apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i flylady so i do a little every day. no more weekend cleaning marathons for me and i was able to let go of my maid too as well as a huge closetful of cleaning supplies. surprisingly, house is cleaner now and i'm have my weekends for fun things.

I usually do one big "house thing" on a weekend day where I clean, fix stuff, take out recycling, etc.

The rest of the time I clean up after myself, so my only weekly cleaning is regular vacuuming (shedding dog). I'm a "place for everything, everything in its place" type of guy, so there is usually *very* little clutter and stuff hanging out.

More accurately, my fantastic cleaning lady cleans every other week. There isn't an expense I more heartily justify than her visits.

I wasn't raised to do many chores or consistently. I have no idea how one makes a habit of it or feels a necessity to put things away and clean up after oneself. The mindset is beyond me.

We should start an exchange list. Those who are OCD are more than welcome to come clean at my place...no charge for the experience.

I used to clean fairly regularly, but my boyfriend is a bit of a slob, so I will blame him for my massive lapse in the last year. It is amazing how one doesn't mind cleaning up after oneself, but if there are more then one of you and the other does nothing to very little, it's amazing how quickly you start to just let it go.

I wish I could clean every day. I leave the house at 7 am, and get home at 7 pm. Often there are additional hours that need to spent on freelance projects, plus the basics of feeding the dog, the cat, making sure there are clean clothes for tomorrow, and by the time I am done, it's 9:30 and I'm ready for bed. No time for cleaning, so the weekends it is...

Rather unfortunate, because I would rather enjoy my weekends, and have a clean house.

I clean a little bit every day and wait for the weekends to do big stuff (vacuuming, mopping, etc.). I figure if I can clean up after I make dinner it will be less of a pain than waiting until everything is good and stuck on to the dishes. Same with sorting mail, most other stuff - the sooner I do it the less of a pain it will ultimately be.

I love to clean--I'm the kind of person who will happily get on hands and knees to get every spot. I keep lengthy, room-by-room to-do lists for cleaning the apartment on the weekend. I adore my dog, but the possibility of shaving him has come to mind on more than one occasion.

Unfortunately, my sweetie doesn't appreciate the difference between putting something away and putting it where it can't be seen. That to-do list? Under his study, it just says "close door."

I've gone through phases in my life from being a slob to being uber-organized and clean.

Unforutenately, the last couple years with health issues and long work hours I've let my place slide back into chronic pigstye mode.

Does anyone happen to know of a cleaning service that would specialize in doing a heavy duty pigstye clean and have the balls to throw things out?

Shari - search the AT NY archives. There was info on such services posted not long ago. It is a growing industry.

I asked my mom how she could grow up under such a strict regime and then become a packrat/slob in her adult life. (Covertly blaming her for giving me no sustained discipline.) She mentioned that when I was a tot, the man of the house wouldn't do his share and she eventually quit in protest.

Therein lay the root of my messy upbringing.

lady j, i had the opposite experience. my parents' home is always a total mess and i absolutely hated it when i lived there. they were such packrats, in fact, that they didn't want me to throw out my stuff!

that said, i'm still a total maximalist, but i clean every few days to make sure it never looks unruly or messy.

I used to clean the heck out of my house daily. I HATE a scuzzy bathroom! The slightest fleck of dirt was outlawed from my abode. That all changed when I got preggers and started my own business all at once. Now I give the whole house the once over once a month (whether it needs it or not ;) I sooooo wish I had a maid.....there is nothing right about wasting a beautiful Sunday chained to a broom and bucket!

i pretty much clean/tidy up after myself, so my space stays relatively neat. i do my floors, sheets/towels, and bathroom about every other week. staying on top of the mess help keep me from having to devote huge chunks of time to cleaning.

As my mother said - We can always find something better to do than clean. While we're froliking and ignoring our houses, my aunt does spring cleaning once a month!?

Wish I did like to clean. . .

I checked once a week because that's when I do bigger cleaning like vacuuming, changing sheets, cleaning bathroom and kitchen. I do fairly well at keeping up on daily stuff like loading dishwasher, cleaning up kitchen surfaces, tending to the mail, making the bed, trying to keep up with keeping surfaces clear, but I didn't check the daily box for that. Maxwell's book inspired me to be more vigilant on some of the daily stuff that I can let slide, like not emptying the dishwasher and not clearing surfaces everyday. Keeping up a few minutes at a time really helps. It doesn't come naturally to me at all. But I just don't want to be reaching the point over and over where I have to shovel out, so this is easier.

also, I discovered last weekend that a "light" vacuuming only takes about 5 minutes. That puts things into perspective.

i try to do a little everyday & pick a day to do the hardcore stuff.

it's not too hard to find a few minutes here & there if you look. like if i'm heating a something up in the microwave, i can load the dishes, wipe off the counter, or hang up some clothes. you just have to pick 1 thing.

I have a toddler so I am constantly cleaning. When I have to vacuum crumbs, I wind up doing the entire floor. With all the cleaning I do, my house is still a mess.

I clean SOMETHING every day. I try to keep on top of things because though I don't exactly enjoy cleaning, I do enjoy having a clean house.

I vacuum/mop every other day (dog), dust every 3-4 days. The bathrooms get the full monty once a week.

Each thing only takes about 15-20 minutes to do, so it's not like an hour of cleaning each day.

Another reason not to have a huge house.

I jsut got a puppy and a larger apartment, so I try to as least get the fur up each day. I find that the microfiber sweepers are great if you have mostly wood floors (like I do). A quick 10 minutes each day makes a big difference. In addition to that I make sure clutter is dealt with every day and I wash dwon sinks/counters/tub as I see them getting icky, which is probably every other day or so. I like to feel like someone could could drop by and the place would be okay. However, I do work from home - so that makes it easier to get things done - I find myself dusting/swiffering/microfiber-mopping while on the phone quite a lot.

I also have made sure that I have paper towes and any other cleaning goods in each place where I might want them - this makes it so much easier for quick clean ups.

ROOOMBA!

I bought a roomba (one of those little robotic vacuums) so I like to run it every 2nd day around the house. I have wooden floors and its fantastic (I hear its not good on carpet, but havent tried it to be honest). I have a puppy - its excellent for hair.

Since im really not doing anything, does it still count?

I dont get very much dust as my place is quite minimal - so I think thats a maybe once a month thing?

3 floors + 3 kids (ages 5,6,7) + 1 mate = 7 days/week of cleaning.
I try to Flylady, am really ruthless getting rid of unnecessary stuff, and remind myself that magazines photos of homes are just as unrealistic as photos of fashion models.

My kids are happy and we are trying to teach them to clean up after themselves and to see the value of keeping life around them somewhat in order.

I was very, very happy with my roomba for a long time, but it has developed some problems. I need to give it some sort of deep cleaning and then contact the company if it doesn't work, but my first go at it was not successful and now I've procrastinated on doing whatever I need to do and it's in my guilt project pile under the bed. Maybe this thread will get me to do it this weekend.

My husband, bless him, is a neat nik. He cleans our place almost every day. I throw my socks on the floor, he picks them up. I leave my breakfast dishes on the table, he washes them. I wonder how he feels about marrying pig pen?

I love having a clean organized home. Unfortunately, with 2 children (despite Montessori training, the 3 year old does not pick up after herself much, but rather, leaves a trail of toys in her wake, which only threats of no dance classes will motivate her to tidy), a renovation and dual careers (o.k., I am on maternity leave right now, but breastfeeding and caring for a baby counts as a full-time job!), so who the heck has the time and energy? And frankly, in the precious waking hours we have, I would rather spend them interacting with my children or even going for a walk.

So, my solution has been to hire the teenage babysitter to come by 3 times a week after school to vacuum, dust, do dishes, spot wash floors, fold laundry, etc. Quite economical (MUCH cheaper than a cleaner!), and keeps us from going nuts! What is left -- the bathrooms, and tidying, becomes much easier to do.

I think it was after my big renovation ("cure") that I noticed how gorgeous and warm and happy everything is clean and organized, and how it stays that way with only 5-10 min a day (during my morning coffee, or I fill the dishwasher as I cook).

having a dw in the first place was a key part of the renov!!

I often sweep the floor, pick up the living room, etc. while I am on the phone.

I pick a weeknight a week to do big things (mop, go through the last few boxes of crap I have not yet tossed). (These are those boxes I have not used in years, but come with me through every move, and I just can't get myself to throw out sight unseen)

I like the weekends for other things (or i have to work) so I use weekday nights - nowadays its dark anyway and i love my home so it is enjoyable to be there...

This is Tara from the Cure list - there seem to be two Taras now, so this way everyone can keep us straight.

I clean every day - but only for about 15 min. The idea is simply to have the house as clean as it was when I got up (not worse). Saturday I do all the laundry, mopping, and any other 'larger' chores that need to be done.

This way it never gets overwhelming, and Saturday chores get done while the laundry is going. Then I get the rest of the day for reading, games, etc.

like Anne in Reno, i do small things each day and save larger endeavors for weekends. i treated myself to a set of Mrs. Meyer's products, and they make cleaning less unpleasant. i have dinner parties about once a week, and they are a great motivator to get (and keep!) the whole place in order!

Hi - I'm glad I found your poll because I'm actually doing some research on people's cleaning habits. I would really appreciate it if you could take a quick survey for me:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=450582990028
Thanks!

Bought what I thought was a brand new Rooomba. It took forever to arrive, but I was shocked when I opened the weathered box that it arrived in. It was a USED model RED, and contained gray hair and other matter. And the package was without the all-important controller and so I could not even turn it on, much less control it. Now, what am I supposed to do with this piece of crap? I demand that, since you are using my money, then I deserve what I purchased, which is a new Roomba with all new appurtenances, and certainly a controller. You really should upgrade me to the next grade of Roomba. I am very upset over this and it is costing me money every week as I have to hire the vacuuming done by a lady with a vacuum cleaner.