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Comment from April
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

I didn’t read all the other answers so sorry if I give you the same advice but here is what I do. I have a 4 bdrm house with 3 cats, 10 yr old boy, 3 mo old baby, and a husband that is working 90+ hrs a week so I probably do not do all that I should but here we go………
Each morning I unload the dishwasher and make bottles for the baby. Feed the cats and scoop their upstairs litter box.
Then I head to the basement with a load of the baby’s laundry…get that started and clean the 2 downstairs litter boxes. I sweep the floor around the litter box.
Each evening after dinner I load the dishwasher and set it to run in the middle of the night (it is loud–getting a new one soon!!) I scrub the sink with dish soap, hot water, and a scrubbie thing…it is kind of like a brush but it is round….(rinse well) Then I clean all surfaces in the kitchen with something such as the new product “clorox hard surface cleaner”….I use paper towels so you can just throw them out when you are done….wipe all counters, the stove, top of the microwave, the hood to the stove, the front of stove, front of dishwasher, front of fridge. The dining room table and chairs also get wiped down (my son does this) Then I sweep the kitchen floor. (Husband then takes out the garbage).
Other things I do but not daily….
Wash bedding–I try to do this every week but sometimes it ends up being a week and a half because I am so busy.
Bathrooms—at LEAST once per week. Find a toilet bowl cleaner you like (it is totally personal preference) clean the inside of the bowl and flush…then I use scrubbing bubbles and spray down the entire toilet and use paper towel to wipe the entire thing down (make sure you get the icky stuff on the bottom part by the floor) I clean the mirrors with rubbing alcohol and water (50% combo) with papertowels. I also spray this on the chrome facets on the sink and shower/tub (it makes them shine nicely) For my sink I clean it with tilex soap scum remover and yes, once again using papertowels (i buy lots of them!!!) The tub I spray down with tilex soap scum remover…let it sit for a few minutes…and then what I have found to work very nicely to clean it is one of those colorful scrubby things that you use with shower gel (a poof, i think is what it is called)…after scrubbing I rinse it all down (i have a shower head that comes down so that is very handy) Empty your waste basket (I usually do this several times per week as needed). Then I sweep the floor and then I scrub the floor with pine-sol or mr clean floor cleaner using a combination of that and hot water in a bucket (follow directions on the bottle) Make sure you change out your hand towel at least once per week…more depending on your needs. I also wash my rugs everyother week.
Dusting—I do this once or twice per week depending on time. I use the pledge wipes. They come in a package and are already pre-moistened. Just take them out and wipe down all of your wood furniture in the entire house. I start at one end of the house and work my way through to make sure I don’t miss anywhere. One your tv’s you can buy special stuff to clean the screens. (you especially want this if you have newer tv’s) It is usually sold in the electronics dept. at places such as walmart. use it to clean your tv screens and your monitor of your computer (make sure to turn them off before cleaning and only use a small amount of the cleaner because on newer tv’s the liquid can run down and get into the space and cause damage.)
Vacuuming–I do this as needed but at least once per week. also, I vacuum my couches/chairs probably once per month or more if needed.
My living room/dining room/hallway are pergo floors. I use the swiffer on them every day or two because of cat hair. I use wood floor cleaner and a mop on them once a week–if you have these floors dont mix the solution with water–you put it directly on your floor and then mop it (follow directions on the package) I personally like the pledge wood floor cleaner. It has a much better smell then most of the other products out there for wood floors.
My laundry room—Sweep and mop (using pine-sol or mr clean floor cleaner) once per week. I wipe down the outsides of the machines, too. (using something such as the hard surface cleaner you use in the kitchen)
For my tile entry, I sweep and mop it as needed…sometimes it needs it daily othertimes it can go more than a week. I use the pine-sol or mr clean on these floors too.
I clean out all left overs out of my fridge at least weekly. And about once a month I take everything out of my fridge and wipe the inside down with cleaner.
As for your carport, I don’t have one…i have a garage and don’t do anything with that. My back patio also doesn’t need much attending to. It rains quite a bit here so I pretty much just let that wash it off. I don’t do any of the yard work…my husband does that (partially because I am allergic to freshly cut grass)
So I think that is about everything….here is a list of what I would go and buy for cleaning supplies:
For bathrooms:
toilet bowl brush
rubbing alcohol
empty cleaning spray bottle (to put alcohol and water in)
tilex soap scum remover
scrubbing bubbles
toilet bowl cleaner
The scrubber thing I talked about above
(for the bathroom supplies I would buy one per bathroom you have so that you can store all the supplies in each bathroom so you don’t have to lug them around)
Clorox hard surface cleaner or something similar
pledge premoistened dusting clothes
mop
broom
dust pan
floor cleaner such as pinesol and wood cleaner if you have wood floors
a good vacuum but make sure it isn’t too heavy if you have more than one level to your house
vacuum bags (unless, of course, the vacuum is bagless)
dish soap (if you dont already have that)
the scrubbie thing i talked about for the sink
the cleaner for tv/computer screens
oh, I also clean the inside of my microwave as needed. If there is icky stuff stuck on, fill a coffee cup with water and put it in the microwave. Run the microwave for a couple of minutes and then remove the cup (careful will be hot!!) and then everything should wipe off nicely.
ok i think that is pretty much it. Good luck to you…if you have any questions, feel free to send me an email at missmousers@yahoo.com

Comment from Ashley S
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

This might be a long post, but please bare with me!
Ok…here is what you do:
1) Carrying a laundry basket, go room by room and pick up all dirty clothes and carry them to the laundry room. Make as many trips as needed.
2) Go room by room again and this time remove all trash and throw it out.
3) Go room by room again and this time focus on putting away the remaining items in each room, i.e. toys in the closet, clean clothes in the closet/dresser, bathroom toiletries in drawers, cabinets, dirty dishes in the dishwasher, kitchen items go where they belong, etc.
4) Go room by room and make the beds, wipe or dust each surface, remove any dirty clothes and trash that may have been missed earlier. Put away any items that have beed left out that weren’t put away earlier.
5) Vacuum all the rugs and sweep the tiled areas.
6) Spray each room with a little bit of air freshener, even if the room doesn’t stink. Air freshener helps rooms seem cleaner, no matter how clean they already are.
7) Go room by room and look around to make sure you didn’t miss anything.
I know it seems like a lot of running around and backtracking from room to room, but it will seem less overwhelming if you focus on one task at a time per room. You don’t need to buy a bunch of cleaners and tools. Here is a list of all you need:
1) vacuum, broom and dustpan (or Swiffer sweep and vac…I swear by mine)
2) all-purpose antibacterial cleaner, such as Mr. Clean, for the bathrooms and kitchen
3) Pledge multi surface for tables, dressers, etc
4) mop and bucket or swiffer wet jet (awesome)
5) toilet scrubber (use a system with disposable scrub pads)
6) air freshener, carpet cleaner (try Carbona)
Remember, once you do these steps to give your house a good cleaning, keeping it clean will be easier and will take less time an effort.
Good luck!

Comment from Karen
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

Check out the website flylady.com it will explain

Comment from chickenf
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

Fly lady is good, but a bit preachy;) For starters, if you have daycare kids, do big stuff on the weekends and don’t “tidy” until the end of the day, because they will undue all of your work. If you are working all day too, make sure your delegating some chores for your husband otherwise you’re going to be overwhelmed. Try to have fun with it ’cause it can be monotonous if you don’t see it with that perspective!

Comment from myassisd
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

check out this site. It can really help with this problem.http://www.flylady.net/

Comment from katefiel
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

There’s a lot of good advice here. Here are my two cents!
You don’t need a huge list of “stuff to do.” There are three basics that, if you follow them, will keep your house looking good and you sane.
1. Create a place for everything.
Make sure everything has an assigned spot that is neither in the way, hard to get to (if it’s a frequently used item), or an eyesore. For example, the best place for the stack of the week’s newspapers is not on the dining room table. Don’t store your vacuum in the back of an overcrowded closet.
2. At the end of the day, before you go to bed, put everything back in its place. Give your home a good look over and make sure the lines are clean.
3. If it’s dirty, clean it; if it’s not, don’t!
Look at your home as a big picture, not as many tasks to cross off a list. Keep your home’s lines clean and uncluttered, doing little things each day to maintain its beauty. For instance, if you see a piece of lint on the floor, pick it up. Don’t wait for “vacuuming day”. If the furniture starts to look dusty, dust it.
The only daily tasks that you should have to worry about are dishes, laundry and cleaning your bathroom (especially since you run a daycare.) With the laundry, make it a routine to do at least one load a day.
Now, as far as what you should buy. IAssuming you already have the basic broom and vacuum, the following should be just about all you need:
-4 spray bottles
-Lysol all-purpose cleaner concentrate, or something similar (I like Lysol because it disinfects and lasts forever.)
-Large pack of white dish cloths (about 10-15 total) for the kitchen
-Large pack of beige dish cloths (about 10-15 total) for the bathroom
-Swiffer
Fill two of the spray bottles with all-purpose cleaner diluted according to the directions, and two with diluted bleach (about 2 oz. bleach and 30 oz. water). Place one of each in the kitchen and bathroom. Stack your white dishcloths in a drawer near the kitchen sink. Do the same with the beige cloths in the bathroom. Use the cloths and your spray bottles liberally. (I suggested beige and white so that you can bleach them every time you wash them and keep them sanitary.)
Use the bleach on anything that is prone to get moldy, like the bathtub and shower, in the toilet, around the sink handles, etc. The bleach bottle in the kitchen can also be used for bleaching stained plastics.
Use the Swiffer as your mop. You can either buy the wet refills or you can simply use a damp beige bathroom cloth and some all-purpose cleaner in place of the refills. They will fit very nicely. Sweep first, then mop.
Polish your mirrors with one of the cloths.
Bonus items to have:
-Carpet cleaner/steamer
-Cordless sweeper (the kind that you can either use it like a vacuum or take the hand vac off and use it separately)
These two things will just make your life easier.
Wow, I know that’s a lot. Hope you find it helpful.
Edit: Sorry, I didn’t cover dusting! I usually just use a slightly damp cloth to wipe down everything in sight, but if you have fine furniture, you should use something like Pledge and a soft cloth.

Comment from Lively
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

Why do you want us to do your work for you? Go to the flylady.com website as others have suggested. She has it broken down already.
We’re not the equivalent of Yahoo Answer Maids. Do things for yourself.

Comment from harlysdr
Time November 23, 2009 at 6:46 am

oh the silver spoon thingy ? lol
wright a list of what you need to clean ,
toilet , bedroom, kitchen , then go buy every cleaning item you will need, tons of rags bleach, ,and have a plan . the toilet get washed , Monday, the kitchen needs to be kept clean, every day, find a place ,for every you own, only wash twice a week, as you run a day care . you need a plan . that very simple , one more thing , this ain’t hard, all it takes is planning , some things can wait ,other cant , Ive found, cleaning ,hard cleaning , this take more ,maybe once a week ,but the rest ,clean as you go, don’t stress it