How long would it take you if you were able to do it uninterrupted?
When we first married my husband couldn't believe that it would take me about 4 hours to clean my 2 bedroom apartment.
But when I say clean here's a list of what I'm including:
dusting
mopping
vacuuming
clearing off kitchen/bathroom counters and disinfecting
sinks
bathtub
toilet
wiping down cupboard fronts
wiping down stove/fridge/microwave/dishwasher
mirrors
general tidy up if necessary
Changing sheets and towels
Washing floor mats in bathroom
The longest part of the whole process are the kitchen and bathroom. But with all the dusting in the bedrooms and living room they are no small job either.
Am I nuts? Is that too much? Growing up I always watched my mother do at least that much. I know my bachelor husband thought I was crazy. What do the rest of you think?
Thank you for all your responses. The only reason I said uninterrupted is because I know most of us take all week to clean and then start again and I did want an idea of how many hours, not how many days! :) I too have a baby and a 7 year old. The house never stays clean really. I have a hard time just keeping up with the laundry around here, which is a daily thing. Fortunately my husband does his own laundry. At 3 loads a week he'd better do his own laundry, I do laundry daily as it is just for the kids and myself.
I feel like the bathroom is critical, so I do my best to keep up to that. The kitchen comes in a close second and then after that I try to make it look like I cleaned the rest of the house.
The baby doesn't nap well, although he sleeps through the night, so my daytime hours are often spent with the baby in arms instead of dusting! Oh well, the dust will be there long after I'm dead too. Might as well just deal with it!
Thanks ladies!!
PS: I grew up seeing that intense cleaning done weekly. I feel like I should be doing the same thing because that's what I grew up with. My mother worked herself to the bone. But in my world, if it gets done twice a month that's lots. The rest of the time I just fake it.
I do the same thing. My husband also thinks I'm nuts. lol It takes me longer because I never get to do it uninterrupted.
I don't even think I could clean my whole 3 bedroom house in one day uninterrupted. As soon as one thing or room is clean, another one is dirty. I totally understand why it takes that long, if you want to do it right and get ALL the dirt clean. I have just lowered my standards to try to keep the actual dirt to a minimum and worry less about clutter and messiness. As soon as I pick up the living room, put all the toys away, vacuum, get the dirty socks out... my daughter suddenly dumps out her blocks, strips naked and grinds some cheerios into the carpet. Not to mention the sippy cup that should be called drippy cup. The kitchen and bathrooms are definitely the worst, I try to focus on these to keep germs at bay, but they seem to be the dirtiest on any given day. I just do what I can in between caring for my kids and husband. Its never ending so I try not to lose sleep over it.
If you can get that much done in 4 hours I want to hire you!! ;-)
It USED TO take me forever (my home is near 3000 sq. feet). We have 3 full bathrooms and all hardwood floors. It would take me probably 4 hours.
THEN, I smartened up and bought things that made the process WAAAYYY faster:
I got a Miele Canister Vacuum (Carina), which not only does a great job on the floors, stairs and dogs, it also has the super long telescoping wand so I can dust all the crown molding, tvs, pictures, etc. So that is a must have. It only weighs 8 lbs and still runs tipped backwards, so you can carry it with it's handle while vacuuming. This is mine: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000AAWEJU?ie=UTF8&r...
Then I got the Hoover Floormate SpinScrub: http://www.hoover.com/product.aspx?model=FH40010B&ds=...#
SAVED MY SANITY. It power washes the wood floors AND the tile, so I can go right from the living room straight into the bathroom. Great machine and no more buckets and nasty mops.
I also keep Borox for bathroom cleaning (does everything - shower, toilet and sink) and I only use Shaklee for everything else because it is FOOD SAFE. So I can wipe down counters, clean the mirrors, everything without changing products. I use their all purpose cleaner and one bottle makes a crazy amount of gallons: http://www.shaklee.com/products_prod_getclean.shtml
I can do the whole house and turn over the laundry in 90 minutes now PLUS soak the cloth diapers!!!
(If however, I am tripping over kids - it takes 5 days)
I'd say your right about on track. I have a small 2 bedroom house, and to clean it uninterrupted, doing all the things you said (which I also do all those things to consider it "clean"), it would take me about as much time as you said, without a doubt. Men don't have a clue.
Your time sounds about right. I don't know what uninterrupted cleaning is at my house either.... haha
I think guys seem to have a different definition of "cleaning." To my husband, that just means doing the dishes, maybe wiping the kitchen counters, and picking up stuff around the house. That's it. LOL But my definition is more like what you listed! To me, his idea of cleaning is just "picking up" lol
I know my dad never understood how long it took my mom to clean either. And their house is now a 5 bedroom w/ good size laundry room & an office. And a large dining room. So it takes her a while! And he never understood how during the process of cleaning (and going thru things & organizing) can make such a mess! He hates for things to be in a mess, but to go thru & organize, you have to pull it all out first... haha
Men just don't get it :P
Haha!
I clean abotu 3hours per day NOW, just to keep the mess beaten down with a stick.
Single, alone, and in my apt... gosh that was a long time ago. I can say that my DH and I radically differ in our versions of what constitutes "cleaning". I consider cleaning to be starting at the floor (everything up off of it)... everything in the room wiped down (scrubbed and sanitized) & everything put away, and then ending with the floor... having it vacuumed or swept/mopped. He considers "cleaning" to be straightening up. AKA MOST of the clutter put "somewhere".
Just as an example: If HE cleans the bathroom, the towels are hung up and there's nothing on the floor, and the sink and mirrors have been wiped down.
If I clean the bathroom:
- The fabric curtain is in the dryer while the plastic liner is in the wash with bleach.
- The towels are waiting to go in next.
- The bathtup has been scrubbed, along with the wall/ drain/ faucet.
- The toilet has been cleaned i& disinfected inside and out and behind.
- The millwork has been cleaned with a wet sponge
- The lighshades have been wiped with a wet sponge
- The sink has been cleaned and disinfected (including the pedestal)
- Mirrors windexed
- All shelves emptied, wiped down, and reorganized
- The floors have been swept
- The floors have been scrubbed
So for US... it's a definition issue.
Personally, I straighten up daily, and clean one room every other day. Or at least that's the intent. Life intervenes sometimes.
I don't think you are nuts at all. You are giving your home a very thorough cleaning and that takes time if you do the job right. I have a big house and there is no way I can clean the entire house in one day or even two days for that matter. I admire your stamina.
M
Ha! I love this! No, you are not nuts or crazy!! Uninterrupted it takes me about 4-5 hours (4BR/2bath - and hardwoods in the majority of the house).
My hubby used to think I was just slow. Then we hired a houskeeper when I got to the middle of my second pregnancy. When she took 4 hours he then realized that it is a HUGE job!! I have since stopped the housekeeper and I kick myself every single day! I just feel like I cannot keep the house as clean as I would like with the 2 little ones in tow.
The only time I can really clean is when the kids go to sleep. And by the time they go to sleep that is really the only "me" time I have, I hate to spend it cleaning! I try to do the clean up and minor things when they nap...but I hate to get into cleaning the bathrooms, or floors as if they wake up it totally irritates me to not be able to just finish!
It doesn't take me that long to clean the house, but I give it "a lick and a promise" once a week then go back through during the week and do more detailed cleaning (just a little a day). Also, I use a feather duster for between polishes and that REALLY saves dusting time. I've read that wood furniture manufactured since WWI (I believe) actually is treated so the polish doesn't really soak in anyway.
I also decided that we weren't going to explode if the sheets weren't changed weekly, so now I rotate whose gets changed every week. Our bed and the baby's one week, and my boys' the next. We get clean sheets every 2 weeks now. Unless of course someone wets the bed! I love having my whole house "done" on Mondays (my cleaning day) and just get to keep it up during the week. I'd say I clean about 2 hours if I could do it uninterrupted, but then I add in more detailed stuff during the week so it may even out.
How often do you do this thorough of a cleaning? If you do this weekly, or DAILY, it borders on obsessive.
I can do a pretty good bathroom cleaning in 5 minutes on a daily basis (Lysol wipes!!), and once in a while I go crazy over the other stuff. I always keep the kitchen tidy and pretty clean. I'd say 1/2- 1 hour daily, and then 3 hours on the weekend. Laundry is about a load a day, but that doesn't take much time, because the machine does it all (except the sorting and folding).
Wiping down cupboard fronts every day? Not a chance.
No. I agree with you- that's how long it took me to clean my house (not a very big house) before I had kids.
It's funny though, since I've had kids (ages two and fourteen months), I can clean the house in three hours. I think I'm able to do it faster because I have to? I'm not sure. Although I will admit, I only do the cupboards once a month now.
If I was uninterrupted, I'm pretty sure I could thoroughly clean my 3BR/2BA house in 4 hours and do a few loads of laundry as well. Once I'm going, I work really FAST!
Youre lucky it only takes you four hours to clean your home.. geez if I were to do whats on your list plus all the extra added in things I must do to make my house absoulty perfect and defined "cleaned" would be a full scrubbed down and then a "brisk" cleaning every couple days.. your schedule meaning the brisk schedule.
A full out cleaned house would also include
*Wiping down- of all rooms.
The walls in the livingroom, bathroom, hallways, all doors front and back ( gotta love finger marks!) Lets not forget to wipe down the wooden chairs. Blinds, Top of the fridge. What about washing windows?
*Pledging wood
Living room/entry way- dvd cabinets, tv stands, coffee tables,mirror frames, picture frames, shelves, clock-- wood trim along the carpet and staircase!
Kitchen- Don't forget the chairs! Cabinet doors.
Are you vaccuming under your couch.. lifing cushions and getting all those missing items?
The Bedrooms seem simple compare to the rest of the house. They take longer cause there is alot more detail and things you just don't notice until you do cleaning starting from the ceiling down.
But I could go on forever with the other rooms, but you get my idea.
Along with cleaning comes organizing toys.. you can't just stuff them into bins. But maybe in a quick fix.
A brisk cleaning would leave me at 4hrs but a really deep cleaning and what I call clean may take a good day. With mini breaks in between. Things don't feel clean to me unless I have a deep cleaning fully done to my house and then constant up keep. A deep cleaning would happen once a month unless I have a family gather and its a must to do it again.
Its best to break up rooms weekly to keep on top of your house. Maybe Bathrooms on Monday, Kitchen on Tuesday-- you get my drift :) As a stay at home mom I have time to clean.. but having it done in one day is great. But with children it is a constant pick up of items and straigthing on a daily at any moment.. but the real cleaning happens on set days when they are away.
Over killing yourself to keep things perfect would bring on mayjor allergies for myself, wheezing, dry out my contacts and make ill the next day. Keeping my house clean due to being allergic to dust means I don't leave stuff out.
Since having children I've become not only a mother, but nanny and housekeeper to other families. The cleaning never seems to stop- but it sure does feel great to have a nice cleaned and organized home to share with my hard working family and children arriving home from school each day :)
No I don't think your nuts... haha.. add my other stuff to your list and then you might drive yourself nuts!
It takes FOREVER to really really clean a house. It's funny I read this post this morning, because I've decided to declare today my nothing but cleaning day, starting in about 15 minutes when the kids get on the bus. Our house is just over 2500 square feet, and it will take me all day, and I doubt I'll get it all done because once I get my oldest at 3:30 there's dinner and homework. So, absolutely, it can take hours and hours to really clean. Looking around, my house isn't messy or anything, looks clean actually, but like you said about bathrooms, I have to clean 2 of them today, plus wiping down things and vacuuming really adds time! I will probably put in about 5 or 6 hours of good cleaning today, and I don't see myself getting finished, and the thing is, I don't plan on cleaning the kids' rooms, and have already cleaned my kitchen! So you're talking bathrooms, vacuuming, and cleaning our tanning room and rec. room. So, just ignore him and tell him, it takes time to keep things spotless!! And no, you're not crazy....my friends and family compliment me on my house when they come over and it gives me pride. When I go to a lot of people's houses, I notice that things like the backs of the toilets, and along the bottoms where the screws are are super gross, and those are things I clean everytime I clean the bathroom. I think people just normally clean things that people are more likely to see right away and let the other things go.....so of course it takes people like you and me a lot more time to clean like we do!
My house is about 3800sf and it is never perfect. But everyone has a job to do. The boys (yes boys) each have a list of things they are to do each day as well as once a week. The oldest does his own laundry. The younger is learning. He removes his clothes from the washing machine and puts them in the dryer. I wash a load every other day. The younger boy unloads the dishwasher and cleans off the table and counter. The older load the dishwasher and wipes down the counters. Every week the younger one vacuums both stair cases and his room. He also has taken on dusting some of the flat surfaces with the swiffer duster. The older vacuums the living/dining room, the upstairs hall and cleans their bathroom. Hubby cleans the family room and the dog kennel. I do everything else. Everyone does yard work together. Yes. I have to tell them every day and every week to get their chores done. We are in this together and everyone has to hold up their end. The kitchen and bathroom take up the most time. I would love to hire someone to do the kitchens, bathrooms etc. Next life time :)
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Uninterupted cleaning...what's that??
With four kids I don't even know anymore. I pick one day a week to do the bathrooms and one day a week to do everyones sheets. I usually vac every day (not by choice) and I walk around all day picking up after the kids, doing laundry and a little bit of all the rest when I can. Does the dusting get done regularly? Nope. But, I try not to let it get to the point of being able to write your name in it :-) I try to keep things somewhat organized, but things are not perfect. A great website is www.flylady.com. Unfortunately, I didn't stick with it, but a lot of people swear by it.
And tell your husband that you are not crazy! I have been cleaning for 10 years and I should be done when the kids go off to college!
Hi,
two ladies mentioned www.flylady.net That is all you need. I suggest you sign up, if you haven't done it yet and over time you will get all your questions answered--just in a different way. And I think you'll be one of those testimonials that will write in to tell that you have more time now for yourself and your family.
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Have fun with it,
E
