What is your cleaning routine?

Hey Ladies (and Gentlemen, too, if any):

What is your cleaning routine? My routine is like this:

Daily: All rooms of the house - quick clean (15 mins each). Mail is either filed away or shredded (most bills and other notices are received and processed online to keep down the clutter). Junk mail is shredded (if it is personally addressed to us) or tossed (if addressed to Resident, etc) on a daily basis.

Weekly: Laundry, Fridge & bathrooms (including bath tub).

Monthly: De-clutter all the closets, the cars, my purses, DH's laptop bag, DD's school bag, the fridge and the pantry.

I am finding that this routine is inadequate. I still have tons of stuff that collect (even if I'm de-cluttering actively and avoiding buying anything that I do not need). The biggest areas that I'm having trouble with is the pantry and the paperwork, most of which are DD's art-projects from school. I have a hard time tossing her art work out and they quickly overflow and take over - not just her room, but also - the entire house! Am I being too sentimental?

Also, how do you all keep your pantry and the fridge de-cluttered and the paper monster under control?

Thanks for sharing.

In order to keep my sons clutter a bit more organised..i use storage bins a small one for paper and craft work done and a medium one for supplies...
before school term starts (during the end of the hols) we go through all the paperwork accumulated and I give him a choice as to what he wants retained and what he doesn't care too much about...that way he feels he is in control...I am surprised that he overgrows them pretty quickly...and the books are passed on to salvation army...

My kitchen has a tendency to collect clutter...but I keep a sat once every 2 months to see what can be thrown...if I haven't used the stuff by then even once..i chuck em out...we recycle everything here, so all the ice cream boxes and the card board rolls on tissue rolls end up in school for art n craft and the rest go into them recycle bins...we also use plastic milk cartons as watering cans for the kids and keep chucking the old ones away...

As a rule I "recycle" anything not used within a year.

Hi Malyatha,

Love the topic.

Decluttering kitchen and pantry supplies:
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Being a housekeeping nerd, in the past few weeks I have been actively working on organizing the kitchen supplies. I realized that I had way more ingredients that what we needed or used and that was making it difficult to keep the areas clean and organized.

I first set aside all the flours and grains that I had in small quantities (corn flour, different dried beans --rajma etc..). For each meal I would try using these up. So finished up the excess supplies.

Next came menu planning. Based on what I cook on a daily basis, I know that we need some core ingredients based on what we routinely make . Other than that I only buy things that I will use up in the next 2 weeks. So for example, I got a block of cheddar cheese from Costco, and I try using it for most of the meals from baked pasta to pizza to grilled cheese or chutney sandwich.So for a 2 week cycle I decide a theme and what I need for that. The theme for next 2 weeks is going to be soups, so I got some celery for broth yesterday. I will steer clear off cheese for the next 2 weeks.


Easy maintenance of countertops.
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I find that the fewer things I have on the countertop, the easier to keep it clean. I scrub the countertop with soap water and wipe it with a cloth towel.


Looking forward for some lively discussion on the topic. I am still trying to figure out how to manage my overflowing closet.

Malyatha,

I am finding that this routine is inadequate.

It's awesome you have such an industrious routine, how can it be inadequate?

Out of curioiusity, with 2 kids in your household, how do you manage to organize their stuff? Especially with your newborn's diapers, bottles, wipes, blankets, clothes, etc? Do you have a seperate wadrobe in your room for him (your picture shows DS to be the youngest one, so I'm assuming he's the newborn). I'd like to hear some tips on that.

DH is highly antagonistic to clutter, so he does some of the weekly "organizing", but then he starts disposing things off that are useful too! So that psyches me out

Originally Posted by BeeAmma

I first set aside all the flours and grains that I had in small quantities (corn flour, different dried beans --rajma etc..). For each meal I would try using these up. So finished up the excess supplies.

OHMIGOD! I could have written this, BeeAmma. I was in the exact same place, so a year ago (when I began decluttering like one possessed), I went a whole FORTNIGHT cooking without shopping for groceries to use up all of my existing supplies.

Meal planning does not work very well for me because of my DD. She oftentimes decides that she wants to eat X, Y or Z (and usually it isn't what is on the table) at the very last minute, and nothing else (but what she is craving for at that very moment) will do. I have tried asking her what she would like a couple of days in advance but it doesn't work. She is still so young that her little mind keeps changing what it would like. So what she tells me today she wants for lunch on Wednesday will probably not be what she actually wants to eat, come lunch-time, this Wednesday!

This makes meal planning horrifically difficult for me. I do plan what the DH & I will eat, but forget about planning where DD is concerned. Do you have any ideas / suggestions for me?

Originally Posted by BeeAmma

I find that the fewer things I have on the countertop, the easier to keep it clean. I scrub the countertop with soap water and wipe it with a cloth towel.

Quick question: What do you do with water stains on a formica counter top and porcelain sink? When I delivered my DS a few months ago, I was out of kitchen duty for a month. All it took was this one month for my counter tops and sink to get ugly water-stains on them. I have tried detergent, vinegar, baking soda, etc, but those stains won't go.

As for my closets, once a month, I go to each of my closets with three large bags - one marked "seasonal", one marked "toss" and one marked "recycle" - in tow. I go through the clothes and pull out any items that are seasonal, torn / garbage / unwearable, and outgrown and put them in the appropriate bags. Then, each bag is disposed off appropriately. The "seasonal" stuff gets stored away in the attic, the garbage is dumped and the items that are outgrown (or unused for over six months) are donated to Goodwill or Salvation Army.

Also, I have a rule that if I buy an item of clothing, then another item of clothing must either be donated or tossed. This way, my closets don't get filled to the brim. Also, this saves me from impulse buying during those endless trips to the malls (which will be more frequent now that winter is almost upon us)!

Thanks!

Originally Posted by waitingForTej

Malyatha,

It's awesome you have such an industrious routine, how can it be inadequate?

Thanks, Tej's Mommy, but as much as I would like to think that my clutter is under control, it isn't! I am still trying to get organized.

Originally Posted by waitingForTej

Out of curioiusity, with 2 kids in your household, how do you manage to organize their stuff? Especially with your newborn's diapers, bottles, wipes, blankets, clothes, etc? Do you have a seperate wadrobe in your room for him (your picture shows DS to be the youngest one, so I'm assuming he's the newborn).I'd like to hear some tips on that.

For DS, we have a baby "station" in the master bedroom. All of his stuff - especially his bottles, and diapering supplies - gets stored in or around this "station". His clothes get stored in plain, transparent, plastic bins stacked one on top of the other - in the bedroom. As he outgrows each piece of clothing, they promptly get donated to Goodwill or Salvation Army

I have only three bottles and two blankets for him. I also only buy just enough diapers & wipes for him to last a week (he goes through 6-7 diapers in a 24 hour cycle). With DD, we had a tonne more supplies and a lot more chaos going on. It was nightmarish, to say the least, so with DS, I'm keeping things at a bare minimum to make sure that his baby-stuff doesn't take over our house (and lives) like DD's did. I get very depressed if I am surrounded by clutter, so take conscious action to control it as much as I can.

DD has her own room, with its own closet, a 'toy-pen' and an art-center (which is my Achilles' Heel as this art-center is out of control at this very moment - I hate tossing her master-pieces out!)

I am still struggling with my pantry, though, and DD's art-projects, so my home organization is still very much a work-in-progress.

Malyatha and BeeAmma,

Wow, I am so impressed by your ability to stick to the de-cluttering regimen. This is a major topic for both me and DH, and I find that I am going to be swallowed by all the clutter and junk stuff.

Here are some ideas that help us:

1. Most payments are online/BillPay

2. DH goes through all mail and sork the ones that need to be retained for records in a filing cabinet, rest are shredded or trashed.

3. I have a preschooler (4 years old) and initially I wanted to save all of his "art projects", but now I just trash them. I keep some really cute ones on the fridge or stick it at my workplace.

5. Clothes - With the two of us and two kids (4 yo and 9 month old) this is my biggest nightmare. All our off season clothes I store in suitcases are packed away. I have a "To Be Donated Crate" in a closet that I keep putting clothes that we do not use, my little one's outgrown baby clothes etc. I donate them every month or so.

6. Toys - This is my next biggest nightmare. My 4 year old loves cars of all shapes sizes and kinds and at one point my house was full of those. I also had a lot of the junk stuff that gets handed at birthday parties (God how I hate those goody bags), Valentines day, etc. Add to these broken crayons, pencils, glue. We finally have moved bulk of toys to another room in a closet and my son knows that only 10 cars can be in the play area at any time. I also have become very aggressive about throwing junk toys.

7. Fridge/pantry - My DH is more motivated about this, he goes through a monthly "no more grocery shopping until we have nothing at home" phase so it gets under control.

8. Cleaning - I just bought the iRobot Roomba and boy I love it! It is a boon for people for me - we set it up on different rooms different days/nights and the rooms are clean by the time we get back from work or wake up. I also have a cleaning crew that comes every three weeks and they do the heavy duty cleaning.

Other than these too much planning does not work for me since DH and DS are all the "I want that now" kind.

Malyatha,

I haven't read the entire thread yet but here is a rough sketch of my routine:

everyday kitchen and bathroom floor must clean. i clean the carpets in the bathroom twice (hate those hairs and sand that son brings in) and toilets.

dust whatever my eyes could spot.

i have a cleaning lady that comes in for 3 hours a week (just one day in a week) so she does thorough cleaning. other than that i vaccum on monday and friday.

once a fortnight change bed sheets so eventually wash and iron them.

for me the mega challenges are these:

fridge, kitchen pantry (though i have put everything neatly in boxes and arrange everything in its place after every purchase), plastic stuff (like tumblers, kids' stuff)
laundry (i iron my childrens cloths too!)
cleaning up toys
toiletries
my balcony with plants
recipe print-outs
waste disposal (we recycle everything here and we dispose in atleast 5 boxes!!!)
stitching buttons

can only think of the above right now.

despite being conscious of keeping things in its place i lag a lot behind. some days this entire task is overwhelming...

Latha

I am a pacrat when it comes to clothes and containers. I have clothes from 15 years ago. I am very attached to them and refuse to dispose of them.

hi beeamma,
just reading a book on how to declutter...n it sez tht we hang on to our clothes because we subconciously link it with pleasant memories of times past...in my case its true...all my night-out clothes are still in my cupboard and so are my short shorts...i dont wear em anymore so i will endeavour to clean up mu act this week-end and giving em away...
apparently decluttering my surroundings will help me find the things i use on a daily basis faster and clear way for positive feng shui as well...think i know what tht means...no more wading thru tons of clothes to wear the same stuff yet again.