How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

[MrsChambers]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

okay... cleaning is the BIGGEST problem that I have.
We have no kids, thank god, put we have 3 cats and a pup...
I have to clean the floors AT LEAST once a day... sometimes I have vacuum two or three times a day!
it's CRAZY

we have made a little investment however to help with our cleaning...

A CLEANING LADY!

we got her over a year ago. When I first decided that I needed some help with the cleaning my husband was a little weired out about the money.. most people wanted $10 an hour CASH.... hell.. that's what I make BEFORE taxes... PLEASE

but after a little searching we found a wonderful woman... she charges us $30 bucks a shot.
she used to come every week, but we needed to cut back - so now she comes every other week.

she cleans the kitchen (basicly just wash's the floor - everything else in the kitchen is usually clean)
she vacuums the rugs
she cleans the bathrooms
she runs some laundry for us if it needs to be done
dusts
straightens

IT IS TOTTALY WORTH IT

AND, she will babysit the animals when we leave for a few days!!

can't beat it.

so, if you think that you can't afford some help with your cleaning.. you should check around... perhaps there is someone groovy in your area too!!

[contrary1]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

When I moved in Oct, I discovered what I thought was a clean house, really wasn't. So..........I made a bunch of changes here at the new place.

I too, found a cleaning service & signed him up weekly. He does all the bathrooms, my bedroom and the other common areas of the house. (none of the kids rooms, as they are usually so cluttered he couldn't get in anyway)

It helps the household stay neater, knowing things need to be ready for Wednesdays cleaning day.............

Having someone do the regular cleaning, I'm able to keep up with the project size cleaning projects. Paying for it is definately one of my luxuries these days!

[flash]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

Cleaning 2 - 3 hours a day, every day, is one of the signs of an OCD.

I clean up clutter and the kitchen throughout the day, and hope for once a week cleaning. Cream/white house and black dog. AGH. I've gone for a month when working long hours, but we weren't home to get it dirty.

Agree, cleaning the "noticables" is the fastest. We have glass table tops, and dust shows quickly. A quick glide over surfaces and anything shiny will make your house appear fairly clean. Dust bunnies on hard floors (tile, wood) goes with the "shiny" rule.

I gave up the housekeeper when we retired. Cheapest around here is $30 an hour. I'd much rather scrub myself and know it's really clean, doesn't just appear clean.

You may be surprised -- people often believe your house is much cleaner than you think they think. It's often more a smell than a visual thing!

[Ima saver]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

Wow flash, I better sign my husband up cleaning house for you. That is more than he makes an hour building houses and he is always spending $1000 here and there buying tools, not to mention risking his neck.
My husband cleans the house and he does it about every 2 weeks. We clean up the kitchen daily and I keep the house picked up all the time. I seem to have a lot of dust.

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

everytime i turn around theres something else thats noticable, uggggh, i also live on a dirt road thats not cared for well and there is dust daily visable on the ceiling. a quick walk thru with a broom and bar towel rubberbanded on, cleans up quick. dampen the cloth and away we go.lol. i found waiting til im ready to go to bed and the kids fast asleep, leaving vinegar and baking soda in the toilets keeps them clean. i have a clorox wand still just the same for weekly cleaning, and if theres a tough stain or something that didnt come out i have a bottle of vanish gel. the green bottle with bleach. that goes up under the rim and hangs on tight! maybe once a month to do that. has anyone else tried that dawn with bleach alt. i love it!

[frugalfarmwife]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

It's a never ending battle here, with our being in and out of the barns all day we end up dragging dirt and hay in all the time, I have a couple of commercial door rugs in the entry wayto catch most of it.

I do try to vacuum every 2-3 days (area rugs) and do usually sweep the hardwood 2x a day.

We have 5 dogs and a cat in the house and almost daily I get enough hair for another critter, lol.

I do keep the kitchen counters cleaned and clear, it really helps to keep it look cleaner
kj

[acezz4e_tish]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

i have to vaccuum daily. i have a speech pathologist that comes twice a week, i have to do it twice those days, cause i do it righ before she comes in, shes allergic to pet fur. with a blonde lab and a black long hair cat, u knowwww i got fur too.lol

[Lostsoul33]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

I clean a little bit each day. I know that someone could drop in at anytime so I want my house to be neat. My girls have their own room where they keep all of their toys so the floors aren't cluttered. Once a week I tell them I'm going to vacuum. They think the vacuum will eat their toys so they're generally pretty cooperative with the cleaning up. My downfall is laundry. I really hate doing it and at times, I let it pile up a bit too much. Thanks for the websites that were suggested. I'll definetely check them out.

[shelbylovesmelby]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

I clean a little bit each day. I know that someone could drop in at anytime so I want my house to be neat. My girls have their own room where they keep all of their toys so the floors aren't cluttered. Once a week I tell them I'm going to vacuum. They think the vacuum will eat their toys so they're generally pretty cooperative with the cleaning up. My downfall is laundry. I really hate doing it and at times, I let it pile up a bit too much. Thanks for the websites that were suggested. I'll definetely check them out.

Please teach my 3yr old to pick up!!! The only thing that gets her interested is if I get out a trash bag & tell her if they aren't picked up they are gone. She's only 3 but she can learn to help some, rather than make a ton of work for dear ol' mom.

I do a lil bit everyday & as I go along. I was raised by a complete slob so by comparison I think I do well

But I'd like a lil more clean for those unexpected guests, but alas dh is the speedy cleaner whereas I'm a putzer & get glued to this pc too.

[PrincessPerky]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

My 3 year old and 2 year old are responsible for 80% of their own clean up toywise.

I decluttered dramatically, and I limit the number out at any given time (one bucket or twoish single toys) generally there is only about 2 minutes of my clean up needed, or 15 of theirs. (notice I clean up quite a bit faster!)

The only toy we still have difficulty with is duplos, in 30 minutes they can get a couple hundred out and that seems to be difficult for them to focus on clean up still, but we are working on it.

Also some things are more fun to clean up for (like art) than others (like nap) so I aim to clean up accordingly.

[Tightwad Kitty]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

My 3 year old and 2 year old are responsible for 80% of their own clean up toywise.

I decluttered dramatically, and I limit the number out at any given time (one bucket or twoish single toys) generally there is only about 2 minutes of my clean up needed, or 15 of theirs. (notice I clean up quite a bit faster!)

The only toy we still have difficulty with is duplos, in 30 minutes they can get a couple hundred out and that seems to be difficult for them to focus on clean up still, but we are working on it.

Also some things are more fun to clean up for (like art) than others (like nap) so I aim to clean up accordingly.

Have try at putting duplo block playtime on an old blanket then just pick the corner of the blanket put them in a box. The littleones could just pick the ones that not on the blanklet. I have seen a drawstring bag playmat around many years ago but old blanklet is alot more frugal.

I am still finding those kind of blocks around the house after 25 years, I put them into small jar until I have a few then I put them in the trunk with the other ones. When my son has a family then he can have the lot!

[PrincessPerky]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

Heh the blanket idea is cute, I might try something like that.

[mccartygirl]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

We're right there with ya Princess - we have Mega Blocks in the bag and she has a little wagon too. I try to make a game of picking up stuff. She loves to put her toys away, thank God! I don't know about your house but the blocks sure do entertain DD and DH well!

[PrincessPerky]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

Oh yeah awesome fun and stuff, but the clean up is killing me...

[elcheapo]

Re: How often to you have to clean to keep your house clean?

I am a clean freak I clean everyday and everybody picks up their own stuff. So generally
it takes a little under 2 hours a day to keep my home maintained with one deep cleaning
per week