How often do you clean your house?

I am a recovering slob.

I bought one of those heavy duty steam cleaners a year ago and rarely have to use any chemicals anymore, just water. The sad part about those steam cleaners is it turns you into a cleaning fanatic because you have to convince/prove to yourself that you'll get your money's worth from it.

They really do work well though. You'd be amazed at how much gunk comes outta places you never knew were large enough to hide the stuff. Sometimes it actually gets to be fun, sort of like playing a video game, searching and destroying gunk!

Now if only they'd make a machine that does just as good a job on clothes! I HATE putting clean laundry away. Why bother? It's just going to get used again within a week or two.

butrflynet - sounds cool! My housemate got a swiffer wet-mop that has a little cleaner cartridge and a disposable mophead. I hate the waste, but it sure is cool.

The swiffer rocks.

I haven't been able to figure out how to answer. I'm perpetually cleaning up after the little tasmanian devil that lives here, so I "clean" approximately 732 times a day, but that doesn't necessarily translate to overall cleanliness. There's always something. (Oh, I thought she finished that banana this morning...?)

that's picking up, no?

Yeh. Is picking up different than cleaning? I mean, when she spills something on the floor, I sweep the whole floor. That's cleaning.

Anyway, it's all rather sisyphean.

sisyphean?

Sis·y·phe·an ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ss-fn)
adj.
Greek Mythology. Of or relating to Sisyphus.
Endlessly laborious or futile: "Their patients' lack of education and the high cost of medicine make health care a Sisyphean task" (Frank Gibney, Jr.).

(gotta love the proununciation key)

so, cleaning is sisyphean?

aaaahhhhh, the SIMPLE GREEN!!! i love it, i LOVE it! you can get a whiff of it on the surfaces even a day or two after. soooo satisfying.

see.

With a Tasmanian devil in tow, yeah. Sweep the floor while she pulls the books out of the bookcase. Put the books back while she grinds playdo into the carpet. Scrape at playdo while she spills milk. Etc.

What I have actually finally settled into is a few sweeps each day, rather than getting any little thing. Stuff than can spoil gets cleaned immediately, but the book-type stuff (she's over that now) can wait. And lots and lots of preventive measures.

I guess the distinction between cleaning up after chillins and cleaning the house is much more obvious for me as I care for the kids at their houses and don't have any at my house.

Yeah.

One more wrinkle... a welcome one... she has been getting more and more into cleaning, herself. This has been long encouraged but only recently has started to stick. She'll put her clothes in the laundry basket, her toys in the toy box, etc. She will also willfully, while looking me steadily in the eye, sloowwwwwly dump water on the floor after I have asked her not to, but that's rare.

I know both sides of that spectrum!

Hey, Gautam...buddy! Typical Libran, huh? Me too. What is your birthday? Mine is Oct. 3rd...yes, that's Friday.

I like things nice & clean & orderly ALL the time. I hire a housekeeper to come in for a half day every two weeks. Left on my own, I am not very clean, but I am extremely neat & organized. (There is a difference, you know.) Housekeepers LOVE my house...there is practically no clutter.

How do some of you keep up? I'm working days and spending evenings & weekends being a wife & parent. You know, running the kiddo around to all the activities, homework, household stuff, etc. How am I supposed to do all that and find time to clean, too?!

You're not. Cleaning is a waste of time as well as being sisyphean. Just clean what really bothers you and only the rooms you use. As long as you manage to keep the kitchen sanitary, you're doing OK. There are lots of things that are much more important.

I use Simple Green while washing clothes. It's great for freshening towels & removing the smell from bad cats' behaviors. I've never found that it actually cleaned anything that wouldn't come up with what my mom called the most natural of cleaning agents... elbow grease.

My favorite cleaning product is a citrus oil solvent - Desolvo or something like that. Great for removing gum and similar gunk. I think I might like a steamer though... must look into one of those.

Now, I'm not big into cleaning, but I recall a discussion on Abuzz. The concensus seemed to be that something called Fabuloso, or something like that was the hot tip. For several reasons, including the lack of a spray bottle with the product, I haven't tried it, but it is on the shelves locally. Some of you may remember the thread, come to think of it.

I remember, I think Mamajuana was the first one to bring it up. So... when are you going to try it???

I've got a 1/2 gallon of water based parts cleaner I get from Kaman Industrial. It's about 4 times as effective as 409, so I'll use it till it's gone and give the stuff a try. You just might be surprised at how long cleaning products last around here, though.