Inter-cultural question on, ahem, cleaning :-)

[adrianka]

I've asked it in another thread, but there it was kind of off-topic, so here it is again.

I couldn't fail to notice that there are huge differences between housing in Europe and in the US (there are differences within Europe and within US, I'm sure, but generally speaking this is true). What I never cease to be amazed at is the sheer SIZE of US houses... My question is -- HOW does one manage to keep them clean? I'm rather losing the battle in my humble* rented 80 square metres (860 square feet if the converter is right), and I can't imagine what I'd do with a house, let alone a really big one.

Yep, totally stupid maybe, but still I'm curious.

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*Actually, this is totally not considered as humble for one person. In Slovakia there are 5-member families living on such a space. In Luxembourg you are considered to need a bigger space. Like, it often happens they won't rent you a studio if there's two of you.

 

[digideb]

Well, we have an 1,800 square foot house & I promise you, it doesn't stay clean all the time! lol The main thing is doing a little bit every day!

 

[adrianka]

Well, we have an 1,800 square foot house & I promise you, it doesn't stay clean all the time! lol The main thing is doing a little bit every day!

I tell myself all the time that I'd do it like that, but then I come home from work and literally collapse on the couch. And once I'm on the couch I know I won't do anything. So the key to success is not to sit down until I have done what I wanted to have done. Which happens... not that much often.

 

[lauren grier]

i have a 525sq apartment.. and i swear..it's harder to keep neat and tidy than larger apartments i've lived in. I hate it. We're so cramped in here and have too much stuff for this space.
lol apparently I wanted to take this opportunity to whine. haha I just HATE clutter.. and it's just getting worse the older/bigger ce gets.

 

[adrianka]

i have a 525sq apartment.. and i swear..it's harder to keep neat and tidy than larger apartments i've lived in. I hate it. We're so cramped in here and have too much stuff for this space.
lol apparently I wanted to take this opportunity to whine. haha I just HATE clutter.. and it's just getting worse the older/bigger ce gets.

Feel free to whine! ;-)

Talking about clutter...

I find that I'm a hoarder and by time I'm able to fill whatever space I have at my disposal. And I'm also a piler and I do crafts, so it's basically never really ideally neat at my place (I live alone, so I'm not annoying anybody with it). So maybe it's not that much about space than about having too much stuff and being a slacker when it comes to putting it where it belongs to.

 

[ColleenSwerb]

Our home is about 1200 sq ft. I've figured out that it's MUCH easier to keep clean if I do it in small bits. Like tuesday have become the days that I dust. Thursday's I clean the kitchen. Saturday is bathroom day, etc. I really *should* clean more, but it seems to work out ok for now. We do a big clean anytime we have people coming over or spending the night, but so far that works. I usually deep clean the kitchen on saturday's that we're home, while Jordan is still sleeping. Wipe the counters and cabinets, scrub the stovetop, scrub the sink, sweep and mop the floors.

 

[Rae's World]

We live in 1000sqft (6 of us) and it is always messy. BUt the is four kids too. They leave a trail o f crapola behind them! Basically we clean everyday. The kids have chores and the rule is that when you go to bed everything is picked up. Then when you wake up in the morning it is clean and you can make the mess again. It is a constant battle no matter how small or large your house is. We need a bigger place. We need space to not kill each other!!!

Basically take it one day at a time and try and remember to pick up as you go. Clean it up immediately and not save it for later.

 

[lauren grier]

Feel free to whine! ;-)

Talking about clutter...

I find that I'm a hoarder and by time I'm able to fill whatever space I have at my disposal. And I'm also a piler and I do crafts, so it's basically never really ideally neat at my place (I live alone, so I'm not annoying anybody with it). So maybe it's not that much about space than about having too much stuff and being a slacker when it comes to putting it where it belongs to.

haha i am giggling.. my friend was JUST teasing me the other day because I've so become a piler.. I was telling him what i said above- and how it's never neat and tidy anymore.. and he was like soo.. there are about 643 piles of things in your living room eh ? It's just SO hard when there's no where to put stuff!! I have stacks of paper work and other things on my desk, on my scanner, on a little table in here, on the kitchen table, on the fridge,on the microwave, and ce makes his own piles in his room too ^_^

 

[coopert]

It is hard. I finally got my dream house about 5 years ago. It's 2,000 square feet and has all of the rooms I thought I needed. But you are so right, it is impossible to keep clean and tidy. We are currently selling the house for many reasons but mainly to get closer to dh's job and my family and friends, and when we move we will downsize in hopes that maintaining our next house will be easier. I do hope we have a playroom in the next house, though, to help isolate the kid's mess.

 

[jessica31876]

I have five people in about 800 square feet. I would like something larger because we have so much stuff it is almost impossible to keep it clean. Plus where we live there is alot of dirt and dust in the yard so I am always sweeping it up.

 

[adrianka]

haha i am giggling.. my friend was JUST teasing me the other day because I've so become a piler.. I was telling him what i said above- and how it's never neat and tidy anymore.. and he was like soo.. there are about 643 piles of things in your living room eh ? It's just SO hard when there's no where to put stuff!! I have stacks of paper work and other things on my desk, on my scanner, on a little table in here, on the kitchen table, on the fridge,on the microwave, and ce makes his own piles in his room too ^_^

YEP! When I moved into my current apartment, there was literally no storage space, and I already came with dozens of boxes full of stuff. So I kept doing it on the go (buying appropriate furniture and thinking up solutions for an impossibly narrow kitchen etc.), but I kept buying stuff, so even after 2 1/2 years I still have 3 boxes from the move unpacked (it speaks for itself that they contain VERY necessary stuff, right). And I have this nasty habit of putting stuff at whatever space that's free, like, the ironing board. That's really annoying when I need to iron. Same goes for printer, and, basically, everything.

 

[carriesmom]

It is called triage in my house. I look at what is the most cluttered and do that (usually the living room or kitchen). I just try my best during the week to not let it get too bad and then use the weekend to clean. But it is never totally clean unless company is coming over.

 

[Beth Swann]

I think it's harder to live in a smaller space and keep it clean vs. a larger space. You have more places to put things away when you have a little more space and the mess is a little more spread out when it's not clean so it doesn't look as bad. The only thing that feels like it's more to clean (to me, anyways) is the floors. And I've lived in a 700 square foot apartment, 1700 square foot house, and now a 1200 square foot house.

My cousin's wife said it best when she was living in a 600 square foot apartment with two kids and hubby, "If the kids bring out 3 different toys, the place looks like a train wreck."

 

[adrianka]

See, I never thought about the advantages of a bigger space in this way. After all, what makes me annoyed about cleaning is not the actual cleaning work, but the elimination of my piles so that I can proceed to cleaning. ;-)

I guess in a bigger space I would need to be more systematic.

 

[Denise Umlauf]

Well, I live in a very small apartment (60 square meters) and it's hard to keep it clean with 4 cats around.. lol I like to do in small bits like Colleen, but I DO need to sweep the floor everyday because of my allergy. The only thing I neglect a little is ironing. Ugh, hate it !

 

[BrattyMeg]

Our house is pretty big (there's also 7 of us living here) but it stays relatively clean. The dirtiest spot in the house is the playroom/office (gee..wonder why) but it's also the only roo the kids have toys in and such..we spend 95% of our time in this room. Our TV area and such is all in here as well...

I do a little each day..mainly a room but I clean the kitchen and do at least 1 load of laundry EVERY day otherwise it piles up and takes me forever to do. I do have older kids that help with chores and that's a huge help...(but a little dent in the wallet lol)

 

[BrattyMeg]

ewwww Denise I HATE ironing too..my least fave chore ever..in fact I don't really iron..i'll throw it back in the dryer if it's wrinked and dh irons his own stuff when he needs it..sometimes he'll iron the kid's stuff too if I ask nicely and bat my eyelashes at him...

 

[MamaBee]

I know in my area once you move into a house 2000 or bigger you get a cleaning lady... all my friends have them. I live in 1600 with a 3 year old... drives my mom nuts that I'm not neatfreak like her, but I prefer to do other things with my time... like spend time with kiddo or scrapbook.

 

[ColleenSwerb]

I don't iron, lol. And when I told Jordan he needed to learn to iron and do it himself, he decided he'd rather stay wrinkly

I'm a huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuge piler. My craft space is never "clean" because I have piles everywhere. Jordan is not a piler, and doesn't have a lot of crap, so he gets really frustrated with my piles. This weekend I plan on de-piling the craft area (I try and confine my piles to just my space, that irritates Jordan less, lol).

I've lived in small spaces in college, and the mess is easier to deal with when everything has a place to go If you have a lot of paperwork that you need to keep, get a file box and folders and keep all your paperwork in it in a place that's easy to get to. My file box was buried under tons of other stuff, so then I had piles or papers I needed to save. I reorganized and now the box sits next to my desk, with nothing on top. When I need to save something, it goes right where it needs to go. I still pile, but once a week I de-pile and put things away as best I can in like 15 minutes.

 

[MandaT]

Ironing...what's that?!?! I thought that little gadget was only for crafting?! :blink: My family wouldn't know what to do if we ironed things... however my hubby is a truck driver & wears jeans/tshirt to work & I stay home with the kiddos, unless I have a photo session, but even then I rarely have to iron.

We are an almost family of 5, in a 1200 sqft. In need of more space, mostly more storage space & a dedicated space for my office/craft/playroom. I have piles on my desk, I try to keep them to a minimum because its in the livingroom, and little hands can reach, so I use binders, there are binders for everything. I've resolved this year to file more often than once every 3 months...eek...there are misc piles of stuff on the hope chest, the washer, the counter...& toys, toys, everywhere!

I dispise cleaning, some people enjoy it...definately not me. So unless I list it out, it usually waits until the tomorrow that doesn't come very often.

 

[Denise Umlauf]

The other day DH was talking about hiring someone to iron our clothes once a week. lol

 

[Jenn Barrette]

I actually had to buy an iron this year...to put iron-on transfers on my DD1's extra preschool clothes. I have a smallish house (1400 sq feet I think?) and with 2 kids it is so cluttered. I wish we had more room for storage, because hubby is a pack rat.

 

[Lizzy257]

We're in about 1000 sq feet, and it's never tidy! With two young kids, we have so much crap that I just can't keep up. And I prefer to spend my free time scrapping anyway

 

[Heather Roselli]

Well we have a pretty big house and I hate cleaning! The three kids make a mess everywhere! I keep saying I'm going to limit the toys to one room, but I just can't do it! Why not? I feel like I'm stifling them to make them stay in the bonus room everyday. And I'm a fairly strict mom, so why can't I do it? lol

We tried a maid for a few months right after I had the twins. But having to have things all picked up so that they could actually clean and leaving the house while they were here...and sometimes they were running behind so we'd have to be out all day...well it was more of a pain for me than a help. Now if the kids were in school and I worked out of the home I'd have a maid for sure!

I am all for the little at a time and my husband does the floors so that helps...but I seriously need to devote more time to cleaning...especially the kids' rooms and their bathroom!

 

[Stacey42]

We have a 1800 sq ft home. I'd like more storage space than we have but I don't want to be responsible for vacumming, sweeping or dusting any more living space. If we could add 100 sq ft in the form of a few walk in closets for storage that would be awesome. Mostly it is not a big deal to keep clean. I sweep the kitchen & living room everyday, wipe the counters in the kitchen & bathrooms ever day and then each room gets a day for full clean. We have 3 BRs, one of which is a playroom, more a toy storage room these day so it only gets cleaned every couple weeks, the other two get cleaned once a week, I do both bathrooms once a week, the kitchen & the living room get full cleanings, moppings, dustings on alternate weeks.

Unless I'm doing the kind of cleaning that involves moving furniture or it's been really muddy or we've had a bunch of people over for the day, it takes me 20-25 minutes tops to clean a room.

I only iron things for craft related projects. Clothing with wrinkles gets tossed in the dryer with a damp washcloth for 10 minutes.

 

[Shawna]

Our house is pretty small, 1066sf with 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, living room and a large combined kitchen/dining area and no basement. With the five of us it gets pretty tight especially with all the kids clutter & toys but I really hate cleaning and know that if we did buy a bigger house it would just be more for me to clean so I'm good with our small space (plus we love our small house payment)! Our house has a pretty open plan so I try to keep the living room and the kitchen/dining area picked up since they are the main living areas and usually don't worry too much about the kids bedrooms and ours since I can just shut the doors if we have people over lol! We have been using our 2 car garage as overflow for all our extra stuff but its gotten so bad that we can't park in it anymore so I'm thinking our spring break project is going to be going through and getting rid of a TON of stuff (toys, clothes etc) so I can park the new van in there!

 

[Linz]

our house is pretty big considering our family size...close to 3000sf and it's just the two of us w/a 4yr old. however, dh does the majority of the cleaning. he's just a major neat freak so if something needs cleaned it's like he *has* to do it right away. so i let him the only chore i really do is laundry because i don't mind it. i mean, i do pitch in with other things (dishwasher, taking trash out, etc) but we kinda share those chores...just whoever's around when it needs done will do it.

also, like someone else already said, maids are kinda the norm in this neighborhood. we're one of the few families that don't hire someone for cleaning.

 

[adrianka]

We tried a maid for a few months right after I had the twins. But having to have things all picked up so that they could actually clean and leaving the house while they were here...

That made me smile. I always say that I can't hire a cleaning lady, because I'd have to get rid of my mess first. The poor person wouldn't be able do much with all those piles standing in the way.

 

[g8rbeckie]

I live in the suburbs of Austin where the houses are all over 2500 sq foot. Anything smaller just wouldn't really be marketable. the houses in Austin itself are much older, around 1000sq foot, and actually cost wayyyyy more than our homes in the 'burbs.

our house is crazy big, about 4000sq feet, but that's totally common for our neighborhood. I have a craft room so all of my craft junk is out of the way (yeah!) and we're fortunate to have enough space to have a place for everything. We have a playroom upstairs, plus the kids rooms, and then we have a small play area downstairs, too.

I've become much more of a "tidier" since I've had kids...but honestly, we have a cleaning person who comes every two weeks. Otherwise my toilet and my stove would NEVER get cleaned!

we love our house. We spend a lot of time in it and its just perfect for us!

 

[Linz]

oh, are basements common in europe?? we have a large finished basement with quite a bit of storage space in the furnace room (hubby the neat freak won't actually use any part of the finished basement for storage, even though no one would ever see it - LOL! so it's only in the furnace room).

 

[cheltzey]

So I live in a 2500 sq ft house (housing is cheaper in New Mexico), and I do have a hard time staying on top of it. I guess having 3 kids 4 and under would do that! I know that when I do a little bit every day, it doesn't get so overwhelming. And then when I know I need to do a really deep clean, I invite someone over so I have an incentive!

 

[pomi]

I agree that keeping a small place tidy is more difficult than a big one. We lived in a 40qm appartment and then moved to a 130qm house and it takes me less time to do the cleaning here in the house. I'm also doing it a little at a time (but, ahem, I don't overdo it) and I try to keep the clutter away. Which could be tricky, because my mom, who is a total pack rat, is "decluttering" my parents' appartement (they're going to move in a smaller one in a couple of years, probably), which means, that everytime she comes here, she has 2-3 bags full of various items for me to "have a look at and decide, if you really really couldn't use it? Really not?" LOL (some items are brought repeatedly ).

And besides, one needs a little bit of creative chaos, right?

 

[adrianka]

And besides, one needs a little bit of creative chaos, right?

Of course! Actually, I don't feel well in an environment that's too neat. It makes me nervous. By "keeping it clean" I meant something along the lines of "keeping it reasonably clean and not getting buried under stuff".

I agree that keeping a small place tidy is more difficult than a big one. We lived in a 40qm appartment and then moved to a 130qm house and it takes me less time to do the cleaning here in the house.

I never realised this, but it starts making sense.

Which could be tricky, because my mom, who is a total pack rat, is "decluttering" my parents' appartement (they're going to move in a smaller one in a couple of years, probably), which means, that everytime she comes here, she has 2-3 bags full of various items for me to "have a look at and decide, if you really really couldn't use it? Really not?" LOL (some items are brought repeatedly )

I can imagine this all too well!!! I come from a family where it was either "let's not throw anything away, because we might need it" or "let's throw away everything right now". The first phase was more usual though, and we had a huge place to fill. I'm NOT looking forward to decluttering that one one day.

 

[Kat Stokes]

My DH calls me the queen-of-clutter-pickeruper...

We have 2200 square feet and it SUCKS having to clean all of it... since I do 99.9% of it by myself! AND I HATE DEEP CLEANING. It gets done like maybe twice a year. What I mean by this is washing windows, blinds, baseboards, etc. I sweep at least twice a week and mop once a week. I clean the bathrooms 1 - 2 times a week. My biggest thing is my kitchen MUST be clean in the morning so I make it a priority to do the dishes, wipe down the stove and counters before I go to bed. As much as I don't want to do it, I'd rather wake up to a clean kitchen.

Next time DH asks me what I want for a gift, I'm telling him a housecleaning service at least once a month.

 

[scrap2day]

ewwww Denise I HATE ironing too..my least fave chore ever..in fact I don't really iron..i'll throw it back in the dryer if it's wrinked and dh irons his own stuff when he needs it..sometimes he'll iron the kid's stuff too if I ask nicely and bat my eyelashes at him...

I don't iron unless I'm quilting. Oh, and here's a hint, if you get a washcloth wet and throw it in the dryer with the wrinkled items it helps to "steam" out the wrinkles. LOL.

This thread is making me think about all I need to clean. Must attack front room today!

Someday I would love to have enough storage so that everything had its own place. I think the other thing for me is that I need to periodically, sort through and purge, in order to keep things manageable. I'm also a piler but I'm old enough to accept that this is the way we are. And I really see no need to try and undo something that is a "natural way of thinking" for us. For my piles though, I have small containers that I shoot piles in by subject. That keeps things looking more organized.

I'm also of the mindset that doing things with those I love is more important than keeping a pristine home. Of course I do work to keep up with laundry, cleaning, cooking, basics for everyday living, because that is part of loving and spending time with my family but that is enough for me.