How do you clean your house?

[Shooby]

I clean as needed. I dont' do spring cleaning. When it's Spring, I want to be outside after I spend the winter cooped up , not inside cleaning out closets. I do more cleaning in the winter. I don't have any particular routine. I clean as needed.

[yogiii]

With two little kids I'm now doing the bare minimum for cleaning, and I'm a neat freak so it pains me.  Once a month I do my big cleaning which is a thorough cleaning of all the bathrooms plus vacuuming/dusting.  In between I touch up the bathrooms as necessary and use the mini-vac to get problem areas, like under the kitchen table.  I like things neat, so every night before the kids go to bed they help us pick up their toys and everything is put back in place. 

[marvholly]

As little as possible, as infrequently as possible.

[Blonde Granny]

I don't get hung up on spring or fall cleaning. I run the Swiffer over the baseboards in a room when I think about it, and dust furniture when I can't stand the dust anymore. The tile floors get a dust mop over them and maybe every few months I get ambitious and get out the steam mop to clean the tile. I clean a cobweb when I see one.

In other words, I'm very laid back when it comes to cleaning.

[swamp]

The cleaning lady comes every other week. I pick up before she comes. During those 2 weeks, I vacuum, sweep, and dust as needed.

I deep clean when I think it needs it.  Or I hire my cleaning lady to do it.

[sarcasticgirl]

We clean regularly... Floors are done every weekend. We clean the kitchen daily and I clean the bathroom throughout the week. Did dusts every other weekend. We aren't messy. We don't have kids... It isn't a ton of effort.
I would like to hire a cleaning woman to do deep cleanings... Things like baseboards and cleaning groute I'm dh's shower.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using proboards

[NoNamePerson]

Geeze, who's spreading the rumor that we're supposed to clean house  I just move 

[Waffle]

If you saw most of my house right now, the question would be DO you clean your house?

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I'm supposed to clean the house? Oh crap ::sits and waits for A&E to pull up in front of my house::

I got two kids and we both work full time. I don't have time to polish the house till it sparkles. It looks like toys R us exploded.

I try to keep things tidy but between the kids and two dogs that shed having a Martha Stewart/MIL/YM poster approved looking house is impossible.

[Deleted]

similar to swamp....cleaning person comes every other week - we pick up for her.....clean other stuff as needed (although I have a very high tolerance LOL)

[andi9899]

When I had little kids, my house was terrible most of the time. Now that they are older, they have chores that they are responsible for. I hate cleaning the bathroom, so that's their job. Last weekend I had them help me move all the furniture and clean under it. I have hardwood floors, so they get a steam mop between moppings. Dusting is usually a swiffer every so often. But pretty much, the rule is just clean up after yourself. If we can get 20 minutes a day where we all clean without distractions, it pretty much stays fairly clean other than that.

[andi9899]

Nov 19, 2014 8:47:32 GMT -5 swamp said:

The cleaning lady comes every other week. I pick up before she comes. During those 2 weeks, I vacuum, sweep, and dust as needed.

I deep clean when I think it needs it.  Or I hire my cleaning lady to do it.

I think this is where I will be once my girls are gone. I am the messy one, so I will need help with the house.

[The Captain]

We also have a cleaning lady come every other week.  Same drill for the most part - we pick up, they do most of the cleaning, and we do some light maintenance.

OTOH I am OCD about some stuff and they just don't do it right.  Every now and then the old toothbrush comes out to clean the ridges in the stove vent hood, get into the grout/corners nice and tight int the bath/shower, and in general do the deep cleaning stuff.  Is it on a schedule?  No I just do it when I notice it and it bothers me.  Plus I like the smell of Pine Sol and Murphy's Oil soap .

The kitchen being the exception.  Both DH and I are pretty obsessive about a clean kitchen and it gets a pretty good cleaning at least 2X's a week on top of what the cleaning lady does.

We typically clean the outside windows once in the spring. 

[Artemis Windsong]

I have used the Speed Cleaning method for years.  I did not get their book about what to do quarterly or annually.  It works; my house is livable.

I don't have time right now but later will post something I cut out from the newspaper years ago on organizing spring cleaning.

Winter is the time to spring clean.  Everything is done by spring.

[vonna]

Housecleaners come weekly. Makes me really happy!!

[Ombud]

GS1 (17) is supposed to vacuum & GS2 (13) is supposed to dust for their allowance. In reality, DD floors & kitchen, GD1 (8) dusts / does lower windows almost weekly. Only GD1 gets allowance. I do my BR & family room one. No idea if they ever do theirs. (GD2 (11) & GS3 (1) live off site with DS)

[whoisjohngalt]

It doesn't matter when I clean bc it looks like I never  clean.

[msventoux]

Nov 19, 2014 9:43:22 GMT -5 Waffle said:

If you saw most of my house right now, the question would be DO you clean your house?

I've been under some deadlines and had not so fun stuff going on, so cleaning is pretty low on the list.  On top of that, I was updating some parts of the house so those rooms are fine, but all the crap that was in those rooms is now in the living room.    It does look like I belong on Hoarders.

Normally, I'm still not a great housekeeper.  The Roomba does a pretty good job during it's daily outings of keeping on top of the animal hair.  I try to keep the kitchen and bathroom wiped down.  If I see cat prints in dust I know it's time to dust the entire house, otherwise I don't worry about it too much.  If I notice the Roomba isn't getting an area clean I'll break out the vacuum cleaner.  Usually if I do that I move all the furniture and clean behind it, wipe down the wainscoting and baseboards and rearrange everything.  That usually happens every 1-3 months. 

The windows get washed a couple of times a year, and the drapes get washed every 4-6 months.  White drapes and curious dark-haired animals peeking between the drapes isn't a good combo.  The windows could be washed every day and still look like crap due to their nose prints. 

This reminds me that I need to pull out the refrigerator and vacuum behind/under it and also check the dryer to see if its housing needs cleaned.  I try to remember to do that during the time changes when I change the smoke detector batteries, but I didn't get around to it this last time.

[Tired Tess]

I clean daily.  One project a day with light cleaning for the other rooms.

Today was deep clean the bathroom but I also picked up the livingroom and kitchen.

As far as the bedrooms go; to each his/her own.  My sheets are done always once a week, sometimes twice.  The only thing I rag on the kids about is any dishes in their rooms (hardly ever happens) and empty their hamper in the laundry room once a week.

[kittensaver]

I clean my house by writing a check to the housekeeping service. Stepping into a clean house after a long week is one of the very best stress-relievers I know.

[Artemis Windsong]

Cleaning Tips from the newspaper:

Weekly chores:
Vacuum carpets
Dust
Mop kitchen and bathroom floor
Disinfect kitchen/bathroom surfaces (counter fixtures, toilet bowl, etc.(
Change bed linens
Spot-clean visible wall smudges

Monthly Chores:
Clean refrigerator shelves
Disinfect infoor garbage cans

Quarterly chores:
Wash windows
Clean baseboards
Vacuum and rotate mattresses
Dust or vacuum ceiling fans, air vent covers and smoke detectors

Twice a year:
Shampoo carpets
Clean inside of oven

[Artemis Windsong]

I  looked on Martha Stewarts site but she has changed it.  There are a lot of cleaning/organizing tips there.

And a link to Ehows cleaning guide:

www.ehow.com/how_2314060_spring-clean-home.html

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

I do a thorough clean once a week - top to bottom (except walls). All the dusting, furniture oiling/cleaning, full kitchen & bathrooms cleaning, followed by vacuuming and Swiffering floors (I have hardwood laminate & area rugs).

I do the inside windows spring and fall, and the outside windows spring only unless they get really dirty from rain, etc - then they'll get done in Sept as well).

[whoisjohngalt]

I have 3 boys who are home most of the day.  It doesn't matter what schedule I adhere to or what "tips" I use or how many cleaning ladies I would bring in - unless the ENTIRE house is clean daily, my house always looks like crap

[Tennesseer]

With one eye closed and the other, half closed.

[Peace Of Mind]

As long as I don't put on glasses my house is always immaculate!  When I put them on I get so overwhelmed I crawl in a little ball and suck my thumb.  Ok.  It's a bottle of wine but let's not quibble. 

What's weird is back when I worked I deep cleaned every single week.  Floors mopped and everything.  Now that I don't work I know I have all the time in the world to get to it and the house isn't going any where so I deep clean less now.   

[bobosensei]

My biggest challenge is dog hair.  I hate seeing it and my dogs shed a lot most of the year it seems like.  Even a daily vacuum doesn't do enough.  It is really frustrating.

For the most part if I pick up the house every morning and evening it really helps me stay motivated to actually clean, and it cuts down on the time needed to clean because I am not putting away a bunch of stuff too.

Housekeeping is such a particular thing because your individual circumstances make most tips or magazine articles irrelevant.  We don't have kids, but because of the dogs I do the floors and windows much more often than is usually suggested.  Also DH is pretty messy in the kitchen so I am always wiping smudges from all over the cabinets and refrigerator.  We have a German toilet that looks like this one.



 So I clean the toilet inside and out nearly every day.  When you look at the photo you can see that #2 goes on a shelf with a tiny bit of water so there are often skid marks to deal with, and it is also prone to a pee smell if aim isn't perfect.  Also you have to clean up under the rim really well each time.  I've never seen a german toilet this dirty.  We have very hard water and I am also forever descaling the kitchen stainless sink so that it doesn't look all white and gross.

I try to use the fly lady system, but I am not really good about it.  My hot spot is the office.  After our last shredder broke we haven't replaced it, and I am constantly trying to stay on top of the paper clutter.  Our spare bedroom is usually a mess too because DH uses that for his army gear and his clothes.  He is a messy marvin and because I never know what he needs he has to be the one to clean it.  He always has a bunch of projects going on where he needs this and that for another 7 weeks etc.  My morning pick up is basically going behind DH and putting stuff back where it belongs, making up the bed, and a quick swipe at the bathroom.  DH usually unloads the dishwasher while making coffee.  Then at night I pick up any messes I made and clean the kitchen after dinner.  The cleaner the house looks the more DH helps it to stay that way, but if I start to slip up he doesn't really do anything to help or take initiative on his own. 

So my usual routine above morning and night time pick up is that on monday I wash towels, microfiber kitchen rags, cloth napkins and placemats, sheets, and blankets in the living room.  I do my laundry once a week on another day, usually one big load, and DH does his own which is usually 2-3 loads a week usually on Sunday.  I also try to do the fly lady "weekly home blessing" on mondays which is me running around hitting the main areas of each room with a dust rag, quick vacuum of floors and furniture, wiping dog nose and paw prints, and a thorough clean of the bathroom and kitchen.  I try to do a second "home blessing" on thursday or friday though if I am doing the second one for the week I don't dust.  This is enough to keep the house liveable and not embarrassing if someone were to come over unannounced (though there is still the dog hair to contend with), but I still have to do deep cleaning on a monthly and quarterly basis that includes the windows, mopping all floors, washing curtains, clearing cobwebs, deep cleaning the kitchen - fridge, appliances etc. I normally wait and do these things before having company, but I do it at least once every time the seasons change.

[NoNamePerson]

Nov 19, 2014 17:53:33 GMT -5 Artemis Windsong said:

Cleaning Tips from the newspaper:

Weekly chores:
Vacuum carpets
Dust
Mop kitchen and bathroom floor
Disinfect kitchen/bathroom surfaces (counter fixtures, toilet bowl, etc.(
Change bed linens
Spot-clean visible wall smudges

Monthly Chores:
Clean refrigerator shelves
Disinfect infoor garbage cans

Quarterly chores:
Wash windows
Clean baseboards
Vacuum and rotate mattresses
Dust or vacuum ceiling fans, air vent covers and smoke detectors

Twice a year:
Shampoo carpets
Clean inside of oven

Cancel newspaper

[Artemis Windsong]

I know but the house has to be cleaned.  I did have a better spring cleaning list somewhere.  I will keep looking.

I usually group like activities such as washing all of the curtains and drapes then doing the windows.  Wash all the walls and wipe down or vacuum all the furniture then do the carpets.

[gooddecisions]

I don't have pets and take shoes off at the door. If I don't vacuum every week, no biggie. We pick up behind ourselves and put dishes in the dishwasher immediately, so there really isn't a lot of cleaning going on around here. A swish in the toilet and wipe down of the counters and baths every week or so is about it. I make my bed every day and keep the children clean.

We hire someone to power wash the house once every 12-18 months. We hire a pest company to spray the house for bugs inside and out, so I've never seen so much as a spider web or ant. I have never washed curtains. The thought never crossed my mind as I had floor to ceiling panels custom made and would be scared to ruin them.

As long as everything is put away where it belongs, I'm happy. I hate clutter.