What is your cleaning routine?

Sal - posted on 01/13/2012

I have found that with a routine , without a routine makes little difference, it is doing or not doing that makes the biggest difference,

Jamie - posted on 01/13/2012

Roxie, I would love to check them out. Thanks!

Roxie - posted on 01/12/2012

I have a rotating schedule that i use at home, where i spot clean two rooms a day and deep clean one. I have templates on the fridge, it' sad..lol..my parents were military so i guess the influence rubbed off being so anal. But i have shared them with my other mommy friends let me know if you want to check em out.



I completely understand tho, my son is 10 months old and sometimes while i'm cleaning up and i hear him playing and giggling, i'll stop and go enjoy that time with him. But my favorite thing now that he is walking i give him little stuff to "do". When i'm cleaning the kitchen he loves to sweep and bang on the pots, and it's nice because he feels like he's helping and i still get to be productive. Chores don't have to be bad things, hard work can be very bonding, i know my mom did it with us. I can remember nights after dinner, she'd turn up the music and we are all singing and dancing cleaning up before gettin ready for bed.



but my rule of thumb is to keep the rooms where unexpected company can see and our bedroom tidy. Living room and kitchen are the first things you see in our house, and our bedroom is spotless because it's the place were me and my husband are just Roxie and J, not mom and dad..lol..our haven, thats important to keep the synergy going between the two of us.

Krista - posted on 01/12/2012

Heres the problem - If we moms dont keep on top of the whole house every day, we're screwed. Lets face it, our partners and kids are slobs and we are their live in maids and cooks (unless your like me: terrible cook).



After 3 months in our brand new house I have almost given up.. Instead of washing the floors every day, I do it every other day. Im quite proud of that!



Bottom line - if you dont mind the mess, dont clean every day. If your crazy like me, keep on top of it or we will all become alcoholics!

Jamie - posted on 01/10/2012

My kids are 8, 5, 3, and one on the way.

SELENA - posted on 01/10/2012

i also do the fly lady but just stick to the basics not do all the things she does..lol she is crazy..you might include the kids to help clean with you before bedtime. My kids help out alot with chores and all...my daughter even cooks dinner and my 6 yr old just learn to do the laundry. How old are your kids you didnt mention that at all.

Chrystal - posted on 01/06/2012

Like some of the other posts have said I use flylady and it works great for our family I have a near spotless home and it's more than just superficial clean it's truly clean yet I don't spend all my day cleaning most of my day is spent with my kids.

Kay - posted on 01/06/2012

No,no no! I wrote I do 12 cleaning jobs over a 12 week time! I am not that relaxed! It should read, I do 12 cleaning jobs over a 2 week time. I hope you read the rest of the article instead of just saying . This lady is crazy!

Kay - posted on 01/06/2012

Remember, how you handle your housework has a lot to do with your personality. Make sure you know what type you because what works for one person may not work for another. People are constantly complaining about doing housework and feeling overwhelmed about it but never changing a thing. I have friends who complain about it on nearly a daily basis and never do anything about it. Any of my ideas fall on deaf ears. I love housework! I also love family time so the more efficient I can be the better. There are whole books written about this but if you don't know what type of person you are, you will never do the ideas for any length of time...sort of like diets. Back to the attitude...a lot of housework is drudgery,but there is drudgery in every job. At least you are your own boss and can set have the flexibility to set your own schedule. I read a long time ago, do the dreaded job first. So get up and mop the floor or iron or whatever. It will give you a boast through the rest of the day. For me, I always try to pre-prepare as much of dinner as I can. There is a lot that can be done ahead of time . This will make you feel like the Queen of Leisure at 3:00. Of, course you must do all of this while tending to the kids but you are on a roll and time to play and have a relaxed attitude with the kids and husband is coming before noon! As far as cleaning jobs, I have 12 jobs that I do one a day over a 12 week time. I pick one depending on how I feel and what is going on that day. For example, today is windex day, I will clean everything that is glass in the house and the remotes and telephones (use barely wet paper towel with these). I love paper towels! My one indulgence, I buy them at Costco . This job takes about 30 min. That is the only cleaning today. Tomorrow, I may vac the carpet and steam mop the floors. The next day maybe I will scrub all the sinks. The important thing is not to look back. I clean it and forget it. My house is thoroughly cleaned every two weeks. But never all at at the same time! I put the rest of the housework on a similar schedule...Mon. Laundry clothes. Tues. towels Wed. Iron Thurs. Clean out fridge and groceries .Fri whatever. Never do any of these things on the weekend. I straighten the house once a day. For kids toys don't have too many at one time, have a baskets handy and get a grabber on a stick with a handle that you squeeze (like when they pick up litter in a park) and see if you can make a basket. Kids might even get into the act. If you are relaxed about your chores, you can be goofy with the kids while you dust the house, put on some music and dance around when you do it. These jobs can all be arranged around apts.,errands,driving the kids etc. I also work yard work into this. Discover the power of 10 min. As you have a lot of variety in yor day, no reason to be bored. Especially because this allow a lot of time to play with your little darlings, the most important thing of all. This is long but so is the job description for this high paying job. Oh, their are heavy cleaning jobs and organizing that I do once a year. And I do clean my sink more than once every 2 weeks! Get you sneakers on and go! Stay at home mom/grandma to 5...39 years on the job..I better get my sneakers on and get at it or I will get fired! Best wishes

Patricia - posted on 01/03/2012

i know how you feel Vickie

Patricia - posted on 01/03/2012

i do laundry every day i am up at 5am dont have a back fence at the moment doing laundry and other house work 5 month does not sleep much or self settle getting there slowly

Sharon - posted on 01/02/2012

I do atleast one load of laundry everyday. usually kids one day, adults the next. I do a room every day, when the boys are asleep (usually: monday, our bedroom & ensuite / tuesday study & living area / wednesday laundry & bathroom / thursday nursery / friday 2yr old room) . We have an open plan living area and the lounge/dining all get done together. Kitchen is done straight after I use it. I love doing it this way, everything is usually done within an hour, then I can forget about it. Because it's not too much to do each day, if I have to miss a day for any reason than it's only a small amount added onto the next day. 'Damage Control' is done daily with help from the 2yr old...you know, clothes off the floor, toys off the floor, that sort of thing.

Nelly - posted on 01/02/2012

On mondays i do all laundry including ironing and putting clothes away. On tuesdays i clean the pantry and refrigerator and we go grocery shopping and i put all the groceries away. On wednesdays i clean the basement and the front and back yards of our house. On thursdays i clean the kitchen and bathrooms. On fridays i dust, vaccuum and wash the floors.

Patricia - posted on 11/23/2011

i can clean in the mornin but as soon as the bigger kids get back from school they trash the place

Raquel - posted on 11/21/2011

I love Flylady! I used to despise cleaning but once I found her my outlook changed totally!

Ashley - posted on 11/20/2011

laundry every day, dishes everyday, sweep everyday. Granted all these things either get done while the baby naps or the kids are in the bath. I also believe a house can be lived in and tidy vs spotless. I would rather hang with my boys and play all day than clean... However sometimes I get the urge to binge clean (pregnant here) so I let the boys amuse themselves.

Tamyra - posted on 11/20/2011

I try to clean when my daughter takes her nap. I clean 2 rooms each day and so 1-2 loads of laundry. I'll admit a few days a week I relax and get on the computer or watch my DVR shows. I have learned not to stress over every little thing. As long as the dirty places are clean and toys are picked up at the end of the day I am good. Life is to short.

Kelly - posted on 11/15/2011

Oh, and I keep 3 big, pretty baskets in the living room to toss toys in for a quick pick-up. It takes a fraction of the time it would take to run them back to J's room and keeps them handy for later, but gets them out of the way fast for vacuuming or clean-up for guests.

Kelly - posted on 11/15/2011

Here's what I do.
After the kids are in bed (or at school) walk the house and pick 4 rooms. Set a timer for 15 minutes and speed clean each room for 15 minutes. You'll be amazed at how much you can do in that time and within an hour, you'll have cleaned a big portion of your house (unless you have a really big house--4 rooms is actually Most of my house). I try to do the bedroom and one bathroom every day. The other two are random, but usually the rooms that need the most work. They kind of rotate on their own this way so I don't need to remember what gets cleaned when, just whatever is dirtiest gets cleaned, because some rooms just don't get as messy as others.

For laundry, I just do it when the hamper is "fullish". If there is enough for a load, I'll toss it in, dry it, and fold it while the kids are playing. Folding a single load only takes about 10 minutes, but if you do several at a time, it can take too long to finish if you have little ones running about.

I also have hotspots for clutter. Mail goes directly into the mail bin. When it gets fullish, I go through it. I don't even open ads or junk mail--straight to the shredder.
I also have all of our bills set up for automatic debit, so I don't have to bother with paying those, loosing them, or remembering a day too late to mail it off. Also saves $$ on stamps, and I just file them in the appropriate month in the file cabinet.
There are 6 hooks by the door for coats, purses, and bookbags, and a basket underneath for shoes. We drop everything right there when we come in, as opposed to the dinning room table, which used to be the catch all spot for all that.

I clean the kitchen as I cook.
I clean the boy bathroom while the boy is bathing.

Paper clutter. We keep a 2 drawer file cabinet--the top has 12 hanging files, one per month. We simply drop paperwork from each month into the proper file, if we need it, we know where to find it. The bottom has file folders for the past 10 years. At the end of the year, we consolidate by tossing things we will not need for future records and put the whole year in it's own file. Still easy to find stuff.

There is a folder on the fridge for school papers. I go through it every evening while J does his homework.

Stifler's - posted on 11/15/2011

Pffft I wish I had a cleaner. I hate cleaning. i just do dishes, vacuuming, mopping, spot cleaning the walls, changing beds, laundry and cooking. damo does the bins and mows the yard. the toys usually stay wherever they are because i don't care adn they are going to get tipped out again anyway. unless i can get logan to pack up his blocks and stuff it stys there.

Dane' - posted on 11/15/2011

im a clean freak but after having two kids i just wanna hire a maid ahhh but my husband want let me

Jessica - posted on 11/15/2011

Check out Flylady.net

I LOVE HER TIPS and it makes cleaning so much easier cuz she breaks it down into manageable baby steps & you really only spend maybe an hour a day on housework. I do a load of laundry a day (most days), I wake up in the morning and make my bed, get dressed, help my 2 & 4 yr olds with making their beds, start breakfast, unload dishwasher and enjoy a cup of coffee while the kids eat. After that I put breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, start a load of laundry and then its play time til just before lunch when I have the kids help clean up whatever messes we made...set a timer and have a race to pick up, you'll be amazed how fast it gets done. (I also do 15 minutes in the am & pm of cleaning like windows or sweeping, mopping etc) I put on a kid friendly show while I make lunch, we eat, dishes again go into the dishwasher then its naptime. I use naptime to a) switch the laundry to the dryer. b) pay bills or catchup on paperwork c) shower and/or have me time. After the kids wake we have a snack and play some more. When it's time to start dinner I have the kids do their best to clean the messes while I get to work in the kitchen. As I make dinner dishes go into the dishwasher, we eat, load dishwasher then its bathtime. After baths are done we read or just lounge around for about thirty minutes then its time for prayers and into bed. I go out to fold the laundry and put it away if I haven't fit it in somewhere else, I start the dishwasher just before I go to bed, and I get to spend some time with my spouse chatting or cuddling on the couch....this is my routine and I'm very flexible with it. Most days this is what I accomplish, sometimes I get nothing done but laundry and dishes esp if we had appts or errands to run (I try to do those on the same days though) and you're routine will look different depending on what works for you. Flylady has really helped me feel better about the housework I am able to get to. Hope this helps.

Samantha - posted on 11/14/2011

get 4 baskets of laundry and sort the laundry as you put it in the luandry room, that way whenever you go past, you can just throw in a load, fold and sort by rooms at the same time. Clean as you cook, as soon as you are done with a dish, wash it or put it right into the dishwasher, have the kids help too, I have a 2,4 and 6 year old and they are very helpful. Organization seems to be the best answer to any these issues, I still have troubles in this house, but ,y old house was awesome, easy to keep clean because veryhting had a place, not like this house :( buckets, baskets, sorting containers etc and label, label, label!! hope this helps

Vicki - posted on 11/12/2011

It seems like I clean everyday of my life. Then when my child gets home from school and my husband gets home from work, it is like a b-52 has came thru my LR and Kitchen. No one wants to pick up their mess. Mind you that my Dad also lives here and NEVER I REPEAT NEVER PICKS HIS MESSES UP HE WILL LEAVE WHAT HE GOT UP AND SNACKED ON THE NIGHT B4 ON THE TABLE AND EXPECT ME TO CLEAN IT UP (which I do) ALSO I have to wash our clothes including my Dads. I can't get it all done their is no way. My Dad won't help me, my child will sometimes help clean up and he for a 9 yro does an awesome job in the LR. But, I am not sure for me not enough days or hours in the week. Good Luck!!! Oh and I even told my Dad he could clean our hall bathroom the "one" that he uses and he laughed in my face. I have about had it. Ok sorry for venting.

Liz - posted on 11/12/2011

I spent one day walking through my house and making a list of everything that needs to be done. I mean EVERYTHING. Even the things that only need to happen once a month. Then, I went through my list and wrote down next to each thing how often those things need to be done. Then I put them all on a calendar (1 month time period) and arranged them so that I would have about an equal amount of chores each day. Some days I know I'm more tired than others (like Monday, since we are away at church all day on Sunday and have to get up early, etc) and so try not to schedule so much on those days. Also, if I know I'm going to be gone for a day, I will look at my schedule and see what things I can do the day before or the day after, so that I don't get too far behind. I also don't plan on any chores (other than dishes and baths) on the weekends because I feel that those days should be fore my family, not housework. I hope I could help!

Dane' - posted on 11/12/2011

your totally right. and you need to spend time with your kids but did you know that letting them play alone is teaching them. im a clean freak and i sweep like 7 time a day and am always washing dishes and i clean the house spotless at night and some how threw the night the messy monster comes out and it feels dirty in the morning.. but having some you time always helps cope and get your self back together.

Erica - posted on 11/12/2011

I clean 1 room a day. 1 day a week on my hubby's day off he takes the kids some where for a few hours so i can get some deeo cleaning done. house isnt orderly but its far from filthy