How clean is your home?

[Boobycino]

Okay, this is dumb, and I'm just getting some clarity... for those who dont know... DP and I are having issues - and one of this big points is that the house is messy, dirty, we have ants and cockroaches, :ecomcity:

It always comes down to though, I say "its not THAT bad" and he says "compared to what?" and I say "what are you comparing it to?" and he says nothing, but I KNOW he's comparing it to his mothers home - which is IMMACULATE! But she's a crazy nut case whos obsessed with cleaning, so I think its a completely unreasonable comparison.

OKay - so... my house is tidy, I pack away the toys at the end of the day, theres no clothes on the floor etc. Theres usually clean or dirty clothes stacked in piles or in washing baskets in the laundry, and sometimes I leave stacks of folded clothes on the table until I can be bothered putting them away, there is often dishes on the sink, I dont always wash up spills around the kitchen, the floor is a bit grotty in the kitchen, but I wipe around the benches and sweep a couple of times a week. i probably dont do dishes as often as they 'should' be done though, the fridge has a few food spills in it, though I wipe it out every month and throw out old food probably on a weekly basis (though the mission is to use food rather than throw it out!!! But I have a look around in the back of the fridge every week), Jasper eats finger food and so it ends up a bit spread around on the carpet, but I vaccume (or sweep if there are big bits on the carpet) 2-3 times per week, I dont really do bathrooms THAT often, only when green stuff starts to grow around the taps - I know its gross, but I do everything else unassisted by DP - and I work 2 mornings a week, so I cant be bothered until its actually grotty.

Is that really so unusual when you have a 1 year old? I know its a tiny bit dirty with food on the floor, and we do have ants, but I've noticed ants on the pavement outside, so I just think its an anty season or something, I dont think that the fact there are ants everywhere is my fault?

I'm just seeking clarity (I'm about 90% sure DP is SOOOOOOO in the wrong here) but I'd like to know how clean others keep their homes, just in case I am not house keeping to a normal standard.

[PeppaH]

I think it all depends on the person/people involved. By the looks of things people on here seem to think along the lines of if you house is clean and tidy then your life is wasted. Honestly it doesnt take much to clean and tidy a house even with a kid. Yes I only have one, but I have seen houses hell messy that dont have any kids, I have seen houses always tidy that have more than one kid. I think it all depends on how you life to live. I hate clutter and mess. That been said today the house is a bit of a dump but after I cook dinner that will get cleaned up. DS will be made to put his toys away and I will vaccum the floor once he is in bed. DF will do the dishes... Sometime lol. If he waits until after dinner I dont clean as I go, so more work for him lmao.

If you like to live in a pig sty, then thats your business. lol :raspberry:

[Mrs Nietzsche]

I can't say you sound like you are living in a pig sty! Sounds similar to me, except I wipe over the bathroom every day, and I have 3 kids. To be honest I pretty much clean as I go all day, I am picking up, doing laundry, cleaning up messes all day,
but I still really never have time to clean the walls or the windows etc. I find it hard to keep on top of mopping as it has to be done when children aren't around.

Why doesn't your partner do the cleaning if he is worried?

[MumtoD]

For me I like and have a clean house. The bathrooms/floors/polishing etc is done weekly and every day the tiles are sweot in the main area. I don't find it takes that much effort if you stay on top of it.

I admit some of the things in your post made me feel slightly sick (mainly the cockroach bit).

[Areca]

I sweep and mop the hard floors every day....after each meal I clean up the food on the floor. I vacuum the carpet every second day (have to..dd1 is allergic to dustmites). I really hate dirty floors!
Bathroom gets done weekly.
Kitchen gets cleaned weekly but I clean up any spills as we go and never leave dishes overnight (just attracts the cockroaches).
When we have ants I make sure nothing is left out to attract them.
I dust weekly.
I do at least one load of washing a day and do my best to have it all folded and put away by the end otherwise it's double the work the next day.
I clean out the fridge about every two weeks atm....was weekly before DS came along. I do throw out any old food weekly though and if something had spilled in the fridge whoever saw it first would clean it.
I change the sheets weekly on all 4 beds...DD1 I have to wash her doona cover and mattress protector as well.

I don't work but I do have three kids (4, 2 and 8 weeks). I like to keep on top of the housework, it's easier for me to deal with although lately it feels like it never ends :dizzy:

Like Maire the windows and walls don't get much of a look in...dh is cleaning the windows this week as he is off and is installing new blinds.

[splish n splash]

You have to remember that everyone lives different and has different idea's on messy and tidy.

Sorry but after reading your post I myself (my opinion only) think that your hubby has some groud to stand on. Having said that though does he work full time and not do any house work?

I understand that you ahve a 1 year old and work some days.

Here is what I do.

I have a 3 year old work 4 days a week. At the end of each day I make sure lounge/ dining is clean, dishes are washed or stacked in the washer. Floors are swept.

I do laundry on wed, fridays and sundays. I clean the bathroom and toilet twice a week, My son's room get's cleaned twice a week (with his help)

The floors get mopped only every 2 weeks.
Fridge every 3 days get's a going over.

Garbage gets taken out every 2nd day.

That's just me though I have always done it that way and with work I know that if I leave something it will just get worse and take twice as long to do when I do get around to doing it.

[Boobycino]

Yeah, maybe I'm a touch harsh on my MIL - but she's come into my kitchen and wiped down my freshly wiped down perfectly clean benches... so I do think he's thinking she's 'normal' and I'm messy.

Honestly, if an immaculately clean home give you pleasure, go for gold.

I 'think' my home is 'clean and tidy' but its not immaculate... but maybe I just have low standards? Sitting here I can see crumbs under the couch. And maybe its a bit wrong that while I definately vaccume at least weekly, I do often sweep the carpet (is that a no-no? it seems like cheating, but its just crumby bits of Jaspers food, its not like its dusty)

Also, I'm severly allergic to dust mite, I cant even take blankets out of a cupboard without sneezing and before we got our allergy filter vaccume cleaner I'd have an asthma attack each and every time I vaccumed, so this definately a dust free home. And I'm very sensitive to smells, so it a smell free home.

Its mainly just crumbs on the floor that I think drive DP up the wall. And spills in the kitchen. And laundry on the table. And that I dont change the sheets often enough (pfft, sheets dont bother me at all, I figure he'll change them when he's fed up with them)

[IndigoJ]

Is it an older house?? I found that older houses i lived in always looked grotty, where the newer ones looked clean.

At the moment we are in an old cr@p house and no matter how much cleaning i do it still never looks 'clean'. My son likes to bring ALL his toys from his room into the lounge room, so if i had visitors at the moment it would look messy!!

I have ants in the kitchen, but i live in far nth qld so thats a given, i wipe the benches at least 5 times a day. I have cockroaches as well, i squish them whenever i see them. I want to set bombs off but i dont want to expose the boy to it, and my fish.

My DP has learnt pretty quick not to compare our house with his mothers. She cleans her whole house top to bottom EVERY weekend, even if its not dirty, bugger that.

[stretch]

I think if your DP is THAT worried about it being messy... She should get off his a*** and clean it himself!

If its not up to his mothers standards... my response would be... Well sunshine - theres the Vacuum cleaner, theres the washing machine... Knock yourself out hunny!!

Yes I have 1 baby (she is only 4 weeks old) and she sleep alot, so I have time to clean/wash etc... But there are days that I have a hell of a time with her an nothing gets done. DF works (he is on Xmas hols now tho) and I am home wiht Mackenzie all day... He doesn't complain... Its usually me complaining at him that he could just once do the dishes... Which ends in ME doing them anyway so I dont know why I bother! lol

Moral of the story - if YOU are happy with how clean your house is.... Bugger him... Im sure he has 2 feet and a heart beat! :o

[Areca]

chels I don't care how you live and your dp should certainly be helping out but if you have a dustmite allergy you should be washing your sheets weekly and vacuuming your carpet every two-three days for your health.

[MumtoD]

And that I dont change the sheets often enough (pfft, sheets dont bother me at all, I figure he'll change them when he's fed up with them)

How often do you change them?

[Melly_11]

I pretty much wash our sheets every week. But the kids spill stuff on them so I usually do it more than that.

I honestly dont really stop when Im at home. I have three kids and they make so much mess. Im constantly picking up after them, tidying toys, cleaning up spills. I dont ever leave spills as one of my three year olds would slip in it.

I think, as my kids have gotten older ive become more clean. I cant stand ANY sorta stuff on my bathroom (but reason is cos its relatively new) and I love having the floors mopped and swept. I sweep the floors about 2-5 times a day and I mop once or twice a week. I clean the walls once a week too, maybe more. My kids are so grubby!!

I used to have a really messy house as a 20 something, and I would have paper plates so I didn't need to do the dishes. Now, I think about my kids and heigene, and I think I go a little over the top sometimes LOL! I just think I dont want them eating off any bad plates or benches and I want them to have clean plates and bowls all the time.

[delirium]

I try so hard to keep my house neat and tidy, but it's an unhill battle when you have a hyperractive 2yo pulling toys out everywhere, tipping drink on the floor etc.

To keep my house show room clean I would need to clean from basically sunrise to midnight and I'm just not going to do that. As it is my 5yo tells me I'm always cleaning and to come play.

I've noticed too that SAHM tend to have a more messy house sometimes, and not bc we are lazy and sit on the lounge eating bon bons :rolleyes:, bc there are people in the house, making a mess ALL day. At least when you work and drop your child off to DC there is no messing of the house for a big portion of the day.

Having said that my house isn't dirty and is often very clean and tidy, just not always.

and to the OP, tell your DH what I say to mine the very few times he has mentioned something is not clean enough - well off you go, go clean it if it's so terrible. ;)

[Boobycino]

I've also just bought ant and cockroach traps, because they have been getting worse lately - but I've lived here and probably been tidier since having Jasper (okay, I'm a very messy person!) and so I dont think I can be blamed for the ants and roaches.

DP also does absolutely nothing towards the general running of the household. He's not cleaned a bathroom in the 3 years we've lived together - so I've gotten a bit over it.

Its an older apartment, with original everything, the carpet is tearing and lifting in places, the bathroom cabnet doors are made from some kind of chip board, and they're flaking wood chips, so the house can never ever be perfect, because its old.

Hmmm... I can probably hold myself to a higher standard in the kitchen. I think DP and I had completely opposite upbringings where kitchen up-keep is concerned... my dad was a single dad and never wiped up in the kitchen. I'd come back for visits after I left home and wipe dust off the kitchen bench... DUST... :barf:... so I think I think this is amazing COMPARED TO my dads kitchen.

Oh, and I 100% agree he needs to do more, but I'm just trying to get an idea of how much of a leg he has to stand on with it. And I appreciate honesty, even if I'd love everyone to just tell me I'm amazing and my house is lovely :laughing:

I think I need to have guests more often, I always clean up properly for guests :yes:

[Melly_11]

LOL so do I, make a play date with one of your friends once a week and usually the cleaning will last a day or so.

My DH does the dishes every night. Thats a huge help for me. Also when im sweeping he will get the dust pan and brush and sweep it up for me and bin it. And with the washing, Ill leave a basket out while I go to the gym and he will have folded and put it away before I get home. Little things like that help me sooo much and it doesnt hurt them to help out a little.

[QTB]

I have a 4yo, 19month old and work full time (we leave at 6am and home at 6pm mon-friday)

my house has never been cleaner! lol, i think its cos when i was a SAHM i would think "meh" i can do it tomorrow, where now, i know i wont have time to do it then, so do things straight away.

washing gets done once a week (Saturday) and house gets a good once over, bathroom, vac/mop, marks on walls etc once a week (sunday) other than that i do nothing all week other than dishes/benches/spills etc.

however. before working fulltime i was shocking. my house was clean but not as clean as it is now. things got done when they needed it, not just because lol

[Rheanna]

im a grot and i know it, its not that my house isnt dirty its messy.
theres a difference.

toys and clothes from 2 kids scattered around the place all day, papers and books and things get put on benches/book shelvs and left there. its just generly messy. and it doesnt bother me coz its not like germs and things just stuff.. iykwim

but i do (when im not so pregnant anyway ;) ) atleast 1 lot of dishes everyday and one lot of washing. i wipe up spills off the floor with vinagure/water straight away.
i dont mop alot i admit its the one i HATE.
but i wipe down benches as soon as they need it.

i dont do walls and windows unless they are obvusly dirty.

my dp works week on week off.. when he is home he NEVER HELPS.
not even now when i am 38 weeks pregnant with 2 children.
sooooo the way i see it atm if its not done oh well he can do it (but he doesnt :rolleyes:)

oh and we have ants too!! arghhhhhhhh hate them, even when there is noting to get at they are crawling around. annoys me big time

[Boobycino]

How often do you change them?

If DP doesn't do it in between, fortnightly is enough for me. But DP would change them weekly generally, or... at least he'll strip the bed and dump the sheets in the washing machine (not always turning it on, because that woudl be WAY too much effort)

Jaspers sheets get changed more often, because he sweats and occasionally chucks up, so he gets his sheets changed about every 4-5 days, depending on what the weather (warmer, more often) and if he's had a milky vomit.

Also, I COULD probably wipe the finger prints off the glass doors.... but... he's only going to touch them tomorrow....

I also sweep/hose the balcony every couple of weeks, because it gets really dusty/dirty/leafy. And jasper plays out there and gets filthy!

OKay.... I'll start doing the bathrooms more regularly...

I usually just wipe down the shower when I'm in it :laughing: but I probably dont do the toilets and moping and disinfecting often enough.

[HunterzMummy]

hrrrmm i guess its each to their own, everyone is different..

I am a very clean person, and so is my house. I think that for me the kitchen, floors, bath/toliet are a must to be cleaned because that breeds germs and bacteria and those nasty cockys. I think its pretty important to have those things clean when you have littlies , but thats just my opinion :)

My suggestion is get bubby looked after over the weekend get DP and go through and spring clean that house, from top to bottom, do dump trips, get on hands and knees and scrub. Will be alot of hard work but atleast DP will see how MUCH work it is, he helped mess it up, he can help clean it up. And then i promise if you do like 1.5 hours a day your house will be how you want it.

Hope things look up for you guys :hugs:

[Corlz]

Sorry, but it sounds YUK! I dont think houses need to be immaculate, and i can undterstand "messy" but not "dirty" there is a HUGE difference. Toys or washing laying around = fine. Food and spills on floors, dirty dishes and green stuff in bathrooms, sorry but i think its gross, especially sweeping carpet, it needs to be vaccumed. i can understand someones place getting like this if theyve had a bad week or sick maybe, but not as a permanent thing. I think it is ant season, as we have them in our house atm, but i dont have food on the floor for them to eat, i just put down ant rid and they go away, as for cockies :barf:

[Boobycino]

Oh, and to clarify the dishes on the sink are pre-rinsed and stacked but not clean, I'm always behind with the dish waser cycle. I try to get ahead, but I'm always rinsing dishes and puttting them on the bench until there's too many on the bench so I unpack the dishwash, pack it, and run it... rather than unpacking it when its finished and then packing it as I go. But we only have out 2 bowls, 2 plates, 2 spoons, 2 knifes etc etc etc etc, so the dishes never get overwhelming... Its a good system!

[Looshkin]

Yes I agree with PP's - Your partner has an absolute hide to comment that the house is a pigsty and not contribute to a solution.

You're caring for a child. He should be doing 50% of the cleaning duties.
More if he has preferences.

I have preferences for squeaky clean floors.
I detest floor grit, and I have 2 dogs one malamute shepherd cross that drops tumble weeds of hair and dirt from the park and 1 cat that loves to roll in and sunbathe in sandy dirt then run through the house howling as he rolls up the halls shaking dirt/ branches/random bug peices/straw?!?

So I need to be OTT and vacumn and mop the floor boards daily or it *does* feel gritty and have dog hair tumble weeds blowing down it and I find that embarrassing.

I imagine if we actually had kids I would talk DF into still mop/vacuuming them daily if I was too busy actually you know, parenting (!) to continue to be a perfectionist obsessive compulsive mopper.
I don't have any carpet because they get so dirty and gross, so that makes it easy I think?


I only do the bathroom... I don't know fortnightly maybe? DF wipes down the bathroom more often than me.. DF also does all laundry and washing up daily as I do all the cooking.

I think your partner needs to pull his finger out and do more cleaning if you're struggling or he reckons your struggling but instead of approaching it as a "hey you're struggling I'll help out more around the house" he's saying "you don't keep the house clean enough".

If my partner said that I would give him 3 options.

1. You do it.
2. Hire someone to do it.
3. buy one of those roombas and scoobas to vacuumn and mop on automatic to help me out if you're not prepared to share the load that I encounter whilst I actually attempt to focus on what I have ranked as more important = parenting rather than cleaning.

[Boobycino]

Okay, so, I need to have a weekly play date so I clean the bathrooms more often. I'll have to work out who I can have over regularly! Any volenteers to come into my gross home :laughing:

And... how often does everyone else vaccume? I vaccume 1-2 times a week, and then sweep up the 'bits' other times. I'm PROUD that I vaccume so often. Eep... maybe I am worse than I thought!

[Corlz]

Okay, so, I need to have a weekly play date so I clean the bathrooms more often. I'll have to work out who I can have over regularly! Any volenteers to come into my gross home :laughing:

And... how often does everyone else vaccume? I vaccume 1-2 times a week, and then sweep up the 'bits' other times. I'm PROUD that I vaccume so often. Eep... maybe I am worse than I thought!

LMAO :laughing::laughing: ill be right, and sorry if my post sounded harsh.

I vacuum twice a week, bathrooms/toilets etc once a week, dishes whenever dishwasher is finished i unpack and start to repack. Thats will no kids, just cat hair on floor, so when i have toys, food and good knows what else on my floors, id say id be doing it twice as much, if not daily.

[Rheanna]

see i think sweeping isharder than vaccuming lol so i never sweep i always pull out the vaccume..
i uess i usto vaccume once a day or every second day but since i have been preggers maybe 3 times a week :o lmao

[Areca]

Chels when I had a mostly carpeted house it got done every 1-2 days.
Now I have a house that is mostly hard floors and only two rooms have carpet. I sweep and mop every single night. If it's a bad day I'll sweep after lunch as well. The carpeted rooms get vacuumed every second day.
I also vacuum the lounge at least once a week, pulling the cushions off the lounge and vacuuming them all and underneath etc.
What if you get a big plastic tablecloth to put under Jasper's highchair so it catches his mess and then you can just shake it out. I think vacuuming twice a week is okay, I just would make sure there's no food crumbs on the floor for the cockys and ants.

[PeppaH]

see i think sweeping isharder than vaccuming lol so i never sweep i always pull out the vaccume..
i uess i usto vaccume once a day or every second day but since i have been preggers maybe 3 times a week :o lmao

I have started vaccuming once a day lol This morning though because I went to bed early last night and there was left over dinner on the floor I swept it into the kitchen so I didnt wake DF with the cleaner haha Its waiting to be vaccumed now :laughing:

[Myosotis]

I vacuum every day.

I think if there are cockroaches and ants then there is an issue. But that doesnt mean to say that its all up to you to clean it, and also doesnt mean the house is rank, but perhaps along with indoor cleaning some maintenance/bug spraying needs to be done.

But yeah, imo the bug infestation is gross..

[BitterSweet]

My whole house is polished floors I never sweep I hate hate hate sweeping so I vacume it daily instead it works so much better lol.

Bathrooms once a week.
Kids rooms once a week.
Dishes every night.
I always make sure my sun lounge and kitchen are clean as they are visable to everyone who walks in lol.

Washing is everyday With 3 kids it get to much to skip a day.

ETA: Sheets are once a week

[biscotti]

If DP doesn't do it in between, fortnightly is enough for me. But DP would change them weekly

I'm sort of with him on the sheet thing, sorry :o
I wash sheets every few days here. One of life's greatest pleasures is slipping into a bed made up with freshly laundered sheets - ahh bliss :cloud9:

[Mrs Nietzsche]

Chel, perhaps you oculd get a cordless vacuum cleaner/ dust buster thing? You can get ones with a pretty powerful voltage, I use ours several times a day and vacuum the house with it daily, it's light and cordless and easy to whip around. I don't know why it makes such a difference having clean floors, I think all the little bits of fluff must make an impression on the mind.

eta - I just reread your OP and I must have skimmed it a bit, it does sound a bit messier than I thought.. your partner should help you. Are there any ways you could make it easier on yourself? (declutter is a big one). Also.. are you depressed at all? I hope that doesn't sound rude but I think that feeling really uninterested in cleaning up or not caring how it looks is often a sign of depression... your partner's attitude prob doesnt help

[Myztiks#1Fan]

my house atm is very tidy as in no dishes, no toys on floor, floors are vacuumed, rooms are all clean etc however i still have a problem with cockaroachs and ants are coming back i think because of the rain. we have a big ant problem here and cant get rid of them.

[Areca]

me and he the white ant baits are the supermarket are great! I just place one in the middle of the trail and within a couple of hours there's no more ants!

[BitterSweet]

I wouldn't say ants are because your house is dirty. They are everywhere here and my house is quite clean but the little so and so's keep on marching their little buts through my house:hair: I vacuum them up too. :yes:

[Looshkin]

I'm sort of with him on the sheet thing, sorry :o
I wash sheets every few days here. One of life's greatest pleasures is slipping into a bed made up with freshly laundered sheets - ahh bliss :cloud9:

I'm with you on this.
I look forward to getting into bed on sunday nights exactly for this reason. :D

[Boobycino]

I guess this may be the downside of being raised by a man who refused the patch up the hole in the floor boards because it was a conveniant place to sweep into - oh, I'm not joking, dads house was so badly eaten by wood borers right when I was freaking out because I was 14 and SOOOOOO overweight :rolleyes: I kept putting my foot through the floor boards....thanks dad... self esteme really needed me breaking the floor!!!

Bugger, you all are a lot better at this house work thing than me! I dont have any motivation for it. I do work 2 mornings a week, if that helps my cause. I just personally could not care less. Oh, and I DO clean the green stuff in the bathroom... so... I probably only do the bathrooms every 3rd week.

I'm probably a bit resistant to doing housework at this point because it would feel like 'giving in' though I was reading in "buddism for mothers" that sweeping is just sweeping, it doesn't symbolise female oppression, its just sweeping... so maybe I need to get over thinking if DP doesn't do it, I wont, and just do it myself.

[Mrs Nietzsche]

i have to change my bedsheets just about every day due to someone always pooing or weeing on them, i am *over* it

[delirium]

Chelle87, I got into a bit of a rut a while ago, I think I had a virus for about a week and was so sick the house was a shambles.

So I spent one day where I cleaned for hours and hours and got the bathrooms scrubbed out, all the bedrooms clean. So I had a fresh slate where tomorrow I only had a bit to do and it wasn't so overwhelming except for that one day.

[BitterSweet]

i have to change my bedsheets just about every day due to someone always pooing or weeing on them, i am *over* it
:laughing: My little one use to sneak in my bed every night and pee my bed. Thank-god she stays in her own room now and does not pee the bed no more.

[Mrs Nietzsche]

Chel, I actually think it does symbolise female oppression lol. I think housework is shyte, it is mind-numbing work and I feel I am wasting my life doing it. THis is why I try to work smarter not harder wherever possible.. If you build things into your day and keep on top of them they won't be such a problem. Also in an old place it is much harder, that makes a huge difference. I am about to move somewhere much bigger and I think I'll prob get a cleaner, I wasn't put on this earth to clean up after people IMO

[Areca]

oh I don't have motivation for housework..I'd much rather do anything but.....so I have set days where I need to do things...kitchen on a wednesday, bathroom on a Thursday etc. I like to have a routine and love a clean house for the weekend. I also hate having to do huge clean ups so I guess that is my motivation. I don't want to spend a whole day cleaning.

Now on that note...it's Wednesday and I haven't cleaned my kitchen yet. ;)

[Mrs Nietzsche]

I do the same thing.... Arceca. ANd have a deadline day that everything has to be done by. And I try to clean the walls in one room a week but if that doesn't happen its not the disaster of the century.

I also clean the shower with a scourer while I am *in* the shower now, so basically I can never enjoy having a shower now for the rest of my life because when I'm in the shower now every microscopic bit of dirt jumps out at me

[HollyHotLips]

The vaccum and mop come out once a week in our house... which with DD, a dog and a cat isnt nearly enough but DH is doing it as it's too much for me at the mo and I feel I can't expect him to do it more often - he is doing pretty much everything he can to help me at the mo.

I used to worry about it but my mum always says - kids dont look back and remember how clean the house was, they remember their mum / dad spending time with them, which to me is a bloody good excuse to leave it be!!! Although I do get a bit :o when friends come over as I'm sure they must think it's a pigsty....

[MummaBear03]

Ants I can handle. Cockroaches I can't handle. Not at all. I'm sorry but that's just too much for my liking.

I sweep the hard wooden floors daily, or as needed through the day if anything drops to the floor, etc.

Benches and tables are done after each use, twice a day if I'm working and DD's at school or 3 to 5 times a day if I'm at home with DD.

Bathroom, toilet and laundry are done twice a week. The laundry is actually mopped a few times a week, sometimes every day and sometimes more than once a day because I have a puppy who thinks he needs to pee down the little drain hole in the floor in the laundry. :o

Sheets are changed weekly, although I've done them twice this week just because we were so sweaty the sheets were soaked through when we woke up. Stripped the sheets, let the mattresses air out under the fans for the day then flipped the mattresses before remaking the beds later in the day.

Fans are done fortnightly.

Dishes are done twice a day. Usually I make lunches at night time for the next day, and all the evening dishes are done after lunches are made. I leave the dishes to dry overnight then put them away the next morning. It doesn't take long to do the breakfast dishes. If we're home for the day I'll leave the breakfast dishes to do with the lunch dishes. Otherwise they are done before we leave the house in the morning.

The washing is done a few times a week, different things on different days. Clothes are washed twice a week, sheets normally once a week and towels once a week with teatowels and washers as well.

My downfalls are dusting (done when needed rather than regularly), windows, walls and ceiling. These are often only done a few times a year, dusting is maybe once a month or so when it should be a weekly chore.

I also have trouble getting things done around the yard. The last 2 times the lawn has been mowed, it's been done by someone else and I've just paid them to do it :o

[Boobycino]

maire... probably a bit depressed, i'm fairly seriously considering leaving my DP, I have no family or close friends in this state, I have a baby who wakes on a 'good' night ONLY every 2 hours and has done for 13 months and my best friend at the moment is bubhub... so I wouldn't be shocked if I'm depressed.... I stopped going to therapy for PND a few months ago and things have slightly fallen apart since - however my therapist has offered me a job caring for bubs of mums while they have group therapy and I feel like I need the money more than I need the therapy, so its a bit of a conflict of interest. Because without the money i wont have financial security so I can never leave DP.

Woo, my life is great.

I also just polished off a whole bottle of champagne for no better reason than bub wouldnt' sleep tonight and it took me a full hour to settle him, so I was stressed out of my mind. I dont drink often, but when I do, I'm on a mission to get drunk. I feel really stupid right now.

This wasn't supposed to be ANOTHER thread started by me that ended in a 'poor me' session.

I hate how I am lately, I can't even just be light and funny of bubhub. And I love being light and funny.

But I think this is more a symptom of a crap relationship than PND, it feels different. The downside of PND therapy was I grew a back bone and now I look at my relationship and I'm severely disatisfied.

[Benji]

oh I don't have motivation for housework..I'd much rather do anything but.....so I have set days where I need to do things...kitchen on a wednesday, bathroom on a Thursday etc. I like to have a routine and love a clean house for the weekend. I also hate having to do huge clean ups so I guess that is my motivation. I don't want to spend a whole day cleaning.

Now on that note...it's Wednesday and I haven't cleaned my kitchen yet. ;)

I hate housework so much.. but I do it daily just to avoid having a HUGE cleanup at the end of the week/month. I won't sit down at night til the house is clean or I can't relax thinking about how much I have to do!

chel - it's his house too. If the mess annoys him, he can clean it up. Easy. I work full-time but I don't use that as an excuse to get out of cleaning. If something annoys me about the house, I fix it. Meh. Just because he's a man, doesn't mean that the same shouldn't apply to him.

[moozle]

It really depends on what is important to you. My son is number one for me. I don't work full time so that I can spend time with him and by that I don't just mean in his presence but doing things with him, taking him out, swimming, playing etc. I keep on top of things most of the time. DS's room is always immaculate and I keep the floors and surfaces clean that he has access to. Everything else gets done as it's needed or when I have some time when DF is home and paying attention to DS. At the end of the day, I sit and think about all of the wonderful things I've done with DS, not about how clean/dirty the house is.

OP, I think what you are doing sounds perfectly reasonable for any 'normal' or even tidy person. Tell your DP he can get off his butt and do it himself if he's not happy and sleep easy, you're a great Mum and partner IMO :hugs:

[Mrs Nietzsche]

Chel, I think if you are depressed then that would explain a lot. I also think fixing your depression is more important than how clean your house is.

My list of things to look at if you are feeling low is I guess exercise/health, then feeling like you are achieving things. (This works for me, dunno about others)

Can you go for a walk every day? Just start off with 7 mins and build up a min every few days? Or something like that? Something regular that you can tick off as having gotten done.

I don't know re your partner.. I am having partner difficulties but it's a different kind, its not a daily kind of thing, just something that flares up now and then so I don't think it makes me depressed (having fought out of depression years ago I don't let myself get there now though).

It's a bad trap to get into when you feel you can't have people over because of the house - very isolating.

Can you pick just one thing to keep on top of, like the kitchen counters, and just worry about that until it becomes second nature. You can add on more if you feel up to it then.

Sleep deprivation does big things... it goes up and down for me, and I well know that when I am past a certain point of sleep deprivation it is very difficult to have any motivation. Even when I am really tired I find I can get the basics done first thing in the morning (then flake out the rest of the day)

Depression is a really tough monster to tackle but I hope you can make a crack at it - you only get to live these years once

[CookiesRYum]

i hate cleaning but have a basic rule to keep kitchen clean everyday even for hygiene. I also try to pick up my mess daily and put dirty clothes in basket etc. I am trying to stop making the mess to begin with like just putting the clean clothes away straight away. To be honest and i don't mean to be rude i KNOW i am not clean enough and should do more and some of the stuff on your list grossed me out a bit. Sorry. I tidy up house every few days and vacuum mop bathrooms once a fortnight. It'r just me and hubbw and are not home every day but when we are or have visited then we clean more often. I would do my sheets fortnight as well.

[Boobycino]

I do walk heaps, because i dont like being home.

I might just try to get the kitchen under control, even if I hate doing it, just make sure every day i have a clean, wiped down, swept and mopped kitchen. I think because its a self contained kitchen, the fact i can close the doors at night and ignore it doesn't help and I just keep the main living areas clean.

[Issey]

I vacuum every day.

I think if there are cockroaches and ants then there is an issue. But that doesnt mean to say that its all up to you to clean it, and also doesnt mean the house is rank, but perhaps along with indoor cleaning some maintenance/bug spraying needs to be done.

But yeah, imo the bug infestation is gross..

Where do you live? In parts of QLD cockroaches are a BIG problem no matter how clean you are they get in your house, up through drains I beleive. I always have baits down as do my friends BUT I still see them at night and it is a common problem. Baits are the best control. Some people don't have dishwashers here as they seem to like going there I have heard!!

I try to keep my place clean, I do bathroom & toilet every few days as I hate a dirty bathroom/toilet the most. I have wooden floors so vacuum and mop floors twice a week sometimes more as they generally would benefit from it done daily if I had time. I change sheets weekly, I always have no dishes around as stack and unstack dishwasher as required. I do have 'clutter' and I am working on that one!! Other cleaning things like fridge and windows have less attention but try to keep my house looking reasonable as I find it embarressing if it isn't and have visitors. My sons room is quite messy tho as he has too much stuff.....working on that too and my garage is a MESS>

[Mrs Nietzsche]

Don't overwhelm yourself, no need to turn into a cleaning fanatic overnight. I would pick one thing that will make *you* feel good about the house, whatever that might be, and stick to doing that.

[CookiesRYum]

yeh i agree focus on the kitchen to me it makes everything feel cleaner especially since you need to collect dishes from the rest of the house. But i wouldn't mop everyday that would be too much for me! Also can't you make a rule that your kid only eats at the table so there aren't crumbs all over the house.

[mum2bubba]

My house is pretty much like yours. I do the dishes every day but there is always more, the washing always piles up (seriously, it's a never ending pile :rolleyes:) I don't clean the bathrooms every day, I don't even clean the bath every time it gets used. I wipe it down with a towel afterwards. If I get into a cleaning mood (about once a week) I will clean the house top to bottom but even then its not 100% clean. It's tidy though. I figure since I'm pretty much the only one that cleans this house I will do it when I'm good and ready. I don't let dirt and grot and food around though. The kitchen floor is always grotty doesn't matter how many times I mop and sweep/vaccuum. Our carpet is awful.

My xstep mother was also a nutcase when it came to cleaning so as soon as I moved out I got a bit lazy. I DO clean, I'm just not obsessed with it. Clothes are just shoved in the draws and cupboards (I honestly don't know why I even bother to fold clothes). I often don't start cleaning the house until late in the afternoon (like I said earlier, when I can I'm good and ready).

Believe me, I have been him houses (even lived in one) where people are absolute grots. I mean rotten food with mould about to walk off the plates/cups/bowls etc. Cat faeces on the carpet, full ashtrays all over the place, cat hair. piles and piles of wet, smelly clothes not just in the laundry but in the loungeroom as well as the bathtub, months worth of dishes. :barf:

If your partner has a problem with the mess why can't he clean it? I know Grant doesn't do much (which sh!ts me) but he has never complained about the house. If he did, I'd tell him off.

My house is not always tidy, it's not always clean (though its not disgusting either) it's also not a museum. It's lived in.

[Myosotis]

Where do you live?


In a house free of cockroaches and bugs thank god.. :laughing:

[Elijahs_Mum]

having it tidy but not perfet is ok.. its hard to have a showroom home. Yes ppl do!! but I feel its hard. Im forever cleaning, and I would be really peeved of to find that someone had ever judged me casue of something I couldnt control like rodents!

[Boobycino]

yeh i agree focus on the kitchen to me it makes everything feel cleaner especially since you need to collect dishes from the rest of the house. But i wouldn't mop everyday that would be too much for me! Also can't you make a rule that your kid only eats at the table so there aren't crumbs all over the house.

Its not like there are dishes everywhere in my place, all the dishes do get rinsed and stacked, and then packed, but theres always dishes left over on the sink - like right now theres about 8 things on the sink, and a dishwasher full of clean dishes, and today I did wipe down the benches and all that, but I'd probably only do it every other day. Also, like full on spills I do clean, its more cooking splatter that gets left on the stove until I get around to wiping it down (every few days)... I'm probably not helping my case!!!

I live in sydney and I'd never ever seen a roach till I moved into this house - though I'm from victoria where I dont think there are cockroaches?

I dont know, I'm looking around my place and I'm still not thinkng its all that bad. Its tidy, theres nothing on the floor, okay there are crumbs under the couch, but its not all that bad. My mums place has funny smells in the cupboard and just feels a bit grotty overall, not that it bothers me, I'm just aware when I'm there that its not as clean as my home. Maybe I've misrepresented it because I've been hammered by DP about how bad it is. Though it could be that I just dont care because I dont know any better... I need an impartial third party to come in and look at it!!!

[CookiesRYum]

Its not like there are dishes everywhere in my place, all the dishes do get rinsed and stacked, and then packed, but theres always dishes left over on the sink - like right now theres about 8 things on the sink, and a dishwasher full of clean dishes, and today I did wipe down the benches and all that, but I'd probably only do it every other day. Also, like full on spills I do clean, its more cooking splatter that gets left on the stove until I get around to wiping it down (every few days)... I'm probably not helping my case!!!

I live in sydney and I'd never ever seen a roach till I moved into this house - though I'm from victoria where I dont think there are cockroaches?

I dont know, I'm looking around my place and I'm still not thinkng its all that bad. Its tidy, theres nothing on the floor, okay there are crumbs under the couch, but its not all that bad. My mums place has funny smells in the cupboard and just feels a bit grotty overall, not that it bothers me, I'm just aware when I'm there that its not as clean as my home. Maybe I've misrepresented it because I've been hammered by DP about how bad it is. Though it could be that I just dont care because I dont know any better... I need an impartial third party to come in and look at it!!!

im from vic but my MIL is in NSW and have cockroaches - it is nothing to do with being clean or not they are just about and apparently she will never get rid of them...

i have AWLAYS said that the day i get a kid I will scrape the money together to have a cleaner come in once a week and vaccum, mop, dust and clean ovens/toilets/showers etc

[delirium]

Oh what I wouldn't give to get a cleaner.... even for a few hours a week, just to lighten the load. Finances just won't allow it though. Still, I can dream.. :cloud9:

[MummaBear03]

Oh what I wouldn't give to get a cleaner.... even for a few hours a week, just to lighten the load. Finances just won't allow it though. Still, I can dream.. :cloud9:

:iagree: If only hey. I don't think people realise how expensive kids are. As babies they are not expensive, but as babies they don't really make much mess either. It's when they're older and cost more that they make more mess. Even when they first learn to feed themselves, although it's messy it's usually a confined mess. Well, mostly lol. Sometimes you get food on curtains and fans, but mostly it's just on the baby and immediate surrounds. I used to hose off the highchair after each use when DD was feeding herself, and she used to eat on the verandah lol. We had a huge front porch at the time and an outdoor setting on it so she wasn't just stuck outside to eat, we'd both be outside.

Anyway, point is, as they get older they cost more money and they make more mess and a cleaner is less and less affordable.

[The sooper nanny]

meh, house work. I HATE it too! we are both messy people, but I try and keep it tidy as I can. Now DD is crawling, I have to be a bit more anal about the floors and picking things up. We have a budgie and a dog so it needs cleaning regularly. I often have a mad moment and do the whole house and then it doesnt get done for a while. Were also renting so rent inspections keep us in check every 3 months. The kitchen has to be tidy though, I hate a messy kitchen.

I cant believe your partner being so harsh on you... last time I checked when you share a house, you share responsibilities.... all of them. Being a parent is a tough job and the last thing you need is to be criticised by your partner. I suggest you draw up a 'duties list' and he has half of the chores that you do. Youre not his slave...... he needs to get off his butt and give you a break....

[JabberJaw]

Here (http://www.bubhub.com.au/community/forums/showthread.php?t=266892) is a good thread to take a look at. Normal people, normal homes :D

[niks28]

Reading this has made me giggle with everyone saying that their DH compares the cleaninest of their house to DH's mum....... Well I guess I'm lucky as DH's mums house is sooooo messy and cluttered albeit not dirty and it drives me absolutley insane as we are living here at the moment! So when we finally leave I know we both will be like aaaahhhh no more clutter to live in, and the scary thing is DD will be crawling soon and will be into the piles of paperwork, magazines, boxes, bags all with rugs thrown over them!

Ok enough whinging about MIL...... To the OP, good luck getting him to help out if he isn't happy, easier said then done!

[delirium]

ITA MB. They definately do create more mess as they get older and they certainly do cost more. DD starts big school in just over a month and I'm up for about $300 in uniforms/bag/shoes/lunchbox etc and that's just for summer. Winter uniform will set me about about $400 :eek: Then there's the ballet she wants to do...

*sighs* give me a newborn anyday

[Areca]

As far as cockroaches go, yes they just are around in NSW...we need to get our house sprayed again but after having ours sprayed we'd still get them...they'd just turn up dead, or half dead...where as now they are full of life. It's not a sign of dirtyness...unless you aren't keeping on top of them.
I'd love a cleaner too...but finances won't allow it here either.
Chels I do think you should wipe your benches down more than every couple of days...I wipe them down everytime I make something to remove crumbs etc. Maybe I'm OTT but I thought that was normal.

[Mrs Nietzsche]

Yes Delirium, I have an 11 yo and the amount of mess the makes is incredible. I am trying really hard to get her to figure it out.. this morning she came out in a top covered in milo from yesterday and I said 'what do you think might be wrong wtih what you are wearing' etc and she had no clue...

eta every single doorway in our house has a load of fingermarks at about the 2 foot level... DS!! it's like he rubs his hands in mud and then drags his hands around the walls

[bumMum]

my house is being constantly pulled apart as it is being renovated (by ourselves, not by some over priced renovation experts).. so on any given day there is crazyness in our house. walls missing, holes in places there should be holes.. doors off hinges.. :laughing:
but at the end of the day the floors are vacummed.. the benches get wiped down, the dishes done (but not always put away) the toys and crap tidied, front porch swept and the bin goes out.
we only do washing once a week and so there is ALWAYS a pile or two of washing.. we often hang clothes inside because our washing line is too far away so we often have a clothes horse inside with all our clothes lol...
our fridge always seems grotty.. but i am lazy about that.. i dust sometimes but not enough..
and it just seems like cockroaches flock to our toaster. :hair: we put baits out but it's not enough.
our house is "clean" but messy and sometimes a bit grotty im sure. i try really hard but it's not perfect. you are not abnormal. most people dont have show homes.

[Annabella]

First of all.....:hugs: :hugs: :hugs:

I think you need that, you sound like you are going through a hard time atm. My husband also doesn't lift a finger around the house and I have seriously given up arguing about it. I know people say, "he should be helping" etc, but trust me, some men just won't no matter how much you beg, and I would rather do it myself than fight about it all day and turn into someone who just nags constantly. Its not fair and it makes me angry, and I even feel disrespected and hurt by it (esp when I'm this pregnant) but it really isn't a personal thing, they are just LAZY.

So I'll share a few things I do to make it a tiny bit easier...
*the kids HAVE to be sitting down while eating and drinking. If they stand up, I take it off them. They are only allowed to eat at the kitchen bench or in the living room, not in the other living room or bedrooms. I send them outside a lot in summer too ;)
*clean the shower while I'm in there. Put the toilet cleaner in the toilet before I get in the shower and clean when I get out. Wipe down the sink/toilet when I have conditioner in my hair. If the rest of the bathroom doesn't get done thats ok, the most important things did til I have time to mop it etc (I do this minus mopping etc about once a week/every 10 days)
*every night no matter how tired I am, i wash the dishes and sweep the kitchen floor, wipe down the bench. If you see a spill on the floor, spot-mop it/wipe it with a cloth til you have time to mop properly. I find having water in the sink during the day helps with washing as you go, you tend to do a couple of things at a time if the water is already in there. It gets cold but for a plate that had a sandwhich on it or something its not an issue.
*Hang all hangable clothes when they are wet, so when they are dry you can put them straight in the wardrobe easily. The rest (foldable) of mine tend to pile up clean in the washing basket til I need the basket (I have about 4 on the go!) but who cares, at least they are clean.
*wash when you need, get a clothes horse and hang to dry overnight if you are struggling to find time during the day.
*The plastic mat under Jasper's high chair- great idea, we got a sheet of plastic from ikea I think it was but you can get from spotlight or anywhere.
*Invite people over, always gets me motivated!

My house is usually messy, I have always been a messy person. I make sure its hygenically clean tho, like you, I hate smells. I hate dirty fridges and toilets. I probably mop our living room once every 2 weeks IF THAT, lucky we have floor boards and you can't see the dirt, I vacuum once a week probably, but sweep kitchen most nights and mop kitchen about once a week. Bathroom once a week/2 weeks, unless the toilet is grotty I clean it sooner.

We always have piles of mail/paperwork around but I have just started moving it off our bench onto the desk which is piled very high til I get time to clear it. All our shelves are dusty and have crap on them that belongs elsewhere. Our room is pretty clean except the clothes my husband drops on the floor, coz its really hard to put them in a friggin basket for the maid (me) to wash, and the kids toys/books lying around. Kids room is ok as I'm getting tough on them cleaning it up. We only change sheets every 2 weeks or so too.

There's a good book called speed cleaning that has lots of tip on keeping your house clean. It is GREAT, but I'm still (a year later) getting around to implmenting it! Worth a look though...

Ants and cockroaches are a given in old houses. If you are not leaving food scraps out theres not a lot you can do but ants hate peppermint oil.

My husband has whinged a couple of times but honestly, if he's not prepared to even clean up after himself, let alone contribute to the running of the household then f him!

ETA: Did you do a thread about sleep school earlier? I think it would really help you feel better if he was sleeping better, you need sleep!

[embryonichappyperson]

I loathe cleaning but I like to have a neat house and dust is the bane of my life. I do washing everyday and fold it up every night. The washing is like a bloody rotation! Also I use cloth nappies so that's a load every 2 days.

I mop the floors once a week and I sweep everyday and I vacuum the bedrooms everyday as stuff just gets tracked in and picked up on the dark carpet. I hate dirty carpets! lol. I wipe over surfaces daily to keep dust at bay.

I wipe the kitchen bench a few times a day and I wipe over the glass splash back every night. I wipe over the stainless steel kitchen appliances every night and I have cream cupboards and I lean down every night and wipe anything off the draw fronts or cupboard doors. I wipe the stove top down nightly as well.

I change the sheets every few days as I hate that really lived in feel and the smell of the pillow cases and I love fresh sheets. I change DS2 cot sheet every few days as he vomits up and drools and it creates stains haha. DS2 wets the bed about once a week so I have to keep his sheets fresh too.

When it comes to the shower I usually look at it and go *right it needs to be scrubbed* and then it takes me another week to do it lol. I hate cleaning the bathroom and I avoid it. As for the loo, and a son who can't aim in to the bowl I wipe it over daily cause it reeks of dried wee and I mop around the toilet to get rid of the dried wee smell. I loathe our toilet...

That's enough waffling on lol.

[BabelFish]

Pretty clean most of the time. I mean, it gets untidy but it's clean and hygienic, if that makes sense.

My DP is a wonder-husband and does most of the cleaning. I would never have thought that a small toddler could go through a house - every day mind you - like a mini-whirlwind and make so much MESS!! :D

One thing that has actually occurred to me recently though is that I don't HAVE to let her trash the house every day. I'm the Mum and I make the rules!! I've never even considered it before because she's so little, but I guess at some point you do have to introduce some boundaries and discipline ... I suppose that's what happens as your children get older! :p

So now when she wants to draw, she has to sit with her pens and paper in the playpen. Otherwise they literally end up in every room of the house. Doesn't bother her at all, should have thought of this six months ago.

I am also teaching her to pack away one thing before she starts on the next. She's only 17 months so it's slow going but have discovered that if I say `time to say night night to the playdoh' then she will go `awwww bye-bye playdoh' and give it a kiss and put it back in its tub.

Hey, works for us!! :laughing:

[MumtoD]

im from vic but my MIL is in NSW and have cockroaches - it is nothing to do with being clean or not they are just about and apparently she will never get rid of them.


Cockroaches certainly aren't common in Sydney. We don't have them and the only person I know who does NEVER and I mean NEVER cleans her house. Maybe get some of the non odourless (can be done around kids and pets) sprays.

[Boobycino]

Okay, so I cleaned the bathroom while I was showering last night, its just a teeny tiny ensuite, but I wiped around everything and gave the toilet a scrub.

I've also packed away about 80% of Jasper's toys into his room. So.... okay... now his room looks like a toy warehouse, but theres so much less he can make a mess with.

As for eating in his highchair... I guess.... its time I put my foot down. He cracks it and refuses to eat if he's in his highchair, but letting him wander around the house trailing crumbs probably isn't such a great idea. Plus, he has a 5 point safety harness in his highchair, so I should just strap him in and let him get angry, because its not like he can jump out of it, and if he's hungry, he'll learn to eat in his chair.

Oh, another thing that I do regularly is wipe down our massive black leather couch every couple of days :hair: no idea why we thought that shiney black leather wouldn't show marks! At least it cant get grotty because you can see every grimy finger print, milky vomit, or crumb. But I'm thinking next time I'm getting a chocolate brown or beige couch - but definately leather, I didn't like leather before, but the fact that it can be wiped down is great :yes:

And as mentioned I dust obsessively, but thats about not dying rather than cleanliness :laughing:

And about 80% of the time theres nothing on the dinning room table...and then 20% of the time theres clothes.

Heres something I should try to wrap my head around though. The state of my home doesn't reflect on ME - I work also, though only 12 hours per week - but then I'm up a gazillion times at night with bub - so DP shouldn't be self righteous about the house, he should be equally embarressed.

And mumD - whereabouts in sydney are you? I see roaches on the pavements around here at night, so surely they're not just in my apartment. There also HEAPS of ants on the pavements out front, so that makes me feel a touch better. They're certainly more common in sydney than victoria - I saw my first roach the 2nd night I lived here, freaked me out because it set off my "ahhh! spider!" reflex. But maybe they're only in certain areas?

[embryonichappyperson]

We had issues with earwigs, tiny millepede's, silver fish and cockroaches not to long ago. I put it down to the leaf litter all around the house minus the silverfish who aren't a leaf litter type of bug. I kept complaining the house was clean but I still found bugs every day. I don't think my heart could take it anymore lol! I would constantly find earwigs and millepede's that grossed me out. So I called a pest control dude and now finally no more little visitors except for the odd earwig.

[delirium]

*shudders* earwigs freak me out, not sure why they are just so creepy looking :eek:

[Boobycino]

My brother told me that earwigs are HIGHLY poisionous and they bite so they FREAKED me out as a child and still do... stupid brother.

[Mrs Nietzsche]

Chel - I hope you don't get too hung up on this. I mopped the floor myself after this thread! lol! I think trying to find ways to make things easier is really good... if he doesn't like his highchair would he sit at a kid's table? Walking around eating food is number 1 way to get crud everywhere I've found, it is a real PITA.

And yes your DP should be doing his share.

No matter what anyone says, these things are less about hygiene and more about social standards.. if you aren't getting sick, obviously hygiene isn't the problem. It's more about being able to enjoy your home and feel others can, and those are subjective things.

[Boobycino]

Yeah, none of us get sick or anything. So it cant be that bad.

[MumtoD]

Chel87 - I am in South West Sydney. We get our house sprayed once a year and never see any rodents.

[Sammie1986]

I grew up with a mother with OCD. People would visit and couldnt believe there were 4 kids in the house. She also worked alot. At the end of the day, she never got to spend alot of quality time with us and being so obsessive has never made her happy. I now have 2 boys, 1 is 4 and has allergies including dustmites and DS2 is 12wks. I dont clean every day. I try keep the house tidy though. I have some kids/babies toys in the lounge room, my dishes are in the sink soaking (they get done daily....usually) I do a load of washing every 2-3 days or when I have enough for a full load (7.5kg is a huge load), My clean washing I took of the line yesterday is in the basket for me to fold today, I clean my bathroom and toilet once a week and vaccume twice a week and mop once a fortnight. IMO my house isnt a pig sty, it is untidy but not dirty. My dad came to visit a few days ago and I was waiting for some critasism from him but he actually complemented my house. He said it is good to see kids things around a house and also being 'too clean' doesnt allow a child to build an immunity.
As I mentioned before, my son has allergies to mould and dustmites aswell as cats, dogs and a list of foods. I use to be obsessive about everything but since I have been more laid back in the past 2years his immunity to his allergies is getting stronger.
I have seen some pretty filthy houses in my life and then seeing those houses of horders where there house resembles a dumpster is just revolting.
Tell your hubby that if he wants an immaculate house like his mothers then he can get HER to come clean it for him.

[KatKyle]

:wave: Hi, just had to post in here, because I too am one of those people who just don't clean that much!!!!

I currently have two baskets full of clean washing, and a pile in the bedroom that hasn't made its way into wardrobes and drawers.

I have a sink full/half full of dishes that haven't been washed, rinsed or anything.

Because of this thread, I cleaned the shower this morning ( I read most of it last night...), but the bathroom is still disgusting.. (yep, there is mould on the taps, must get right on that)

If I tried to put DS's toys in his room, no-one else would fit, so they are currently in, hmmmm, every room in this house!!! Well, maybe not the spare toilet, but that would be about it.

He also walks around with his food, so am currently contemplating vacuuming today, but hey, there's always next year!! (hehehehe I can say that today...)

I currently work a five day fortnight, about 10 hours each day inclusive of travel time. I also have my own business, which I probably spend about another 2-3 days a fortnight on. My DH does not do anything around the house, unless I specifically request him to do something, and even then its under duress.

I do clean if people are coming over, but again, don't particularly go overboard.

I don't have ants, or coakroaches, or millipedes in my home, but I do have one of those mortein sprays going off all the time, and we had the house sprayed about 12 months ago, so probably about time to get it done again...

My DH looks after DS when I am working, so he knows that its difficult to get things done when he is around, as he always tries to "Help", and some things he just can't "help" with, so he doesn't really complain when things aren't just so. And, his mum is a clean freak too!!!

Just thought I'd share, you're not alone, I'd prefer to spend time playing with DS, cleaning will ALWAYS be there!!!!

[JLeesmum]

Yeah, maybe I'm a touch harsh on my MIL - but she's come into my kitchen and wiped down my freshly wiped down perfectly clean benches... so I do think he's thinking she's 'normal' and I'm messy.

Honestly, if an immaculately clean home give you pleasure, go for gold.

I 'think' my home is 'clean and tidy' but its not immaculate... but maybe I just have low standards? Sitting here I can see crumbs under the couch. And maybe its a bit wrong that while I definately vaccume at least weekly, I do often sweep the carpet (is that a no-no? it seems like cheating, but its just crumby bits of Jaspers food, its not like its dusty)

Also, I'm severly allergic to dust mite, I cant even take blankets out of a cupboard without sneezing and before we got our allergy filter vaccume cleaner I'd have an asthma attack each and every time I vaccumed, so this definately a dust free home. And I'm very sensitive to smells, so it a smell free home.

Its mainly just crumbs on the floor that I think drive DP up the wall. And spills in the kitchen. And laundry on the table. And that I dont change the sheets often enough (pfft, sheets dont bother me at all, I figure he'll change them when he's fed up with them)
i could have written that!
i WISH i was cleaner..
i only JUST got the dirty clothes out the bathroom (theyve been there a week)
so i have about 4-5 loads of washing to do. i should be hanging a load out now.. but neh..
theres clothes on the couch, i cant see the floor becuase its covered in toys- and they can stay there.
i sweep everyday, only because if i dont my little vaccuum (DS) eats it all. and yes, i sweep the carpet too (works better) and vaccuum maybe weekly, usually before i mop ( and thats not untill DS's feet are black in a just few minutes).
i have 2 washing baskets of washing that need to be folded and put away..
i TRY to keep on top op the dishes because if i wake up in the morning and have to dig thru the sink for a coffee cup, all hell breaks loose (esp at 4am).

[xxchloexx]

ur house sounds like my house! i see it as messy somedays! but when my friends come over and i say dont mind the mess they look at me like im retarded cause its not really that messy!

DF's mother is the same she is a clean freak and when she comes round to watch DS she is always cleaning! haha so to her it must be dirty!

I have to admit im getting slack with the cleaning at the moment cause being 34 weeks pregnant im finding it hard to pick things off the ground or do the dishes cause my belly is at bench level and it digs in if i stand to close!

DS is at a good stage where i can get him to pick his own toys up and put things in the bin!

DF does his share of cleaning tho!, i cook and he does the dishes and on weekends he cleans the house!

[embryonichappyperson]

How I hate dishes! I used just stack them neatly in the sink till the end of the day and do them all. Now we have a dish washer and I love it hee hee.

[Sammie1986]

How I hate dishes! I used just stack them neatly in the sink till the end of the day and do them all. Now we have a dish washer and I love it hee hee.
we have a dishwasher aswell....just nowhere for it until we renovate the kitchen though :(

[Boobycino]

ur house sounds like my house! i see it as messy somedays! but when my friends come over and i say dont mind the mess they look at me like im retarded cause its not really that messy!



Yeah, I get that too. "scuse the mess" and the look at me like "what do you mean". Or laugh and say "you should see my place" or something like that. So I do wonder if its THAT bad - which was the whole point of this thread, i thought everyone was gonna say "nah, sounds fine!" but.... aparently not!

I do feel a lot better that my fellow not-so-perfect peoples are coming out of the wood works. Its silly, but knowing other peoples houses might be messier than mine makes me feel better. lets all just be grots together!

(because I'm thinking :eek: I'd NEVER leave dirty clothes in the bathroom :laughing: - but I do get changed in the living room and drop clothes on the fllor, and Jaspers clothes, but at some point during the day I gather clothes off the floor and throw them in the washing machine. using a washing machine as a washing basket is a great time saver :yes: when its full I turn it on!)

I also have put away all of Jasper toy shelves and replaced it with a MASSIVE basket, because I have a better chance of teaching him to just throw everything in the basket at night. He does like putting things in other things - so hopefully i can teach him to pack up.

[Lily of the Nile]

I tidy up every night, clean benches, do dishes a load of washing, then I only dust, vacuum and mop once a week, that includes dissinfecting both bathrooms. The toilets I clean on weekends too unless someone is coming over. I don't wipe down the fridge often unless there is a spill and I don't usually get to it for a while... If the rug is really crumby during the week I'll vacuum just that and the sheets maybe once a week I'll change them but usually longer like 2 weeks. Um but I think my house is pretty clean, I don't have time to be obsessive and do major cleans in the week. When dh is home and he takes the baby out, I'll do it then.
As for cockroaches and ants, they are a yard problem, I have them too and it doesn't matter how clean your house is, they find a way to come in, so I'd be blaming your partner for that. He should be keeping the yard clean, killing all the ant nests and spraying them down where they're roaming follow their trail and also spray them from there, cutting the lawn, weeds, spraying the garden beds you know.
Also if they're in the house, leave something out where they'll flock to and you'll see a big trail and follow them (yes I've become the ant expert!!) So no it's not your fault, but a bit of crumbs on the floor? things not sparkling clean? who cares, abit of dirt won't harm you and is probably better for Jasper.

[bada]

Its silly, but knowing other peoples houses might be messier than mine makes me feel better. lets all just be grots together!
DF goes into other peples homes all day for work and tells me ppl are more often than not grubs. He always tells me that most other houses make ours look like a palace which is reassuring! I don't think your place sounds THATbad Chel except for roaches and ants but they can be tough to shake when you live in an apartment. I'd be more vigilant with things in the kitchen to try to shake them for good.

[84zsazsa]

I sweep and mop the hard floors every day....after each meal I clean up the food on the floor. I vacuum the carpet every second day (have to..dd1 is allergic to dustmites). I really hate dirty floors!
Bathroom gets done weekly.
Kitchen gets cleaned weekly but I clean up any spills as we go and never leave dishes overnight (just attracts the cockroaches).
When we have ants I make sure nothing is left out to attract them.
I dust weekly.
I do at least one load of washing a day and do my best to have it all folded and put away by the end otherwise it's double the work the next day.
I clean out the fridge about every two weeks atm....was weekly before DS came along. I do throw out any old food weekly though and if something had spilled in the fridge whoever saw it first would clean it.
I change the sheets weekly on all 4 beds...DD1 I have to wash her doona cover and mattress protector as well.

I don't work but I do have three kids (4, 2 and 8 weeks). I like to keep on top of the housework, it's easier for me to deal with although lately it feels like it never ends :dizzy:

Like Maire the windows and walls don't get much of a look in...dh is cleaning the windows this week as he is off and is installing new blinds.


^^^^^ This is me to a tee...I am a tad cleaner (cant stop myself some days...have been known to scrub finger tips off) but you dont sound like your living in a dump either!! :hugs: If DH is unhappy with what you do maybe he should do more...he is a big boy!!

[delirium]

Just on the roach problem.... you are in an apartment chelle with neighbours with common walls? Yonks ago Dh and I lived in a block of flats and one of our next door neighbours was a girl who just up and left the flat for about a month - not sure where she went. Around that time we got cockroaches and I'm positive it came from her (I heard from someone else that she left rubbish, dirty dishes still in the sink for the whole month :barf:). To cut a long story short we moved out bc the whole block of flats got them (having common walls and ceilings) and the landlord refused to fumigate.

So maybe the reason you have them and can't get rid of them is bc other tenants have them too and everyone is re infecting each other - does that make sense?

[Boobycino]

We share 2 walls and floor and ceiling - so there are 4 apartments touching us.

I KNOW the roaches come through the drains, because the mainly occupy the bathrooms and I've seen them dashing into the drains. When upstairs showers we can hear the water gurling through out drains - so we're really living on top of one another. Also it took me AGES to work out this funny bang that sounds like someone had dropped a heavy ball on floor boards (because it would bang and then rattle) until I realised it was someone turning on taps in another apartment... we can also hear the telly in the bedroom of the apartment above us, because they watch telly in their master bedroom (because all the apartments are the same so we hear it from out room) from about 9pm till 11pm.

Its madness living so close to people you dont know!!!

Also I cleaned out the kitchen today and found little holes in the wall in gaps in the tiles where the ants are trailing in and out of :hair: I've currently got 4 ant traps and 6 roach traps throughout the house in safe places bub cants get to! Hopefully that will help!!!

[delirium]

Well then I highly suspect the other tenants have the same problem and that you are all re infecting each other. You will never get rid of them until the 4 apartments are ALL fumigated.

[Sammie1986]

I forgot to mention this morning...DP has only complained ONCE about the state of the house....then I suggested he stay at home and look after the kids and keep the house clean and cook dinners every night while I go to work, sit in a comfy air conditioned office and talk on the phone and play on the computer all day (which is what he does each day)......he hasn't complained about it since
:laughing::yelclap::thumbsup:

[Blueberry Crumble]

It isnt as bad as this surely

http://www.vincentchow.net/2537/world-dirtiest-home

[CookiesRYum]

It isnt as bad as this surely

http://www.vincentchow.net/2537/world-dirtiest-home

oh that is gross :barf:

[silverbreeze]

:barf::barf::barf:
that house is disgusting!

while i dont have the neatest place in the world im not terrible either. the floors get done once a week and the bathroom is probably every 2 weeks.
dishes are done nightly, washing done daily and tidy up 3 times a day once beofre DS's nap, once about 4pm and another quick before he goes down for the night. i figure his sleep times are my time and i dont want to be relaxing amoungst all his toys.
i try and tidy up as i go but get lazy so thats why i dod it a few times a day. every month or so i do a complete freak clean and my house is so clean its almost sterile! but i have to be in the mood for that hence why is only happens every now and again

[naebie]

Your place sounds like mine, Chel. But probably cleaner. Our house is so old, has holes for all the creepy crawlies to get in, in fact we have a family of skinks that live somewhere in our kitchen!
I know that if we managed to finish the jobs we have to, ie put down new flooring in the kitchen, and fill all of the gaps and cracks in the walls and floor, that things would be much cleaner, but do you think DP will listen?

[The Girls Only Club]

My DH is the same,he always complaining the house is a mess and he compares me to his mother(who is such a neat freak she wipes out the microwave even when it hasnt been used)

I only wash on weekends as we all wear uniforms all week.
My fridge is cleaned out when I do shopping on Thursdays.
I sweep and vaccuum the carpets daily, sometimes twice a day,
Bathrooms are done every fortnight or is they start to look messy.
I dont do the kids rooms,they get pocket money if it is done on a Friday.
All beds get changed every weekend.
I am the messiest cook ever so kitchen gets done every night after dinner.
We have a problem with ants at the moment it doesnt matter how much I wipe over the benches,I just got some ant rid,will see how that goes.

My house is untidy,the kids get bored easily and colour and cut paper,then leave it on the floor and go onto the next thing they wanna do.
I also have a habit of leaving things near the tv which drives hubby mad,he just shoves everything into the cupboard until it gets full.

My house is filthy when my sister comes and takes care of the kids while I work approx 20 hours a week.She has 3 children(4,3,1) and she lets them run a muck.There is always something been spilt on the floor and our carpets are cream.Just yesterday the shoved a roll of toilet paper down the toilet.

[embryonichappyperson]

It isnt as bad as this surely

http://www.vincentchow.net/2537/world-dirtiest-home

That is bloody disgusting! :dizzy: How the hell can anyone live like that unless they are totally out of their mind?! Look at all the smoke butts...ewwwwwwwwwwwwww! :barf:

[delirium]

Obviously the person living in that house has some pretty extreme issues with hoarding :eek: Feel better now chelle? :laughing:

[Mrs Molly Coddle]

Chels - I live in NW Sydney and on the hot nights we get those big, black cockroaches. We've made a super dooper effort to get rid of all remnants of food and it hasn't made a difference. A few other sydney girls on here have mentioned seeing them lately as well and I know their houses are very clean. I'm staying on the central coast atm and I caught and released (I don't like killing them!) a few not long after we'd walked in the door and this is a holiday house with NOBODY living in it and no mess or food anywhere. I think it's just the season - who knows??
PM me if you want a playdate. We're in Sydney and we love mess ;)

[Mrs Nietzsche]

because of this bloody thread I am now spending NYE scrubbing the kitchen floor, pfft

[JabberJaw]

because of this bloody thread I am now spending NYE scrubbing the kitchen floor, pfft

:laughing: call over and do mine when you finish yours, ferries run till late and our sleepless kids can be sleepless together :laughing::laughing:

[Mrs Nietzsche]

hahaha - you are welcome over here but no thanks on doing your floor! DS had a good run for a couple of nights but he has squawked out already tonight 4 times (gone back by himself thank god) .. but no doubt he will be up realllyyy early.

[RaryGirl]

I haven't read all the replies sorry ... but I'll share our house.

At the moment it's spotless ... mind you we have just rearranged furniture, mopped, vacuumed and cleaned the carpets (what an exciting start to new years eve :p) and it will stay lovely till tomorrow as all the children are asleep. :laughing:

My husband is likes things perfect, but with 3 children that isn't going to happen. Mind you, if he sees something needs doing, he'll do it ... not complain about it (mostly ... sometimes he's complained/whinged and well, that just makes me want to tidy up :rolleyes:)

Dishes are always done each night at the latest, though we have a dishwasher, so it's usually stacked as we go. Floors are vacuumed daily (with a battery vac) and done thoroughly with the big vacuum a couple of times a week. Mopped every few days as it seems I have bred the worlds messiest eaters ... lol.

Umm ... washing - daily and ironing is all done by DH, normally twice a week so it doesn't pile up.

Can't leave piles of folded clothes as DD2 takes great delight in throwing them all over the floor - so they have to be put away straight away now.

Bathrooms are at least once a week ... seems more often atm as DD2 and DS take great delight in smearing lipstick or mascara all over the ensuite ... but that will end soon as I've nearly run out of make-up ... lol

Toys have to be packed up each night before going to bed ... DD1 normally does most, but the little ones are learning.

[JBRxxx]

I don't think it sounds that bad. Maybe that says alot about me too. I am a messy person myself. If you are embarrased about it, then just clean it more. Don't feel bad about yourself.

My house could definitely be cleaner. I do the dishes numerous times throughout the day, but never seem to get on top of them. Sweep daily, but there is still bits. Mop whenever I get the chance. I make the kids wear socks so they don't slip. Bathroom about once a week. Toilet daily. If the kids were out of the house, I reckon 2 hours non stop cleaning and the house would be spotless.

There is always stuff laying around. **** needs doing all the time. You could be forgiven for thinking I am a lazy slob. But my kids a filthy animals.

Good idea re the playdate. Might give you motivation to give the house a good going over. Don't worry about it so much. DH can just do it himself and stop complaining. As for the cockaroaches, have you seen the mortein adds. Those homes are clean. Cockroaches don't neccesarily mean a dirty house. They get in through open vents, the opportunistic ********.

Long reply. Sorry.

[JBRxxx]

Oh dear. I was censored. whoops. It wasn't that expletive. Honest. :o

[Mrs Nietzsche]

You could be forgiven for thinking I am a lazy slob. But my kids a filthy animals.

.

Hahahaha

I have to agree, my parents house is seriously immaculate and they have had the odd cockroach. I have none on the other hand, but I do have those little geckoes that live on the ceiling and eat insects, great stuff.

[Gruffalo]

My house is generally always spotless. It has to be.... unfortunately I am allergic to dust mites :yes: so I clean lots :(

[PeppaH]

because of this bloody thread I am now spending NYE scrubbing the kitchen floor, pfft

Its like that ai!? Reading this thread has made my cleaning bones itch! I had to start cleaning :hair:

[luvmyboys]

I clean more when I'm p'd off about something, I must be pretty happy at the moment.....that said this thread is kinda making me wanna clean.
I do have a question for people with carpet though, we only have carpet in the bedrooms and wooden floors throughout the rest of the house, how often do you get your carpets cleaned ?

[Myztiks#1Fan]

my carpet is pretty crappo. getting it removed and putting wooden floors in my loungeroom when housing get their act together which will be nice. i havent had them cleaned as such but if it was nice carpet, i would get them cleaned at least every 6mths

[RaryGirl]

I do have a question for people with carpet though, we only have carpet in the bedrooms and wooden floors throughout the rest of the house, how often do you get your carpets cleaned ?

We only have carpets in the bedrooms as well and some mats in tv rooms. We ended up buying a carpet cleaning machine so we can clean them as often as we like .... usually every couple of months, unless there is a spill/accident then more often.

[Bambibambino]

I know I definately am happier when my house is spotless and everything is organised :o such a wierd 1950's housewife thing to say but it's true. I just feel lighter and more energised somehow. I'm a freak.

[MummyHas3boys]

My major areas of the house are clean....i vacume atleast 2 times a day, i mop once a week, but sometimes its been longer then a week between mops :o however i will spot clean the floors so even if it does need a mop there isnt dirty spots here and there.......I do dishes as they are made........BUT clutter...OMG on top of the fridge is loaded with crap, the drawers are full of junk, cupboards the same as drawers. we do a big clean up of stuff like that and say we wont put things ontop the fridge but give it a few weeks, and its loaded up already:banghead:

[Penthesilea]

OP, I'm not a natural housecleaner either - but I've learnt.

When you say your child has finger food, do you mean he wanders around the house eating, and puts the food everywhere? You could contain that by eating only at the table. Start out as you mean to continue.

It doesn't take much time to grab a baby wipe and wipe over the bathroom, and wipe up spills as they happen.

It is important to keep the floors clean. The dirt just spreads if you don't. I sweep after every meal. I vacuum and mop about once a week, and I'm a slack housekeeper.

Ditto with the dishes - I never go to bed with dishes in the sink and crumbs on the bench. It is important to keep the bugs away.

Really, it is easier to keep up than catch up. A little bit each day. Putting the washing away when you bring it off the line. And washing the bedsheets each week would take you about 15 mins (to strip the bed, put them in the machine, hang them up, bring them in and make he bed). You've spent longer than that reading this thread.

If you think it would help you could sign up to Flylady - a system of cleaning your home - you'll get reminder emails every day.

I'm also allergic to dustmites. It really is better to keep up than catch up - better to dust regularly, because dealing with lots of dust make me feel sick.

I can also recommend inviting people over - the only time I really clear the clutter is when people are coming.

Good luck.

[Penthesilea]

I should add that I clean with natural products - mostly a spray of diluted vinegar - you don't have to buy lots of expensive products and specialised chemical cleaning products.

[Boobycino]

I just wanted to brag, I'm a bit proud.

I've taken the pressure off to be TIDY and focused on things being CLEAN - because I was spending more energy tidying up Jasper's stuff, rather than just taking my time with more important things like food.

Also like today I cooked up a massive volume of food for bub and I (I made a zuchini slice, but its massive, it'll feed us for 3 days at least - woo the freedom of DP doing lite'n'easy his aversion to left overs is a non-issue) and I got DP to watch bub while I cooked, so I was able to cook, clean as I went (because I wasn't ducking in and out of the kitchen the whole time) I wasn't rushing and once it was in the oven I washed all the dishes, wiped down all the benches, swept the floors etc. because I didn't need to RUSH back out to Jasper before he brained himself on something :rolleyes:

Also, Jasper's been eating in the highchair. He's MAYBE not been eating as much as he would normally, because he'll only sit stil for 5 minutes and then finished or not he'll fuss to get out. But at least no crumbs on the floor, and he has to learn he wont be offered anything else, so he needs to eat in his chair.

(oh, as i typed that DP just gave bub a piece of bread to munch on, i HOPE he plans to vaccume up the crumbs himself :yes:)

As for the bathrooms, I just need to get into the habit of doing it weekly.

AND - the sheets... you know what... DP can do them! If I know he'll change them about once a week if I dont, so I just wont do them at all, it can be his responsibility by default!

[Orris Apjoko]

My house is normally tidy but cluttered.... well DF had 4 days off (31st, 1st, 2nd and today) so he got into the house, tidyed the table from all MY school books and put them where they belong, cleaned the kitchen benches down (again just crap all cluttered) cleaned in the laundry from washing that needed to be done and organised our bedroom... the only place with carpet is our bedroom and the only things to do is wash our sheets and vacuum our bedroom.

We agree that i clean during the week and work whatever hrs i have (casual so i'm not getting many hrs) and he works 50hrs and does the "big" cleans on weekends, when we finally get pregnant and then have a baby it will probably be different because i will be more tired and wont clean as much so the "big" clean will be bigger.

[Angiepop]

Great job chel87 :):smiliedance:

[HowCrazyCool]

WELLLLL

Cleaning is a big issue here too.

im a lot like you chel87 with the way you clean. except clothes are a huge problem. i like to have my clothes spread all over my bedroom floor. :rolleyes:

And Dp is pretty anal. (same as your Dp, steams from a anal mother, bless her soul:rolleyes::rolleyes:)
We have two built in robes opposite our bed. It is pretty funny to see when i have crammed all of my clothes in and both our doors are open the HUGE comparison to our cleaning/tidiness.
BUT thats why i love him and he loves me.



BUT our big cleaning issue is our 3 cats.
Big cat 80% outside cat.
Kitten. inside. uses kitty litter
Sister's cat uses kitter litter. But isn't allowed outside yet. Because she is new to this house. we don't want her to runaway. As my sister is pregnant. i am claning up after the two cats and every day i have to clean the kitty litter as it gets to full for Dp to handle. and Dp can be a right Tool about it.

Wow im rambling again. :smiliedance:

[Boobycino]

If I lived alone I'd end up with my clothes on the floor, but that was the first habit DP broke me of.

I do feel for him sometimes, he got me straight out of home with no clue how to take care of myself - my mum gave up YEARS ago, she just shut my bedroom door and ignored the state of it. We'd been living together 3 months before I even realised he'd been doing my washing for me :laughing: I didn't know where clean clothes came from? :rolleyes:

So, I've come a LONG way!!!

THOUGH we'd been together for maybe even 6 months when he had a go at me because I wasn't contributing to bills and I pointed out I'd done ALL the grocery shop every single week for 6 months and he'd not realised that where food in the fridge came from - as he'd had 'mummy care packages' for the last 10 years since he left home :laughing: I took it as a high mark of respect when she stopped dropping off pre-cooked dinners. Obviously she was handing over responsibility of feeding him!

Oh, we really were two children who moved in together - though I was 19 and he was 27... so I HAD an excuse!

[BS5689]

I think if your DP is worried about it, he should help out more!

My husband works full time and I've been on maternity leave for the last 7 months and I've been doing about 90% of the cleaning, etc but as of next week I will be going back to work 3 days a week and also studying uni as of February so he will have to help me out more.

I actually find my husband creates more work for me!! I only have one child, but sometimes it feels like i have TWO!

I dont like our house to be too dirty, or it gets to me. I always clean up my sons toys once he's in bed and clean the kitchen after this. The floors get done twice a week or sometimes more because we have wooden floors and so much dusts collects on them, and we dust, clean the toilet/bathroom, wash sheets , etc once a week as well. All of our cleaning gets done when my son is asleep because this is easiest.

Our laundry is just done when it is needed, but we never iron all of our clothes at one time, we just iron our clothes before we actually wear them. I figure they are just going to get wrinkled once you but them away anyways so whats the point.

Anyways everyone has different standards of living, but theres a difference between your house being just untidy or being unhygienic. If you are leaving crumbs and things on the floor or your kitchen benches, this can cause problems with the cockroaches, ants and can even attract mice and rats, so just be careful.

[Lateralus]

We are usually pretty clean and tidy around our place (well, to my standard anyway)..

DDs toys get tidied up whenever she goes down for a sleep.

House gets vacuumed twice a week and mopped at least once a week - although the kitchen floor gets spot mopped almost every day when DD throws food on the floor.

Laundry gets done every day and is folded and put away straight off the line (IRON is a 4 letter word in our house... clothing only gets ironed if we're going to a wedding or funeral :laughing:).

Dishes are done after every meal and benches are wiped down after every meal too... We've had problems with cockies in the past - I find it keeps them at bay if the benches are kept clean!

The bathroom is a bit of a sticking point - neither DH or I like cleaning the bathroom, so it really only gets a good clean every fortnight - but the toilet & sink get a wipedown every few days.

I am exceptionally lucky in that DH only works a few days a week most weeks and either pitches in with the housework or takes DD off my hands so I can get the work done without any interruptions!

[~isis~]

we here have a 10 month old and a teenager some times. while i wouldnt say our house is spotless, it is fairly clean. we have days where not a thing is done and sometimes there are a few in are row, so it can be a filthy house, but most of the time our kitchen is clean.. thanks to dp as he cant stand anything in the kitchen, so it bothers him he dose it, as what i do in there isnt ever good enough so he got the job.
with the floors they are swept every day but mopped when i get a chance sometimes which is what i try to do every few days or at least once a week tho when my boy has been really sooky and wont sleep in the day it dosent get done unless i have the teen then i get him to look after the lil one so it can be done.
washing is a major issue in our house it gets done when we run out of stuff to wear.lol. its always done on a weekend so one day is washing and hanging the next is bringing in and folding, dp hangs out i fold tho he refolds his stuff cause again its not up to his standerd but he knows no point in telling me to do it again or do it his way as ill tell him to shove it where the sun dont shine. lol.
vacuming gets done when needed, not that often except in bubs room as the rooms arent used alot. and floors stay clean.

but i say if you are happy in the house doing what you do, and your dp isnt then he should do what he thinks needs to be done, being a mum is a full time job too you know

[LadyGrey]

hi!

this is what i do every day..

-empty bin.
-dishes after every meal and wipedown benches.
-a load or 2 of washing (washed, dried and put away)
- sweep kitchen and dining room floors.
- wipe windowsills (dead flies etc)
- pack up toys.

and once or twice a week

- mop floors and vacuum.
- bathroom and toilets.
- clean out fridge
- wash sheets.
- wipe down all surfaces with disinfectant.

:)

[Pinkzy]

I used to be an absolute clean freak...if there was even a spec of dirt on the kitchen floor, it'd result in the entire house being vacuumed and then mopped. I'd also wash dishes up individually LOL...as in I wouldn't even wait for a few dishes to accumulate before doing the dishes, I'd wash everything and anything that was used right away.

Then I started work as a professional cleaner :D lol. These days (at 31 weeks pregnant) I do the dishes once a day, make the beds, wipe over the tables, benches etc, take the rubbish out and that's about it. I still vacuum, mop, clean the bathroom/kitchen etc but that's turned into more of a "once a week" type of deal. I also do the washing a couple of times a week as it's just me and hubby...that'll change when bubby arrives though and probably become a daily thing lol.

I also think when bubby arrives I'll have the occasional day where NO cleaning gets done!

[Ruby Slippers]

I might sound strange and crazy but I Love to clean :D
I'm great with decluttering, and I Love things organized,

and I do this every month an update in my home ,

and all I need to do in the week is the vacuuming, dusting ,
wash and air out bedding every week ,
clean bathroom , toilets, washing the clothes , clean the Toyroom etc ,
My Dh has been trained well also :rolleyes:

So I would say yes my House is clean :cloud9:

but I'm not a clean queen I don't want to drop everything and clean I still have a life ,
someone else can have the crown.