how often do you vaccuum? and other home care tasks...

[Aura_Kitten]

when i first moved out on my own, i was 18, with a new baby, and no housekeeping skills.

i now have two kids... i'm 22... and i still have no housekeeping skills. :

i'm really, really trying to make my home a nice place, but it's so hard... i have no idea what is "normal" or "should be done" in the way of frequency of tasks (am i making sense?? it's late and i'm tired!).

so, i have some questions, for all of you experienced housekeepers ~

how often do you...

* vaccuum?
* sweep?
* mop?
* change and launder the sheets on your bed?
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?)
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator?
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)?
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades?
* dust bookcases?
* ????? anything i'm not thinking of right now?????

[CarrieMF]

Don't worry I'm 28 and have few housekeeping skills, my mom is 48 and has a few less than I do, my mil is 65 and has none. When my kids were babies I had this silly thought in my mind that it'd be easier to clean when they got older, it doesn't.

My housekeeping(or lack of) is dh's biggest pet peeve.

This is probably going to make me sound like the worst housekeeper in the world.

* vaccuum? - living room 1-2 times a week depending on if the kids had eaten in the living room or how many toys I'd have to pick up to find the floor.

* sweep? - in the summer at least once a week, in the winter once every couple of weeks. This also depends on how much food the kids drop on the floor.

* mop? every 2-3 sweeps unless it really needs it.

* change and launder the sheets on your bed? You're supposed to do this?lol Once every few months, it'd help if I had more sheets than 1 set.

* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?) I do this the same as ours unless one of the kids had an accident. Right now they have no sheets on their beds because my 3yo keeps ripping them off and I haven't gotten around to getting them back on.

* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? i have never done this, we've had this fridge for 7.5years. I keep hoping it'll die on me so I can get one from this century.

* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? I don't disinfect. I do a major cleaning once a year and then spot wash.

* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? I don't do this either. I did all of our blinds once when pregnant trying to convince myself i was nesting. We have since thrown those ones out, the ones I have now need to be vacuumed. The ones in the kitchen need to be thrown out.


* dust bookcases? I hate dusting, it is the worst thing in the world to do. I do it every couple of months unless we have people coming over.

* ????? anything i'm not thinking of right now????? Laundry and bathrooms. The bathroom I do once a month, the tub is a different story I hate doing that. Laundry, ours gets put away and the girls usually live out of laundry baskets but they have enough clothes that they could go a month without having to dive into them.

I really hate housework. I would love a maid to do the dusting and stuff like that I don't like. I don't care about this hole enough to warrant a maid. I also discovered a few months ago that I don't need to clean more often. I can do the dusting, floors and such(not the big spring cleaning stuff) in about 3-5hours, I just need people to come over more often so I feel a need to have a clean house.

I did clean 2 rooms top to bottom and the living room(finally found the remotes that have been missing for 14months) yesterday. I'm doing the kitchen today and the dusting. Between 3 kids, the border and 2 large hairy shedding indoor dogs I gave up a while ago. I can sweep my floor 3 times a week and you'd never notice.

[Aura_Kitten]

thank you!!

[Lisa Lubner]

my total lack of housekeeping skills is a major peev of my husband's too. sometimes i feel like if he didn't bug me about it (which stresses me out), i wouldn't resent doing it so much. :

i do everything pretty much on a "when it needs it" basis. if i open the fridge one day and smell something funny, or see some weird goo collecting under the drawer in the bottom, i clean it. if my sheets are noticably dirty (too many breastmilk stains, haha) or smelly, i will change them. when large dust bunnies start flying off of the ceiling fan when i turn it on, i might stand on a chair and wipe it down. if i can't get to the mouse on the computer desk, i clear it off. when i can only find half of every pair of my shoes, i organize the closet.

there are a few things i need to do everyday, but don't always... including the day's dishes, a load of laundry, the cat poo scooped out of the litter box, etc... these things are my biggest challenges, because i hate hate HATE housework. some days, i really just don't feel like doing it.

[Persephone]

Originally Posted by klothos

how often do you...

* vaccuum?
* sweep?
* mop?
* change and launder the sheets on your bed?
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?)
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator?
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)?
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades?
* dust bookcases?
* ????? anything i'm not thinking of right now?????

I'm learning my housekeeping skills by trial and error. My mom wasn't that great of a housekeeper.

I vacuum once a month, or every three weeksish. It's just me and dh, and we usually have our shoes off inside. When the kids come, I'm sure it'll be more than that.

Sweep about as often, but I think I should do it more often. :

Mop once a month too. (Can you tell my big cleaning day is the first week of every month? )

Once a week, or every other week. I'm picky about clean sheets. If I notice them not looking fresh, then I'll change them.

N/A

Clean out the coils on my fridge? My fridge has coils?

I purge the old food on a pretty regular basis. As for actually wiping it down... um, hardly ever. I just can't bring myself to take EVERYTHING out, wipe it down, and put EVERYTHING back. But, it's starting to smell in there, so maybe I should.

I have never wiped down the blinds. I just don't see a need. If it starts to bother me, I will.

Dusting happens once a month, along with everything else.

It's 4 am here, so I can't think of anything else either, but I'm sure there's more

[weebitty2]

Originally Posted by klothos

how often do you...

* vaccuum?
* sweep?
* mop?
* change and launder the sheets on your bed?
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?)
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator?
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)?
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades?
* dust bookcases?
* ????? anything i'm not thinking of right now?????

Whee. I moved out at 15, and supposedly had housekeeping skills (Read as "mom's personal slave")

Now?
Vaccuum - at least every other day, thanks to two toddlers that love crackers, and two dogs that don't clean the floor.

sweep - around the high chair after every meal. entire kitchen/hallway? maybe once a week if it's been muddy.

mop - around the highchair and kitchen table nightly, but only because we get ants if I don't.

sheets on our bed - weekly (sundays) on weeks that the dogs sleep with us, otherwise every other week. kids beds - two - three times weekly for the 3 youngest, who aren't nighttime potty learned yet. (4y, 20mo, 8 wks)

coils on the fridge - uhm .. i'm supposed to do this? I think I did it once two years ago, if you count blowing them off with a leaf blower before we put a new floor in.

inside of fridge- when i notice it needs it. I wipe down the door handles and doors weekly, because of sticky kid fingers, but the inside only if juice got spilled, a meat package leaked, or such.

blinds/lampshades/fans - no ceiling fans, since our ceilings are 7 feet and dh is 6'4". :LOL we have regular shades on the windows, except in the bathroom. if they look grubby i'll wipe them down, but otherwise only maybe 2x/year

dust bookshelves - ours are used too much to gather dust. My mom used to do it weekly, though.

bathroom - tub? 1x wk. Sink and counterop, and toilet - 2x week. gotta potty learning and messy toothbrushing.

When I was growing up, our weekly chores were this :
Launder and replace sheets on bed. Dust all flat surfaces. Windex mirrors, tv screens, et c. Sweep and mop floor, and vaccuum bedrooms/hallway. Toilet, sink, tub cleaned, then sweep and mop floor. Wipe down heat registers/baseboards. Wipe or dust any wooden molding that looks like it needs it. Dust bookcases and books inside them. Clean up and arrange clothes in dresser drawers, and shoes on closet floors. Nothing but shoes and bags allowed on floor of closet. Empty hampers, wash laundry, dry, fold and hang/put away immediately.

My mom was really anal. Then she married this great guy who taught her that life is more than housework.

[QueenMommy]

* vaccuum? The main area about every other day. The rest of the house once a week.
* sweep? Every day (just the kitchen has a sweepable surface)
* mop? Once a week
* change and launder the sheets on your bed?Usually every other week
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?) the same
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? I've never done this!
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? I don't disinfect, per se, but I clean out the fridge (purge food) and wipe the shelves weekly. It gets a good scrub once a month
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? I don't do the blinds and we don't have lampshades, but I wipe down my fan blades weekly
* dust bookcases? Usually once a week, sometimes twice.
* ????? anything i'm not thinking of right now????? The oven gets cleaned out once a month. I steam clean the carpet (main area only) once a year. Wipe the dining room table and kitchen counters daily. Clean the microwave once a week. Laundry is usually twice a week. Maybe a small load thrown in here and there. I do the bathtub once a week.


I know it sounds like I do alot and it probably sounds like I'm anal (I'm not! lol!), it's just a habit I've gotten into. I can have my whole house pretty much cleaned in under an hour and I never do any major cleaning on the weekends! the most I will do is sweep the kitchen floor and vacuum if it needs it.

[Alkenny]

Almost 32 here, been out of the house since I was 18. My mom is a pretty SPOTLESS housekeeper, as was her mother (I don't know why my aunt and her kids AREN'T...rebels? NASTY! :LOL ) and so am I....I think I border on OCD though.

* vaccuum? Daily, sometimes twice depending on what the kids track in

* sweep? Again, daily...sometimes more (like after meals)

* mop? Weekly, unless something is spilled

* change and launder the sheets on your bed? Weekly

* change the sheets on your children's bed? Weekly also

* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? I have a new fridge that doesn't have any...hmmmm...

* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? I go through food weekly, scrub it out monthly

* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? Every couple of months, or if I notice they're getting dusty

* dust bookcases? Monthly (again, if I notice dust)

Everything in the bathroom gets cleaned everyday (tub, mirrors, toilet etc). Laundry is usually done on Monday/Wednesday/Friday.
Microwave is cleaned out everday as part of DD's "chores" (dishes, which involve the stove and microwave)

[FillingMyQuiver]

Well, since DH lost his job, I've been REALLY lax about my housework. Probably b/c he distracts me so much from the tasks I'm dong, I just gave up. BUT, I'm trying really hard to get back on track I'm a FlyBaby, so I do a Weekly Home Blessing Hour that includes: vacuuming in detail (window sills, baseboards, floors, etc), sweeping/ mopping, emtpy all trash cans, dusting w/ feather duster, cleaning mirrors/ tv screens. Before DH was staying home, this was what I did.

* vaccuum? every other day, I'm worried about allergens and dust, 3 of my siblings have asthma, so I worry about DS developing it
* sweep? 1x/wk, or when it needs it
* mop? 1x/wk, unless something spills
* change and launder the sheets on your bed? every 2wks, BUT, I have been known to let them go for a month :
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?) same as ours, every 2wks
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? WHAT!?!?! Hmmm... I guess I better go do that this week....
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? I throw out the old food weekly and wipe down the fridge, maybe every 2mo I really scrub and disinfect it
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? the lampshades I dust weekly, no fans, hmmm.... the blinds I try to vacuum every couple of months, which reminds me, they need to be done :LOL
* dust bookcases? weekly

I just wanted to add that I'm 25, grew up in a household where we had weekly chores and my mom's a decent housekeeper. I really struggled w/ housework when I was first married 3 yrs ago and only recently found FlyLady.

[Nature]

I'm 26 and I think I do a decent job of keeping the house clean, though I HATE to clean unless I'm mad. hehe

* vaccuum? Once a day, sometimes two. My dd loves to eat, but doesn't love to sit in her highchair. I can only imagine how my floors would look if I didn't vaccume reguarly. No wait, I DO know what it looks like and its scary!

* sweep? Every day or every other day depending on how it looks. I like to go barefoot and I hate the feel of crumbs on my feet.

* mop? Once a month,... maybe. The only mopable surface is the kitchen. I mop when I notice my dd's feet turning black after only a short time of walking in there. :

* change and laundery the sheets on your bed? Mmm...not as much as I should. I just now aquired another set for our bed so perhaps I'll do it a little more now. I'd say once a month or more often depending on if the baby has been sick. (we co-sleep)

* change the sheets on your children's bed? Actually, I change this more often than our own only because my oldest has more sheets to choose from! (why oh why can't Queen size sheets cost the same as twin? lol)

* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? ..uh..urrm...I don't have a clue about this...

* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? I throw out old stuff when I remember to, and I rarely scrub down unless meat has spilled or jelly. GAH! I hate jelly spillage!

* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? I actually just did the fan blades on our overhead fans yesterday for the first time! (and we've lived here 3 years. ) My reason for doing it wasn't because you could see it, because the fans run all the time... but rather the dust in the air was driving me mad. We don't have any lampshades in the house at all, all ceiling lights. The blinds don't seem to be getting much dust on them at all, but if I wash the windows I'll give them a once over with the wet rag. (I wash windows twice a year until fingers and food got all over them)

* dust bookcases? Whenever I notice the dust, usually once a week though. Again, allergy factor.

*Bathrooms? Every single day. I swear, my husband cannot hit the toilet if his life depended on it.

[celestialdreamer]

I've been told I'm kinda a clean freak now, but I think I'm just paranoid that if I don't keep up with everything that it will get really bad. When I first moved out on my own at 18 my place was awful : I find that if I don't keep my house looking really clean on a daily basis, its get bad really quick and it takes so much more time to clean.

* vaccuum? every other day (we have all wood floors, and I hate stuff sticking to my feet) even though we have a 'no shoes' house with an almost 1 yr old, 3 cats and a dog it always seems to need it!

* sweep? vacuum only, but I dust mop on the days I don't vacuum

* mop? the whole house once a week usually, spot clean daily

* change and launder the sheets on your bed? weekly

* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?) she cosleeps at night, but the cat likes to sleep in her crib, so I usually change that once a week because its covered in hair LOL!

* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? I didn't even realize that they had coils...I will have to check that!

* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? I don't disinfect anything, but I clean out food weekly, and wipe out with vinegar solution monthly

* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? I usually vacuum the lampshades, heating vents and all upholstery monthly. We don't have any fans or blinds, but I do wash the curtains about every 3 months or when they start to look look a little 'furry' at the bottoms from the cats.

* dust bookcases? Weekly. I dust the tables, shelves, picture frames with a microfiber cloth weekly, then do a more in-depth dusting monthly with a wet rag (like baseboards, doors, etc).

* ????? anything i'm not thinking of right now????? I scoop the catbox daily, clean out pet food bowls weekly; wipe kitchen counters at least daily (including behind things), wipe down a few kitchen cabinets weekly (rotate which ones get done), scrub down kitchen counters and clean stove weekly, laundry- usually one or two regular loads a day, and one load of diapers, bathrooms get a deep clean once a week (including tub/shower) and the hair/dust wiped off usually every other day.

I have one day a week (usually Friday) that I do the major cleaning like the kitchen, bathroom, dusting and the floors. Then everyday I make sure that I clean any little area that looks like it can't wait until Friday.

[OhMel]

I started being concerned about housekeeping once ds arrived. Suddenly I noticed the dirt. Maybe it was because this was the first time I wasn't working outside of the house. Anyway, I read about the book Home Comforts here on MDC and it helped me generate a plan. You can read about it here:http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/AS...751225-1419907

* vaccuum? 2x week or whenever we have company coming over. I have 2 indoor cats, a VERY sheddy dog and one toddler so I should probably do this every day.
* sweep? never
* mop? I spot clean the kitchen and mop the sunroom every couple of months
* change and launder the sheets on your bed? every week
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?) every week
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? it's a new fridge, but I pull all of the appliances out about 2x a year and clean under them and vacuum the backs
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? as needed
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? 2x year
* dust bookcases? weekly

[Carolinamidwife]

*edited*

[roundpegmom]

* vaccuum?- I vacuum probably 4-5 times a week, not always the whole house, I hate crunchy carpet
* sweep?-usually once a day, the whole kitchen, and under my messy eater 2-3X day
* mop?-I should mop at least once a week, I do mop about every other week, it is hard to keep the kitchen empty and I forget to do it after the kids have gone to bed
* change and launder the sheets on your bed?-probably 3 x month
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?)-much, much less often, maybe once every 1-2 months
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator?- huh??? Where are the coils?? I vacuum the peice under the door that gets dusty
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)?-when something gets spilled or there is visable funk
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades?-I dust a lot to try to keep them from having to be scrubbed
* dust bookcases?-weekly
* ????? anything i'm not thinking of right now?????-I vacuum and dust alot, dusting often keeps things from getting really funky. I use the attachments on the vacuum often. I wipe down the bathroom sink and mirror daily, clean the tub/toilet weekly. I am not on a schedule (I have been in my more anal days), but I do feel better when things are picked up so I try to keep the common areas of the house pretty clean.

[scrapadoozer]

* vaccuum? the livingroom gets vacuumed about twice a week. The rest of the house is surprised if it ever sees a vacuum cleaner. :LOL
* sweep? At least 3x a week...usually more...DH has a messy profession and tracks dirt into the kitchen
* mop? : Every other month
* change and launder the sheets on your bed? :LOL Maybe twice during the winter...more during the summer.
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?) She co-sleeps
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? Haven't ever done that yet!
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? 3X a year
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? Once since we've moved in (we've been here since last winter)
* dust bookcases? Does dust go there?

I want to improve my housecleaning as well. DH doesn't care if the house it always a wreck but it really annoys me and I feel much more at peace when we have a tidy home.

[Aura_Kitten]

maids.


thanks for the input everyone.

[Carolinamidwife]

[momto l&a]

When I was a kid I cleaned house every saturday, everything. When it passed inspection I had the rest of the day to myself, mom promised she couldnt asked me to do anything more that day

With dh schedule its hard for me to pick a day in which I clean house i am trying to figure out something though. One of the programs that came with Microsoft has a house cleaning schedule so I am trying to figure out how to match it to dh 2 week schedule.

maids.

:LOL

[Carolinamidwife]

*edited*

[stacey0402]

I tend to be a neat freak, but I do find it is so much easier to keep things clean rather than play catch up once every couple of weeks...kwim? To answer your questions:

* vaccuum? every couple of days (3 max)
* sweep? once a week
* mop? once a week
* change and launder the sheets on your bed? once a week
* change the sheets on your children's bed? (same as yours?)once a week
* clean out the coils on your refrigerator? huh? never done this...oops.
* clean out the fridge (scrub shelves, disinfect, etc)? monthly
* wipe down blinds / lampshades / fan blades? monthly
* dust bookcases? once a week
* ????? anything i'm not thinking of right now????? I am really strict about the cleanliness of my bathroom and kitchen sink. I scrub my bathroom weekly (toilet, tub, sinks) and I spray down and wash my kitchen sink and counters daily. I spray the shower down daily with Method spray stuff...:LOL I usually wipe the toilet seat every day. I just want to gag when I think about bathing my kiddos in a nasty bath tub. Call me weird, but it actually makes me physically ill. You do not want to know what seeing a child bathed in a kitchen sink makes me feel like I know...its my weird little germphobic hang-up.