Aside from washing dishes & cleaning the counter immediately after eating, I do a little every day after work. One day I'll do the laundry, the next day I'll dust. I generally leave the bigger chores (vacuuming or cleaning the bathroom) for the weekend.

There always seems like there are things that need to "move" around the house; folded laundry, cups/dishes, coats, shoes - I make a habit of taking things with me as I travel from room to room. I also try to use waiting (water boiling, coffee milk heating) time to accomplish 3 minute tasks.

I try to at least some of the FlyLady's daily habits: the bathroom sink and toilet daily, washing dishes daily (a big change for me!), and doing a load of laundry daily (which only works once you have the glorious luxury of washer at home instead of having to go to the laundromat). Also, walking dog and litter boxes daily. That's about all I can handle on a typical day of going to work.

I used to watch my Mom (the prototype for Martha Stewart) doing the housekeeping...sometimes it was like a dance as she moved from room to room....I can close my eyes and watch her give a pat to this, a tug to that, a bump with her hip to a drawer as she went from here to there so that after she left a room, there was harmonious order. I try to follow suit, and when I do there is a greater sense of calm to my home...it's not strictly housekeeping to "line things up", but it goes far to create serenity and even love.

I've really been trying to incorporate cleaning into my everyday routine, ever since my boyfriends best friend suggested we hire a cleaning service (jerk!). But seriously, that snapped me into the everyday thing. I'm lucky if I have time for espresso in the morning so nothing gets done then, but if I don't sit down when I walk in from work in the evening and clean for 20 mins or so, that seems to really help me at least maintain everything.

I also keep a cleaning cloth in the bathroom too to quickly wipe down each morning - keeping on top of the cleaning is the key. Then for dusting, vacuuming and more intensive cleaning - I find some great dancing music always helps.

I try to do Put away dishes while brewing my coffee. But otherwise try to keep main areas tidy each evening. It's easier to tackle bigger cleaning jobs when things are already a bit orderly.

While getting ready for work I make the bed, tidy up living room from the night before - usually it's just clearing off the coffee table of some cups and folding a throw blanket or two, maybe put away clean dishes, maybe fold some laundry.

After getting home from work I walk the dog, do dishes if there are any and clean up kitchen, and then I have tasks assigned to days of the week - which I don't strictly follow, but it gives me a guideline of what should be getting done.

Mondays I clean the entryway, Tuesdays the extra bedroom gets a once-over, Wednesdays are bathrooms, etc. And I have written down exactly what teach task entails ("entryway" includes all coats in closet, shoes put away, all mail sorted, etc.). It may sound a little over-the-top, but it really helps because I don't have to think at all what each chore is - I just refer to what I've written down.

My actual cleaning (dusting, vaccuuming, mopping floors) I do one weeknight every week -- generally Thursdays.

But for everyday picking up & tidying, I try to do some when I get home from work. Or, rather, I try not to MAKE a mess by hanging up my coat, putting my shoes away, sorting the mail, etc.

Then I generally do one of those pre-bed sweeps. I'm already walking around making sure doors are locked and blinds closed and lights off, so why not put away that pile of paper on the coffee table and bring the mug to the sink, etc.?

Every day I pick up clutter. I hate when stuff piles up. I have four kids, so it's not easy. I have an "upstairs basket" that I keep in the laundry room. We just toss stuff that needs to be put away or upstairs during the day... I empty it out in the evening. As for cleaning, I tackle something different each day (i.e. kids' bathrooms, son's room, upstairs hall)... I find this keeps things always looking pretty good without spending too much time each day on it. Actually, I like to clean, but the clutter makes me crazy.

This is how it works for me:

1. Wash the utensils, plates, clean the kitchen immediately after I cook and before I sit for a meal.
2. Dust the house whenever my eye sights any, it can be one place at a time.
3. Major clean-up; i.e. sweeping and wiping the floors on Friday nights (i dont prefer sweating out on weekends), to have a clean house and relaxed weekend spent at home.

My house is designed with an open living/dining/kitchen. I never go to bed at night without first making a pass through there to make sure it's shipshape. To me, that's the public area of my house. I always want it and the guest bath ready to receive visitors. It keeps me sane to walk in there in the morning to make my coffee and everything is orderly. What I consider the private areas of my house, the bedrooms, en suites, and office can be a mess — that, I can live with.

Most housework I do not love (the exception is laundry, which I love because you get to fold beautiful clean warm clothes). A few weeks ago here there was an idea to do a blast around the house in 20 minutes with a list of suggested chores--make the bed, pick up the clothes, wipe down the toilet & bathroom sink, wash dishes in kitchen sink, clean counter tops, sweep the kitchen floor. I've been doing this now for a few weeks and it works! I set the timer and run around doing all these and the house is tidy-ish now when I get back from work. Most importantly I have a cleared deck for making dinner. Larger stuff can wait until the weekend.

I live in a 1 bedroom apt with my boyfriend and 1 year old son. the bedroom functions as his baby room, with toys, clothes, crib, etc. the living room is open to the kitchen, and also contains our bed. we have to keep it tidy, otherwise it would feel awful giving its our everything space.

so we typically tidy up as soon as we get home from morning preparation chaos, and prepare supper/lunches for the next day. I like the small space. it forces us to spend our time together, even id we're watching futurama while we play/tidy up.

Soon after moving in with my boyfriend, he realized I was much more clean than him, and that I expected him to go half on all the chores. So he went out and bought a dry erase calender, which has become our chore board. Every two weeks we sit down and dole out the chores that need to be done in an even way. That way we both know what needs to be done and what's expected of us. Every once in awhile we'll skip a week, and it will remind us how much better that system is for us.
2 1/2 years later, our house is almost always tidy and we literally have never fought about chores. All we have to do is maybe 20 minutes of chores a day each.

This is something I still struggle with. Growing up, my mom had a woman come clean our house twice a week. I had to pick up my things, but I never realized how exhausting the actual cleaning part can be. And without central air and filters, I feel like the dust is just insane!

I do remember her constantly getting after me for leaving dishes all over the house, and now that I have a boyfriend who does the same thing I think I'm turning into my mother. Does that mean I can have a cleaning lady, too? :)

While I drink coffee rather than tea, I also put away dishes while it brews :)
I found that it's sometimes easier to clean & organize when it's broken down into smaller tasks.

I did a series where I focused on 31 Days...of 31 Minute Tasks for a More Organized Life. http://www.cookingatcafed.com/2012/02/follow-up-getting-grip.html

I'm still learning to make use of spare moments.
But, it's getting easier each time!

I do one load of laundry a day, first thing in the morning, and fold it before going to bed at night. And I do dishes first thing in the morning. I have so much more energy in the morning than I do in the evenings, so I plan everything to get done in the morning so after dinner I can have the evening off. This January cure is really helping me get decluttered and more organized so that the big chores don't loom over me every weekend.

Before sleeping.i clean the kitchen and the living Room that way it's less stress ful for me

Hi, sorry for the aside but does anyone know where the chairs in the image above are from?
Thanks!
Eve

@ Eve - those chairs are a version of the Emeco Navy chairs. Or maybe a knockoff...

@ Anne Ferris - Thank you so much! That's them alright. Too bad they're so pricey! Thanks for your help!

I grew up in a cluttered, mismatched, hoarder household so I'm stuck between having little motivation to clean, and being quite vulnerable to extreme frustration if my living space isn't well maintained. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment with my boyfriend, who had been living in pretty much an adult frat house before this, and we both work from home so it's incredibly easy for messiness to consume the apartment in an amazingly short amount of time. I've tried various cleaning schedules and tricks to manage this.

I like to make things as simple as possible, so I have a container for empty bottles and trash under the coffee table, and I keep a towel for cleaning make up brushes and wiping down the sink on the bathroom counter. We put dishes right into the dishwasher when we're done. I even clean up as I cook dinner. Then, on Monday's after work I throw in laundry, wipe everything down, and vacuum/clean the floors. My boyfriend puts away dishes and folds clothes. It's been working out pretty well.

I find that if I just take a solid 20 minutes right when I get home to tidy up, things tend to stay pretty clean. The trick is, I don't allow myself to take my shoes off until I do the cleaning (obviously if it's raining or my shoes are otherwise messy I take them off). That way I don't feel like I "should be relaxing" yet.

Yes, on the weekends I have to do the vacuuming and a big clean on the bathroom, plus whatever larger chore I've set for myself, but if I just keep on top of the little things, I don't have to spend all weekend cleaning, just a few hours spread over Saturday & Sunday.