Survey Says...

Lynchpin of any organizing effort. Discuss your weekly plan.
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lucylee
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Survey Says...

Postby lucylee » Wed Apr 30, 2014 3:00 pm

How much time do y'all really spend on housework?

I'm thinking/wondering -- what is a realistic goal? Our house is approx. 4000 square feet. I know that sounds big, but there is a LOT of space in walk-in closets, and there are two large rooms (guest bedroom & study) and a large bathroom that we almost never even use.

It takes about an hour to vacuum the floors of the "living" area and master bedroom/bath. This does not count dusting, or anything else, just mainly hitting the middles, as Flylady would say.

So -- how much time do I honestly need to allocate to Weekly Home Blessing and Zone cleaning? What should be my goal? Y'all know I'm a bit lazy and dh's schedule greatly affects mine... but what should I be striving for?

Do y'all do all your WHB chores on one day and then focus on the zone the rest of the week?
Tomorrow is another day.

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Nancy
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Re: Survey Says...

Postby Nancy » Wed Apr 30, 2014 3:53 pm

I know that I need twice the amount of time that flying plan has recommended for a house apx, 2400 sq ft. Half of it is basement.
Last edited by Nancy on Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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lucylee
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Re: Survey Says...

Postby lucylee » Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:11 pm

Thanks, Nancy. I know Kathryn and I have discussed before that the vacuuming time Flylady estimates is just totally unrealistic. I think she says 10 minutes to hit the middles? Good grief. I can't get the vacuum out and do one room in 10 minutes! :shock:

But back to my survey --
how much time do you spend w/the basic chores (daily/weekly) of vacuuming/dusting/bathrooms...
and how much time do you spend in the focus zone daily/weekly?
Tomorrow is another day.

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OKay
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Re: Survey Says...

Postby OKay » Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:22 pm

Wondering....JUST doing the chores would be what someone hired to clean your home would do?

It is so very easy for me to get sidetracked into doing additional things along with the chores. I suspect only a house cleaner would do them in a timely manner.

I would be interested in to hear from those who have someone clean their home. How long does it take them?

DSon/DDIL have a crew clean their home weekly. It took a couple hours for 2 people to do it during the times I have been visiting in their home. So 4 hours a week to do the floors, bathrooms (5) & dusting. Although I know that DDIL has a habit of running a dusting mop over the wood floors at least once a day in addition to what the cleaning people do to them. I'm guessing an additional 1.5 hours (15 minutes x 6 days). That makes 5.5 hours a week. Which doesn't include laundry, kitchen,and the gazillion other tasks that is part of home keeping.

My goal is to spend 1 hour each weekday doing routine cards (daily/weekly/monthly) and another hour doing focus area (decluttering/deep cleaning). Life is rarely normal so doing these 10 hours each week is rare.

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Re: Survey Says...

Postby blessedw2 » Wed Apr 30, 2014 4:44 pm

when dh gets the cleaners it cost 126 for upstairs and downstairs which included washing floors, cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, dusting I didn't have the dogs room or the 3 season room or basement done. (they would be here 2 hours for 2 people and that doesn't include those dailies or weeklies and lots of monthlies which I still had to do but at least I knew when they were done the house look liked normal people lived here :D

I want them back lol!!! it was well worth it!
it is always a joy to be here with you!

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Nancy
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Re: Survey Says...

Postby Nancy » Wed Apr 30, 2014 7:03 pm

Dd said one of her friends does 35 to 45 min. 2x a day to keep on top of it they are 35 to 40 yrs. Old too.

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Twins' Mom
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Re: Survey Says...

Postby Twins' Mom » Thu May 01, 2014 9:00 am

I think my cleaning lady does 2.5 hours - dusts, cleans floors (sweeping/damp mopping hardwood and tile, vacuums carpets or rugs) cleans bathrooms, kitchen, changes sheets on beds, No zone work - just basics that I would do every week. She doesn't sidetrack on putting anything away, just works. She does some baseboards occasionally, but most of them need work. In the old house with kids still in HS it was a lot of work as she would clear the floors, etc. in playroom and their rooms, which were always awful!
Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better [wo]man. Ben Franklin

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Harriet
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Re: Survey Says...

Postby Harriet » Mon May 12, 2014 9:55 pm

I just saw this thread!

So, are we counting laundry? 'cause laundry is all tied up with cleaning in our home.

And I assume this includes dishes and clean-up after meals, etc?

2,000 sq ft house.

And no surprise for ya'll on my dailies -
1 hour each morning
1/2 hour each afternoon
1/2 hour each evening

Same thing it's been for years. :)

Wish I could give exacts on weeklies. After all these years it never seems the same for any two weeks.

However, I can quote my P and P preprinted "weeklies" cards, which I do go by for "next ups"
25 minutes per bedroom weekly,
15 dining,
15 living,
60 kitchen,
45 per bathroom.

btw, since vacuuming was mentioned, on these cards it's 10 min per living and dining and 5 min per bedroom. So that would estimate 30 minutes of vacuuming for me without stairs and hall.
I agree with others that I want my home to do more than just hear the vacuum. :D

Some of those weekly minutes-per-room are a little low, like 15 for the whole dining per week (just 5 min dusting, then the vacuuming and you're supposed to be through). But it's a helpful guess.

To this, I personally would need to add cleaning a hallway and stairs, and that finishes the first floor (HRH does a lot of cleaning of the upstairs, which is mostly office, and does all cat tidiness).

So, 4 to 5 hours weeklies represented
and 2 hours, I know, for us to get from each point Oneday to point Nextday without a falling-apart house.

11 hours not counting upstairs or porch.

Thinking of porch hmmm... ... porch takes a lot of effort for me, really... ... but then mine is long with railings, etc.

Are we counting decluttering? I guess that is so personal - who knows about that.

Well, I don't know how my little brain did the above math :oops: (which I will leave unchanged above and just admit to it), of 4-or-5 weekly hours plus 2 per day dailies equaling 11. Hmmm... ... it's approximately 18, I believe. :oops: Maybe I was thinking all of the minutes of my dailies weren't cleaning. (there is some mail-sorting in there, and setting the table if needed), but mostly, hate to say it, it's certainly housework such as cleaning, laundry and cooking/cleanup duties, even if it's not all "cleaning".

But that's only 2.5 hours a day and weeklies and dailies are done. So yay, right? :) Hoping that's not way off of everyone else's numbers!

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Harriet
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Re: Survey Says...

Postby Harriet » Mon May 12, 2014 9:59 pm

Smiling because this makes me inspired for cleaning tomorrow, but it's Errand Day! :lol:


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