I’m somewhat relieved that we have Passover every year because that’s our only real deep cleaning. And when someone comes to visit, but that’s been very seldom. I’m not a big clutter person; husband’s only real clutter is that for some reason he thinks he needs to keep his WSJ’s for months instead of recycling - just in case there’s an article he hasn’t read. Haven’t seen him do that yet…
I’ve never had a cleaning lady but my mother did, and I still remember being confused why I had to clean up before her weekly visit.
I’m curious what tasks, in general (Passover or otherwise), that folk consider to be elements of a deep clean. Seems as though we have addressed before on a thread I started, but I am old and crazy
We have a gigantic leather sectional. We couldn’t move it ourselves if we wanted to.
The only piece of furniture Mr. B and I can’t move together is our granite top dining table! But I can’t imagine moving furniture for cleaning. I just vacuum underneath.
Our theoretical objective is to remove any possible crumb of non-Passover allowed food, although that’s not really an issue for us per se. It’s basically spring cleaning. The kitchen gets the brunt of it - every appliance (microwave, toaster oven, mixer, et al), all refrigerator shelves, cabinet shelves, drawers, etc. Otherwise, it’s cleaning all surfaces and floors in the rest of the house.
This house isn’t all that much smaller than our old house (1500 vs 2000 sq ft), but it’s one floor vs two, two less “spaces” (used to have open doorway study and a loft). But it seems far easier to clean.
The house my parents lived in for the last 30 plus years of their lives was not a large house but it was difficult to clean (different levels, etc), so I totally get that.
I had a cleaning team every other week in my former house, but I haven’t gotten around to hiring anyone here. I am not really considering it at this point as this house seems easy to keep clean.
For me, a deep clean means doing tasks that don’t get done very often,e.g., cleaning and sorting drawers and cabinets in the kitchen or cleaning out my pantry and getting rid of items that say “Use by August 1, 2018”. I keep the fridge clean and organized, but the pantry not so much.
My pantry got cleaned last Saturday. My pest control man said the little bugs were “grocery store” bugs, meaning something I brought into the house had bugs. So, we filled 3 bags with rice, pasta, crackers, etc., then the expired food. I washed all my plastic and glass containers, scrubbed the shelves, and touched up with paint the scratches.
Every so,often, it is gratifying to do a deep,clean. For the most part, I like the 5 minute rule, of putting things back where they belong.
I remember bringing home some little moths from the grocery store. Those were a pain to get rid of! Took about a week and a couple of tries of wiping everything down and tossing some stuff,
Now that I think of it, we do have a routine. The i-robots run on the first floor and basement every night while we are sleeping. I had forgotten but we had guests and they had no idea what was going on from 2-4AM. Until they turned on the light. One slept on the couch and heard strange noises. I think my husband set this up to stop the dog from barking at them.
@BunsenBurner , I think I know your closest Costco, and you are brave souls to go on weekends! Ours has a lull in the late afternoon (after samples are done) 5-6 pm. I used to hit it on my way home from school and never had a crowd.
Our chore routine has changed with retirement and H’s disability. We each do our own laundry as needed, he does the weekly sheets and towels. He does the dishwasher loading and unloads everything he can reach from his wheelchair (90% due to good kitchen design ). We got a dyson cordless vacuum and one of us runs it around the kitchen/family room for about 5 minutes every day or two for crumbs and stuff tracked in. That thing was worth the fancy price.
DH has been doing his own laundry since he was 8 years old. He’s very picky about how it’s done and folded, etc., so I saw no reason to try to take over.
But he does his laundry when he’s out of underwear, and he has been known to buy more when the situation calls for it!
I could have written this except our kids are grown and out of the house.
DH loves a clean house too, so my clean freak nature doesn’t bother him a bit. Well, occasionally when I ask him “are you finished with your plate?” at dinner, it can bug him because he’s often mulling over having seconds. But other than that, we are on the same page!
We like going to Costco on weekdays in the last 30 minutes or so before they close. Lines are minimal, parking is good and it’s not very crowded. We learned this from my brother and our kids. Earlier in the pandemic, we either went during SR hour or right afterward. We’ve now transitioned to this and it works well for us.
We wash laundry when the pile of dirty clothes in the bathroom gets too big, generally weekly. We run the Roomba when we feel the floor needs some attention. I scrub any crud off the cooktop every night if I notice any or cooked on it.
H normally washes all the dishes and keeps sink and counters clean. I all our bills and handle our finances as necessary, tho he has the accounting degree
When our kids come to visit, we deep clean their rooms so their allergies don’t act up—Roomba, dust, wash curtains and bedding. It helps them have fewer issues with allergies.
Do you have the Costco app? It uses scan and go. Use your phone to scan items as you shop. No standing in line at all. I use scan and go at Sams Club and love it.
Work(ed) full time and raised 3 overly activitied boys with no disposable income for help. Things got done if, when and whenever I had the time on a need-based priority. And really no one except me ever cared if any of it was done. The only routine was dishes were cleaned every night. Now that the kids are grown and out of the house, I find I have oodles of time that I’m used to being active so I still don’t have a routine but get a couple of chores done every evening between dinner and tv. Whatever is aggravating me the most. It’s nice. On the other hand, my Mom, who didn’t work outside the home, had a routine for each day. I used to love grocery shopping with her on Thursdays in the summer.
@gouf78 I’ve been using the Sam’s Scan and Go app for years. Around the holidays, I would see people standing in long lines at the checkout and could not believe they were not aware of the app or using it. Especially after the pandemic hit - so nice to get in and out so quickly. I don’t know why it isn’t more heavily publicized or utilized.
The other plus for Sam’s Scan and Go - my kids (still have three who are not yet out of high school/college) all have the app, logged in to my account, and are able to use it to get gas which is great! So much cheaper for them to fill up at Sam’s, esp with the crazy prices right now! It’s much easier than Dh and I having to keep track of our membership cards (before we would give them our card if they had to fill up then I’d forget to get it back).
