ogQ!(U~$(KGrHgoOKjYEjlLmS1ctBJ1K-4Uyh!~~_7.JPG?set_id=81 "i-need-a-martini"){kind=avatar}
@i-need-a-martini wrote:Housework is extremely low on my priority list. I'm too busy. But here is my "programme":
Floors:
Get washed every few months. I just sweep it every couple of days and vacuum rugs every week.
I washed last weekend and was surprised at how clear the waste water was. That should be your guide.
Bathroom:
Every 2 weeks - 3 weeks.
Do the little things in between like chuck some bleach in the toilet every few days to keep it clean. Do it before work and dont flush. Ditto with bathroom shower tiles. Bleach in a spray pump. Spray before work and walk away. All clean when you get home!
Beds:
Bedsheets when they smell. The kids ones can go for weeks and weeks.
Ironing:
I've stopped ironing. Even the most creased garment will straighten itself out once it gets worn - body heat gets rid of creases.
Clothes go in big flat baskets. Each person in the family has one. I sort the washed clothes once a week and fold them into a basket by person. If they want to put the clothes away, great. If not the basket can sit on the floor of their bedrooms until empty!
Keeping things tidy:
This is our biggest battle and the reason a cleaner is useless for our household.
Someone once told me that you should automatically pick things up that are out of place as you move from room to room. So if you need to do a wee, pick up discarded kids clothes to put away on the way to loo. That way you are tidying every moment you are in your house. Gret in theory...
I just put everything in piles by person and ask them all to collect their stuff once a week.
Thats my routine almost exactly! I do iron my clothes on the days I work though, I cant go to work dishevelled, but I only iron what I'm wearing that day. I probably dont leave the sheets till they smell, but I wouldnt be washing them anywhere near every week like some people do. I just dont have time and I live in a cold damp climate and its almost impossible to get stuff dry for about 9 months of the year. Its taken me 3 days to dry the doona cover I just washed.
@i-need-a-martini wrote:I used to have clean-house-envy.
But one thing I have learned over the years, is that people with spotless houses are defintely in the minority. People usually tidy up before they have people over so you have a perception that they are in control of their housework. The reality is often very different.
I often go to other peoples houses for work to measure up before we do work and I don't think I have ever walked into someones house and marvelled at how clean it was. I usualy walk in and go "Sh#T! This is worse than my house!!". people are far less likely to tidy up for a stranger so I assume that this is really how most people live.
Really? I had a guy coming to fix my shower screens last week so I had to scrub both bathrooms, vacuum the floors, do a general tidy up and I even cleaned the stove while I was at it lol. The house is clean today too cos hubby has a friend over.
Our house is usually tidy because there is only my OH and me but it was different when the kids were home. Never dirty but often untidy and yes, I have run around tidying up if someone rings to say they're on their way.
I never used to iron much but now I iron as I wash and there's usually only a couple of things each time.
My OH always vacuums = he was told by our gp when we were first married that he should do it because of my asthma and he still does it even though I don't get much asthma anymore. We do it most days because we have a dog who loses hair - we are both retired so have plenty of time.
The bathroom I do every week - usually douse everything with white king then when I have a shower, I use my feet with a scourer to do the tiles. Toilet is done more often as I would hate someone come and have to use a dirty toilet.
In summer I change my beds weekly but in winter I do it every 2 weeks. Always use a top sheet with my doona as I hate changing the doona.
My pet hate is dusting. I do it once a week when my "clean freak" friend is coming.
Now, my clean freak friend - she has set days to clean her oven, wipe the cupboards. clean the sink and everything else you can think of. Before she goes to bed, she sweeps and vacuums then runs the mop over the carpet! Everytime her husband changes hos white underwear, it is soaked in white king. We stayed with them when 8 of us went to the Mildura Music Festival last year and I bought my OH new singlets so they would be pristine white 
.
The beginning of Spring she goes right through the house room by room and washes the walls and ceilings, does her curtains, has her doonas dry cleaned and the carpets steam cleaned. Saying this, I never feel she's checking me out when she's here and I've never heard her comment on anyone else.
Life's too short to worry too much about housework - as long as it is not unhealthy, do it when you get the urge.
