What sort of housework tackler are you.

[Mercurious]

I was pondering this this morning whilst doing some mundane task and thinking the others I should be doing.

There seems to be 3 methods to me.

The people who at a prearranged time each week make sure the kids aren't under foot, put on the music and clean the house from top to bottom.

Those that somehow manage to clean as they go and always have a house that is vistor ready in 15 minutes.

and those that house clean during stolen moments :- "I have 5 minutes of free time/ and energy...what needs doing first".

I know which one I am....which one are you? and does it work for you?

[Madi]

Ok, well first let me say that I was just coming on here to procrastinate and ask a very similar question :2lol

And then let me say that whatever I'm doing it's not really working for me :rofl

I guess I try and clean as I go.... I have a list I did up pre kids with spring cleaning chores on it and I try and do one of them at least a week. I only have four jobs I must do every day - 1. empty dishwasher 2. Put on load of washing 3. make bread and yogurt 4. Cook dinner. Everything else gets done a bit adhoc and when I have five minutes of energy.

[mrs fox]

I am a bit of "everyone out of the house i'm cleanin" thats when i vac and mop and dust annd ddo the wet areas and also clean as i go, wherre i do the daily stuff and potter around inbetween stories cooking and stuff.

[wems]

There seems to be 3 methods to me.

No there are 4

the 3 you listed and

Wait till your house becomes a health hazard and you just have to do it before someone gets lost amongst the kaos or somebody dies a slow and painful death

and yeah it really isn't working here :(

Just seems to never be enough hours in the day

[mrs fox]

i have been up since 5 so i am all done

[Mercurious]

Wems Is that when you freecycle everything, move house and start again? I think a lot can be said for mobile living...a rolling stone gathers no moss.

Mrs Fox, put the mop down, you're scaring me.

[mrs fox]

and then on thursday I go do it all over again for a friend Top to bottom:happy

[Joey]

Oh gee, I am none of those either, I am a kind of oh no my house is a tip better sort it out person, a few days later I have a hissy fit to myself tell myself i am a slacker and go on a rampage and clean it all

[wems]

Wems Is that when you freecycle everything, move house and start again? I think a lot can be said for mobile living...a rolling stone gathers no moss.

Mrs Fox, put the mop down, you're scaring me.

well there's an idea :happy

I was thinking along the lines of ditch the Dh and a few kids......Less stuff and more time :rofl

[mamma]

mrs fox can i be your friend?! :)

i do what i can when i can
my children wont remember a clean house but they'll remember if ive spent time with them yk?
and really, most housework just needs doing again as soon as youve finisged esp the kitchen ime!

that said, i wash 2 or 3 loads a day, cook at least 2 times per day, dishwash, and parent.

[cuddlefish]

I have a list for daily jobs- my "karmic yoga" :)
I put the baby in the ergo, crank the music and dance the house work away!

[Bron]

i tend to do it all at once, when there are no kids around. pointless doing it otherwise :D

[mrs fox]

Yes mamma i will be your friend, payment is in sav blanc!

[Mercurious]

It does seem like we have some little cyclones following us around undoing all our good work doesn't it?

I find if the floors are clean and the washing up is done toys can be thrown in toy boxes pretty quickly if needed.

I'm not even looking outside my back door, there's a lot of boxes out there I think my house is full enough already.

[Madi]

It does seem like we have some little cyclones following us around undoing all our good work doesn't it?


Yes, I must admit to being a trifle envious of those who get kid free time to clean..... I look forward to the time when Tabi can head off to Bunnings on the weekend with Huddy and Daddy :p.

[Donna]

I'm with Wems on the health hazard.

I own 3 cyclones, one of which I can never get away from long enough to clean his mess. It just kinda regroups behind me as I go.

B14 is my lifesaver, and the difference since he's been out of action is shocking... the house is a dump site. I can honestly say I have been flat chat the past month or so, and hopefully can slow down enough to think about how to get on top of it all soon.

I need to have an "I'm sick to death of this mess" tanty. That usually get's it ALL done in record time!

[wems]

Yes, I must admit to being a trifle envious of those who get kid free time to clean.....

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh me too........It would be so much easier

Hell some days I would enjoy 5 minutes to myself :)

[Hailstorm]

I'm actually a few of those people all rolled into one :2lol

Some days I'll clean as I go other days, it's wait til Veg is ten minutes away and press the fast forward button, other days it's set the timer and get as much done as possible, I rarely have kid free time to clean up so I usually kick them outside oh and we have loud music blaring daily here with or without cleaning...we make great neighbours :rofl

[Rinelle]

I try to do a certain amount as I go. If the dishwasher is loaded and the lounge room picked up before we go to bed (hopefully as part of the evening routine), then the evening and next morning go so much more smoothly. In the morning, if the beds are made, a load of washing put on and the bathroom cleaned in the morning, the rest of the day goes more smoothly.

Other jobs, like tidying the playroom, around the comptuers, bookshelves etc etc get done when and if I or DH get around to them. Sometimes one of us will clean up the playroom while we're in there and DD is playing etc. They tend to wait a long time before they happen though, LOL.

[Karena]

I'm a "quick have to tidy as the cleaner is coming tomorrow' kinda gal. But if I have to do it myself, I give myself an hour and try to get as much as I can done in that hour.

[Mercurious]

OH....cleaner.....well that's a whole new thread "do you clean before your cleaner or let her do the job she was paid for?"

[~Mel~]

I have a cleaner once a week who does my house top to toe, so I maintain the rest of the week and it suits me. So the house is tidy most of the time and spotless when I come home from work on Wednesday. The floor is actually showing cream tiles not cream and brown splotches like it does on Tuesdays.

So I am a 2 but next year I will lose the cleaner as I will only be working smaller hours and will turn into a 1 and 3 and rotate around.

[mama_bel]

Hmmmm, I am not sure what type of cleaner I am. I have 7 people in the house almost all the time. If I'm home, it's most likely they are too!

I guess I'm the 5 minute cleaner, though we do a lot of daily maintenance so things don't get too grotty. Each day we wipe over the bathroom, clean the toilet, do 2-3 loads washing, sweep the main living/walking/eating area and entrance area, do dishes after each meal and baking session, tidy the lounge room/entertainment unit (though G and DD#1 make a huge mess with CDs piled up, sigh)... We make our beds (mostly, kinda) and take all washing to the laundry. When we sweep, stuff gets put away.

Mostly I do a big clean before guests come or when I get totally over it. Everyone is involved in some sort of daily task, but I do the majority of the bathroom, mopping, wall-cleaning and that sort of thing.

[Karena]

I just tidy, ie pick up toys, and put other stuff away, before Chrissy comes, but leave the actually cleaning for her.

[Nyree]

I'm a sporadic cleaner - purely as the mood takes me, although more often than not it's "c'mon - we have to clean up all this mess because 'X' is coming over tomorrow & I'm sick of the crap all over the place & I'm not having the house look like this, et al" :2lol

DH is going to start taking DD more on Fridays (he gets every 2nd Friday as an RDO) & I'm hoping that will help me to get this place under control. Last time he took her for a day, I cranked the music & got heaps done. Much better than being followed around by someone saying "I don't want everything cleaned up - I like it messy so I can play with everything" :rolleyes

[Sam]

I figure there's heaps more fun stuff to do when the kids aren't around than housework!! I seem to go through bursts, sometimes it all just piles up until I have no option but to do something, but once its done I kind of get on a roll of keeping on top of it for a while.

I do like to at least have the kitchen, bathrooms and lounge room done at the end of each day, which usually happens after the kids are in bed. I figure thats why bedrooms have doors, to hide the chaos within.

[ali_celt]

Wait till your house becomes a health hazard and you just have to do it before someone gets lost amongst the kaos or somebody dies a slow and painful death




OMG This is SOOOOO me!!!!

[Anju]

I do certain things each day like sweeping the floors and doing the dishes and put at least one load of washing on a day. I do other things as I see them like the toilet and bathroom (luckily I see them alot, so i do them at least once a week), spot clean the floors, and clear spaces of clutter. Then there are things that are not done as much as they should be like cleaning bedrooms, mopping and vacuuming, and folding and putting away washing.
Every so often Ill get all house cleaney and do heaps more than usual.
Basicly, my house is visitor ready in 20 mins unless Ive been a bit slack. Its a bit scruffy and lived in around the edges, but Im fine with that.

[sarah bean]

i'm a do stuff as I see it person. some weeks i walk around with my eyes closed, just in case.

[Merlion]

I was pondering this this morning whilst doing some mundane task and thinking the others I should be doing.

There seems to be 3 methods to me.

The people who at a prearranged time each week make sure the kids aren't under foot, put on the music and clean the house from top to bottom.

Those that somehow manage to clean as they go and always have a house that is vistor ready in 15 minutes.

and those that house clean during stolen moments :- "I have 5 minutes of free time/ and energy...what needs doing first".

I know which one I am....which one are you? and does it work for you?


No there are 4

the 3 you listed and

Wait till your house becomes a health hazard and you just have to do it before someone gets lost amongst the kaos or somebody dies a slow and painful death

and yeah it really isn't working here :(

Just seems to never be enough hours in the day

Yeah I agree 4 maybe 5. Wait till if i close my eyes and walk around and the my feet stick to the floor girl. Oky I'm not that bad. I try to keep the kitchen clean, the meals area clean and mopped and swept daily. but the rest of the house is done on the weekend with music blarring and me running around going saying come on Graeme get off your tush and help me and trying to get the kids pick up their toys which seem to multiply everytime i turn around.


Yes mamma i will be your friend, payment is in sav blanc!

Can I i be your friend too. I have a few boxes of bottle wines shiraz, sav blanc, merlot, cab merlot... you pick i probably have (hubbie's ex-boss used to give wine out instead of bonus as he owned a winery too as well as the company DH worked for)


I am a bit of "everyone out of the house i'm cleanin" thats when i vac and mop and dust annd ddo the wet areas and also clean as i go, wherre i do the daily stuff and potter around inbetween stories cooking and stuff.

Yep this me. Kick DH out and tell him to spend the day with the kids


I'm with Wems on the health hazard.

I own 3 cyclones, one of which I can never get away from long enough to clean his mess. It just kinda regroups behind me as I go.
I need to have an "I'm sick to death of this mess" tanty. That usually get's it ALL done in record time!

Yep this me too. I have the "i'm sick to death of this mess" tanty threaten to throw the toys in the bin. This usually works too


I'm actually a few of those people all rolled into one :2lol

Some days I'll clean as I go other days, it's wait til Veg is ten minutes away and press the fast forward button, other days it's set the timer and get as much done as possible, I rarely have kid free time to clean up so I usually kick them outside oh and we have loud music blaring daily here with or without cleaning...we make great neighbours :rofl

Is this also done in your singlet and holy underwear :duck:duck:duck


i'm a do stuff as I see it person. some weeks i walk around with my eyes closed, just in case.

Yep this me and face mask sometimes

[SungaiKecil]

I clean constantly and my house always looks like a shit pit. It doesn't matter what I do, or how many hours a week I commit to housework, it's never enough to get this place 'visitor ready'.

[bubbalove]

Sigh...between work, uni and being a single mum,cleaning the house is waaaaay down on the list of priorities! I'd love a cleaner, but there's no way I can afford one. So stuff gets done when it need to, or when I make time (cause there's no 'spare' time!), or if someone is coming over, which is sadly pretty rare.

[emd]

What, you mean keeping the house clean is my job?

[Nyree]

some weeks i walk around with my eyes closed, just in case.

:rofl


What, you mean keeping the house clean is my job?

We've had this "discussion" of late. He'd be quick to criticise me, but wasn't keeping up his end of the bargain, either. Now, he apologises if he doesn't do the dishes each night :gasp

[mama_bel]

My hubby rarely cleans. He sometimes hangs a load of washing and throws another one in the machine. He does clean the entrance area which collects shoes, toys and muddy footprints quite easily. :) But he does go to work (shift work) full time and he fixes stuff and fences and does crappy farm jobs and, and, and... Oh, he does clean the loo occasionally. :)

The kids help me though - they sweep, occasionally vac or mop (one room or so, their way), pick stuff up, clean the entrance area (yeh, it gets bad - it's a team effort), they do dishes almost all the time, they cook, wipe down the cupboard fronts or the shiny part of the BBQ, get washing in and sort it, put dvds etc away from the lounge... Sometimes it's because they're on roster, sometimes it's for money and sometimes it's 'cos they want to help. Some are more motivated than others!

[Hailstorm]

Is this also done in your singlet and holy underwear :duck:duck:duck






Of course it is!! I have also been known to 'break in' a new pair of heels while doing housework :2lol

[´*~·Meje·~*`]

Those that somehow manage to clean as they go and always have a house that is vistor ready in 15 minutes

yep, thats me... didn't used to be though! BC it was a once a week 2-3 hour job - yuck! -

Im much more organised now and just do it as I go. Its become such a habit now, that I dont even notice it, and l love not having to set time aside to 'clean/tidy the house'.

[Mercurious]

I haven't seen mention of a tutu yet.

[Hailstorm]

:rofl or evening dresses

[Kathryn]

We try to keep on top of the daily jobs, which do get done by the end of the day (but you could walk in at 2:30pm and the breakfast stuff could still be on the table, sigh) and we all clean on a Saturday morning. The kids put all their toys away and tidy up the toy room and their bedroom and DH and I clean the whole house.

I've been waiting for some job security but fully intend to get a cleaner to do the mopping, vaccing, dusting and bathrooms. Between all of the other things I need to do and all of the stuff I want to do but don't have enough time (like the garden!) I'm more than happy to swallow my pride and ask for help!

[Savannah]

We sort of clean as we go but also do two bigger cleans each week (mop the floors, sort and put things away, etc).

I generally sweep daily, clean the toilet, pick up some toys, keep the kitchen clean and make the beds. When the sun is shining, we spend most of our time outside which helps in keeping the house clean.

[Merlion]

I haven't seen mention of a tutu yet.


:rofl or evening dresses

does it count if Jess dresses in her tutu and fairy wings while we clean.

i have cleaned in my evening dress after a party does taht count :happy

[Merlion]

Of course it is!! I have also been known to 'break in' a new pair of heels while doing housework :2lol

:happy and ur hair in curlers too

[Hailstorm]

:yes Yes it does

[Merlion]

*looks around her house* hmmm maybe i should go put on some rocking music and clean the house.... *looks at her kids* maybe not....

[bubbalove]

I'd love a cleaner just to do the showers - I HATE cleaning the showers! :(

[Hailstorm]

I can never seem to get around to mopping and vaccing this house......

[renee]

Cleaning? Seriously? I thought that's what DH was for. He enjoys putting DD in a sling & vaccuuming the entire house. So that's handy. But I have to admit I enjoy cleaning the bathroom... It's an illness. Caused by living in 1 too many scary unclean sharehouses during uni.

[ali_celt]

I gotta say - I had a marvellous notion today. Because I was out and stopped to look in the window of an awesome tattoo parlour. And they had a FLOOR>>>>>

OK, so we've got a floor here. But it's covered in 1970's retro orange and brown carpet with the stick-on foam underlay that has turned into black powder. And we have a concrete slab so I can't just rip it up and do floorboards.

But the floor in this place was concrete and PAINTED and it looked like stone paths winding over a fish pond with awesome coi in it and DAMNIT I'm gonna rip up this shit carpet and PAINT MY FLOORS!

Anyone wanna come over and have a painting day?? Then all I'd have to do is sweep my floors daily and mop occasionally, instead of dragging out our "OMG I"VE OVERHEATED AND CAN"T WORK AFTER 5 MINUTES" stupid vacumn cleaner. I might even be inclined to pick things up OFF the floor - so I can see the lovely painting. Whaddya reckon?

[Madi]

Sounds awesome Ali!

[Rinelle]

The problem is that concrete floors aren't as smooth as they look. It might be better once they're painted, I don't know, but I do know that when we were in our shed with a concrete floor, it was horrible. Everything you dropped on it soaked into the concrete and stained, and it was impossible to keep clean.

That said, you might be able to buy a special paint for it that would help? My sister has just had her concrete floors covered in epoxy, and they look beautiful. Not cheap though.

[Hailstorm]

You'd prolly have to polish it first, then paint it, then seal it, would look awesome though!!

When we eventually build our place I have plans to get a friend in to do the kids walls in giant murals and also a wall outside...

[Stardust]

A bit of all four I think. If I;m on top of things (very rare!) I just clean as I go. Usually I try and do a bit of tidying during the day. Often, at least once a week I do the 'Oh god this place is a pigsty' tanty and do a huge clean up. Usually that's on Saturdays and everyone helps. Always have the dishes done and kitchen clean before bed. I HATE waking up to dishes in the sink. The washing...what can I say. It's a losing battle.
And I love the painting idea. I could go for the water theme. I love water. So soothing. And Rose could contribute by constantly pouring her drinks on the floor!

[emd]

I used to have a tiara especially for doing housework, but lost it years ago. I reckon I shouldn't have to do any more housework til I get a new tiara. Am considering a Rockstars & Royalty (http://www.rockstarsandroyalty.com.au/slideshow/tiaras/tiaraGallery1.html)one, but they're a bit pricey so it may be some time before I scrub the shower again...

[cherish]

I avoid housework...

well.. I'm just not great at it.. maybe I need to start telling myself that I am good at it! I'd rather be here than cleaning!

[Karena]

I get the boys (well Harry mainly but I do get Brock involved as well) to help me with a 5min power clean. We turn off the TV, and for 5min we go crazy picking everything up, throwing stuff out and generally getting the house tidy.

KA I never thought I'd be able to afford a cleaner but it's amazing how I've managed to find the money. Even now when I don't have a permanent job, but am working casually I still manage to find it, she only comes in once a month, and I try to maintain it. She does a huge clean for me, bathrooms (including the shower ;) ), floors, vac, she even does my breakfast dishes washing up and Brock's high chair, the kitchen table and she now evern hangs out washing for me if I've left a load in the machine. If you could manage it definitely investigate it.

[Harmony]

None of the original profiles fit me. Or all of them, from time to time :lol It's cyclical, things get on top of me as we have more time out of the house/sickness/bad days, then some better days follow and I start to have things more organised, then plunge down again. Sometimes I'm really on top of things and give the toilet and basin a quick swish each day so they're never a big job, the sweeper comes out several times a day so the carpet stays clean and doesn't need vacuuming very often etc. Other times it's hard to see the floor, the shower is evolving, every flat surface has a coating of dust under and over it's layers of clutter. Usually I chuck a feral and tell DH I need him to do 90% of the parenting for a weekend so I can get on top of things.

Shower actually isn't that much of a problem any more for a couple of reasons -

Mostly organic soap free products - don't leave soap scum, of course :lol
Enjo and clove oil - 6 lots of 10 minutes has my shower clean, and if done every 5 weeks, is easier every time. I've been leaving it a lot longer lately, and the mould has been growing back - regular clove oil gets it under control. Did I post that clove oil thread that I rescued, or did someone else find it?

[Nyree]

I have been contemplating squeezing into the tutu I made for DD - which she won't wear. Crank the music & get cleaning :)

[Hailstorm]

I have been contemplating squeezing into the tutu I made for DD - which she won't wear. Crank the music & get cleaning :)


I'll wear a tutu while cleaning if you make me one :laugh