How clean is your house?

ChardeeMacDennis

Well, I was just about to get up and do the dishes (...probably) but baby's awake and hungry so instead I'm posting about it on the Internet.

How clean is your house? Better, worse, or the same as pre-baby? When do you get it all done? Does DH do his share? Any tips? Are you constantly drowning in laundry like me? Is the fact that I'm even asking about this a sign that I need to get out more?

hudson202

How clean is my house = not clean

alcrimmins

It stays fairly clean. I wash bottles and pots & pans once l/o goes to sleep at night. I try to fold laundry while l/o is napping and I have a roomba to vacuum every day while we walk the dog. My d/h travels a lot so I really don't have a lot to do at night once everyone is asleep. I do vacuum with an upright and mop every Saturday morning since d/h is home and can entertain l/o & the dog.

mamameghan

The first 2 months I kept up with the cleaning just fine. But now that the girls want to be help 24/7 (thanks 4 month crankiness) and I have a toddler...it's a never ending battle! There's always dishes and the living room is always a diaster. We plan to move this year and turn the basement into a playroom. Can't wait to have the toys out of my living room!

Sammy K

@ChardeeMacDennis I laughed when I read your post title. A 3 yo, 2 cats, a dog and LO means I'm never caught up. DH helps but if the choice is sleep, eat, or have an adult conversation vs clean, cleaning never wins. Besides, it helps build immunity, right?

Who was it that posted "Family first, laundry never"?

lovethatcolosun

It's a constant battle to keep it all clean. I just finished three days of laundry and cleaned the kitchen really good this morning. I need to vacuum and mop at some point and get the guest room clean for a friend who is coming to visit and ironically help us clean out the basement. Good friend right?!?!!! We are changing out the flooring in our basement from carpet to tile and need to move all the furniture into the store room. The only problem? The storage room is filled with crap that needs to be tossed or donated. We are in major purge mode, which I love and dread (because of the amount of work it takes).

delujm0

As soon as we moved from the condo to the house we got a cleaning lady. She comes every other week. By the end of the cycle it's pretty questionable (in laws are coming this weekend so I need to spot clean the kitchen before they arrive...she comes next Tuesday) but the beginning of the cycle is glorious. Coming home from work to a clean house that I didn't have to handle is the best thing ever.

wheresilenceismusic

DH and I have different standards of cleanliness. For me to feel that our apartment is clean, I need it to be: decluttered, decrumbed (counters and floors), disinfected, with a spotless kitchen and bathrooms. DH grew up on a farm, so he is used to a dirty/furry house with little clutter.

I think our apartment is an absolute mess. DH thinks that it is clean.

Being the one who cares more about neatness, and being home all day, (and because DH is healing from surgery), I do practically all of the cleaning. While LO naps, I can successfully clean the kitchen, do laundry, tidy up / declutter, and wash cloth diapers. Our bed is always made before we fall asleep. I vacuum at least once a week and change cat litter once a week. We only produce enough garbage to necessitate a change once every three days.

I wish DH would help with the things that *need* to get done, like putting dinner leftovers in the fridge while I put LO to sleep. We are working on that.

My day is infinitely better if I use LOs nap times to practice yoga, or to do something fun for myself. Yesterday I completed an oil painting for her nursery as she slept. It came out great! Much more satisfying than wiping toilets and scrubbing pans.

ChardeeMacDennis

I pretty much only deal with clothes, toys and, food. Like, I sweep under the dining room table because it's always covered in food, but the rest of the house? Never. I wash spills off the kitchen counters, but the toothpaste on the bathroom counters? Never. I'm always washing clothes, but sheets? When they get peed on, basically.

Also the marker from when 2yo wrote on the wall a couple of weeks ago? Still there. Oops.

delujm0

wheresilenceismusic said:

DH and I have different standards of cleanliness. For me to feel that our apartment is clean, I need it to be: decluttered, decrumbed (counters and floors), disinfected, with a spotless kitchen and bathrooms. DH grew up on a farm, so he is used to a dirty/furry house with little clutter. I think our apartment is an absolute mess. DH thinks that it is clean. Being the one who cares more about neatness, and being home all day, (and because DH is healing from surgery), I do practically all of the cleaning. While LO naps, I can successfully clean the kitchen, do laundry, tidy up / declutter, and wash cloth diapers. Our bed is always made before we fall asleep. I vacuum at least once a week and change cat litter once a week. We only produce enough garbage to necessitate a change once every three days. I wish DH would help with the things that *need* to get done, like putting dinner leftovers in the fridge while I put LO to sleep. We are working on that. My day is infinitely better if I use LOs nap times to practice yoga, or to do something fun for myself. Yesterday I completed an oil painting for her nursery as she slept. It came out great! Much more satisfying than wiping toilets and scrubbing pans.

This is how DH and I were pre-baby, but reverse.  His standards of cleanliness were what I considered to be insane and bordering on obsessive.   When we lived in the condo he refused to get a cleaning lady (even though 99% of our fights were related to our differing standards of cleanliness) because he didn't think she would clean as well as he did.  I also didn't clean as well as he did, yet when I suggested that he could do 100% of the cleaning in that case, he said that wasn't fair.  Basically he wanted to split the cleaning 50/50 but he also wanted me to do my half of the work exactly to his specifications (nope).  This continued for almost 8 years.  it was the worst.  When we moved into our house, which has 4.5 bathrooms and 4000 square feet versus our one bathroom, 1000 square foot condo, I insisted on a cleaning lady, and he accepted it (helps that I was already heavily pregnant at that point).

 

Once we had LO his standards relaxed immensely.  He's happy with the job the cleaning lady does every other week, and then on the off weeks I will usually spot clean the kitchen a bit to keep it looking nice (stainless steel appliances...you look so good when you're perfectly clean and so terrible as soon as ANYTHING gets on you...who decided this was practical in a kitchen?).  I do laundry at least once a week, including sheets (usually on weekends when DH is watching LO), and I'm responsible for all bottle related activities.  I also have to do the full bedtime routine because LO nurses to sleep.  DH handles all of the yard maintenance, all of the trash, and makes dinner for both of us while I'm putting LO to bed.  I clean up the dinner during the Nightly Bottle and Breastmilk Cleaning and Storage Party.  I feed the cats and scoop the litter box in the morning, and DH scoops the box at night and does the full empty and clean every weekend, and he also brushes both cats every weekend to cut down on shedding.  During the week our responsibility for LO is probably 60/40 - DH does mornings and I do afternoons, but I have the added bottle/breastmilk nonsense to deal with.  On weekends it's probably closer to 80/20 on me, though DH will take her a couple of hours each day so I can work out, do laundry, grocery shop, shower, etc.  I keep her most of the time so that he can handle yard work and other stuff around the house.

 

Doesn't help that currently she will only nap on top of me at home...DH can sometimes transfer her off of him into the crib and she'll sleep for 30 minutes, but if I try to do the same thing she wakes up immediately.  So I typically let her nap on top of me on weekends, which means I can't get anything done while she's asleep.  But we have a reasonable balance, and the house isn't too dirty for us to live in.  So i figure that's a win.  The only complaint i have is that i don't always get to do a full workout on weekdays because i have to do that in the morning, and i have to leave the house by 645 to get to work early enough to leave on time to get to daycare...if i wake up at 5 and have to pump, which takes 15-20 minutes, i then have to cram a workout into a 25 minute window (max) in order to get out in time.  I cannot even consider waking up earlier than 5 on a daily basis.  So my weekend workouts are a bit longer to make up for it.

dancegurl1118

wheresilenceismusic

@dlujm0 -- Thankfully your husband's standards relaxed once you had LO. I always knew that my standards were unrealistic (I grew up in an immaculately clean house, but I've rarely encountered other houses so clean) so I never expected DH to clean beyond what he considered reasonable. Still, it is difficult to change my expectations. 28 years of shiny surfaces, and now this!

Glad that you can afford a cleaner. Super impressed that you get your workouts in, between work and LO napping on you. It sounds like you are doing great!

hudson202

@delujm0 agreed. Waking up before 5 on a consistent basis isn't going to happen

jessieR358

We have a housekeeper that comes every other week and she's fabulous. I can't afford for her to come every week but i would love her too! They are crazy expensive here. I vacuum every couple of days bc we have 2 shedding dogs and maybe mop the kitchen once or twice between the housekeeper.
I do 1-2 loads of laundry every day so it doesn't pile up. My DH is in charge of the kitchen. Our bedroom is always a little messy but the rest of the house looks good.
I have a wonderful mother who will come by and help me straighten up probably once a week.

virginiaunicorn11

ChardeeMacDennis said:

I pretty much only deal with clothes, toys and, food. Like, I sweep under the dining room table because it's always covered in food, but the rest of the house? Never. I wash spills off the kitchen counters, but the toothpaste on the bathroom counters? Never. I'm always washing clothes, but sheets? When they get peed on, basically.

Also the marker from when 2yo wrote on the wall a couple of weeks ago? Still there. Oops.

This is us. We had a cleaning guy come once a month and in between, I'd clean hard maybe once. But we'd wipe kitchen counters every night.

I have about 30 pairs of underwear so I wouldn't have to do laundry so often.

I've found our level of cleanliness hugely varies depending where we live. In NYC, it was a pain to do laundry and to pay for a cleaner, so our place was dustier. In Germany, the apartment was super easy to clean, and both DH and I cleaned daily, and did a deep clean every week or two.

I've stopped fighting DH on cleaning. (It helps that we are both slobs!) I've started cleaning what matters to me, and leaving the rest of it. Sometimes this means it's super obvious his stuff is the only thing cluttered everywhere. Sometimes it means those beer bottles he left on the counter stay there a week. Sometimes I can't stand it, but I see that as my problem, so I take them out. (This isn't a perfect system, but I'm much much better at this than I used to be.)

The Gretchen Rubin book "Happier at Home" really helped me. I hate her personality but like her books.

klkonwi

The first 2 months my house was cleaner than pre-baby...... I was obsessed.
Now...... I have given up. He needs constant attention and oh well! I just pray no one stops by.

queequeg09256

So we are certainly not neat people, you guys mop once a week? omg... yea I'm lucky if that happens every few months... super bad but we spot clean. I like things to be a little tidy, I use to be much messier but after listening to my dh's constant comments about things being left out and complaining about it not being clean I've become much neater. DH has me pick up lo twice a week from day care so he can have from 3pm-5:45 to do chores one day and hang out with his buddy another day. His chores still boggle my mind, he mowed the lawn and pick up the dog messes (which is exclusively his job). He also moved his giant non matching recliner upstairs and rearranged the living room, because I use the chaise to nurse and he finds it too difficult to switch seats for that... sorry this might turn into a dh rant hahaha. I usually try to spend some time during the week to clean because I hate cleaning on the weekend. My dh is the exact opposite and therefore will not help through the week (not that he like helps on the weekend either). I do about 85% of the dishes, almost all the vacuuming and the bathrooms. I also do all the laundry but refuse to put away dh's clothes (not my clothes not my problem) not to mention I know he would complain about it if it wasn't exactly how he wanted it. I do wash and change the sheets two-four times a month and wash all the towels, blankets (we seem to have a mini fort always around in blankets) Mostly my dh complains about stuff and says 'we should be better about...' but he means me and it's very frustrating. I wish we could get a cleaning lady. I think if I get a better job we could afford one, I know dh would 100% be on board with that, I think he feels bad about the cleaning being on me, and he will watch the baby and vacuum if I ask. I grew up in a very messy home, and dh grew up in a very clean home. I would certainly let him clean more if I thought it wouldn't take him 50 times longer.. I've come to really like having a nice clean house, which I know is so impossible with an attention seeking border collie and a 4 month old.

I think tonight I will be mopping hahaha.

LaurenAnn0405

It's a battle to keep it clean with a 3yo, a puppy, LO, and DH and I both working full time.  My mom told me that if nothing else make sure the kitchen is clean because a messy kitchen makes the whole house seem messier.  Don't know if its true but I always make sure that I keep the kitchen good.  The rest of the house is questionable.  My mom texted me today that she cleaned my house (vacuumed and dusted) while I was at work today while she was over there watching the kids.  So if it were up to me the house would not be clean but thanks to my mom it is, for now at least!

lovethatcolosun

Forgot to add that DH is ridiculous about keeping his tools and truck clean. Everything else....he seriously could give two shits. Before LO I did about 95% of everything. Yard work, cleaning gutters, landscaping, trash, dishes, general cleaning, laundry, declutter, toys, bathrooms.....ALL OF IT. If we had company coming he will help me clean or do the dishes every now and then. For the first 8 years of our marriage it pissed me off. All. The. Time. Fights, broken promises to help, irritation from me making him a to do list...I just gave up and do it all myself. I still get irritated, but I've learned to let a lot of it go. After LO came he's helped out more. He mows the lawn or has his guys come out to do it (he runs a landscaping company), helps with dishes after dinner about 75% of the time now, and will clean when I ask. I have to be specific though. I can't say, go clean the living room because to him that means declutter. I have to specify each task so it'll get done. Ahhhhh men!!!!

This thread is making my blood pressure rise. I'm going to sign off so I don't get more irritated on how unfair it is that it's mainly on me. X(

mlindzz

I usually do a quick 20-30 minute clean up before crawling onto the couch to catch some TV before bed each night, I actually look forward to it. It wasn't something I would say I enjoyed before LO, but now it's part of my wind down routine. Although about 10 minutes after we wake the next morning the place is upside down again. And as for 'actual cleaning', like the windows or vacuuming under the bed, that isn't happening over here. Lol. I don't care, it can all wait.

mindaa

klkonwi said:

The first 2 months my house was cleaner than pre-baby...... I was obsessed. Now...... I have given up. He needs constant attention and oh well! I just pray no one stops by.

This sums it up here, too.  Didn't even look like we had a baby for the first few weeks Even though I try to do a little something every day, I just can't catch up. Fortunately, I'm usually too tired to care all that much. 

I try to wear baby while cleaning as much as possible, which makes me feel a little better about taking the time for it.

7425cait

My house is pretty much the same. I am blessed with a husband who contributes. He does most of the laundry, but since I have been home with LO, I have picked up more of that. I do most of the house cleaning when DD is napping. Vacuum once a week, mop once every other week or every week depending on how dirty the dog made the floors, clean the bathrooms every week. Other than that it's just tidying up clutter,cleaning bottles and pump parts once a day, wiping counters, and emptying the dishwasher.
At this point I almost challenge myself to see how fast I can get things done before she wakes up. Believe it or not, it kind of makes the task tolerable knowing I have a limit for how long I have to clean. When DD is awake I spend all my time playing with her.

addingon

I am a neat freak at home but there is so little time. I do a big clean every 2-3 weeks, but I straighten up and get things to their 'place' often. The most helpful thing DH and I do a few times a week before bed is what I call a 10 minute pickup - clean/organize anything you can for 10 minutes. It's amazing how much better things are after that! Kitchen always has to be clean...that's fairly non-negotiable.

lovethatcolosun

^^I love the 10 minute clean up thing before bed. Brilliant! I'm going to use that from now on. Thank you for posting your method.

ksimo6

We pick up every night and I do all the laundry on Friday when I am working from home and have a sitter. My husband is great about dishes and general clean up. We are both anal retentive so we don't have much clutter and spend time doing something to keep tidy everyday. We have a cleaning lady come once a month and do a deep cleaning as well. Helps a ton.

laurendutch

I would have to say that DH and I are both pretty OCD about our standards for cleanliness. Our house is usually pretty clean. I think it's because we are both clean freaks. We have a great system down and it's not like we spend hours a day cleaning. Here's what we do...

DH will empty the dishwasher in the morning (we do the load right after we eat dinner). That way we always have empty dishwasher to place dirty dishes in. We never have an overflowing sink bc we usually rinse a dish and then place it in the dishwasher.

During the day I try my best with cleaning up clutter and toys. Oh and we don't have very much clutter knick knacks around the house. It's just our style and well, most things are kids will destroy.

I cook dinner and try to clean dishes as I go.

After dinner, I do the dishes and wipe down the counters. DH will vacuum the whole house, sweep and mop the floors. I usually will take out the trash. The whole process only takes us about twenty minutes. And we start a load of laundry. We switch off rags, towels, boys clothes and LO clothes every night. After bath time they will be put in the dryer and folded the next day.

We also will wipe down the sinks every day. This helps eliminate the need to do a huge bathroom scrubbing session.

This probably sounds insane to most but we just function better this way.

foxa319

We've always had a really clean house before lo was born! The first 3 months it was also really clean since dh is a teacher and was off all summer with me! But since we've both gone back to work full time it's been a lot harder! we have 2 Siberian huskies who shed massively until winter so that is our biggest struggle! We also have 2 cats. Hubs does the dishes, bottles, cat litter and laundry and I do the rest! My mil watches the baby 3 days a week and she will help swiffer, do dishes, and baby laundry so that's really nice of her! I would love to get a house cleaner but it's not in the cards financially yet! I think in a few months when I have caught up from being off for maternity leave we may hire someone!

KaLikeAWind

Its not as clean as I would like, but its not too bad, either. Its what I call 'on top' clean. I don't get vacuum or mop anywhere near as much as I like, and I haven't done a bathroom deep clean (tub, shower, toilets) since either just before or just after LO was born (I think I did it like 3 weeks after). I prefer to have less clutter, but this is a huge problem since DH is a 'just put anything anywhere its convienent to him' person, and I'd much rather take the item the however much farther to its 'home'. This is further complicated by DHs work schedule, because the days he is gone its a total toss up of I will get some spare time while LO naps (really struggling with the nap schedule right now). And if I do get some spare time - do I do some chores or get a nap myself? Or, just as important to me - have a little bit of time to myself to do something I enjoy. And then the days DH is home are the days we 'do stuff', like the corn maze day, or go for a drive, or I go to the store while he watches LO, or he has to do yard work while I watch LO.

Once its wintertime and DHs yard work duties are completely moot, I think I will start us doing some 'good' cleaning when he has his weekends off (every other). Hopefully by the time its yard work season again I'll have gotten him into the habit and preference for maintaining a cleaner house. Also hopefully by then he will have learned that just leaving random stuff all around the house is a terrible idea with a LO with graspy hands.

KarasTwin

Mine is embarrassing. DH leaves work tools and electrical tape all over the place. Certain things never seem to make it to the dishwasher and he intentionally clutters the kitchen table so he can eat on the couch and watch tv. We both have over an hour commute to work and back so when we get home we don't feel like cleaning. I'm usually the one who cooks. He's gotten better about helping with laundry since LO was born. We have 2 bathrooms and he insists on using the extra so we both have our own. It's also the bathroom guests use. His aunt came over to watch LO yesterday and I was scrambling to pick up dirty clothes, empty Walmart bags, and other junk. His aunt wound up straightening up the living room and sweeping for me. We're both horrible about throwing down junk mail and letting it pile up. It's hard once we eat, wash bottles, and hang out with LO to have time for anything else.

mrs1374a

We do a pick up every night before bed. I go around a pick up burp cloths, baby blankets and whatever else didn't make it where it should be during the day. My 3 year old picks up her toys throughout the day thankfully. We run the dishwasher every night so there are never dishes in the sink, which I hate, so I unload it every morning. I clean the kitchen every night after dinner. We have an open floor plan with all hardwoods, so I vacuum or sweep about twice a week and steam mop once a week, I will probably do both of those more often when she starts crawling. Laundry about every other day. Oh and I NEVER make our beds. Lol

AlwaysSunny1012

I have a housekeeper come 2x per month. Worth every penny. I just have to stay on top of laundry and spot cleaning as needed.

mlindzz

Soak that up! Lucky mama @AlwaysSunny1012

AlyLynn07

House is NOT clean. I would totally hire someone to clean but need to find a good recommendation. I worry about having someone I don't know in our house..

jessieR358

AlyLynn07 said:

House is NOT clean. I would totally hire someone to clean but need to find a good recommendation. I worry about having someone I don't know in our house..

I was always there with our cleaning lady until I felt comfortable running errands and letting her lock up. I never hire a cleaning company bc I don't trust them at all only individuals that friends have used.

ashleymc09

Seems like we can't keep the clutter off our surfaces! I don't know where it comes from.. We manage to keep from drowning in it, but it's a constant struggle in our little house. I think the dirtiest area is the floor though, we have hardwood and it hardly ever gets mopped. I will probably pay more attention to it when LO becomes mobile...or stress about it more.

ElRuby

Let's see.... When I finally have a chance to put the laundry away it's time to do laundry again.... And all the FUR I just can't keep up... Some guests are horrified when LO has dog fur on her and I just laugh and think well at least she's not eating it haha

hudson202

@ElRuby last week when I pulled the bottles out of her bag to give them to the daycare teachers i had to pick some fur off of them. HOW DID THE FUR GET INTO THE BOTTLE BAG??? It's literally everywhere.

HayesRN13

ChardeeMacDennis said:

Well, I was just about to get up and do the dishes (...probably) but baby's awake and hungry so instead I'm posting about it on the Internet.

How clean is your house? Better, worse, or the same as pre-baby? When do you get it all done? Does DH do his share? Any tips? Are you constantly drowning in laundry like me? Is the fact that I'm even asking about this a sign that I need to get out more?

I have a titch of OcD, so my house is always at least picked up.. I can't have dishes in the sink and crap everywhere...However I was starting to lag on the deep cleaning, so I hired a house cleaner for that.

valeriemarie24

If we have clean clothes, clean dishes to eat off of and no crumbs/food scraps laying around then I consider that a job well done.
Are my floors scrubbed and mirrors streak free? Hell no. But we hardly have family or friends coming into our apartment anyway so no one besides us really sees the mess

cbrtncanadian

Cleaner than yesterday but not by much... That's about all I try for!

kezdk

Hahahahaha - what? I was too busy laughing. Seriously though - I was constantly doing laundry the first 2 months and then we had a rough baby patch and all was neglected. I am actually slowly getting back to normal. Baby steps...starting to cook meals, do dishes, and laundry