Help! How do I clean? . ?

Question

Throughout my entire childhood and young adult like, I have been blessed (cursed) with a housekeeper. Now that I am newly married, a new mom, I have realized I have NO idea how to clean.

How do I do it?

How often does a family of 3 do laundry? Dishes, is it better to use the dishwasher or hand wash? How often do I do things like clean the windows. How often is it normal to sweep? Or - what is a normal amount of swept pile debris? Do I really need a "bathroom specific" cleaner to clean my bathroom? Do I use a sponge to clean the bath tub? How often do I clean everything? How do I clean?

I am asking specific questions, but I really need answers to so much more. Is a "when it's dirty" approach good for cleaning (I think not, because I'd rather be ahead of a mess than behind - but then again I dont even know how to clean).

The ONLY thing I really know how to do is laundry... however, I have way too many clothess so I can go two or three months without needing to wash - by the time I need to do laundry, I am so overwhelmed. I just dont have good cleaning habits.

Answer 1

I have a bucket with an all-purpose spray cleaner, a glass cleaner and a toilet bowl brush, plus rubber gloves.  

I learned how to clean a toilet from a friend who used to be a professional cleaner:

I grab the bucket and do this:

Use the all-purpose spray cleaner on the toilet:  work your way in (ie, spray the top and top of lid and front edge of toilet, open the lid, spray under the lid and the toilet seat, lift the toilet seat, spray under the seat and the rim).

After you spray, use a non-abrasive cleanser inside the toilet.  Do not use one with an abrasive because porcelain will eventually wear out!  It may take 40 years but it will get eventually loose its shine and not clean well.  Use a toilet brush to swish the cleanser around, then one flush to swirl the toilet brush around to clean it and put it back in the bucket.

Now use toilet paper to wipe the spray off, working from the inside out, closing the toilet as you go.  Dump the toilet paper in the toilet and do one last flush or throw in the trash.

My kids are 21 and 23 now.  My advice is to take the time to look into your child's eyes and connect each day.  This you will not regret later.  

Answer 2

When I found myself in the same situation as you a little while back, the Home section of the bookstore and Amazon.com helped a ton.  I guess I took the student approach and tried to soak up as much as I could.  There are SO many books and monthly magazines that provide great tips, schedules, product information about cleaning and caring for the stuff inside the home.

Answer 3

do laundry when you know you will have 1 or 2 comfortable outfits left, or you are almost out of clean underwear, etc.

Wash towels by themselves in a load of 6 to 8 towels.

Wash and change sheets when they are dirty, so usually every 2 to 4 weeks.

Clean the counters and surfaces in your bathroom everyday or every other day.  clorox wipes work great!  Clean the toilet once a week, or sooner if you see any buildup in the bowl.

Use a sponge to clean the tub, they make special cleaner for it too.

Sweep the bathroom and kitchen once every two or three days and the floor will usually stay fine.

Good Luck!

Answer 4

Get into a weekly routine.  When my children were teenagers, I washed every other day, so the loads were not huge.

You should sweep every day, and a product like Endust on your sweeper is good, or use a swiffer.

Bathrooms should be cleaned weekly -- don't use sponges since they breed germs.  Use a product to dissolve soap scum in your tub -- be careful if it is fiberglass - read the label.

Vacuum weekly or more often.  Wash floors on the same schedule.

I like the clorox wipes for the kitchen and bathroom -- wipe everything down and toss them.  

Experiment to find what you like, and think back to how often the cleaning lady came, and follow that schedule.

Answer 5

Hi Hire a housekeeper and help do things your self

Answer 6

A dishwasher will always kill more germs

As for cleaning With Sponges, its fine as long as you Clean them after every use, and throw them away after awhile, they are cheap

This goes for scrubbers, dish brushes, sponges, and rags

To clean you can either soak them in bleach and hot water for 30 minutes, Or you can wet your sponges and put them in the microwave for 2 minutes

You can wash your rags

Bathroom:

You don't really need a "specific bathroom cleaner" to clean the bathroom, but I like to use them, better on soap scum

You can use a general all-purpose cleaner

To clean my bathtub I use A bathroom cleaner, soft scrub or comet, a clean scrub brush, toothbrush, paper towels and sometimes a sponge

I use the bathroom cleaner for the walls of the shower/the faucets, around the tub and use the paper towels, sometimes I will use the sponge

i clean the basin of the tub with soft scrub or comet and the scrub brush. If I have grout, mildew, soap scum, I use the toothbrush and the bathroom cleaner

You can use:

A bathroom cleaner or All purpose cleaner in a spray bottle, I use Clorox bathroom cleaner

Toilet bowl cleaner

Mildly abrasive cleanser such as comet or soft scrub

Glass cleaner, I use windex

Disinfecting all purpose cleaner for the floors, I use Pine Sol. There is also lysol 4 in 1 all purpose cleaner(pourable)

paper towels

toilet bowl brush

Clean sponges, rags, scrubbers, toothbrush, paper towels

broom and dustpan, mop and bucket

I clean my bathroom once a week thoroughly.

It is always good to clean when you think something is messy.

Always have bleach on hand for laundry and cleaning/disinfecting cleaning utensils

Kitchen:

Always bleach your kitchen sponges/rags/etc...

Always clean your dining table and countertops before and after dinner, this can be done with a paper towel and a kitchen cleaner or an all purpose cleaner

ceramabrite is good for ceramic stovetops

Softscrub is good for cleaning the sink

Baking soda for the odors in the fridge, just stick a box of it in there

I thoroughly clean my kitchen once a week

(the sink, countertops, dining table, stove top, microwave, wipe down the fridge, sweep and mop)

So to sum it all up:

Weekly:

Vacuum whole house

sweep and mop everywhere

Clean the kitchen and bathrooms thoroughly

Clean any glass/mirrors

Dust/polish furniture

clean the tvs/computer

Clean the bedrooms thoroughly(dust, make beds, pick up toys, throw away useless stuff)

Daily:

febreze house

Pick up things

make beds

take out trash when needed

wipe down kitchen countertops

clean sponges/rags

You can also buy disenfecting wipes and clean the sinks/countertops for the bathrooms 2-3 times a week, or use your bathroom cleaner/all purpose cleaner and a paper towel

Also, you can buy an after shower spray, such as tilex and spray down the shower after every use.

Some people prefer sweeping 2-3 times a week, your preference

Once a month:

dust/clean ceiling fans

wash windows

clean blinds(dusting)

Clean any dirty walls/doors, this can also be done weekly

recommended brands:

Pledge for dusting

Windex

Clorox bathroom cleaner

Clorox kitchen cleaner

Lysol disinfecting wipes

Lysol cling toilet bowl cleaner

comet and softscrub

409

ceramabryte

powerhouse stainless steel cleaner

Pine Sol, I like lemon fresh

Mr. clean magic eraser

latex gloves

febreze

Answer 7

Congratulations on your new marriage and child! I will suggest something that is a little different from all of the other answers you have found so far. You are an excellent candidate for the FLYlady system. It's a free website and she has routines, tools, and tips available to help you get started on your new life. She also has affiliates that include helping plan meals, getting kids to clean their rooms, decluttering, etc. Her website is www.flylady.net  

Just an FYI if you have a dishwasher, use it, they conserve more water than hand washing.  

Answer 8

What I do to keep from having to clean for an entire day I do one task each day.  Saturdays are bathrooms.  I put a little bleach in the bowl and use a toilet brush to disinfect the toilet.  I then scrub the tub and lastly do the sink and mirror.  Once a month I pull everything out of the medicine chest and wipe down on the shelves.  I don't want my tootbrush sitting on a dirty shelf.

Sundays and Wednesdays I do laundry.  I vacuum on Friday and Monday (my house seems to get the dirtiest over the weekend when the entire family is home).  Dishes are done daily after each meal.  The counters are wiped down after every meal.  Every four months I empty the fridge and wash all drawers and shelves.

Once you get into the habit it's second nature and it doesn't seem so tedious.

Answer 9

Here is how I do it , except for the fact that you have a dishwasher and I don't and I have 6 people in my household (7 in the summer): First of all put stuff away as soon as you are done using it, this helps eliminate clutter and makes cleaning easier.Everynight before you go to bed load and start the dishwasher,  wipe down the counter tops, stove, table, and front of fridge with a damp sponge. Make beds as soon as you get up, unload the dishwasher while the coffee is brewing, take a few minutes to sweep the kitchen and bathroom floor. Vacuum the bedrooms, family room, living room early in the morning, if you make sure to keep things put away after using them this is a piece of cake. Once a week dust and throughly clean the bathroom spray a cleaner on the back and seat of the toilet, the shower and tub, and the sink, (I like to use a cleaner called It Works Tub and shower Cleaner that I buy at the Dollar General [don't confuse this with The Works shower and tub]) just spray it on and let it sit while you clean the toilet, I use about a cup of bleach it the toilet bowl and scrub with a toilet bowl brush, then I wipe down the sink, the tub, and the back and outside of the toilet. Using a Swiffer I use the wet sheets, and usually wipe down the bathroom and kitchen floor once a week. I usually clean the tub and sink daily but that is because the cleaner I use is so easy just spray on and wipe off. In the laundry area I have two hampers, the white one which of course holds the white laundy and a blue one that hold the colored laundry, I don't have a specific day to do laundry because that gets tedious and overwhelming, when there is enough for a load I throw it in and fold it as soon as it is dry. I hate to sort socks because there is never an even amount, and because sometimes with the kids both socks don't make it into the hamper at the same time, so when the socks come out of the dryer I put them in a basket and once a week or so when I am watching TV I sort socks, any strays go back into the basket to wate for the mate. I change my sheets once or twice a week, straight from the bed to the washing machine.  Wipe out the fridge whenever there is a spill, if leftovers have been in there for 4 days throw them out.  I clean every mornig while waiting for the school bus for my two older ones, it only takes about 45 minutes for me now, an hour if I'm wiping down floors. Wipe walls whenever they need it. Once you get it down it is a breeze to clean the house.

Answer 10

hire a housekeeper.

Answer 11

Just clean. I rather use natural products...like baking soda, lemon oil, etc...just wipe with a washcloth and sweep with a broom. It really isn't that hard.  If you are a clean person with good hygiene you should know how to keep a place clean.

OMG.