Gays, how clean is your home?

My home isn't just clean, it's Joan Crawford clean.

Home or hole?

I'm a neat freak. I hate to even admit it. Messes left around, like dishes in the sink, actually make me hyper and antsy.

I don’t understand dishes in the sink. It’s 2021. Dishwashers have existed for a long time.

R3 So you clean every day? When do you clean FabMissLucy?

Spotless. And there are NO wire hangers in my closets.

So do the neatniks load their dishwasher immediately after using a single dish?

I collect a few dishes at a time, then rinse them and load the dishwasher. I don't like running the dishwasher for unless it's at least half-full: that seems wasteful and not very eco-conscious. But I also don't leave dirty dishes lying around for long, and never anywhere but the sink.

I live in the city and roaches/mice are never, ever very far away.

I like my kitchen to be clean. My partner and I differ on dirty dishes in the sink. I can't stand the sight of them and I'm only ok with them if they are bigger pots and pans that are soaking for an easy clean later. He doesn't care and says he will get to them later. I almost always wind up putting them in the dishwasher or just finish cleaning them if they're not something I'd put in the dishwasher.

I'm also big on soaking things to make cleaning easier later. He's not as big on that as I am. I'd rather just get things tidy after a meal rather than letting them sit and get encrusted. It doesn't take much time to do a soak or quick rinse.

I hate vacuuming, dusting, mopping, etc., so I have a cleaning crew that comes once a week and cleans the house from top to bottom. The house always looks great thanks to them. I'm glad I can afford it and consider it money well spent.

R5 After breakfast, after I shower, dress, etc. Dishes are done, floors are mopped or swept, counters are cleaned. I'm fast and efficient.

Miss Lucy - Please come live with me. I need you. My cats need you. We love you.

Roaches or not - and no, I do not have them - there is never an excuse to have dirty dishes lying around or waiting in the sink to be washed.

About hiring someone to clean- do you go out while they clean? How long does it usually take for a 1br apartment?

R10 That made me smile. Thanks!

I had a very nice, modestly talented cleaning lady come in every other week to clean for me before the pandemic. She was fine.

Over the past year I have been teaching myself how to clean the kitchen and bathroom myself. They remain my least favorite chores, ever. I'd rather fill out a tax return.

What do the better DL gays do about their floors (hardwood throughout, ceramic tile in kitchen and bathroom)? I have an old-fashioned wet mop and it's terrible: too much effort, doesn't do much beside slosh soapy water around. And it hurts my back. Recommendations?

I run the dishwasher once a day and the kitchen is clean before I retire for the evening and wash the sheets every one to two weeks or more often if I have company. I do my own laundry except for items that need ironing or dry cleaning. My housekeeper cleans everything else every other week.

I retired this past year, so I clean the house all the time. It's a zen practice. My partner (of 26 years) is not retired and comes home and sullies the whole house.... it's a deep psychological and moral flaw in him. But I compensate by not complaining and just continue to clean.

Although financially comfortable enough to afford a cleaning person, I'd be like my mom. Who cleaned the whole house before the cleaning lady came so she would see a dirty house.

I cannot turn in for the night if there's as much as a dirty dish, glass or utensil in the sink.

Never use the dishwasher that came with this apartment, wouldn't even know how to operate it.

Running the dishwasher once a day seems awfully wasteful unless there’s a houseful of people. I run mine about every five days.

Fabulous MissLucy you don't really mop every day, do you? Are you a 50s housewife?

Please, tell me, how to keep your house clean. My flat is a shithole. I live alone, and work a lot, but don't have a lot in terms of social life, but i just can't make myself to clean. Even 15 minutes a day. And it makes me so depressed and miserable.

WOW! this took off in a flash.

Genetic, culture, upbringing, innate personality, re-incarnated spiritual development. Everyone has a unique response to cleaning.

R20 I get depressed with a dirty house. It alleviates my depression to clean. I used to "admire" folks who were not so OCD about it... now I just accept myself.

Paper towels to clean things - better than Zoloft or Paxil

How do you do your laundry?

Do you iron?

I don't like housecleaning. I will leave dishes overnight, then do them in the morning. I have a dishwasher, but I wash the glasses by hand..because my dishwasher is old and leaves the glasses cloudy. Pots and pans wait until morning. I'll rinse and soak, then stack them in the sink. I clean in portions. My living room is divided in two sections. I'll clean one section...dust and vacuum...then clean the other section another time. Bathrooms have to be done and will do that another day. My home will never be spotless...and that's ok.

We make the beds every morning, no dishes in the sink (unless they are soaking), and not much paper or random items laying around.

However, we don't wash the floors as often as we probably should. We're good at surface cleaning, but deep cleaning doesn't get done as often as it should. We've discussed getting a housecleaner but with COVID it doesn't seem like a great idea. Plus, it just reinforces how lazy we are.

I’m clean, but untidy.

My home isn’t dusty or dirty, but I have too much clutter, most of which I wouldn’t miss if it was gone. I’m useless at deciding what to get rid of.

I’ve decided to get rid of lots of books though. I’ve never been good at giving them away, but I am just sick of having to keep them tidy, dust-free, etc.

We are from the Joan Crawford school of cleanliness. You could perform surgery in our home. Nothing out of place, nothing on the kitchen counters, everything organized beyond belief. Floors are scrubbed weekly. We wash one load of laundry every day, and it is folded and put away. Dishwasher runs every day. We make the bed every day. Shelves and drawers are organized, refrigerator is organized. It isn't all that difficult to live this way, once you get everything in place.

R27 Yes, my experience is that is you maintain things at a certain level, it's not that hard. If you let things go and then it all becomes a big chore, it's a problem. I am posting way too much on this house cleaning thread. I think I'll go vacuum.

LAUNDRY?

Not very. I clean up what I notice.

We live near the Lincoln tunnel. I had to accept years ago that dust is just a protective layer for the things I love.

Those of you who who mention Joan Crawford: do you mean upuou beat an ungrateful child until they clean the house for you?

Ugh. Upuou=you!

Filthy

R19 I don't mop every day. Mopping is my least favorite thing to do in the entire world. Dishes are kind of a zen thing. I do them by hand, because at the moment the dishwasher is broken. But there's nothing zen about mopping.

[quote] ...there is never an excuse to have dirty dishes lying around or waiting in the sink to be washed.

What an annoying tight-ass (and I don't mean that in the good way)

R22 I could have written that post myself. :)

[quote] comes home and sullies the whole house.... it's a deep psychological and moral flaw in him.

Does anyone see how warped this statement is?

A worthy "career goal": Making enough money to have a cleaning person come in every week or two.

R38 Oh Rose, you're so stuck up. I see how warped it is, and I posted it. Humor. Self-awareness of one's quirks and foibles. It works.

I have a housemate who is messy and a “churner”—especially with projects that are left unfinished all over few house. I’ve learned to ignore and not take responsibility for things that aren’t mine.

I'm terrible at housekeeping but try my best. The laundry is always out of control, the floors always need to be mopped, and we honestly just have too much stuff, but because of the pandemic haven't taken donations to Goodwill yet. Until we get rid of them, we don't have room to store more boxes of donations. No, they won't come pick it up. Yes, we've thrown a ton of stuff away.

[quote] We've discussed getting a housecleaner but with COVID it doesn't seem like a great idea.

There do seem to be a lot of people on here who kept housecleaners throughout the pandemic, which is certainly a decision.

My partner is a hoarder so every room eventually turns into storage. I pride myself on organization and cleanliness. I’m losing the battle and nearing the end of my rope.

R20, something I learned from a website (now a book, I think) called Unfuck Your Habitat is to do small bits of cleaning, just 5 minutes, or put just 10 things away, stuff like that. Their Twitter account used to have little challenges which really helped me, you might do a search to see if you can find some and keep a list with you.

Before COVID I had a housekeeper 3 days a week who did my grocery shopping, cooked dinner, did my laundry, kept my house clean and scheduled maintenance, repairs, etc that I couldn’t be home for. Last summer she moved upstate to care for her mother and is rebuilding her business so I guess she is not coming back.

I have tried to keep up with the cleaning but I hate it. I will be working mostly from home permanently so will be looking to get someone in to clean weekly starting in May. I can manage the other stuff.

Used to be an OCD cleaner. My apartments (then condos) were spotless. Every Saturday morning I blasted music, opened all the windows (all seasons), and cleaned like a demon.

When I got together with my partner, and because we could afford it and we were both working 50-60 hour weeks, we hired cleaning persons. We did that for years. I got VERY used to having house cleaners. That stopped with the pandemic. And at my age I am very spoiled and I HATE cleaning. We're getting along by straitening up and some general light cleaning, my partner does major bathroom cleans and I do a major kitchen clean once a week, but I can't wait to get some people in here to do a MASSIVE deep cleaning and to go back to our biweekly schedule.

The best house cleaners have always been older women. I would have thought gay men would be good but in our case, I was wrong; they are and have been the worst.

We run the dishwasher every other day and always leave the kitchen clean before bed. I've always done our basic laundry but our shirts always went to the dry cleaner when we were working, and I handle whatever other ironing is needed. I also iron our sheets though I've never ironed underwear.

That's most of the details. Major work like whole house window cleaning, gutters, and power washing we hire out. We're old and we're lucky enough to be able to afford it.

I didn't realize DL was so popular with the Harriet Craig crowd....include me out.

Even when I stopped working at the beginning of the pandemic, I didn't have enough time in my day to keep everything spotless, I have no idea how people do it.

If you can run the dishwasher once a day and get everything clean, you must not cook for yourself or use any utensils that need to be hand washed. My counters almost always have dishes drying on them, wine glasses or plastics that don't dry in the dishwasher or metal cookware that can't go in the machine.

I cover everything in plastic; large condom-like dust-prophylactics. I sit in only one spot and never move until it's time to seasonally replace the plastic. It's very boring, but boy is it clean! (Actually, if cleanliness is next to godliness, as [r16] 's mom said, then I'm a steroided Mephistopheles.)

I have a roomba/Shark and that has helped a lot. Before I go to bed I straighten up the kitchen and living rooms, adjust the pillows on the couch, do any dishes in the sink, and prepare coffee for the morning. I have my windows cleaned twice a year by an outside company. I pay for my yard upkeep. Living where I do, not far from the ocean, we have more spiders than I'd like. Do the kitchen floors and appliances and bathrooms every weekend (when we're not traveling.)

In a few years after retirement I'd like to have a housekeeper come in once a week to do dusting and bathrooms and floors.

Only two of us so we have a slimline 45cm integrated dishwasher that we run every day. All of my utensils, crockery, pans can be put in the dishwasher, which can dry plastic unlike other models.

The cleaner comes on Monday and Friday.

[quote]What do the better DL gays do about their floors (hardwood throughout, ceramic tile in kitchen and bathroom)? I have an old-fashioned wet mop and it's terrible: too much effort, doesn't do much beside slosh soapy water around. And it hurts my back. Recommendations?

Get a Swiffer. Lightweight and easy.

R42 have you called Goodwill lately to see if they are taking donations? I took a carload of clothes, books, CDs and old kitchen stuff to Goodwill in CT back in January.

A very helpful habit I developed during the past year: my kitchen is closed at 8 pm. Dinner is cleaned up and everything put away, lights out and I will only go back for a drink of water or to feed the cat. It keeps the kitchen clean and keeps me from overeating.

R14

Try Bona® Premium Spray Mop. You can use it for both wood floors and tile. You can use different cleaners for each surface or the cleaner that does all hard surfaces. It has a microfiber pad that you can throw in the washing machine when necessary.

The only situations in which it is acceptable to pay somebody to clean your house as a regular occurrence for you are:

1) you have a disability that means you can’t do it yourself, or age has had the same effect. 2) you live in a house share wherein it is a requisite to maintain relations between housemates. 3) you’re a renter and your landlord employs a cleaning crew and it’s beyond your control.

Everyone else is just a selfish gross asshole taking advantage of a classist racist misogynistic system. It’s so un-modern.

Earlier in life if left a drug rehab and pressed restart on life living in a "sober" apartment with another gay guy and two incredibly wise black lesbians. I remember seeing one of the women storm into the kitchen and see the pile of dirty dishes in the sink and spilled food on the stove. She grabbed a sponge and started scrubbing and intoned at the top of her voice, "Jesus fucking Christ, and I thought you gay boys were supposed to be immaculate."

My refrigerator is disgusting right now

R56, or it’s providing work for people who need it.

My goodness, this place is crammed full of fussbudgets!

I'm very neat. When I go to bed, everything in the house is where it should be. When I wake up, I.make the bed within half an hour. When I have dinner, everything is cleaned up and the dishes in the dishwasher.

It's a trick that that if you keep everything tidy and in its place that others will say, "Your house is so clean!" But it really isn't, it's just tidy.

I do clean, mind you, but unlike TO, my house isn't "Joan Crawford clean" unless I've had a cleaner in (not for a year). I do a bit of dusting and I sweep and or mop some floors every day; I give the bathroom a thorough cleaning every three days; I air out the house and change bedding and towels once a week or more. But having everything surgically scrubbed down and the top of every picture frame spotless and the curtains vacuumed and the walls scrubbed isn't an obsession. Things tar clean enough and I will get to them at some point, or it will be safe to have the cleaner back in.

Keeping things.in place is.my.own small obsession. If I tidy up immediately things never get out of hand - that they never look dirty is a nice bonus I suppose, but not the point.

I like.coming home and knowing everything is in place and looks good, I like passing from one room to another and all looks good.

Dusting and vacuuming are my downfall.

In my house, we basically only clean when people are coming to visit. COVID has been a little rough, but we had a dinner guest last weekend so the place won't be condemned as a Superfund site.

We try to keep up, do a weekend house cleaning. I don't have clothes strewn about and the common areas are picked up. Dishes done. The floors could be cleaner. We have a pet parrot so good luck on that.

R7 I rinse the dish(es) and put it/them in the dishwasher immediately. But I don't run it until I have a full load.

I grew up in a single wide trailer, with parents who never threw anything away. It wasn't exactly a hoarder house, but it was bad enough that I never had anyone over, because I was so embarrassed. Clutter now causes me tremendous anxiety.

A few years before she died, I spent three hours on Christmas Day cleaning my mother's kitchen (she had Parkinson's, and wasn't always able to do for herself).

Halfway through the seemingly endless chore:

"Ah." I said. "Now I'm making progress."

"Progress for you, maybe. But not for me.", she retorted.

At the end I left nothing on the counter. Even the dish soap went under the sink. Her reply?

"Now it looks like nobody even lives here."

I told her she only had herself to blame for that. I never cleaned for her again.

So, I can confidently report that my home is clutter-free, and always will be. And in addition, everything is spotless. If it isn't, I can't sleep at night.

R59 it’s not real work. There’s almost always no insurance, no benefits, social security, legal job standards etc. its the perfect conditions for people to be taken advantage of and that’s exactly what happens.

It’s clean despite pain from my chronic illness

[quote]Dishes are kind of a zen thing. I do them by hand,

Yes, Miss Lucy. The window over my kitchen sink faced my yard and actually enjoyed doing dishes, watching the birds and squirrels in the yard. It almost put me in a trance at times.

[r56] has stated everyone's boundaries: "The only situations in which it is acceptable to pay somebody to clean your house as a regular occurrence for you are:..."

Please read and adhere to r56's dictates. Otherwise, as r56 eloquently stated: "Everyone else is just a selfish gross asshole taking advantage of a classist racist misogynistic system. It’s so un-modern."

So, don't be 'un-modern' like those privileged gay bourgeoisie assholes who compel the financially neutered proletariat to accept slave wages for the work they are forced to do cleaning up the capitalist shit littered throughout their evil employer's abode. That's literal slavery; it's racist and sexist, too! (Think of the poor ciswoman of color cleaning the evil, rich, white gay man's toilet. Will no one think of the poor ciswoman of color?!)

Throw off those rubber cleaning gloves! Put down that mop, and pick up the banner of the modern man/woman/LGBTQIA++. Forward! Always forward! We get closer to nirvana with every step. (And OP: You're worse than Hitler for not considering the poor ciswoman of color. How do you sleep at night on your clean linens and spotless floors given to you compliments of the broken back and swollen knees of the poor ciswoman of color? It boggles the mind that such literal evil exists - it's so un-modern!)

tl;dr - jk (All errorrs are someone else's fault; naught mine.)

I’m a bit of a slob, honestly. Yet my kitchen and bathrooms are *always* clean. Sinks and toilets have to be clean, always. I vacuum frequently. My studio is a mess, my living space is clean, albeit stacks of periodicals and books. My bed is made EVERY morning, yet there is a chair perpetually full of clothes.

I guess I’m not such a slob.

I think it was The RealEstalker who confirmed my belief in getting down on all fours to scrub bath and kitchen floors and I do that about twice a week. My studio is less than 300 square feet, so it doesn’t take too much effort. It’s more about keeping everything in its place. I end up vacuuming every other day. As far as dishes, I use two place settings so they never get too far out of hand.

I just can’t get over how much covid hair I shed. It’s everywhere - even inside the tiny fridge. I’m stuck wiping it down nearly every day.

[quote] What do the better DL gays do about their floors (hardwood throughout, ceramic tile in kitchen and bathroom)? I have an old-fashioned wet mop and it's terrible: too much effort, doesn't do much beside slosh soapy water around. And it hurts my back. Recommendations?

R14, maybe consider not wearing shoes in the house. Change into house shoes if you like shoes in the house.

My place is half carpet, half tile. I vacuum only, no mopping. The only time I "mop" the floor is during rainy weather when I may track in some mud at the entry. At that point, it's paper towels, hands on the floor.

Try it! (No shoes.)

My home is always presentable. My husband and I have a routine so the dishes are always done and floors are clean. But we suck at dusting - I need to get a cleaning person to dust.

After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse.

“I hate housework. You make the beds, you do the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again.”

Me and the twink hubby have a maid every other Monday. Besides doing dishes, laundry and generally picking up, we just try not to fuck too much up in between maid days.

Photographer-ready at all times.

I keep two paper grocery store bags inside the closet by my front door. When I bring in the mail is sort it as Junk or Action At the end of my work day on Wednesdays I spend 10 minutes sorting the actionable bag and then I take everything else out to the curb for Thursday’s recycling pick up. Unless it’s a birthday card from my mom or aunt, nothing I get in the mail needs my immediate attention and most of it is garbage. Before I came up with this system mail used to create clutter and chaos — conditions that are overwhelming for me.

Also, since I was a little kid, I make my bed while I am still half asleep otherwise I will crawl back in after I get up to pee.

R72 Yes, a subset of this discussion. After you are aware of the logic of taking shoes off at the door (whether living in Asian cultures, being alt-New Agey, or just germaphobic) the idea of walking around in the soiled and poisonous world and then pressing all that dirt all over the house is.... well, disturbing, at the least. We take off our shoes at the door. If a visitor comes in and asks if they should take off the shoes we say "whatever you are comfortable with" We keep a clean house but are not obnoxious.

After I retired all I do is pick lint out of the carpet.

[quote] I keep two paper grocery store bags inside the closet by my front door. When I bring in the mail is sort it as Junk or Action At the end of my work day on Wednesdays I spend 10 minutes sorting the actionable bag and then I take everything else out to the curb for Thursday’s recycling pick up.

R78, you don't need to be receiving this much paper mail. If it's junk, like catalogs, you can put a stop to it. If it's non-junk, you could switch to receiving everything by email & PDF.

I cleaned today because of the clean shaming in this thread.

Gurls, smell Princess R46!

(12) It should take 2 hours to clean a 1 br apt and in my area - a really expensive suburb of Seattle $100 is a fair rate. It should take 2 people one hour.

We’ve had the same cleaning woman for over 15 years. She’s as much of a part of our family as my own sister. These days she’s looking more like Aunt Clara than Esmeralda.

I do my part to help the economy. Se habla Ingles? Gracias!

Yolanda turns the shit out. And she's grateful for the cash.

I’m in the distinct minority - how clean is my apartment? Not very. I never make my bed. I don’t leave food or dirty dishes out because I don’t want mice or roaches but I’ve been known to put those dirty dishes in the freezer and wash them later when I have more. When I do clean the bathroom I do a thorough job and get everything super clean, but it will be at least two two months before I do it again. I’m clean, my clothes are clean, my apartment not so much.

NEVER

My kitchen is immaculate. And it’s not because it is unused. The bathroom is clean. The rest is in need of tidying. But a pile of magazines won’t attract vermin. Clean the important things.

I only thought about cleaning because of the clean shaming on this thread.

You’re a better man than I, R82.

Ha, R87, I've heard of people putting garbage in the freezer (instead of walking to the dumpster), but dishes in the freezer is new to me.

I loved this show back when I was a dirt ball.

I've placed dirty dishes in the fridge (overnight) if I don't have the energy to wash them. Reason: I'll wash them tomorrow and don't want insects attracted to food particles.

How do you guys handle dust?

R94, I try to keep surfaces cleared (as much as possible) so that I can just wipe down surfaces. I either use plain water or a cleaning spray for wood. For floors, just vacuum, try to keep stuff off the floor.

r56 it creates jobs

My dish is always clean.

I found the trick to keeping your place clean and tidy is to just do little jobs here and there throughout the week that would only take 5 - 10 mins. Scrub the toilet on a Monday, fold some towels on a Tuesday, scrub counters on a Wednesday, etc.

If you wait for it to all pile up, it seems insurmountable and you can end up procrastinating.

My robot vac does the fucking vacuuming though. I'm not doing that shit.

R94, a good air purifier with a HEPA filter can help with dust. You'd be surprised how much they capture over time.

I am a slattern. It works for me just fine.

I'm a good average I'd say. Change my bedlinen once a week, put the robot vacuum around twice a week, mop weekly, don't hoard, do a bigger clean monthly when I have a 4 day break and stack the dishwasher as I go. It's not spotless or perfect, I don't dust much, my desk is messy and I only get around to making the bed about half the time. Like I said, probably a good average but good enough for me.

The front part of the house, which is undergoing a major refurb, is filthy. The back of the house, which contains a bedroom, bathroom, office and temporary kitchen, is moderately clean.

I am like many others here a clean faggot. A messy house unnerves me, I make moral judgments when I see one and look forward to waxing underneath my refrigerator. My husband grew up in a wealthy house that had a live-in housekeeper. This means that he is incapable of picking up after himself and cannot be taught to do it. But as with others, my neurosis is dominant and so I just pick up after him. Now that we have children my standards are slipping somewhat, but only somewhat.

A few observations. Swiffers are to my mind false advertising. Any white damp pad passed over a clean floor will dirty. They give only superficial comfort. I do my floors with a mop and once a week on my hands and knees with a splash of white vinegar.

That said, steamers with distilled water are great at removing grease and film and are a smart investment.

I too (pathetically) clean the house before our cleaner comes (or rather came, it has been a year now that we have paid her not to come). However also I clean with her. Together in four hours we are able to do a satisfyingly deep clean to the house once a week, one that lasts three or four days. If you suffer from bourgeois guilt in hiring a cleaner (its a good job and pays quite well) just clean alongside your cleaner.

Finally I'm surprised that you bitches haven't mentioned the BBC show on Youtube: "Obsessive Compulsive Country House Cleaners". A lovely show in which the obsessive compulsives help dirty hoarders and are helped in return, by confronting radical mess.

R72 & R79 I have a coat rack and a shoe rack in my entryway. I never wear shoes in my house, either. Wet, dry, or otherwise. We grew up wearing shoes in the house, but the idea disgusts me. As long as I've been on my own, I practiced removing my shoes inside the door.

[quote] Living where I do, not far from the ocean, we have more spiders than I'd like.

I did not know this, and now will think about nothing but the death tarantulas hiding in every wall of any beachfront home in a Tasteful Friends thread.

I take the garbage out when it is full.

Me too

Me as well, r104. street/outdoor shoes have to come off before going through the mud room. I have house a bunch of house sandals for guests.

My polish housekeeper is a riot, if somebody starts to come inside with street shoes. She points to their feet and says, “you, off shoes”!

I keep my house clean. I have a house cleaner, but also make the bed and clean the dishes and counters every day. Plus a couple loads of laundry a week. No piles of anything anywhere.

And I was a complete slob as a kid, so go figure.

I had cleaners most of my life, and now I'd rather save the cash and develop a routine I can do easily. It's my goal for this year. So far I find mopping once a week, vacuuming every other day, keeping the kitchen clean and having my bf do the bathroom is working okay. It just isn't ingrained yet. I want it to become like second nature. Also have to clean the humidifier every other week, and clean HVAC filters bimonthly. We share laundry.

Get rid of all decorative pillows.

Sometimes, I like cleaning. I just choose something small and get it done. Feels good to me. I grew up thinking that you had to do a thorough cleaning of an entire room or why bother. On top of that, my family house had quite a few knickknacks, pillows, etc.

It seems we can put everyone in about 4 main categories: Immaculate - Very Clean - Superficial (if I can't see the dirt it isn't there) Clean - Other / Don't Ask.

A person's housekeeping habits are likely impacted by where they live. I'm in a drafty old co-op on a major thoroughfare with a lot of car and bus traffic down below. There's dark hardwood floors throughout which show everything. I'm sure someone in a well insulated suburban home with central air and wall-to-wall carpeting doesn't need to clean as often.

[quote] Every Saturday morning I blasted music, opened all the windows (all seasons), and cleaned like a demon. When I got together with my partner, and because we could afford it and we were both working 50-60 hour weeks, we hired cleaning persons. We did that for years. I got VERY used to having house cleaners. That stopped with the pandemic. And at my age I am very spoiled and I HATE cleaning.

Mary!

Yeah, R112, it does help to have AC and to be above ground floor. I love the look of dark (ebonized) wood floors, but I'm sure it would show dust. I had a black area rug at one point. Never again. Always looked dirty.

I’m tidy, run the dishwasher everyday and do laundry. A housekeeper comes once a week. We’ve become friends and with me working from home we go room to room drinking coffee and talking while she cleans and I help. It’s not the best cleaning job but that’s ok.

Watching an episode or two of hoarders gets me motivated to clean...though, my place is not that bad...really. I can move around..lol.

I like living in a clean house. For most of my life I spent all day Saturday scrubbing. That stopped about ten years ago. Now we're lucky enough have a great woman who comes in every 3 weeks and does a great job. But I usually clean for a couple of hours before she gets here so she can focus on the jobs I hate, like floors, bathrooms, cleaning the cabinets, oven and fridge. One thing I always do is make my bed every morning. And if I take an afternoon nap, I make it again. I hate getting into an unmade bed.

I like living in a clean house but heck if I want to clean the damn thing.

Gays, help me out with practical advice. I have a german sptitz, and he is adorable and smart little thing, but his fur if EVERYWHERE. What can i do to clean furniture and the air?

You sit around as always...morning til night

Reddit, Daily Fail, here, YouTube, & others

You need an intervention..though not for yourself

For the others you hack & troll online

We get it. Yo mamma a coke whore ,& dad in prison but must WE pay for it,?

Those Mr.CleanERASURES, so addictive. No elbow grease required

Old soap dish in shower sparkles. Took 2 minutes

I live alone and I never clean. Vacuum twice a year lol. I rarely have visitors so it's just me. I don't feel the need to be anal about it.

My partner and I are very clean. We have a cleaning lady come in twice a month to give our apartment a “deep dicking” as we call it ... including scrubbing the tub, cleaning the oven, re-arranging closets etc., We make the bed every morning and change the sheets every Sunday. And I’m a total toilet fairy. I despise a dirty bathroom and I give our toilet a vigorous cleaning several times a week.

That said, we each have a little area of chaos. Mine is my hamper that by the end of the week is spilling over with clothing. His is his desk in our bedroom that is piled with paperwork from his job. And once in awhile we leave dishes in the sink overnight if we eat late. But they are gone no later than 8am.

Being clean gives me a sense of control and even emotional well-being. I had one year of being manically depressed and I just remember my place at the time being like a college dorm on a Sunday morning. Because I just didn’t have the energy to pull it together. I vowed to never go back to that again.

Here’s my take on housework - I’m not a fan.

Here’s my take on housework.

I. AM. NOT. A. FAAANNN!!!

Mine is cluttered

Cleanliness is next to Godlessness

It’s clean, but not sparkly clean. All of the main rooms are clean, but my bedroom (where I spend most of my time) is kind of messy. I’m also lazy with dusting and my bathroom is not the cleanest I admit (only clean the toilet and floor on a regular basis but rarely the mirror, countertops or shower).

R42 check and see if the VA (Veterans)charity will come by and pick up your stuff. You can arrange it online. They picked up my stuff for free. It took a little longer during Covid because they were so busy. you just leave the stuff on the porch and they will come at a certain day and time.

So you guys run the dishwasher without it being full? Why not just wait till it’s full?

[quote]I’m a total toilet fairy. I despise a dirty bathroom and I give our toilet a vigorous cleaning several times a week.

That's the one thing I make sure is always clean, but I like to use those gel stick-on things that keep it clean for a while so I don't have to do a big clean so often.

The only time I ever got actively angry at a product was when I used Clorox brand toilet cleaner. It doesn't cling! I felt stupid getting so mad about it, but good grief, it has ONE JOB.

“but I like to use those gel stick-on things that keep it clean for a while so I don't have to do a big clean so often.”

Hi, r123 here. I was just looking at those gel things! Do they actually work?

I washed dishes, fed my moms cats, swept my floors, washed bedding, cleaned toilets. It’s not even 10:30 am! Not bad for a dude in his 40s suffering with a Psoriatic Arthritis flare.

IMO, single people should keep their houses clean, even if it's "just" for themselves. It's all about habits (Mary!). Do you really think that you're going to partner up with your future man and suddenly snap into action? No, your potential man will catch a glimpse of your house and car and may be turned off by the lack of self-respect.

So fluffy dogs? Anyone?

R132, they're good for extending the clean for a while longer than usual. My only complaint is that they're not very good with hard water deposits, but otherwise they keep the bowl clean for a while. Just make sure there's always a stamp in the bowl. They last probably 3-7 days and I can go for 3 to 4 stamps before doing a full heavy-duty cleaning.

I never make my bed. Yes, me feel shame. I'm basic and live alone in an efficiency. I would indeed feel shame if I brought home a trick and they had to see my unmade bed. White trash?

Not even sure how to make a bed professionally like a hotel maid. That seems so lucious and extravagant.

Martha Stewart shows how to fold a fitted sheet. Can most of you accomplish that?

I am inspired by this thread. I'm throwing away stuff, donating stuff etc. So far 3 car loads to the donation center, 5 chairs and many bags of trash. Thanks DL'ers.

It’s clean here

Frequently used rooms and kitchen /bathroom yes , Other rooms not so much ...

With the pandemic going on the past year my HOUSE is not very clean.

Previous to the pandemic I had hired help to keep the HOUSE clean.

Now, and for the past year, I am doing everything myself, and I can't keep up, so it is not that clean.

I have not allowed anyone into my HOUSE since the pandemic got serious, so there has been no hired help for a long time.

I’m watching the Jenny Jones Show.

My dishwasher broke and there are dishes in the sink. I used to clean and maintain on a regular basis but I got major depression and now I let things pile up a bit longer before I clean up. Also as I get older I entertain less and I just split with my boyfriend, I would keep my place clean because he would judge me on my housekeeping skills. My place is clean it's just not as tidy as it used to be. Also the floors and furniture are dark and the dust builds up to a point where I have to dust and vacuum because it's so obvious. I had a heart attack after caring for my dying mother 2 years ago, I have little energy now mostly due to various meds that I take. I run out of steam about 10 minutes into starting to do housework.

Spring clean bitches!

our rustic old cottage in the woods gets extra attention from me . We are on the forest floor near the water . I constantly vacuum and dust and clean windows. Its inherent funkiness demands extreme cleanliness to pull the experience all together

R138 Yes thanks to everyone for the inspiration to clean!

I'm clean, but not tidy. No dishes in sinks, bedclothes changed once a week, oftener if needed - but I rarely make my bed in anything more than a rudimentary manner. I've got books everywhere, and shirts hanging off of the backs of chairs. Sweep when needed. I don't generate much garbage, but it goes out every night before bed.

[quote]After the first four years the dirt doesn't get any worse.

Did you think you were going to slip an uncredited Quentin Crisp past us, r74?

I'm not a super clean freak, but waking up to a sink of dirty dishes really depresses me.

R144 Ol Nicolas still has too much shit sitting around. My 89 year old mother would love that room though.

We have 23 rooms. Of course it's not "clean." You try to keep a small staff nowadays.

[quote] I never make my bed. Yes, me feel shame. I'm basic and live alone in an efficiency. I would indeed feel shame if I brought home a trick and they had to see my unmade bed.... Not even sure how to make a bed professionally like a hotel maid. That seems so lucious and extravagant.

R137, how about just getting a nice fitted sheet. (Do also get a mattress cover or protector.) Then, forget the flat sheet & bedspread stuff. Get a lightweight comforter to go on top. "Making" your bed would consist of flattening out the comforter every morning & putting the pillow(s) at the head of the bed.

Re: the comforter. Get one that is washable & that can fit in the washer you normally use (no special trips to a laundromat to use a larger washer). Or get a comforter that's not washable & get a washable cover / duvet for the comforter.

I live alone. While I am not a complete pig, I rarely clean my place unless someone is coming over, which is not often.