Terrible Housewife

I am just really, really bad at this housewifely stuff. I'm posting here because I'm hoping that there are other SAHMs who suck at this as badly as I do and possibly we can offer each other cleaning tips or something.

I swear I could clean all day long and my house would still look filthy. I just don't really know how to make it look clean!! FOr example, today, I mopped the kitchen and dining room floors, which only served to accentuate how dirty the baseboards are. How do you clean baseboards?? Is that even a thing that people do? See, I stink at this! I wipe down the stove every time I use it, but it still looks crusty and gunky. I've tried every tip on the internet for cleaning the stove gunk but nothing works. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. My sister in law LOVES to clean... she's awesome at it. But she hates to cook and I'm the opposite. We joke that if you put us together we would be one complete housewife.

I think a lot of my problem is that my house is old and rather run down. It's hard to keep it looking clean when it's falling apart. The two redone rooms in my house (bathroom and my bedroom) are super easy to keep clean! Maybe that has something to do with it. Also my kids and husband are piggies.

SO, I just want all you other bad housekeepers to know that there are more of us out there!! And also, I found this funny...

Re: Terrible Housewife

I am the WORST at cleaning! I can sweep, vacuum, and mop the floors and 5 minutes later I see dust/cat hair. My apartment is fairly small and my cat doesn't even shed that much but I feel like my house never looks clean. When I go to other peoples houses and I see how spotless they are I am SO jealous. Don't even get me started on the stove... I gave up on that a long time ago!

Re: Terrible Housewife

I have seriously considered buying a new freakin stove because it is impossible to get that bad boy to look clean.
Seriously.
My next stove will be a flat top. It is ridiculous!

And yes, I feel your pain.
I am the worst cleaner in the world. The WORST. And I hate doing it- so I rarely even bother.
Which only makes matter worse.
I just don't know what I am doing wrong or how to do it- without spending 4 days on getting the house spotless.
That is how it feels sometimes- like it would take a week!
So I just give up!

Re: Terrible Housewife

I totally stink at cleaning too. I do ok at the things you can see, but I can't remember the last time I moved furniture to clean behind it. Honestly I don't care that much. I have much better things to spend my time on than cleaning. I feel like as long as the kitchen and bathroom are pretty good and the laundry gets done then I'm good.

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Re: Terrible Housewife

I just wanted to post some advice, regarding what you said in your thread:

-cleaning an old house is WAY hard. When I moved from my parents house (very, very old) to my new apartment (with central air- which totally cuts down the dust level by 95%) it was so much easier to clean.

-if you want a house to look and feel clean, unfortunately, you have to be a bit OCD about it. You do have to do the little things that you end up noticing after the big things get cleaned (like under the bed, the baseboards, the sides of cabinets, etc. etc.)

-Also, sometimes things need to be cleaned multiple times with different types of cleaners.

-What is dirty about the baseboards? Is it just dust built up? Can you just swiffer it and then clorox wipe it down?

-With the stovetop and other really hard to clean areas (like in between tile in the shower or certain areas where nothing seems to work) the magical cure is soft scrub. It seriously is the best.

Re: Terrible Housewife

Me! I am terrible. I am a teacher so I have been off all summer long and feel like I barely get anything done and my house never looks clean. I just had a party this weekend for my DH's birthday and housewarming since we just moved in in May. DH and I got into a huge fight the day before the party because I felt the house was a mess and he wasn't helping me with anything. I hate to clean. I always have but DH is really a slob sometimes and he just makes more work for me. I wish this house cleaned itself!

Terrible Housewife

I am terrible at cleaning. First of all, I NEVER have evern a minute by myself in the house. So my 3 year old basically follows me around, re-messing what I clean up. It is sooo annoying. My house is such a disaster within a day after cleaning. We manage to fill the sink immediately after doing the dishes, the laundry piles up in every room of the house. It seems as if our family just gets naked wherever they're standing, LOL. Just little clothes piles everywhere. I also have a dog and two cats, so there is always hair. everywhere. I always get so embarrassed when people stop by.

Re: Terrible Housewife

I clean, but, I'm horrible at the deep cleaning.
The washing floors, baseboards, dusting, etc.
I really have to be in the cleaning mood to go crazy and make it look awesome.

I hate cleaning!

Terrible Housewife

You know what I do when I am cleaning? Put on some music. It lifts up my spirit and I get energized and it makes cleaning fun! lol

Re: Terrible Housewife

For the baseboards, I just discovered the magic eraser. I think I clean them like once a year and they still looked gross. The other day I cleaned them with fantastic and was like.. meh.. good enough.
Then for the first time I bought the magic eraser and tried it and it took off sooo much stuff! Kinda gross.

I am terrrible at cleaning too. Partially because I have a 3 year old and a husband that mess right after I clean. I always leave cobwebs and my mom always point them out. She is awesome at cleaning.

There was this cleaning plan that my aunt used to follow. She is the worst cleaner ever. I don't remember the name but, if I do I will post it.

This, however, is a 30 minute daily checklist. link to checklist

Message edited 8/6/2012 7:56:13 PM.

Re: Terrible Housewife

I remembered it! It's called the Flylady

Re: Terrible Housewife

To add to what Bayside posted

With your stove, take off your burner grills (and plates if the stove has them), spray them with easy off cold oven cleaner, put them in a garbage bag and let them sit for 10 mins, longer if really funky). Spray the stove as well, let it sit. Using gloves, take a sponge and wipe the greasey gunk off and rinse with water.

baseboards, just take a feather duster everyday and go over them. Less dirt/dust to build up. Once a week fill a bucket with warm soapy water and wash them down.

Floors. I mop every night (but thats me I'm OCD about it). 6 nights a week I use warm water and lysol, on Saturdays I use hot water and washing soda (its in the laundry aisle, made by arm and hammer). I dont know if you have tiles but once a month I make a paste out of peroxide, baking soda and dawn dish soap, lay it on the grout leave it for 15-30 mins then rinse with water and a tooth brush.

I make sure that at least1 full load of laundry is done a day. DH would live out of a basket but I cannot stand the look of full baskets sitting in the bedrooms, all clothing gets put away immediatley.

Try deep cleaning 1 room a day instead of trying to do it all at once. When Saturday comes your house is deep cleaned and you can just straighten out and do a surface clean

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I suck at cleaning too... I hire help for the nitty gritty

I will forfeit food and clothes for help cleaning lol

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I am really good at the surface cleaning and making everything look neat. I am obsessive about it.

I am TERRIBLE at deep cleaning. I get tired in the middle of it and end up slacking. What really drives me insane is the bathroom tub. Its so difficult to clean and I wont take baths because I never feel like its really clean enough.

Also- the dust. My house was built in 1941 and I feel like it is impossible to ever have REALLY sparkling clean. I will vaccum and mop and literally two seconds later there is dust and just all sorts of various air crumbs or I dont even know what. It makes me nuts!

Re: Terrible Housewife

I'm OCD about cleaning. The most important thing for making it go quick is to keep up with it and be consistent.

- I do a quick cleaning every night. This consists of wiping down kitchen and bathroom surfaces and vaccuming. I vacumm under the couches, bed, tables etc. to prevent huge dust bunnies.

- I mop and dust every other day. Since you're doing it that oftern, you don't have to spend that much time scrubbing - its quick.

-On Friday nights (or Saturday mornings) after DS goes to bed I will do a heavy cleaning. Which consists of things like base boards, behind furniture, straighten out closets and drawers, washing down shower/tub. I do it enough times, so its not like I am sitting there folding things, scrubbing months of dust off etc. It goes by fast because there isn't much to do only a few days worth.

- I hate clutter - despise it. I sort through all my mail as I am walking into the house with it. Throw out any junk mail and catalogs, put bills in my bag since I pay them at work, and shred anything else.

- I put everything back from where I got it as soon as I am done. I don't keep things piled up to put away later - thats how piles start to accumulate and it starts to look messy. Being organized and having a spot for everything is HUGE. DH has such a hard problem with this concept...so now I take all his things and dump them into one drawer. I don't care what it is, clothes, pocket stuff, paper work, cologne, house keys - whatever - it all goes in one drawer and he can deal with digging through it when he can't find what he wants. At least I don't have to see it all laying around.

- I make DS clean up his toys once he starts taking out too many things. He is good about doing it too. I just ask him to help me clean up so we can play with the trucks next or color. When its time for him to go to bed I only have a few items to put back. All his toys (he doesn't have a lot) have a certain place in the cubby area. It makes it that much faster to clean up.

- I don't let dishes pile up in the sink. I wash whatever as I am using it. This is another thing DH can't wrap his head around If I could stomach the mess I would dump them all on his side of the bed

-Laundry gets put away as soon as it comes out of the dryer.

Re: Terrible Housewife

I hear you! My house was renovated so everything is new except the kitchen and basement. I don't clean the basement . Ever. It's scary down there. My dh will run the vacuum down there sometimes, but that's it. And the kitchen I scrub with a magic eraser and fantastic with bleach. My kids are getting older so now is getting a bit easier. They will both be in school 3 mornings a week in september , so I think It will be easier for me at that point.

For the baseboards I just use the brush attachment on the vacuum to dust, I should try the eraser on them though. The grout in my kitchen and bathrooms could probably use some bleach but does anyone really notice it? I use a shark steam mop with water and some vinegar to clean all the floors

Laundry Such a disaster here. There are baskets in every closet full of clothes, I don't know what's what anymore. Then I just go buy more clothes for the kids. Bad , awful it's our biggest issue

You will feel better if you say, I am a stay at home MOM, not stay at home WIFE Kids are the priority right now, not the house! Stay at home wife suggests you have no kids in the house and have all day to yourself

Message edited 8/7/2012 11:22:39 AM.

Re: Terrible Housewife

God have mercy, I am reading some of these responses about what people do in terms of cleaning,(aka mopping floors every night!) and I realize.... I am a slob.
A born slob.
And I must just accept that fact.
Because I can't imagine EVER mopping floors or vaccumming every day.

When do you have time to do anything else? As in, relax?

Rock on with my slob self!

Message edited 8/7/2012 11:43:59 AM.

Re: Terrible Housewife

Posted by NervousNell

God have mercy, I am reading some of these responses about what people do in terms of cleaning,(aka mopping floors every night!) and I realize.... I am a slob.
A born slob.
And I must just accept that fact.
Because I can't imagine EVER mopping floors or vaccumming every day.

When do you have time to do anything else? As in, relax?

Rock on with my slob self!

Re: Terrible Housewife

I suck at cleaning. I hate to do it. I will admit I will really only clean when we are going to have company over.

My parents never made me do chores and I think that is part of the reason why I don't know how to do things literally, my dh had to show me where the dish soap went in the dishwasher when we moved in together. to my defense though, my parents never had one in the house.

One of the things I hate the most though is ironing shirts & pants UGHHHH so annoying. that and folding fitted sheets. Will never get the hang of it.

I am a great cook/baker though so not totally a bad housewife :D

Message edited 8/20/2012 4:12:49 PM.

Re: Terrible Housewife

I hate cleaning too! When I do it I feel great and love it and my husband loves me for it too

But I am a SAHM to 1 and she keeps me on my toes so it's hard.

I do sweep everyday, multiple times, b/c dd gets crumbs everywhere and I try a wet swiffer multiple times a week just b/c with hardwood floors you can see a lot, and the milk that was spilled etc.

What I do find very helpful is the Vacuum. When I vacuum the bedroom areas rugs I do the whole apartment. I take the attachment and get all the nooks and crannies I can get. It's so much easier than scrubbing the baseboards or corners of the room.

In fact my DH, asked me yesterday what I did all day b/c the house was a train wreck when he came home. I rattled everything off but it didn't look like I did a thing. hahah

Re: Terrible Housewife

Posted by kahlua716

Posted by NervousNell

I have seriously considered buying a new freakin stove because it is impossible to get that bad boy to look clean.
Seriously.
My next stove will be a flat top. It is ridiculous!

And yes, I feel your pain.
I am the worst cleaner in the world. The WORST. And I hate doing it- so I rarely even bother.
Which only makes matter worse.
I just don't know what I am doing wrong or how to do it- without spending 4 days on getting the house spotless.
That is how it feels sometimes- like it would take a week!
So I just give up!

Same here. I have cleaning ADD. I start in one area and somehow wind up on the other side of the house 2 hours later and everything is still a mess!! I'll start sorting laundry in my room and find a shoe in the pile of clothes- so I bring it to DD's room where I start organizing her shoe collection. I decide I need to fix the shelf in her closet so I go to the basement to get a screwdriver. While there- I notice that DH made a mess of the Christmas decorations I have stored down there so I start organizing. Then the phone rings- so up to the kitchen I go to answer it. While on the phone, I start the dishes.

See what I mean?! And this is when the kids AREN'T home! It seems the only way I get some peace and quiet at home is to tell DH that I'm going to clean so he needs to take the kids out (it still takes a bit of persuading to get him to take them somewhere). I tend to spend the first few hours enjoying the quiet calmness, then I scramble to make it look like I got something done.

Inevitably, DH will come home and say "that's all you got done in 4 hours?!"

Terrible Housewife

Thanks for all the advice!! I just don't want to spend all day cleaning. I would rather do other things! A lot of my house is just... old. Carpets need to be replaced, everything needs a new coat of paint, etc. It's just time and money that I don't have, KWIM? It's hard to keep old stuff clean. And like PPs have said, I COULD clean all day, and it would look like nothing got done... I have 3 kids! They make a mess right behind me as I go!

I'm pretty good with laundry, I usually don't let that pile up too much. I'm terrible at floors. I hate doing it. And any kind of deep cleaning, I'm just clueless about. I am going to try the trick with the stove though... thanks to whoever mentioned it. The older gas stoves are a real PITA to clean!