Deep Cleaning Schedule and Dishes

You're kidding, right?

I can't remember the last time I didn't go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. Right now I have 4 loads of laundry that i finally got folded and put away, but there is another load of clean clothes in a basket, one in the dryer, a load in the washer that needs to be moved and probably 2 more loads waiting to be washed. I will put the one load in the dryer before I go to bed, but that might be about it.

Edited to Add:

Gamma G, you had me laughing so hard I almost peed my pants!

OMG...I did not realize all of the things I am not doing until I read your post. All I can say is you go girl!

Good luck finding your happy medium!

Would you please come and clean my house??? Wow! :-)

OMG Gramma G your response is so...uuumm...dramatic!

You wash your ceilings and walls, fans and behind the fridge?!? Good lord woman that's amazing!
I used to have a cleaning lady when I lived in Italy who would move all of the furniture and do what you do. Since I relocated I do the housework myself, but definitely don't "deep" clean. It's good that you've allowed your dishes to air dry. You need to take it easy. Stay clean, but don't drive yourself crazy. A good way to deal with the slime is vinegar with baking soda. Mix and use on almost everything. Otherwise go bleach (not high on my list).

I always let the dishes air dry but can't stand when the dish rack is yucky. I wipe it down frequently and give it a really good wash with soap and bleach every few weeks or sometimes wash it with cleanser. I have a rubbermaid dish rack. So if you have a wooden one it wouldn't do to do this. I have a few things I'm kinda picky about like keeping my washer and dryer clean for instance. But through the years I've learned to let a lot of stuff go. Not worth the time nor energy when there are so many things to do that are more important. I don't live in a rat's nest but it could be a lot cleaner according to my old standards (years ago)

I hate the slime too. Every few weeks I fill the bathtub with bleach and water and soak. I also pour on bleach that's diluted every few days. I use the ones that snap apart so that I can clean it directly if it gets out of hand. When I get tired of trying to get into the crevices, I throw them out and buy new ones.

I don't move the big things like the fridge often enough. It gets done a few times per year. I move furniture to sweep all the time. We have wood floors. I'm terrible about cleaning the ceiling fans. I reach up and take the dust off with my fingers when it's so thick I can slide it off. Occasionally they get washed :) I use the sticky rollers on the couch and I air dry the dishes because it really is the most sanitary thing to do for the dishes. Bathrooms get wiped down as I go. Everyday I sweep and wipe things down. But I don't clean the shower nearly enough or move the rug and all the stuff sitting around in the bathroom. My bathroom is my biggest pet peeve. I get no help in there!

I asked a question similar to this a while back...some thought I was insane.

Every quarter - 1st of that month - I strip the beds, shower curtains, bath mats and wash them. I vacuum the beds, move the furniture and vacuum, mop and clean under it - not that I don't vacuum under the beds regularly - I just don't mop under them every week.

I don't like dishes in my sink. I admit there are times when I've left a few of them in there.

I wash my walls every quarter too - kitchen cabinets and medicine cabinets...

I need to clean my oven but just NOT THERE!! LOL!!! I'll do it Friday AFTER the turkey!!
you are not alone...

Ha. I'm ADHD so a clean house is a personal mission from Gawd. ((Catch22... I need the peace and serenity and good smells in order to think... but THINGS just move around of their own accord, and the office eats whatever goes into it. I swear. It's not safe in there.)).

I clean rather a lot like you do, however, and if I get off schedule things descend into chaos fairly quickly. When my schedule gets messed with, it just doesn't happen!

I usually dustmop and wash my floors every morning, then do all the flat surfaces (table, counters, etc.), and start a load of laundry. The whole thing takes me about 20 minutes if I did it the day before, and the day before, etc. Versus 1-3 hours if I haven't done it for a few weeks (life does intervene). Shower curtain gets washed sunday, along with all the sheets, and the bathroom gets decontam'd (fabric one with the sheets, plastic one in bleach by itself. I also usually "pick a room" once a week to deep clean. It used to be every other day, but I'm diy'ing my house. I can't deep clean every other day AND be ripping out carpet or drywalling or fence building, or whatever. In general 1 day of deep cleaning, and one day of building happens each week. Those deep clean days... that's when I tackle projects. Basically, I just pick whatever room is annoying me. Trust me, something about each room almost always is annoying me... so I just pick whichever one is annoying me the most!!

I wash walls individually. I don't do them all at once. I go room by room as needed (stairwell and kitchen about 4 times a year, dining room once a year).

It doesn't keep things as clean as before kids... but hey... nothing short of a live in maid WOULD.

<grin> I also "leave" things. I particularly love (not being sarcastic) that perfect kid's handprint on the stainless steel, or the kiss mark on the car window.

Seriously... with all the cleaning I do, one might suspect my house is spotless. And I CAN get it hermetically spotless (I've scrubbed up field ORs, and the military taught me to clean. I CAN clean, down to nuthin' but nuthin). BUT... Life intervenes. I'm worse than any 5 kids in the house as far as CREATING messes. If I get sick or injured, there's no one except for my son to help out. So past 8 months? Oy. Vey. Kiddo got sick for 6 months, then I had surgery. My house looks like someone picked it up and shook it.

It's just time to start going room by room. Once or twice a year I do this anyway. I completely clean and reorganize down to the floor. One. Room. At. A. Time.

Have your wee one help. Mine has turned into a GREAT helper over the years. When they're little they want to be, and by the time they're older it's just 'normal'. Mine's been putting all his clothes away and "doing" his own laundry (I'd have to lift him up for the soap, and he had to toss his clothes in -or I'd lift him piece by piece to drop them in) since the same age. Of course, at age 9, he can see over the durn machine and do the whole thing himself since about age 5. He had his favorites. For 3 years it was washing the cabinets while I did the counters. Ha. When he switched to floors and windows, I completely FORGOT about the cabinets for over a year! It had been sooooo long since I'd done them.

But yeah. Get a new working routine down. Whatever works with your schedule.

First I have to say - Your cleaning schedule is amazing. Hats off to you! I really wish could be like that! Good for you!

I haven't read any other posts yet - but a solution for slime on the dish rack - don't use it. No I'm serious and not being sarcastic at all - I use a towel that I lay out on the counter next to the sink. As I wash the dishes I put it on there and just let it air dry as you would in a dish rack. The towel absorbs all the excess water and you can throw it in the wash whenever you want - or in the dryer in the morning if it is still damp (it probably will be). In the summertime I just stick it outside and it is dry in no time. And plus, it can be folded and put away whenever you need to - unlike a dish rack that always seems to be somewhere and not hidden easily - especially when you want to !