What's your cleaning 'Schedule'?

[LucaJack'sMum]

Just wondering... What's your cleaning 'Schedule'? what do you do each day to keep on top of things???? Do you have certain days that you do different tasks or just ad hoc?

I am struggling to keep up as usual... the house just never seems clean or tidy for more than 2 minutes and I can NEVER get the washing baskets empty and put away!!!! GGrrrrrr!

Help!

[Arcadia]

Hmmm...not sure if I have a schedule, but I usually do a load of washing each day (we use cloth nappies) and like you, struggle to empty the washing baskets. I just have them permanently in the lounge-room and tend to dress DD from the clothes that are on hand.

I try and do the bathroom once a week, and usually when I am having a shower, but as for the floors, I have to carry DD in a sling to get them done, and most of the time I can't be bothered. Although today I sent DH and DD off or a walk to do the cleaning and it was GREAT to have the whole house to myself!

I have certainly let go of the standards I used to have!

[Mez80]

I take pride in my organisation skills, so am more then willing to share.
I am a fulltime working mother of an active two yr old. i work till 5:30pm mon/tues and 4pm weds-fri with DH getting home from work at 7pm and this is how i do things so that i am relatively free on the weekend..
On saturday morning i do the groceries with my list of everything i need for all the food i have planned to cook during the week.
Sunday night, i cook for monday night and do the ironing for the whole week.
I wash a load every day from tues-sat (sat i have dh's work shirts and say the dogs blankies n maybe the bath mats)
I find that there us much less to put out and it doesnt get creased- downfall would be the amount of electricity used.
I put the load in the night b4, and put it on when i get home from work the next day.
mon night i cook for tues.. so mon and tues i pick dd up and we get home play/eat/bath or shower n quiet time till dh gets home. When Dh gets home, he eats and spends time with dd while i cook or do other jobs.
I sweep daily,wipe down benches, sort washing as its dry (oh i hang all clothes under the carport till they dry)
Dh puts dd to bed at 8pm ish then he puts clothes out and does general tidying. I am sitting down by 8:30pm
I clean every friday night - vacumm, dust, bathroom, loo, mop..dh usually mops.
Then it all starts again..
I like my house tidy...my garden too..but..lets not go there hehhe...
oh weds-fri i cook when we get home..oh and i cut up all my meat b4 freezing it.
hope that helps
I like my house tidy...my garden too..but..lets not go there hehhe
Good luck

[Novella]

I try and clean the house all inone day but if I cant I have it slpit into thirds
-the girls bedrooms, bathroom and laundry
-the kitchen, family room and dining
-our bedroom, ensuite, front hallway and lounge

I do a load of washing most days and always seem to have a load that needs to be put out, taken in or put away no matter what I do

I have started cleaning the sheets on a different day to the day I do the dusting, bathroom floors etc as I just dont have time to get it all done at once and spend time with the girls.

At night I cook, df gets home we all eat, df gives the girls their baths and has a play while I clear the table, do the dishes and sweep the floor. He then gives dd1 her milk and we all relax as a family or about 30mins before kids go to bed.

When the girls are asleep in the afternoon I do gardeing or wash the floors, the jobs that are too hard to do when they are awkae

I work 2 days a week and will dtart doing 5 shifts a fortnight soon. I take the girls shopping with me dd1 in the trolley and dd2 falls asleep in the baby carrier. I try not to see the dirt sometimes, my house looks like it needs cleaning after 5 days but I only do it every 7 days. Hell it looks like it needs cleaning 15mins after ive finished if everone is home

PS my oven is revolting and I cant imagine how long it will take to clean when I finally get around to it

[Emma1979]

wow mez80 i wish i could be so organised, i'm tired just from reading that...

we have just moved into an enormous house about 3 times the size of our previous one (which was small) and i have actually almost decided to get a cleaner in once a fortnight to do the bathrooms and floors, and am toying with getting a lawn mower man in for the lawns.... i know completely not what you were asking, i guess i'm just thinking out loud.

i'm over feeling like i can't keep up and don't want to sacrifice my downtime, and too tired with being pregnant so i am thinking to hell with it all and if we can afford it why not.

if the house wasn't so big i think i would be managing better, but i'm not complaining i love our new home.

[Sweet Bliss]

PS my oven is revolting and I cant imagine how long it will take to clean when I finally get around to it

Mine was like that too........to the point that everytime I turned it on it smelt like we were having a burn off inside! It feels like I have a new oven again now! I am planning on trying to keep it that way.....maybe !

I would love a day to just go through the entire house and get it done. I seem to get half the house done at a time.....

[shellbell3]

I have sort of cleaning schedule. Try to do bit on weekend while DF is around but usually mon and tues morn my clean days. I try not to stress too much now about it.
I do vacuuming, toilets, change sheets, shower/ bath once week. (well try too anyways!)
Washing when the basket is full I know thats one full load in the machine so do it whenever it gets filled.
I sweep the floors downstairs quickly while DD1 is eating breakfast.
Clean/ tidy kitchen daily
And usually have to do a few tidy up thru out the day.
The best thing I found was not to stress too much about it all, prioritse whats important to you and do what you can in the time frame you have. If I'm having a bad week i may only get floors and sheets changed.
And I also recruit Df to do something on a sat morn if I'm behind on things.

[veebee2]

I try to do house work every day. Bathrooms get done once a week, but they get a wipe down nearly everyday.
I generally get up in the morning and put on a load of wash straight away, give the house a quick tidy. I feed DS in between the tidying. I change the beds every 2 weeks and vacuum 2 times a week. I don't have any particular day that I do housework, I just try and do a bit everyday.
Polishing is done on a Sunday and dusting the following week.
I try not to do housework on a Saturday, but sometimes this can't be helped. I find washing is my worst nightmare. If anyone has tips on how this can be managed, yell out!

[*Ang*]

Every morning before school drop off time I make sure all the beds are made and that the kitchen has been cleaned, dry dishes put away and dirty dishes washed or put in dishwasher (my saving grace). That way when I get home I dont walk in and get all "down" from looking at a messy kitchen. I will also quite often also do a wash straight away in the morning and put that on the line if weather permits or in the dryer. So by 8.30 I feel like at least half the battle has been won.

I usually come home straight away Monday or Tuesday mornings and wait for my Coles Online. I use that as an excuse to stay home all day and clean! On the day that I am at home waiting for shopping I usually aim to do my ironing and clean the bathrooms.

Vacuming the whole house is usually done twice a week - once on weekends and once again during the week (whenever I find the time, no set day). The meals and living areas are usually vacumed around 3 times a week. This is usually done early in the morning - around 9-10am. Mopping is only done once a week unless something major has been spilt.

Putting away clean clothes is done ad hoc - I try not to leave the basket more then 24 hours otherwise it simply piles up and becomes unmanagable. Changing sheets is a once a fortnight job on weekends when DH is home.

I do find that mornings are the best time to get most stuff done, its when I feel my freshest and most motivated, it all goes downhill after that!!

[Novella]

we have gastro at the moment so Im over washing I have 5 loads in various stages around the house at the moment
I save time with ironing- I don't do it (I do iron my work uniform and DF shirt if we are going somewhere nice) most clothes look ok if I hang them out straight away and I often put clothes on hangers straight from the machine and then hang them on the washing line, saves time when I go to put them away and they have hardly any creases

[LucaJack'sMum]

Mez - you are amazing!!! Thanks for the tips...

[LucaJack'sMum]

Sararose... you DUST???? Ok this is just getting depressing LOL!

[~Kim~]

one word hun - flylady. I use her routines but adapted to what fits me.

[fionas]

I'll share DP's Cleaning Schedule:

Day 1 - put vacuum cleaner in the middle of the lounge room.
Day 2 - plug it in and leave it there.
Day 3 - Vacuum rug. Admire handiwork. Leave vacuum still plugged in.
Day 4 - Perhaps vacuum under dining table. Again, admire handiwork and say, quite a lot, "ooooh, I love my vaccum cleaner - it's so powerful".
Day 5 - put vacuum cleaner away.
Day 6 - rest.
Day 7 - rest.

[Gigi]

thanks for the Laff FIONA.

We have nowhere to put the vacuum cleaner away in this tiny unit, so the v cleaner gets admired, alot! (and tripped over alot - argh!).

one thing i read (but can't do, cos it doens't fit in our laundry) is to use a laundry divider. So instead of having A laundry basket, have a laundry trolley on wheels, divided into three, so you sort the laundry as you throw it in, saving you time for sorting - well that's the theory!

i am in awe of the people who dust and polish.

i once thought scheduled cleaning was ridiculous, but now, it's starting to have an appeal for me, i need more structure in my life i think.

must check out this flylady. i think i looked it up once, and found it a bit too overwhelming, must give it another try.

[DoubleK]

oh i love doing housework!

i like to always have a 'tidy' house. i clean one thing or another everyday, but i dont overly stress about it.

each day after brekkie, i do a tidy up- which is everything goes back where it belongs- toys, shoes, stray washing ito the basket, dishes stacked next to the sink, and a quick tidy of the bench (any mail or other important things get put into a pile under my diary, and each night i deal with that)

i then start with my room and make the bed, open curtains/windows, take out washing. then its Krystals lounge room tidy, then its the main lounge, then i put washing on and attack the dishes.

meanwhile i am playing with DD1 and put DD2 back in bed. after ive done all those things i shower and ill 'clean' so maybe the laundry, bathrooms, vaccuum, hang out washing, whatever it may be.

after lunch and more playing, i just go with the flow. i always fold and put away what comes in.

i l ike being organised, and i have a routine, but its not set in stone and obviously im flexible. if we have to go out, i just fast track the tidying- i might leave the dishes or leave the beds etc, but always do them when we get home.

this routine works for me because i hate mess and clutter, if something is not where it belongs, i put it back. having said that, my house is no display home! but i find if i dont pack up the toys (dd does help) they just get strewn further and further around, not necessarily played with again..

i just make all this part of my day. some days i do it really quick, other day i stretch it out and am still tidying when dp gets home at 2.30!

[Nelle]

I'm not sure you will ever get your washing baskets empty, unless perhaps it's really warm weather and you don't wear clothes for a day or two.

I think the important thing is to have a place for everything. And to put everything in its place straight away. Most of our mess is stuff that doesn't have a proper home, or stuff that someone's put here 'just for now', like bills, books, clean clothes, cups, bags.

[willow5]

Well I do try to do a load of washing each day to keep on top of that but cleaning is definitely ad hoc during the week I clean 27 two bedroom units and one five bedroom house so by the time I get home I'm a little over it