations for cleaning their own bathrooms etc. My younger daughter has my ADHD in spades, and struggles far more with too much stuff and laziness, and I say that with love because she is 100% my kid and we both have a million other things more "important" or interesting to do than purge and clean, plus are equally ovewhelmed with the chaos of it and don't know where to start.
Tried to reply to my ownself but it didn't work. Today I decided that just because work SUCKS doesn't mean home should suck too. Cleaned the conventional litter box! Collected all of the empty pop/water cans and bottles! Emptied all the nasty drink cups and threw them away! Scanned a bunch of receipts for Fetch Rewards and a bunch of items for NCP, then threw the receipts away! Picked up all the paper plates that the wet cat food had been put on and threw them away! Picked up any garbage that had never made it to the garbage cans and threw it away! Hung up some clean clothes that had been living in a laundry basket on the kitchen floor!