What are your tried and true cleaning tips?

[PrincessFiona]

What do you do to keep your house clean?

This isn't a great tip, but it's something I do in moments of desperation (like 15 minutes ago). If a room is really cluttered (my kitchen. Think 7 people dropping their toothbrushes, Minny Mouse dolls, Physics books, Frisbee disc golf disks everywhere) I get a large rubbermaid containter and I basically go through the room and put everything that doesn't belong in the bin. I get the room as clean as I want and then head upstairs to hand people their crap to put away in their own rooms.



Kris

[MrsK]

I try to start in one room and just to a quick purge of whatever is not where it should be, wipe down with a damp cloth, and move on. Go quickly. I also play "what's silly?" with the boys where I have them go through the room with me and fix things that are "silly" or out of place. Nothing ever stays tidy for long.

[SoonerTexan]

1. Hire a cleaning lady
2. Never trust DH to clean a bathroom

[Thirteen]

I do daily "pick up" stuff.
At least one load of laundry daily, and we run the dishwasher daily.

What really helps is not having collectibles, toys everywhere, and junk in general. My house looks a little sparse right now, but I got tired of policing the same toys/papers/shoes every day.


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[medpedspouse]

I spray car wax and smear it all over in my bathroom sinks and use rainX on my shower stall walls/door. Makes cleaning much easier.

[spotty_dog]

Top to bottom, inside to outside, dry to wet, and clockwise. That helps me to decide where the heck to start when a room - or even a whole house - is staring me in the face!

Oh, and You Can't Clean Clutter so that's always first.

Very importantly, Find That Smell! If something is whiffy I can't rest until it is identified and hopefully eliminated.

Finally, Binge Tidy When Husband is Expected. My house actually stays cleaner on nights he works, because I spend a minimum of 30 minutes looking at the house through his eyes and zapping the most egregious insults (dirty dishes in the sink, toys on the floor, gunk on the kitchen counter are prime targets.) Listening to knitting podcasts during these binges makes them almost enjoyable.

[PrincessFiona]

I spray car wax and smear it all over in my bathroom sinks and use rainX on my shower stall walls/door. Makes cleaning much easier.

Those are great ideas!

[scrub-jay]

Clean while listening to audiobooks from the library.

[ladymoreta]

For bathrooms, I keep cleaning supplies in every bathroom - several rags and a spray bottle of vinegar and water. I also keep toilet cleaner and a brush in all but the kids' bathroom. That way, if I have an extra couple minutes after using the restroom, I can clean something without going back through the house and getting distracted. It's much easier for me to think in therms of "I'm going to quickly wipe down the counters" than "I need to clean the whole bathroom".

[MsSassyBaskets]

To be completely honest, I've started using those tubs of disinfecting wipes to clean the kitchen and bathroom, and it makes me so much more willing to just wipe down the sink or counter or outside of the toilet when I can just use one of those and then toss it instead of having to spray something down and get out a rag or sponge. With those I even find myself wiping down things that I would normally only do during spring/fall cleaning, like cupboard doors/handles, open shelving, and other random areas. If anyone regularly cleans their cupboard door handles and thinks I'm gross for only doing it every once in a while, well, oops! Just not something I usually remember until they get all covered in fingerprints. I might also give Windex wipes and Pledge wipes a try for the same reason. So not environmentally friendly.

I'm also allergic to clutter, and if things are starting to look disorganized I just start throwing things away.

[Ladybug]

My mom used lemon oil in her bathtubs and sinks when she was showing her house. It supposedly lifts the hard water stains, but it smelled citrusy and fresh.

Cleaning is a sore topic for me right now. It seems like my two choices are 1) nag eternally 2) resentfully clean up after kids. I'm hoping to hold onto my sanity somewhere in the middle.

Why are kids so messy? Is it my parenting? Their prefrontal cortex? I was a complete pig until after college. I think my mom just cleaned up after me...or maybe it's just fun to blame her (still). Do you just survive this stage of their lives, or am I doing something wrong? Is it lack of ownership? I remember feeling very differently when I had my own place, but my kids have their own rooms...

[Thirteen]

I spray car wax and smear it all over in my bathroom sinks and use rainX on my shower stall walls/door. Makes cleaning much easier.

Mind. Blown.


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[poky]

My mom used lemon oil in her bathtubs and sinks when she was showing her house. It supposedly lifts the hard water stains, but it smelled citrusy and fresh.

Cleaning is a sore topic for me right now. It seems like my two choices are 1) nag eternally 2) resentfully clean up after kids. I'm hoping to hold onto my sanity somewhere in the middle.

Why are kids so messy? Is it my parenting? Their prefrontal cortex? I was a complete pig until after college. I think my mom just cleaned up after me...or maybe it's just fun to blame her (still). Do you just survive this stage of their lives, or am I doing something wrong? Is it lack of ownership? I remember feeling very differently when I had my own place, but my kids have their own rooms...

I was a slob until my mom stopped nagging; eventually I realized that if I wanted to be able to find anything in my room, it had to be reasonably tidy. Took a while, but mom just tossed my stuff in my room if it intruded on the rest of the house, and shut my door.

I think at some point, I wanted new carpet, and had to clean the room in order to get it installed, and at another point the house was infested with ants (I never had food in my room, but they were there anyway).

[Vanquisher]

Cleaning lady and having the right cleaners and tools. Also, I put on fun music really loudly and sing while I work.