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brideonjuly8
member
I need some efficient cleaning tips!
brideonjuly8
member
I'm not a very efficient cleaner. I know my ADD has a lot to do with it and it's something I've struggled with all my life. Now that we have an almost toddler my time is even more limited. DH isn't a slob, but he doesn't make my job as housewife any easier. He'll help if I ask him, but I don't like to ask him because he works really hard (well....he works) all day and there isn't a reason I shouldn't be able to do it all myself. And I actually like cleaning, I just HATE that it takes me so long, so I feel it's all I do all day and the house still looks the same.
So, if you have any efficient cleaning tips I would love to hear them! And nothing in particular, just everyday chores.
TIA!
This discussion has been closed.
Re: I need some efficient cleaning tips!
Our Family Blog
That is my problem too, cleaning takes ALL day. ?I try to just get the kitchen clean, but it turns into wiping every single surface down. ?I'm an over-cleaner when I clean, so I never want to because it takes so long. ?I've been trying to just do one or two things a day, but then I fell like the whole house is never clean. ?I like Real Simples checklists a lot though, they give me the tasks, and I try to stick to them.
Here's one, but there are tons of good tips in the cleaning section:?
https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/quick-cleaning-solutions-every-room-10000001168532/index.html?
I can't help either. I set daily goals too, but most of the time I don't stick to it. For example, yesterday I was supposed to clean the master bathroom. I got the shower cleaned and all the laundry picked up and then I HAD to go to the toddler gtg.
I feel like I'm cleaning all day long and it still looks like crap. I'm slow too. DH is a much faster cleaner, but whether or not throwing stuff into a pile in another room or into a drawer constitutes cleaning is the real issue. I'm the one that has to go back and clean out the drawer or pick up the pile, so I'd rather just do it right the first time, even if it takes longer.
I try to "power-clean" for 15-20 minutes a day. I take a break from whatever I'm doing and just hurry and clean for about 15 minutes (imagine you have company arriving in 15). I find that this helps keep the house tidier/cleaner overall that when I do my general house cleaning on the weekend, its much easier & quicker. I tried creating a calendar and assigning certain tasks to certain days but that just didn't work. the quick tidying/sweeping daily (probably more like every other day for 20 minutes) is much more productive for me.
i can't really think of anything else to share... do you read real simple? best magazine ever!
Ditto previous posters. Just do a little bit every day. DH and I both work but we wrote out a weekly list so that we do something every day (besides laundry, which piles up if we don't do a load a day). So DH cleans bathrooms and mops once a week, I vacuum downstairs one day, upstairs another day. DH washes the bottles & pump parts, cooks, and cleans out DD's bathtub while I put DD to sleep. I make next day's bottles and wash out the BM bottles, etc. We both try to get the dishwasher unloaded on Sundays so that we can add dirty dishes from after work/daycare and keep counters manageable.
Save big stuff for weekends, like mopping, etc. The other day I dusted while talking on phone with my dad--so it didn't feel like cleaning at all!
It's really hard--we hired a cleaning service about 3 weeks ago b/c it was overwhelming since DD was born (6 months before). Now we're just trying to keep it clean so that we don't get overwhelmed. We definitely can't afford a regular cleaning service.
I'm a list person. My methods are very different though bc I work w/ time blocks.
Maybe you can try making a list of what needs to be done i.e. clean bathroom, clean kitchen, vacuum, dust, etc. Then assign a day (M-F) that you can accomplish that item. Make a list of Monday - Friday and under each day write what you will accomplish that day and cross it off when you're done. For more instant gratification, be specific on your list (kitchen: clean counters, clean sink, unload/ reload dishwasher) and cross each item off as you accomplish it.
Do you have a weekly dinner list? If so, you could combine the two.
Everything has a place in our house. We have a lot of crap and clutter about, but when its in neat stacks in certain places - I feel like the house looks a lot cleaner. I'll spend about 20 minutes doing my "chores" in the morning (I giggle because I feel like Ma Ingalls or something with my chores). I start in our bathroom - sweep the floor and scoop the litter box, straighten up the counter and wipe down if needed. Make bed, put away DHs clothes which are all over the freakin place. Move into the living room, put away toys. Breakfast dishes into dishwasher, toaster put away, coffee pot rinsed and counters wiped down. Go down hallway, throw all of Jakob's random crap into his room. Close his door, I don't go in there
A few times I week I clean the kid's bathroom...wipe down toliet, counter and tub. Mondays and sometimes on Thursday I vaccum.
All that takes 20 or 40 minutes, depending on if I vaccum. It helps me to have a cleaning route, start in the back of the house and work forward. And everything has a place to go, so I'm not looking at a bunch of random stuff wondering what to do with it.
I use to be a "the whole house needs to be cleaned at one time" type of person but that totally was not working. I had several friends who do one chore a day like mopping all the floors one day, dusting another day but it would drive me nuts to do not have a room done.
so, I came up with a schedule for cleaning my entire house and doing laundry by coming up with about an hour to 2 hours (depending on if it is a school day or not) of cleaning a day. Then I do a load of laundry a day too. This has really helped me break it down better and I don't feel stressed. Then each night we do a 15 min power walk through the house where we just put everything away that does not belong. Also our oldest is 3 so she cleans up all her toys before bedtime each night as well.
If anyone is interested I can post my schedule.
I hear ya on the ADD.
Everyone has given really great suggestions as far as creating schedules & doing a little bit every day, but here are some of the things I try and to do make the physical "cleaning" go a little quicker.
- I don't sweep/mop but once in a blue moon or when the tile is really dirty. I use the vacuum cleaner throughout the ENTIRE house.
- I use the hose attachment on the vacuum to run over baseboards/window sills/corners to get dust & cobwebs.
- When I need to dust/wipe down surfaces, I spray a towel down with all-purpose cleaner until it's pretty damp and just start attacking. ADD usually kicks in by the time the towel is too dry/dirty to keep going.
- DH gets to clean the toilets. He makes them dirtier than I do anyways.
- I swear by Method daily shower spray.
- Before I change out our hand towels in the bathroom, I'll take on of the "dirty" ones and wipe down the entire vanity (I'll usually wet a corner for extra cleaning "power" if the counter is extra dirty.)
- I do the same thing as above in the kitchen, too.
I will say that we have a housekeeper come every 3-4 weeks, but I definitely try to do the above at least once a week (if not more) to keep the house from getting ridiculously filthy between housekeeper visits.