My house is killing me. help.

Sooo... I have a confession.

It took me 4 hours to clean our house yesterday... NOT including dishes. EW. our slovenly weekday ways are killing my weekend mojo.

Pleeeeease share your tips and tricks for keeping the house manageable. Anyone else stuck in this mess rut? I feel like I've lost total control over the beast which is our house! Help! Cleaning schedules and ideas are always welcome!

I was also wondering if maybe anyone wanted to start a clean house check-in. I know it sounds stupid but I think it might be easier to hold myself accountable to those TWO sinks of dishes if I had to check in. This week I'm aiming for no dishes and a 5 minute quick pickup every night. Baby steps

Re: My house is killing me. help.

does dh help?

i do dishes ALL the time until we get a new dishwasher, but i dont mind them. dh will dry while i wash (ALWAYS)

i usually throw in a load of wash twice a week as soon as i wake up and then throw it in the dryer before i leave (i start at 7.30 dh starts at 9) so dh will fold all the laundry and put it in our room he puts his away and i put mine away (different closets)

hmmm he makes the bed b/c he leaves later

i get home earlier than he does so i try to get everything done asap so we can hang later. i do the bathrooms once a week, and vac every 3 days or so. i clean the floors when i feel like it.

once you get into the swing of things it will go fast.

ohh as far as dusting goes i dont do it as often as i should, but i will as dh to wipe down things while i do something else.

Re: My house is killing me. help.

Well, with dishes, I always do them the second we are done eating. Otherwise I will NEVER do them, and while that might have flown when DH and I didn't live together, once we moved in last year I quickly realized he wouldn't stand for it. But I do admit that it's nice to have it done right away and be able to relax for the rest of the night.

Re: My house is killing me. help.

One thing i do on a weeknight that helps keep the house clean is cleaning up right after we eat. It sux getting up after eating a meal and not relaxing, but it helps.

Re: My house is killing me. help.

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Posted by julesrbf

Well, with dishes, I always do them the second we are done eating. Otherwise I will NEVER do them, and while that might have flown when DH and I didn't live together, once we moved in last year I quickly realized he wouldn't stand for it. But I do admit that it's nice to have it done right away and be able to relax for the rest of the night.

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Totally agree with this and its so much harder to do them after the food remnants harden, ughhhhh.
So if DH cooks I wash, if I cooked, he washes. No exceptions!!!!!!

As for the other stuff, I'll do laundry usually whatever night i'm home during the week...I'll do the other little things like cleaning up the countertops or table while DH is cooking...or vice versa...

Though the floors are what kills us in this house. Vacuuming and mopping take us FOREVERRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: My house is killing me. help.

I try to make every room tidy during the week...don't leave garbage, papers, dishes, or anything like that out. That gets cleaned up on a daily basis. Then Saturday morning I blast music and dust, clean, and mop. I sweep during the week when I can remember. Laundry is almost always done just on weekends but DH helps with that.

Re: My house is killing me. help.

I try to clean up as much as possible while I am cooking. That way when we are done there isn't an entire sink full. DH clears the table while I start the dishes. He also wipes off & cleans the table. It sounds like something so small, but it really helps.
If the laundry is piling up DH will throw a load in, otherwise I would end up with mountains of laundry, and then have to spend an entire day doing it all.
Also try to clean one thing a day. Don't make yourself so stressed with having to clean an entire room. One night clean the toilet. The next do the shower. The next the vanity. We clean the kitchen every night. However I will battle the bigger things one at time. Scrub the stove. Wipe down the appliances with the stainless cleaner.
My worst habit is doing laundry, folding it, and leaving it in the living room chair. DH calls this our second closet. We really need to put that laundry away.
I hate that I am ok with the laundry piled up until company is coming. Then it is the mad dash to put it all away.

Re: My house is killing me. help.

I try to clean one room each evening rather then spend all weekend cleaning. But I still feel like it gets away from me and at least one day a weekend goes towards the house. Its definitely hard having a house.

Re: My house is killing me. help.

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Posted by MLAngelo

I try to clean one room each evening rather then spend all weekend cleaning. But I still feel like it gets away from me and at least one day a weekend goes towards the house. Its definitely hard having a house.

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Im the same way. I try to do 1 room a day - although it doesnt always work out that way & then weekend comes & Im cleaning both levels of the house!...lol

Re: My house is killing me. help.

I feel your pain. We live in a tiny 650sqft apt and I still feel overwhelmed I can't imagine having a house yet. As for dishes we have a dish washer that I take full advantage of. I'll only hand wash the big pots and pans. DH almost always empties the washer once it's cleaned. He helps with the laundry a little but everything else I do. I recently got the swifer wet jet for the floors and i love it!! It's so easy to use and if I just want to do the kitchen really quickly there is no prepping the mop. I also have a dust buster I use often for quick cleanups that are smaller. And I got these Clorox wipes I leave in the bathroom and use around the stink and tub in between big cleanings. Another idea is maybe getting a cleaning person come help out 1x a month. There's a website bidmycleaning.com it's pretty reasonable.