What is regular your cleaning schedule?

amother

Sienna

Fri, Mar 27 2015, 9:28 am

Not Pesach prep cleaning, but regular maintenance cleaning?

While a newlywed I did all my cooking for Shabbos on Friday morning and DH and I shared cleaning the entire apartment onfriday afternoon.

After DC birth, things sort of started to fall apart in terms of cleaning and maintenance and I never really got back into cleaning, partly because I went back to work obscenely soon, including a full day Friday, struggled with the adjustment to parenthood etc. now expecting again and iyH will have very generous maternity leave this time.

Now, instead of once weekly major cleaning I'm looking for a way to do a few tasks a day to keep things manageable, clean and under control. While managing caring for newborn and toddler and not feeling like I'm overwhelmed or living in a pigsty.

I've looked at fly lady but her stuff seems super intense, doesn't account for shabbos, leaving time to prep for that etc.

Basically, I need so see/hear how other frum ladies manage to keep clean homes juggling with caring for kids, prepping for shabbos etc.

How do you do it? Anon because I'm embarrassed at how gross my apartment got at times.

granolamom

Fri, Mar 27 2015, 9:41 am

here's what I do. first, I do have cleaning help on thursdays, so I dont do heavy stuff like cleaning the fridge or washing windows, she does that.
laundry: I do mine & dh's and my dds' on sunday, my boys' on monday and thursday (they go through alot of clothes!). I do towels/linens/rags as needed
cleaning:I do a major post shabbos cleanup motzei shabbos and sunday morning, includes kitchen, dining room and all floors.
daily: every day after breakfast I clean up the kitchen, wipe down countertops, table, clean stovetop and sinks, sweep
every day, I do a quick fly-lady spray and wipe in the bathrooms (I keep a spray bottle and rags in each bathroom so its easy)
tuesday: I used to have cleaning help on tues too, but I cut back so now I do another major cleanup, tidy up each room, sweep/mop/vacuum all floors, neaten closets, wash tub/shower/toilets. it takes me about 2 hrs.
I'm nuts about clutter so its relatively quick because we try not to have alot of stuff around.
I'm probably leaving out some stuff, but that's whats coming to mind right now. for me, having a schedule and forming habits is the way to go, this way you dont have to motivate yourself, its just what you do. I cant imagine leaving my house in the morning before tidying the kitchen, its like brushing my teeth.

thing is, my kids are not so young anymore, but when I had babies I'd strap em to my back while I cleaned, and toddlers used to 'help' so it took longer. (I did have twice weekly help when I had littles but I still did the post shabbos, daily stuff and laundry)

amother

Sienna

Fri, Mar 27 2015, 11:38 am

Thanks for the help!

I like your big clean up motzei Shabbos. More doable in the winter than summer though, and what do you do with all the motzei Shabbos activities/events if that's your big cleaning time?

Do people usually do all their housework in the evenings when they work FT or on the weekends when everyone is in and out and running around?

What I have a hard time with now is juggling the needs of work, family, errands (always need groceries etc done) then cleaning always ends up fitting in little gaps of random time...or not so we end up with periods of time where the house is a mess.

What I don't like so much abt fly lady is the assumption that people have full days at home to devote to "errand day" etc. all my errands since I'm working are done right after work (which is hard because of dinner and bedtime) or on evenings/weekends.

DH is also a huge helper truly, which I appreciate and definitely helps.

My main problem is finding the time to do all the things that need doing and figuring out the way that is most efficient to do them!

example: I hate having to do groceries three times a week. We're not so many ppl but even with a list and menu in hand we always have to buy more stuff before Shabbos and at random intervals in the week. This also makes budgeting harder!

granolamom

Fri, Mar 27 2015, 4:59 pm

amother wrote:

what motzei shabbos activities? I dont go out much. my motzei shabbos activities mostly include father son learning in the winter and driving my teen to/from her friends. My dh often works motzei shabbos too. In the summer I do half the house, and leave the bedrooms and bathroom floors for sunday morning.

I think alot of this has to do with priorities. I cannot function if my house is not clean, but if you can tolerate more of a mess you can do less without being filthy. personally, I schedule my cleaning and do errands and stuff around my cleaning because as I said, *I* cannot leave the house if the kitchen is in disarray, but thats just me. It means that some of my errands dont get done. It means that my cooking is not gourmet. It means that I fold laundry at the front window while waiting for the school bus with my kids. I dont leave the cleaning for gaps, I leave other things for gaps. but there isnt a right or wrong way, you do what matters most to you.
and yes, there are always periods of time where the house is a mess, especially if you have little kids. I am homeschooling so there's always kid-action going on, meaning they are always making a mess. but I know that I will clean it up in a day or two so its ok. (obviously some messes require immediate attention, but ykwim).

I also didnt realize you were working outside the home, I have no idea how mothers who work outside the home get it all done. I guess its all the same principle, decide what must get done, and what can slide. in terms of efficiency though, I find it best to maintain regularly rather than need a deep clean day. keeping things where you need them helps too (like extra garbage bags in the pail, or windex in the bathroom).
I would try to get the grocery shopping down to twice weekly. once for shabbos, and once earlier in the week. anything you think you need in between, you probably don't. its not worth the extra half hr.

MMCH

Fri, Mar 27 2015, 5:13 pm

This is how I break things down.
I divide HEAVY cleaning and LIGHT cleaning and next to each one, how often/ how many times a week
HEAVY
-Vacuums(1x week)
-Linens(1x 2 week)
-Wash floors(1x week)
-Windows(once every few months)
-wash chairs down(1x 2 weeks)
-stove top(1x a week)
-oven(1x 2 weeks)
-Inside of furniture(once a month)
-Clean out fridge(1x 2 weeks)
-Wash Tub, Toilet, Bathroom Floor (1x a week)
LIGHT
-Sweeping(Daily)
-Make beds(Daily)
-Wash dishes(daily)
-clean out sinks(daily)
- Fold Laundry / Put away(as needed)

This list helped me make the list smaller. and not as overwhelming. There's obviously a ton of cleaning and organizing that I don't do like closets, drawers, cabinets, polishing silver, dusting my book shelves(which is why my apt is so dusty)
This year I happen to have a wonderful babysitter who watches my kids in the early morning (730-9) and she does all the LIGHT housekeeping. which is a major help!!
So this year, I've been focusing on the heavy stuff, doing it well.
Hope this helps!
-

mha3484

Thu, Apr 02 2015, 12:22 pm

I am like Granolamom. I get very out of sorts when my apartment is not what I consider reasonably clean. Id rather take an hour or two motzei shabbos to put things in order than go out to dinner and come home feeling stressed. If I want to treat myself the sushi place delivers Smile

.

I do a big clean up motzei shabbos and sunday morning before we go anywhere. During the week I do maintenance. Before going to bed I straighten up the floor, make sure dishes are washed and put away. Bathroom is cleanish. I have found having a clean enough house for my sanity is a lifestyle. I have changed my standards to a huge degree.

If I am too tired to wash dishes then dinner is served on paper in the foil pans I cooked it in. There is no requirement to use actual dishes.

Certain toys and activities are at the top of the shelf for days I feel like dealing with a big mess. Arts and Crafts and toys with lots and lots of pieces are not the only source of entertainment.

I make games with my 4 year old and make a big deal about being a team with ima to clean up together. He talks to me about whatever he wants while we pick up toys etc. I also give out chocolate chips.

I come home from work feeling half as stressed as I used to BH.

musicmom

Thu, Apr 02 2015, 1:03 pm

Hey ladies,

I love this thread! So interesting! I get so overwhelmed Saturday night. Our house is clean on Thursday, but as a working mom I have a hard time finding time to fold laundry or put things away, and it all snowballs. There never is a break, even on Shabbos. And the kitchen cleanup alone is so overwhelming.

In my head there should be a Saturday night movie or something fun, but it is always the same cleanup or that gross feeling of not cleaning up. My kids are fine until my husband leaves for shul, and there is always a baby with separation anxiety. As soon as one grows out of that faze, the next kid is in that faze. I am almost bonkers by the time my husband comes home :-).

Of course, he knows what it is like, bc he is home all week, but it is so hard to juggle it all, and how can you always be there for everyone and never get any time to yourself? I feel sooooooo guilty for even trying to read a book!

How do you all do it? BTW, my kids are 5, 3, 2, and 7 mo, so that is why it is challenging :-)

Miri7

Thu, Apr 02 2015, 1:40 pm

So far there are lots of great suggestions. The best place to start is to outline what needs to get done and how frequently as MMCH suggested. Then make a schedule and stick to it. I find that doing lots of small maintenance cleanups helps keep things tidy - after using the bathroom, I tidy and wipe up the sink for 2 minutes. Once you let things start to slide, it gets hard to catch up. Discipline yourself to clean up the tiny messes as you make them (which is hard with kids, I know!)

I do laundry all week and let it pile up in huge baskets (we have lots of room). Then it all gets folded once a week and each bigger child has to put his/hers away. I have a spot for "too small" items - everything goes there and then once a month or so I will sort it to save/pass along/donate. Cutting down on the amount of stuff you have makes it much easier to manage. I also purge kids toys for all of those random plastic parts and things. (My family tends to collect random stuff that piles up and makes me crazy).

Cut down on grocery trips to twice a week, as suggested above. For other errands, I've gotten amazon prime and it helps a lot. If we need something, I'm able to order it on my phone while nursing (sometimes in the middle of the night) and I don't have to think about it again - the item just shows up on my doorstep.

Each night, no matter what, do a 15-30 minute clean up with DH. The house should be "re-set" each day so you don't start off messier each morning. Kitchen tidy, floors swept, things generally in their place. Laundry going.

Once we were both working FT and had several kids, we decided to get cleaning help to do the deeper cleaning. That was a huge help and worth every penny! (I am so grateful we can afford it.) Having someone come and dust/scrub each week or every other week makes a big difference.

We cook Shabbat on Thursday night, some things maybe Wednesday. (this requires knowing on Sunday what we're having for the following Shabbat)