Honestly how often do you clean...

[Irulan]

There is way TMI in this thread for me.

[wackyjacky1]

There is way TMI in this thread for me.

LOL!

I used to be the world's worst housekeeper, the result of having an overly picky mother and bad memories from ruined weekends that were spent cleaning house. The weird thing is that something changed for me a few years ago, and now I'm nearly as meticulous as she is. Everything -- bathroom, sheets, blankets, towels, floors, rugs, kitchen -- gets done once-a-week (on Mondays, which is like a Sunday for me). Every so often I get a little lazy and stretch it out an extra day or so, but I just can't let it go longer than that.

[Crankin]

Ah, I've had a housecleaning service for about 25 years (minus the first 3 years we lived in MA). They come once a week. Anything less than that would be gross to me. I grew up in a spotless house and that's how I like my house. Both my husband and I clean up after ourselves after showering, using the sink, etc. I wipe it down with a cloth I keep in our bathroom for that purpose, along with Windex, if I make an unintentional mess. The powder room (which gets used a lot) gets cleaned every week, too. We have 2 other full baths, which get cleaned every other week, but sometimes more, if we tell them to (like if my son has stayed over, or I used the bath tub in there).
I change my sheets once a week.

[Mr. Bloom]

There is way TMI in this thread for me.

Then you'll love this...

Several years ago, we were visiting my parents and for some reason, I had to use their shower. To my shock, the white tub and tile looked like they hadn't been cleaned for years. (It was disgusting and unhealthy! I won't get more descriptive than that!). This was after their retirement when they let the cleaning woman go since they had "time" (but apparently not "ability") to clean.

So I went to my parents and asked how long it had been...my dad's honest and sincere response was "why do you need to clean a shower? There's only soap and water in there".

I think I spent about 4 hours in there scrubbing every square inch.

It will suffice to say that my partner is way neater and cleaner around the home than I. He will voluntarily clean certain areas. Part of it is just his nature but also he is suspectible to allergies if a place is too mouldy or dusty.

I think I'll start calling you "Silver" and him "Mr. Silver" The ongoing joke in our marriage is that I like things "clean and tidy". Silver doesn't care about "untidy" as long as the untidiness is on top of something "clean". But how can you see the "clean" through the "untidy" (I love you Silver! no matter how messy you are)

[sfa]

Gak! Not nearly often enough. I wipe down the bathroom surfaces every couple of days to keep them looking clean, but only manage a deep cleaning once a month. Changing sheets is about the same, and yes, that's really gross and I know it. Vacuuming about once every week or two. Same with mopping. Dusting happens maybe twice a year. Laundry is the only thing I really keep up with--I do five to seven loads every weekend to get clothes and towels clean. Adding sheets and blankets adds loads I don't have time to do. If I'm lucky someone throws up or wets the bed (dog, kids, I'm not picky) often enough that the sheets and blankets get done more often. If I'm *really* lucky we have guests coming over and then DH and I will stay up until three in the morning the night before cleaning the whole place.

What I want to know is when do you find TIME to clean? I get home from work, cook dinner, help kids with homework, walk the dog, put kids to bed, clean up from dinner, pack lunches, declutter the main living area, check and send email and by then it's 11:00 and I'm done. I save actual housework for weekends but only manage to do it on weekends when we don't have other things planned. I'm looking at the next couple of months and I've got whole day things planned every Saturday between now and the week before Thanksgiving. Sundays aren't much better, but I do at least have two of them free in the next two months. So those are the days that the house will get cleaned. I don't think my schedule is particularly unusual--most people I know have the same work/family/activities balance. I hate how filthy my house gets between cleanings but have learned to live with it and I just tell myself that like most things, this is a temporary situation.

Sarah

[Tuckervill]

There are so many more fun things to do than cleaning, I just don't stress over it if it doesn't get done. This is for my child's sake. There have already been people in this thread who said they hate cleaning because their moms made them. I don't make my kids clean. They will eventually find a good reason to clean up after themselves and they'll do it. My adult sons both keep their houses acceptably clean. I do ask the one at home to do specific things (Son, would you unload the dishwasher while I take the biscuits out, and then I can load it up after dinner?), but if they don't see a good reason for it, that's okay. It works both ways, when he asks me to do something.

But, when the house is really dirty, I will usually invite someone over, which forces me to get motivated to clean it up. A clean house is a wonderful thing.

Karen

[Blueberry]

What I want to know is when do you find TIME to clean? I get home from work, cook dinner, help kids with homework, walk the dog, put kids to bed, clean up from dinner, pack lunches, declutter the main living area, check and send email and by then it's 11:00 and I'm done. I save actual housework for weekends but only manage to do it on weekends when we don't have other things planned. I'm looking at the next couple of months and I've got whole day things planned every Saturday between now and the week before Thanksgiving. Sundays aren't much better, but I do at least have two of them free in the next two months. So those are the days that the house will get cleaned. I don't think my schedule is particularly unusual--most people I know have the same work/family/activities balance. I hate how filthy my house gets between cleanings but have learned to live with it and I just tell myself that like most things, this is a temporary situation.

Sarah

I think having school aged kids is a huge difference. We don't have kids - and I think that's why we have so much extra time. We also tend to have weekends free (I expect that at least some of the weekend time is kid stuff). I *really* admire those of you who can keep up that kind of schedule. I don't think I could...

[shootingstar]

I think I'll start calling you "Silver" and him "Mr. Silver" The ongoing joke in our marriage is that I like things "clean and tidy". Silver doesn't care about "untidy" as long as the untidiness is on top of something "clean".

His tidy habits probably stems from long string of childhood sicknesses which included tuberculosis, ringworm, etc. of which the latter he nearly died from. This was just after WWII, when Germany was trying to rebuild itself and its infrastructure (sewage, water) was still not in good shpae.

He was a boy that did not enjoy playing in the mud.

[firenze11]

I'm still in school, grad school now (finally! I'm almost done!), and am living in an apartment with two other girls. We have a schedule for cleaning and garbage and everything gets cleaned weekly. I also change my sheets weekly. I can't imagine it any other way.

At my old school I lived in a house with four other people. One year we had two of my guy friends living with us. And get this. . .they cleaned their bathroom once. The whole year. (thankfully the 3 girls had a nice clean one upstairs) And only because we begged, pleaded, then threatened them. And then, out of spite, they cleaned it using our dish rag, then put the dish rag back on the sink. I'm so thankful I was there to witness it and then throw the towel away. Ah, I still love them though.

When they moved at the end of the year, the three girls went down to clean the bathroom for the two girls moving in. We had to wear bags on our feet, gloves on our hands (should have worn masks, too). Everything we cleaned came up nearly black. It was incredible. And disgusting.

[spindizzy]

OOO Firenze! I could tell you stories that would make your skin crawl about my DH when he was "living with the boys." But I won't.

Housekeeping is something that DH and I have had disagreements about for a ridiculously long time. I finally hired the most fantastic cleaning lady...She's retired now. The one I have now pales in comparison..but it helps.

Towels get done weekly (or daily- we have lots so everyone is free to help themselves.) Bathrooms deep clean weekly - tidy up and quick wipe down every other day.

Sheets - weekly. Google "dust-mites" and you will want to deep clean your house immediately and figure out ways to stop shedding skin cells!