My grandmother used to call this “putting the house in dying order”. She made sure her kitchen and living room were spotless every night before she went to bed. On the very slim chance that she didn’t wake up the next morning, at least she knew the EMTS, police, neighbors or whoever found her would know that she was an excellent housekeeper .
I put the kitchen to bed in the morning. Actually, I think of it as resetting the kitchen. If any other part of the house looks like it needs cleaning I do it when I notice it. Except for the kitchen I don’t really have a cleaning routine.
Since we haven’t downsized, I clean the same way, one floor one day, the other floor a couple days later. I recently deep cleaned two of the kids’ rooms, so those rooms don’t need much to maintain. I used to keep the house pretty clean all the time, but I honestly don’t care as much any more. I do enjoy cleaning if we’re having people over- it feels different since it has a purpose.
I intensely dislike cleaning and don’t always have or care to spend the money on a housecleaner or supplies. Therefore, I redefined what clean* meant. It works for us.
(*One can count on dishes, laundry, and the important parts of the bathroom being cleaned on an as needed basis - beyond that, if it bugs you, feel free to clean it.)
Personally, I have more fun things to be doing in my free time. Others can judge away - I don’t give a hoot.
As empty nesters, I find the house stays clean so I only have to vacuum, sweep and mop every other week. Bathtub and vanities only need cleaning every 3 to 4 weeks. Kitchen gets cleaned at least once a day if not twice. Laundry day is Thursday which is Husband’s day to mow.
Our major cleaning is done prior to parties- move the furniture to vacuum/ sweep under, ceiling fans, base boards, cleaning empty bedrooms, dusting chandeliers etc. Once or twice a year we work together doing deep cleaning- rotate mattresses, clean under the rugs and rotate them, wash the windows, clean under the ref.
While I like to clean, it is overwhelming to say I have to clean the entire house! I do better telling myself I have to clean the master bathroom or the refrigerator today.
I should add that my dad was a Hoarder as could have been featured on the show. I have plenty of pictures on my phone, so should I ever think my house isn’t clean enough, I can compare and feel just fine.
FWIW, no, my house isn’t even remotely close - except maybe the attic. There are no paths. You can sit in the chairs and sleep on the whole bed instead of half, etc. In my dad’s house even the cats had tunnels - their own “underground” system. It’s a huge pain to deal with now that he’s gone. Most of it is garbage. (sigh)
@Creekland, I’m with you.
I clean it all on 7:00 am on Saturday mornings. I work during the week and I’m too cheap to get cleaning people. At least while we’re paying tuition for two kids.
I haven’t had a cleaning lady in 7 years but will have one soon since I wanted to downsize and my husband insisted on getting another big house. I made him agree to getting a cleaning service again before I would commit! What I did before and plan to do again, is have the cleaner in once/month for a thorough clean and I do spot cleaning in between. I’m anal about my kitchen and clean as I cook. I also do the bathrooms every other week and run the vacuum weekly. I despise dusting with a passion and leave the major dusting, baseboards, and deeper clean of the bathrooms for the cleaners.
We do laundry once a weekend. H cooks, so I clean the kitchen quite a bit. I don’t mind cleaning at all. Floors and bathrooms are done as the mood hits me and as needed. It is true when we have dinner guests the house is cleaned more thoroughly. This was the routine before our retirement and currently.
I read once that the level of cleanliness is one of the most important factors for compatibility of couples.
My kitchen must take a lot of naps because I liked it picked up all the time. I wash dishes as I use them. It makes me nervous when there is clutter everywhere. Too bad dust doesn’t make me as nervous. I lived the last 20 years in a big house with a lot of open windows, on a busy highway. Dust-free is such a fleeting state.
I’m super impressed with those of you who clean ceiling fans and baseboards often. I’ve spent the last 3 weeks stripping 1900’s oak woodwork. Not sure I want to see baseboards for a while 
I will be honest and say that after the fact, I was grateful the house was picked up when my husband went into cardiac arrest at 7:30 am and I had hordes of emergency personnel rushing through and pushing a stretcher from one end of the house to the front door.
Compared to when my dad passed away and folks had to clear a path wide enough for them - figuring out on the spot where there was even room to put things. My dad’s place was an obstacle course for all - yet he didn’t want to part with a thing nor was cleaning his thing. I could gross most out with what we’ve found.
It makes me wonder what EMTs find when they go into places unexpectedly. I guess there’s the whole range for them.
We’re empty nesters and early retirees so we’re home a lot. But, the house really doesn’t get too dirty. We’re a no shoes house and no longer have pets so that keeps the dirt down.
Housekeeper comes every 2 weeks and does the major cleaning. We don’t really need much in between I find. A little dust doesn’t bother me and we don’t make big messes. We just pick up after ourselves and clean up the kitchen after meals. Sometimes we’ll use a damp rag to clean the floor around the food prep area for spills or dropped things. If we are having guests over or a meeting at our house in between housekeeper visits, I’ll make sure the kitchen is spotless, do a quick cleaning of the 1/2 bath and do a quick vacuum of the downstairs.
As another posts said, I’d give up a lot of other things before I gave up my housekeeper.
I live in a 998 sq foot condo. I do a bit each day. (don’t have a housekeeper). (I myself don’t like to clean but like a clean , clutter free home)
Every night the kitchen counters and dinner table are wiped and my tea cup is set for the next morning. All the garbage is collected and tied so I can throw it in the hall trash chute in the morning as I walk out. When I broom I do the whole home all at once. Laundry and dishwasher is run the same time. Groceries on the weekend one early morning. Bathrooms cleaned in one day.
I stopped buying things for our house since some time as there isn’t anymore space to store extra things. Since it is a small home doing a little each day keeps the home clutter free.
I have a habit of making my bed as soon as I wake up, never leave any dishes in the sink. Rinsed and put in dishwasher immediately. Put things where they belong to minimize clutter. Clean the fridge out and organize once a week just before my next shopping trip to refill.
I am happy with less is more. I don’t overstock on anything but we don’t run out of the basics but they are replenished on time. I make meals with whatever we have to avoid a 2nd visit to the grocery store in one week. I just try to keep things home as simple as possible. I have todo lists just to make sure I haven’t forgotten anything.
It doesn’t take long to maintain the home this way and when you do it in increments you get a satisfaction that you completed a task when you just put your mind to it and complete it.
@raclut - thank you! It is extremely helpful to hear from someone with a similar size of home! I, too, never leave dishes around, always tidy the kitchen, and always make the bed in the morning.
I think you hit the nail on the head in your last paragraph.
I’m with @Creekland and @rosered55 !
I grew up in a house that was very messy and chaotic. I was embarrassed to bring friends over, so I didn’t. Maybe that explains why I like my house to be so clean. It makes me feel good to walk through it and see it not only picked up, but truly clean as well.
Of course having the every other week housecleaning team makes it all so much easier.
We all have our “things.”
I try to keep things neat but I’m not very good at keeping things clean (except for dishes and the kitchen counters). One thing that helps is that I’m in the deaccumulating stage of my life. I throw out or give away much more than I buy.
We have always had a housekeeper. There is a housekeeping gene that skipped me. When our kips were born we had full time/live in
housekeeper. Then we went down to two days per week as our children didn’t need the babysit on Saturday. Our house is only 4000 square feet…but I really can’t keep up. I tried…trust me. The reason we have help? Example::
We needed an emergency vacuuming…I couldn’t fine the vacuum…and when I found it…I didn’t know how to turn it on. I am possibly the only person who had to read the instructions on cleaning products.
H and I are recently retired but have kept our cleaners, who come just once a month. I feel self-conscious about this, but we do have busy lives and a small second home and the cleaners free us up to focus on our other agendas and “to dos.” Once a month works for us and is enough to keep things from getting unkempt.
We try to focus on decluttering and keeping things from slipping backwards. We do keep up with dishes, laundry, etc. Paper piles on the dining room table are my challenge.
We have lots of garden beds and it is a struggle to keep them maintained.
Once we have the house totally organized and decluttered we hope to take a major trip. I am using the trip as an incentive to make progress.
The monthly cleaners at least keep us from getting off track. And yes, I do spend part of the day before they come “prepping” for them – clearing tables, etc. and putting things away (like laundry that has been sorted and folded but did not yet make it into drawers). I look forward to when I have it all kept up all the time and need no pre-cleaner prepping. But I will still appreciate having someone else do the dusting, vacuuming, washing floors, etc.
A clean and pleasant home makes a difference to me psychologically.