How much cleaning is enough?

I do hope I always have more in my life than cleaning a house daily .
My hou.se is reasonably clean and tidy ( there are 3 living here and 3 dogs ) but I wont be a slave to cleaning,when the sun is out Im out and Ive joined clubs to have a life daytime and an occasional eve as well.
No housework get done once or twice aweek and living gets done much more

Look up FLYLADY. She sets out brilliant routines so nothing is overwhelming. I used her routines a lot at one time. I now have a very good cleaning lady once a week and we are not too untidy so we don't have to do more than keep on top of bathroom, kitchen and loo areas and a quick tidy round of dining and sitting areas. I much prefer to garden.

Gabriella some young woman has just brought out a book on cleaning; I think she calls herself Mrs Hinch.

This young woman is obviously not one of the younger generation who wishes to save the planet for future generations as she recommends the use of harsh chemicals, wipes etc etc, in order to make life easy for anyone who has to tackle domestic cleaning.

She does recommend white vinegar - amongst an array of chemicals!

She has a huge following - the eco-conscious amongst her generation must despair.

When on earth does the busy modern woman with her phone and her children and her job and no time to keep in contact with her family, find time to start doing extensive housework?

As far as I am concerned it is not a question of 'how much housework is enough' but 'How little housework can I get away with.'

I’ve always been of the same mind M0nica and I do less and less as I get older and people have to take my place as they find it. I’ve never apologised for the state of my house which isn’t as clean as some friends houses but it’s usually tidy which covers a multitude of sins! Who cares?

I do downstairs once a week - vaccing only and a floor wash if required. The downstairs loo does get a more frequent clean because of the umpteen GC and friends. Upstairs I do when I feel like it though I do change the bed clothes regularly. I dust though only when feel driven. Noone's complained

When on earth does the busy modern woman with her phone and her children and her job and no time to keep in contact with her family, find time to start doing extensive housework?
This particular young woman does not have children, as far as I know, and I think started blogging about her cleaning tips - now has a book out.
A good way to 'clean up' and make herself rich!

DH has just told me that we have a couple of visitors coming this afternoon - to dust or not to dust?
Nah - sit them outside, it's a lovely day!

This thread has just shown up on Mumsnet - someone dusts down the stairs with yesterday's socks .
I missed that one.

as long as they're not sweaty

Do as much housework as makes you happy, both the doing of it and the result. If you want to clean all day, and an immaculate house gives you pleasure, then do it and enjoy it.

It's only the result that makes me happy eazybee

Just read this post and felt inspired to drag out the vacuum cleaner!

Listened to Woman's Hour a while back. The woman swore by denture tablets in the loo. Of course I rushed out for some ; I can see no difference annoyingly..and they were Sterident!

I just cleaned out a cupboard …..
[halo]

I clean because I must, but I also find it a very therapeutic activity when I'm cross. I live in an Edwardian house with fourteen rooms (it's not a grand house, it just has a lot of rooms!) and we have a constant stream of visitors and house-guests, plus an occasional lodger. My sons both have dogs and babies/toddlers and stay over regularly, so not keeping the house clean and tidy is an option I don't have, but I also don't have much 'free' time due to work commitments. I used to have a sort of method/timetable, but that's long gone so I fit in what I can, when I can. Yesterday I mopped from the top of the house right the way through, changing the water three times, it took me well over an hour and I was exhausted by the end. Today I've cleaned all the bathrooms, toilets and bedroom washbasins in between a management meeting, a client meeting and a frustrating sixty minute phone call to a mobile service provider. The latter left me so angry that I was glad to work it off through cleaning!

I seem to be always clearing up after OH's "tidying". He'll vac the lounge but leave the vac in the hall "so you can finish"; he'll wash up, dry-up and leave the clean things either on the worktop "I didn't know where it lives" or I'll be playing hide and seek looking for a mixing bowl to find it on top of the baked beans or a sieve rammed into the cutlery drawer "it fit?" Think the worst thing is when he cuts meat he'll leave the worktop swimming in meat juices.

It's really easier to not have him around helping.

The younger generation seem to be following Mrs Hinch in droves. Cleaning seems to be a hobby now. There are lots more things to be doing we were all taught by our mothers to keep a good clean home.

Not sure who she is. Ah, good old Google. I just do housework, I don't enjoy it, especially ironing.

I quite like ironing. It's a chance to play my old L.P's whilst ironing. My "bete noir" is cleaning the oven. I've just moved and left my catalytic oven behind for a bog standard one. Back to being on my knees with my head in the oven.

Cleaning as necessary and if we are having visitors. Don’t believe in worrying too much unless it is unhygienic. Prefer being reasonably tidy but not a slave to it.

I find cleaning therapeutic as well. I find it difficult to settle if I have jobs outstanding.
I don't like going out then having to come back to chores.

This thread made me think of a poem, here it is,
Dust If You Must
by Rose Milligan
Dust if you must, but wouldn't it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?

Dust if you must, but there's not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;
Music to hear, and books to read;
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.

Dust if you must, but the world's out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair;
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.

Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and it's not kind.
And when you go (and go you must)
You, yourself, will make more dust.

Oh, I like that MiniMoon. It makes a lot of sense. I’ve done my swimming in rivers and climbing mountains, but I love her more gentle concept of “ponder the difference between want and need”. I don’t worry at all about the dust. I get rid of it when I can see it and I keep everything else hygienic on a daily basis. Off to continue reading Piers Plowman in the garden while it’s still sunny, then lunch out.

Annmarr put that very same poem on this thread.

Vacuum and wash floors twice a week. Change our two single beds around once a fortnight. Dust if people are coming but find vacuuming regularly keeps the dust down. DH and I take turns wiping the bathroom out each day. Our door to the garden which we use a lot has a boot scrubber outside and that traps dirt before it enters the house. For mirrors, windows and painted surfaces, I take a microfiber cloth a spray it lightly back and front with glass cleaner. Then I scrunch it so it is lightly moist for rubbing over the mirrors etc. this is much easier and more successful than spraying on the mirror and trying to remove the residue.

I don’t like cleaning, but I like a clean house, so needs must!

I used to be up and racing around on cleaning day, managing to clean the entire house, now I seem to potter about, a bit of cleaning , followed by a sit down and read, then a bit more cleaning, and a chat on the phone, and so it goes on

The only blessing is, that my eyesight has got worse, so I can’t see all those cobwebs