Share your best tips for keeping your home clean/tidy

K

KristinCB

Sweet Shoppe Designer
I swear this is my biggest challenge. If i am lazy for one day it seems the whole house explodes. Share your tips for even common sense strategies for keeping order in your home?
 
I agree with Darcy..we have a daily routine that we follow here and if we deviate at all it's all hectic and crazy!
 
share your routines <3 (i really lack the common sense in order/routine i think that part of my brain was left out..)
 
KristinCB said:
share your routines <3 (i really lack the common sense in order/routine i think that part of my brain was left out..)
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Hahaha same here. I thought it would get better when the kids went back to school but 3 weeks later and my house is still chaos!!!
 
Picking up EVERY night, no matter how tired I am. And cleaning at least one large area of the house every day... bathrooms one day, living and family rooms the next, bedrooms the next... and so on. And doing at least one load of laundry every single day.

Eveything is always clean and very tidy. Keeps me happy. And I dont feel like Im always cleaning.
 
Routine... and I mix in a lot of Flylady... she's big on routine but I'm not super hyper cleaning... I have my morning routine that needs to be done before eating breakfast... and my nighttime routine which has to be done before I go to bed and then a weekly routine of things that need to be done weekly or monthly instead of daily and those are done during the day whenever I can get to it... And lastly I MAKE the kids be a part of it as much as possible... so they have their morning and bedtime routines and then they have a list of chores they are required to do during the day... even Asher who has to empty the dishwasher by putting away the silverware and other things that aren't breakable and in lower cabinets
 
KristinCB said:
share your routines <3 (i really lack the common sense in order/routine i think that part of my brain was left out..)
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I have a tough time with routines too and I found sticking with the Flylady baby steps for the full 30 days helped me a lot. I didn't follow everything she recommended for sure but I did find her process helpful in building my own routines, especially the idea of breaking them into morning, afternoon and evening routines.

My one suggestion if you're overwhelmed where to start is to start with your non-negotiables - what things bother you the MOST? For me that's having stuff on the kitchen counters, clutter on our coffee table and an unmade bed, so that's where I focused my routines and as I began to get comfortable with that, I added other things in. It's definitely much easier to keep up with everything when you do a little each day.
 
I have implemented what I call "room zoom". I set a timer for 5 minutes and everyone in the family is in the room is cleaning that room for the 5 minutes. Then we move to another room and set the timer for 5 minutes again. After 30 minutes we have a pretty nice looking house. Of course we have to do deep cleaning from time to time, but you'd be surprised what doing a 5 minute "room zoom" every day can accomplish.
 
Yeah, I wonder about this, too. I am hoping when we get into a bigger place in a few months, it should help. At least, I hope so. I work full-time though and am a single mom of a 5 year old, I guess its just never gonna be very good.
 
I started something toward the end of the summer that has helped a lot here at our house. The kids' snack times are at 10 and 3. So, I set an alarm in my calendar that goes off 15 minutes before snack time. We spend that 15 minutes cleaning. Usually it is picking up toys and clutter. But, if there isn't a lot of clutter, I have the kids help me clean a bathroom or sweep the kitchen floor or some other thing that needs to be done. We work for 15 minutes, and then we have snacks. It has made our house soooo much nicer to be in. The clutter doesn't build up for days and days like it used to sometimes. And, the kids are learning that it takes small amounts of consistent effort to keep things nice, but that our home is a much more pleasant place to be when things are a little more tidy. It has been a really good thing for us.

Since school has started, my boys are gone most of the day. This means that the house doesn't get cluttered quite as quickly as it used to. It also means that they aren't usually home for "clean up time." And, that's okay. Raegan and I are able to get quite a bit done during that 15 minutes, and things are still pretty nice around here.
 
I am working on this too! In the past 2 months I am finally on top of things!!! :D I try to do one load of laundry a day... and that includes folding it & putting it away. For me, laundry is one of the big things that if I don't keep on top of it just overwhelms me completely. And the hubs is happy now to never have to search for socks or clean underwear.

Dishes is another big thing... we can completely fill the dishwasher with dirty dishes every day. So, letting the dishes slide for even one day creates such a problem. I have been running the dishwasher every night before bed and unload the clean dishes in the morning. That way, the only dishes piling up are the pots, pans, and other things I hand wash. If I don't wash them immediately, I do those dishes at night while making dinner or after putting the kids to bed... so the sink is empty at the end of the day.

The bedrooms... I have gotten into the habit of making my bed every morning! It really helps create a feeling of cleanliness in the bedroom, and for some reason just having the bed made encourages me to keep the room tidy. :) It feels so good at night to peel back the covers. The bathrooms are something I do daily... I keep lysol wipes in there to wipe down the toilets and the floor area around them once a day pretty much... the tubs/showers/floors/counters I do when they seems to be getting bad (probably every-other week?), and I vac the carpets 2-3 times a week... I just do it whenever I notice it hasn't been done in a few days. Mopping, dusting etc. is a weekly chore (tends to be on the weekend). The kitchen counters and table get wiped every time I use the kitchen... so, 3x a day. The tile gets swept daily, sometimes more.

I guess there's no real method to my cleaning schedule. I just clean as I go whenever I notice it. I did post a loose weekly schedule of chores on my fridge a year ago, but I'm way too spontaneous to follow a routine. I just fit it in whenever. I was raised by neat freaks so the instinct is pretty much hammered into me. If I didn't have that annoying small voice in my head saying "Brooook, clean that uuuup" :blink: I'd probably let a lot more slide. ;)
 
Arual said:
Picking up EVERY night, no matter how tired I am. And cleaning at least one large area of the house every day... bathrooms one day, living and family rooms the next, bedrooms the next... and so on. And doing at least one load of laundry every single day.

Eveything is always clean and very tidy. Keeps me happy. And I dont feel like Im always cleaning.
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This is what I attempt to do. At the very least, I do pick up everything after the kids are in bed (or what's left - I do make my 4 year old pick up the messes that he has made). And then I just try to tackle one room at a time - on different days. I don't do this EVERY day (because I work long hours 3 days a week and those days leave me exhausted), but our house generally stays pretty decent. It falls apart a lot during the days that I work (which is weird since we aren't even home that much on those days!!) but I just pick up the slack on Fridays usually.

I guess when I write it all out, it doesn't sound like I keep up with anything at all! :D I just stay afloat, I guess. I am going to take some tips from this thread though, for sure!
 
Having a good routine is key.

Certain things are dailies:
Making the bed
dealing with today's dishes/wiping down counters
straightening bathrooms
one laundry load

Other things are weeklies:
Monday- deep clean kitchen(clean out fridge, straighten pantry and freezer, scrub inside of microwave, wipe down stove and oven well)
Tuesday-Floors vacuum/sweep and deep mop floors. I spot mop as needed throughout the week.
Wednesday- bathrooms- clean all 3 bathrooms well
Thursday- Sheets and towels- all sheets and towels in use get washed and changed out
Friday- Living areas- living room, stairway, hallway get cleaned.

Keeping on top of my dailies means even if I slack off on a weekly, things don't get too bad. it's those dailies that are key for me.
 
The only time I can keep my house at the neatness level I like is when my mom goes to visit my siblings for a few weeks. I spend the first day cleaning like mad and then just maintain the rest of the time. When she comes home, I just accept that my house will be messy and try not to get angry about it. I have tried the routines with her, but nothing works. She simply does not care if the house is a mess or if I get upset about it, so when she is here, I do my best to keep up with her and keep things as neat as possible. Having two grown women under the same roof is not a good idea, but we deal with it. :)
 
DItto what everyone else said about routines!

And the biggest thing for me is having a place for everything. So when I need to put something away I can just do it! If I have to figure out where it goes then it's all down-hill from there!
 
Don't let your kids be slobs! Seriously, it sound awful but if I let my kids slide I can't keep up no matter what. I hold them accountable as well as myself. They have to keep up on the basics, beds made, school items & lunches taken care of, dishes in the dishwasher, clothes in the hamper, random junk put away. Our schedules vary a lot so the routine thing only goes so far, I agree it's good to build habits, it makes a huge difference.

*I agree with the "everything having a place too" , I live in a small house and one of the benefits is you just can't have a lot of "stuff".
 
I am super lame and have an alarm on my computer that goes off every 1.5 hrs. Every 1.5 hours, I get up drink a glass of water and then clean something. LOL It makes me a little less productive when I am working...but it helps me get things done.
 
I have a strict policy: "I am not your maid" even for the hubby. I keep my stuff pretty neat and organized. I've provided storage for all three of the males, its their responsibility to pick up after themselves. If I stayed at home it would be a whole different attitude but my hour before bed is for me, not the house. They now know if its precious to them, they'll put it away. If not when Saturday comes, they risk trash or Mom's Box, a container that holds items they won't get back for a week. Its gone pretty well so far since they know I don't hesitate when it comes to purging. Saturday mornings are dedicated to deep cleaning.
 
I have issues in this department. My house is a wreck and I find I am always struggling and trying to play catch up.

As a family we have too much 'stuff'. I need to declutter a LOT. FlyLady says you can't clean clutter and it is so true. I just have a hard time getting it out the door. DH wants to have a yard sale and that means me going through everything to sort it, then to organize it for the sale, etc. I'd like to just get it out of the house once and for all instead of dealing with all of that. I'm ready to accept that the money we spent on those things is just gone. He isn't. If I do it his way we'll probably end up with a few hundred dollars extra which would help the bottom line as we are quite seriously and diligently working on paying down debt Dave Ramsey style. If I do it my way then it will get done a lot soon and with a lot less stress and I can probably spend that time I'd save on something else that would save us even more money in the long run. He doesn't see why I can't do both. ;) So, long story short... clutter is a huge issue in my house. I am trying to pare things down but it is taking time.

The fact that I absolutely hate cleaning is another big sore spot with me. Dishes are the worst. Cooking is next. I hate shopping for groceries, I hate cooking, I hate doing the dishes. I pretty much don't even like eating. I mean, I enjoy the way certain foods taste but I'm not a big fan of eating. I can't stand to watch cooking shows and I'm definitely not a 'foodie'. I don't enjoy any of that stuff. I get frustrated often because of all the kitchen chores. It feels like I am always working in there and never getting anything done. In fact, as I told a friend recently, the mere act of looking in my kitchen makes me angry. Sadly my house is open concept so I have to stare at the kitchen a lot. I told DH I want a dishwasher for Christmas. He said we have one (me) :(
 
I'm struggling more now that my boys are older. It was easier when they were younger to get them to do things. The three that live here are adult age...and it's like pulling teeth to get them to do anything. My dh is kind of the same way, so I guess those apples didn't fall far from the tree.

My dh does the dishes a lot since being home on disability, but cleaning the counters isn't part of the dishes I guess.

So...I make the bed when I go up to get a shower (dh is usually still IN bed when I get up).

I always wipe down counters in the bathroom when I go in there. I don't care if it was the boys that made the mess or me, I wipe it down. If there is anything in the toilet that needs scrubbing, I keep a brush and some cleaner under the sink. I do it when I see it. I also keep Lysol wipes in the bathroom and probably wipe down the toilet once a day. Just doing these little things when I'm in there keeps the bathroom "clean" looking. I'll do a deep scrub once a week or so too.

All my dirty laundry goes in a hamper. My dh and boys haven't figured this one out yet...so I'll usually pick up my dh's, but then close the boys doors. I don't want to see it. They'll do it eventually, but I can't wait forever!

When my boys were small, I picked any stray toys up and organized them. Books got picked up. I fluffed the pillows on the couch so when I came down in the morning, I could get my coffee and sit down and relax.

I like doing laundry. I know...I'm a weirdo. I have no problem folding it (putting it away is another matter). I NEVER leave laundry on the couch. I put it in a basket, fold it, and then leave the basket to be brought upstairs by someone going up. I really hate laundry piled up on a couch!!

Someone told me the Flylady things once and I did it for a month (most of it). I have to say...it was pretty cool. That might be the last time my outlets got cleaned in my house!

I might looke up that Flylady site again. I think if my dh had a project a day, it's something he could learn to do. It really hasn't been easy having him home, making messes and not having a clue on what to do to help.

Oh....and the biggest thing that helps me, is make a list!! I'm a list maker anyway, but I'm seriously so ADHD that I can't remember to do the most basic of things if I don't have a list. I'm way better than when I was younger and my kids were young, but I still make a list. Even if it sounds silly....I used to put down the time I needed to wake up even! I don't do times anymore on my lists unless I have an appointment or something, but I honestly used to say that at this time I needed to be doing a certain thing.
 
Sherri Tierney said:
I have issues in this department. My house is a wreck and I find I am always struggling and trying to play catch up.

As a family we have too much 'stuff'. I need to declutter a LOT. FlyLady says you can't clean clutter and it is so true. I just have a hard time getting it out the door. DH wants to have a yard sale and that means me going through everything to sort it, then to organize it for the sale, etc. I'd like to just get it out of the house once and for all instead of dealing with all of that. I'm ready to accept that the money we spent on those things is just gone. He isn't. If I do it his way we'll probably end up with a few hundred dollars extra which would help the bottom line as we are quite seriously and diligently working on paying down debt Dave Ramsey style. If I do it my way then it will get done a lot soon and with a lot less stress and I can probably spend that time I'd save on something else that would save us even more money in the long run. He doesn't see why I can't do both. ;) So, long story short... clutter is a huge issue in my house. I am trying to pare things down but it is taking time.

The fact that I absolutely hate cleaning is another big sore spot with me. Dishes are the worst. Cooking is next. I hate shopping for groceries, I hate cooking, I hate doing the dishes. I pretty much don't even like eating. I mean, I enjoy the way certain foods taste but I'm not a big fan of eating. I can't stand to watch cooking shows and I'm definitely not a 'foodie'. I don't enjoy any of that stuff. I get frustrated often because of all the kitchen chores. It feels like I am always working in there and never getting anything done. In fact, as I told a friend recently, the mere act of looking in my kitchen makes me angry. Sadly my house is open concept so I have to stare at the kitchen a lot. I told DH I want a dishwasher for Christmas. He said we have one (me) :(
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If you are trying to save money, look up the stats for a HE dishwasher. I believe they take maybe 4 gallons of water for a whole load of dishes. The typical person uses 16 gallons hand washing & rinsing!!! :w00t:

Also, start de-cluttering your "own" things. I keep a big laundry-type basket in my closet to dump clothes, shoes, purses, and other things that I don't want anymore. Once a month I haul it into a big garbage bag and donate it. Once it's gone you never miss it! The same goes for household items, toys, etc. Stow them away in a box somewhere out of sight and out of mind. If no one mentions them or asks for them in a month... bye bye!!! ;) Your DH will hardly notice if you're not de-cluttering his things. Promise!
 
Keely~B said:
Don't let your kids be slobs! Seriously, it sound awful but if I let my kids slide I can't keep up no matter what. I hold them accountable as well as myself. They have to keep up on the basics, beds made, school items & lunches taken care of, dishes in the dishwasher, clothes in the hamper, random junk put away. Our schedules vary a lot so the routine thing only goes so far, I agree it's good to build habits, it makes a huge difference.
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This is my big thing. They need to pick up daily, and weekly they have their chores. I pick up everyday as well. Each day I attack another room. I deep clean on Mondays after the weekend as well. A lot of times their big chores wait till Sunday. I'm okay with that. They do their own laundry and take care of a lot in the kitchen/dinning room.
Any time I don't feel like cleaning I watch an episode of Hoarders on Netflix and can't get 1/4 of the way in before I'm itching to clean my house a ton! I also have a seasonal list that I like to do before I decorate for holidays.
 
For me, having the kitchen clean (especially dishes) makes all the difference. But, I'm kind of OCD about dishes these days.

My girls each have a room to clean for the week and it makes it so much easier for me. Even my 3 year old has a room and she does a great job cleaning up the floor. On Wednesdays, they also dust and vacuum the room they are in charge of (or clean the bathroom is that's their job). It takes a load off of me and they do a great job.

Keeping up with it is really the best thing for me! It doesn't always happen, but it makes it so much easier!
 
I am one that having the kitchen clean makes me very very happy and less stressful about everythign else. I like to have all the dishes done, everything put away, the counters wiped down and the floor swept (this doesn't happen all the time) before I go to bed because it helps me sleep better and I know when I come downstairs every morning, my day automatically starts out good with a clean living area.

If you have steps, everytime you go up them, pick something up that needs to go upstairs. We constantly put things on the steps that need to go upstairs, but NOBODY can pick anything up when they go up there!

Also there are NO TOYS in my downstairs living space (except for the PS3 and Wii) ...all TOYS stay IN bedrooms :) if you bring somethign downstairs (barbies, cars, etc) YOU have to take them back up.

KCB, your kids are old enough to help right? Give them an easy chore to do daily (wipe down counters, sweep, pick the stuff up on the steps, fold towels, do the recycles, help put dishes in the dishwasher, put clean dishes away)...these are all things that my kids do from age 11-5. The 19 y/o does so more strenous things, but for the most part theyy ALL have to pitch in.

Another KEY thing for me, is to have the 3 smaller kids clothes/outfits picked out for the whole week! They have 5 outfits layed out in their room and they can pick whichever one they want to wear each day. Less stress for me and my oldest DD who gets them off to school.

Everything else just lond of gets done as needed (clean abthrooms, laundry, vaccumming, etc)....as long as my open kitchen, living space downstairs is clean, I can live with the rest of it :)
 
Julie Billingsley said:
I have implemented what I call "room zoom". I set a timer for 5 minutes and everyone in the family is in the room is cleaning that room for the 5 minutes. Then we move to another room and set the timer for 5 minutes again. After 30 minutes we have a pretty nice looking house. Of course we have to do deep cleaning from time to time, but you'd be surprised what doing a 5 minute "room zoom" every day can accomplish.
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This is a brilliant idea!
 
Keely~B said:
Don't let your kids be slobs! Seriously, it sound awful but if I let my kids slide I can't keep up no matter what. I hold them accountable as well as myself. They have to keep up on the basics, beds made, school items & lunches taken care of, dishes in the dishwasher, clothes in the hamper, random junk put away. Our schedules vary a lot so the routine thing only goes so far, I agree it's good to build habits, it makes a huge difference.

*I agree with the "everything having a place too" , I live in a small house and one of the benefits is you just can't have a lot of "stuff".
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This is my problem for sure! I just don't know how to get my kids, especially DD1, to clean up after themselves. Seriously, they can eat a snack, walk right past the trash can to get a drink, but leave the snack wrapper on the table, couch, floor, etc. It's absolutely maddening! :cursing: I stopped picking up after them and that's when my house started getting worse! They will literally let stuff sit for DAYS and not touch it. I've started calling them out from wherever they are as soon as I find something and making them clean it up themselves but even that doesn't fase them. I can't seem to convince them if they don't make the mess in the first place, they wouldn't have to spend so much time cleaning up. It's SO hard, especially when my husband is gone.
 
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Another thing that is very very helpful for me, is to fold laundry as I take it out of the dryer...if I don't I can never seem to tackle the pile that needs to be folded....
 
Darcy Baldwin said:
Routine. It all boils down to a routine for me - and sticking to it.
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Yep, this is key for me. I have things that I do every single day at the same time. Beds are always made before getting dressed. The kitchen gets tidied up while Cheyanne is eating breakfast before school. Laundry always gets started in the morning. The living areas get picked up every night before bed, etc. etc.
 
No tips from me. I hate cleaning house, and I'm usually too tired after working all day to clean like I should.

Hubs is working PT and going to school PT, and that, evidently, means being off the hook for doing chores around the house. He also does not have any chores for SS and does not make SS clean up after himself when he is here. DD is, well, 3, and while I'm on her all the time to help, clean up, etc., it's not a natural instinct for her.

A huge reason, besides what's going on currently with DD, for me wanting to go to PT hours/finding another job in the new year is so that I can be home more often and get on top of all the housework. It is so stressful coming home from work to a messy disorganized house that you feel you will never get cleaned up or straightened out.
 
Milmomma said:
Any time I don't feel like cleaning I watch an episode of Hoarders on Netflix and can't get 1/4 of the way in before I'm itching to clean my house a ton!
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I'm going to try this!!!! :p

I had a really good routine with one kiddo, but every since the second arrived (2 years ago.....) I just haven't found my groove again. I keep hoping the magic cleaning fairy will appear, but with 3 boys in my house......I think she's scared...
 
these are all really good tips!! i'm going to try the timer stuff especially <3 thanks everyone!

i'm SO much calmer/happier when the house is neat and organized but i'm just really lacking in the actual getting that done department
 
LeeAndra, I worked full time, had 4 kids at home and took 15 demanding credits and I wasn't off the hook, so your DH should totally not be off the hook either :) I just had to manage my time for everything, I spent a lot of late nights foing homework (by my choice).....but I certianly put in my time with housework and chores and so did everybody else! The way I felt was if I can manage, the rest of you have no excuses !! lol.....ad BTW that is BS that your SS doesn't have to clean up after himself :(
 
Lots of good tips :)

Angie, I tried to implement the 'no toy' rule for our main living space and it is the hardest thing for me to try and get through to my children! It frustrates me daily! I had the living room clean before I went to bed and I woke the next morning (granted, it was during the weekend and I slept in a little) to find a toy explosion in the living room. I told the kids (again!) that the toys weren't allowed in the living room but then it turned in to a big fight just trying to get them to pick the toys up. We tried a 'play' room specifically for toys. Ha! They played in it until they dirtied it up then they would carry the toys in to the living room (the room we were using as a play room is right off the living room) to play. I cleared all the toys out of the play room and made them put them upstairs in their bedrooms. Now their rooms look like they could be on Hoarders. :( The obvious solution is to get rid of most of the toys but it is a slow process. I just haven't had time to purge like I want to. I did buy these nice cubbies for each of their rooms and said that they can keep only what fits on the cubbies... but the cubbies are outside in the storage shed. I bought them on a Friday and had to pick them up the following day. Friday evening at work DH hurt his back so he couldn't lift on them. When we went to pick them up I ran in to a teacher I work with and her husband helped me get them in to the trailer. We slid them from the trailer into the storage shed when we got home and there they sit. LOL

I'll have to look in to the dishwashers. I probably use way more than the average person because I typically just run water and wash dishes under it. It is NOT an eco-friendly way to do dishes and I realize that but it seems to be the only way I end up getting them done. I hate sticking my hands down in a sink full of water.
 
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