What's new

Cleaning | Pad Patter 9.8.22

My robot is named "Birdie". I knew a girl in high school named Roberta and everyone called her "Birdie". When I got my iRobot 7, I thought "Roberta" which got shortened to "Birdie" immediately. I had also read about these types of vacuums liking cords so I actually got those all situated and out of the way before I got it. I had also read horror stories about dog poop (which is why I was hesitant about getting one for a long time) but decided that I just had to be vigilant about checking before I run it. I don't do it on a schedule because I like to put some things up off the floor before running it.

Sharon has one at her house and highly recommended it. She did say that she had to run it more in the beginning especially to map out the layout of the house. So she did it everyday and was amazed at what was still being picked up even though she had been cleaning her own house regularly before she got it! She did say that now she only runs it twice a week (she has carpet, I don't) unless the grandkids visit then she adds an extra cleaning.

They aren't perfect because there are still some types of areas that a robot can't get to. That's why I still have my good old fashioned dust mop.
 
HavaDrPepper said:
They aren't perfect because there are still some types of areas that a robot can't get to. That's why I still have my good old fashioned dust mop.
Click to expand...
I miss my good old fashioned dust mop with it's triangular head ... you can't find that style anymore. After 30+ years mine met it's death when my grandson tried to mop up the water in my basement with it. He didn't realize it was a DUST mop, not a rag mop. :(
 
HavaDrPepper said:
My robot is named "Birdie". I knew a girl in high school named Roberta and everyone called her "Birdie". When I got my iRobot 7, I thought "Roberta" which got shortened to "Birdie" immediately. I had also read about these types of vacuums liking cords so I actually got those all situated and out of the way before I got it. I had also read horror stories about dog poop (which is why I was hesitant about getting one for a long time) but decided that I just had to be vigilant about checking before I run it. I don't do it on a schedule because I like to put some things up off the floor before running it.

Sharon has one at her house and highly recommended it. She did say that she had to run it more in the beginning especially to map out the layout of the house. So she did it everyday and was amazed at what was still being picked up even though she had been cleaning her own house regularly before she got it! She did say that now she only runs it twice a week (she has carpet, I don't) unless the grandkids visit then she adds an extra cleaning.

They aren't perfect because there are still some types of areas that a robot can't get to. That's why I still have my good old fashioned dust mop.
Click to expand...
I love how you came up with the name Birdie. :)
 
Memaw2Wm said:
I miss my good old fashioned dust mop with it's triangular head ... you can't find that style anymore. After 30+ years mine met it's death when my grandson tried to mop up the water in my basement with it. He didn't realize it was a DUST mop, not a rag mop. :(
Click to expand...
I’m sorry your mop was ruined. I’m always sad when I can’t find an exact replacement for something I’ve always used; it’s so frustrating!
 
Memaw2Wm said:
I miss my good old fashioned dust mop with it's triangular head ... you can't find that style anymore. After 30+ years mine met it's death when my grandson tried to mop up the water in my basement with it. He didn't realize it was a DUST mop, not a rag mop. :(
Click to expand...
I had to really search to find the style of dust mop I was used to and wanted. Thankfully I did find one since swiffer type dust mops do not work for me. No matter how much I push that cloth into the holes to get it tight, it comes off. My dust mop is an O'Cedar Microfiber Dust Mop.
 
Some things I am fastidious about like keeping countertops uncluttered and wiped a few times at least a day. I don't like anything on top of furniture that doesn't belong so whenever hubs puts something on the table or hallway cabinets, etc I will pick it up and put it away. It drives me nuts. Little things like him leaving a bag of chips on the end table from the night before drives me crazy and I try to ignore it but I become hyper-focused on it and have to deal with it. I have minimalized a lot since we moved so don't have a lot of knick-knacky kind of things out which makes dusting a lot easier. With three dogs we have dust bunnies constantly so do my best to swiffer every day but sometimes forget. I can't stand a messy kitchen so nothing is out of place in there.

Other things I am bad at like washing windows/mirrors, wiping down the shower, cleaning the BBQ/porch and cupboard/fridge wipe downs, I do those eventually but not

I don't have a schedule for cleaning but do some every day, a little at a time. I find I can do more if I break it down into small increments rather than a big block of time.
 
bcgal00 said:
Some things I am fastidious about like keeping countertops uncluttered and wiped a few times at least a day. I don't like anything on top of furniture that doesn't belong so whenever hubs puts something on the table or hallway cabinets, etc I will pick it up and put it away. It drives me nuts. Little things like him leaving a bag of chips on the end table from the night before drives me crazy and I try to ignore it but I become hyper-focused on it and have to deal with it.
Click to expand...
I would drive you crazy Rae because I leave something on every open surface haha I need your hyper focus!
 
I keep things tidy. Everything has its place. Kids must pick up after themselves. I think I have a clean/organized house for 7 kids. Although I always think it could be cleaner. Does anyone else just look around and see all the things that could be cleaned?

We clean all bathrooms on Friday. Vacuum/straighten rooms on Saturday morning. Little kids empty all trash cans a couple of times a week. Each set of kids does their own laundry so I just have to keep up with mine...but there is a load going daily around here. We have schedules for who cleans the kitchen, does dishes, & cleans floors after meal time.

I usually deep clean things when I see that it is needed. For instance, I noticed the boys' shower needs a deep clean so I put it on my to-do list for this weekend.
 
Scrapping with Liz said:
I keep things tidy. Everything has its place. Kids must pick up after themselves. I think I have a clean/organized house for 7 kids. Although I always think it could be cleaner. Does anyone else just look around and see all the things that could be cleaned?

We clean all bathrooms on Friday. Vacuum/straighten rooms on Saturday morning. Little kids empty all trash cans a couple of times a week. Each set of kids does their own laundry so I just have to keep up with mine...but there is a load going daily around here. We have schedules for who cleans the kitchen, does dishes, & cleans floors after meal time.

I usually deep clean things when I see that it is needed. For instance, I noticed the boys' shower needs a deep clean so I put it on my to-do list for this weekend.
Click to expand...
I love that you are so on top of it Elizabeth. Go you!

I need to deep clean my girls’ shower tomorrow; thanks for the reminder.
 
I technically have a routine, which is to say I sat down once and wrote it all out based on a mix of Fly Lady and Clean Mama. Alas, when I’m sick, or tired, or work is getting me down, or I haven’t slept well, it all goes at the window and it takes so long to claw it back. About the only thing I regularly manage at the moment is a clean(ish) kitchen at the end of the day.
 
I'd say that I'm clean-ish. Like, most of the time, I wouldn't be embarrassed to have someone come to the house unexpectedly because it's reasonably clean. I don't like clutter and since the kids have moved out, I've been ruthlessly purging stuff so that makes it easier to keep it tidy. My 2 dogs also don't shed which is helpful. All that said, the house is only 100% clean when I know guests are coming over. :D I tend to do flylady type zones when I get more motivated but not always.

We used to have a cleaning crew come every 2 weeks which was nice but I work from home and I always hated people being here cleaning when I was at home. I eventually fired them because they were really unreliable too and would show up hours late -- even if they knew we were hosting an event that night. One night, I literally had to ask them to leave when guests were arriving. I thought about hiring someone else but then I added up the cost and realized that $100 every 2 weeks comes out to $2600/year or over $10,000 every 4 years. After that, I just couldn't bring myself to hire someone :D And now that it's just me and the hubs and I work from home, I don't mind doing the cleaning as I have time here and there.
 
I am horrible about cleaning and definitely fall into the only when necessary category. Keeping up with dishes and laundry takes all of my energy, and the rest only gets done in bits and pieces here and there. Times like now, when allergies have me completely wiped out, are even worse. I used to do all the dishes myself, but DH has started helping out with that more since I started working at the coffee shop last year. He doesn't have a choice if he wants to have clean glasses and plates to use. :lol

When we both worked outside the home we had a cleaning service that came twice a month and I miss that so much. It's been 20 years since that has been affordable for us though. Every time we get close to being able to consider it, some financial twist comes up.

We have a huge amount of clutter, which I think is my biggest obstacle to getting things under control. I've been working more and more on going paperless, which is helping, but there is still 27 years worth of stuff that has accumulated in here. When we moved into this house from our apartment, everything fit in one of those little panel trucks. I don't even know if a full-sized semi could hold everything now. :P
 
Meredith78 said:
I technically have a routine, which is to say I sat down once and wrote it all out based on a mix of Fly Lady and Clean Mama. Alas, when I’m sick, or tired, or work is getting me down, or I haven’t slept well, it all goes at the window and it takes so long to claw it back. About the only thing I regularly manage at the moment is a clean(ish) kitchen at the end of the day.
Click to expand...
I think it’s great you wrote one out; that’s probably where I should start. I totally understand how it all goes out the window.
 
dawnmarch said:
I'd say that I'm clean-ish. Like, most of the time, I wouldn't be embarrassed to have someone come to the house unexpectedly because it's reasonably clean. I don't like clutter and since the kids have moved out, I've been ruthlessly purging stuff so that makes it easier to keep it tidy. My 2 dogs also don't shed which is helpful. All that said, the house is only 100% clean when I know guests are coming over. :D I tend to do flylady type zones when I get more motivated but not always.

We used to have a cleaning crew come every 2 weeks which was nice but I work from home and I always hated people being here cleaning when I was at home. I eventually fired them because they were really unreliable too and would show up hours late -- even if they knew we were hosting an event that night. One night, I literally had to ask them to leave when guests were arriving. I thought about hiring someone else but then I added up the cost and realized that $100 every 2 weeks comes out to $2600/year or over $10,000 every 4 years. After that, I just couldn't bring myself to hire someone :D And now that it's just me and the hubs and I work from home, I don't mind doing the cleaning as I have time here and there.
Click to expand...
My house is definitely the cleanest when I know guests are coming over.

I’m sorry your cleaners were so unreliable; that would be frustrating!
 
KimJ said:
I am horrible about cleaning and definitely fall into the only when necessary category. Keeping up with dishes and laundry takes all of my energy, and the rest only gets done in bits and pieces here and there. Times like now, when allergies have me completely wiped out, are even worse. I used to do all the dishes myself, but DH has started helping out with that more since I started working at the coffee shop last year. He doesn't have a choice if he wants to have clean glasses and plates to use. :lol

When we both worked outside the home we had a cleaning service that came twice a month and I miss that so much. It's been 20 years since that has been affordable for us though. Every time we get close to being able to consider it, some financial twist comes up.

We have a huge amount of clutter, which I think is my biggest obstacle to getting things under control. I've been working more and more on going paperless, which is helping, but there is still 27 years worth of stuff that has accumulated in here. When we moved into this house from our apartment, everything fit in one of those little panel trucks. I don't even know if a full-sized semi could hold everything now. :P
Click to expand...
I’m glad you’re with me in the “only when necessary” group Kim. :)

We helped a person move in who had lived in their previous house over 20 years and they definitely collected 20 years worth of stuff and moved it all!
 
I have a list of "once a month" items ... actually it's two lists, one to be done the first weekend of the month, the second the third weekend of the month. Things like changing the furnace filter, cleaning the washer (running the wash cycle with an Affresh tablet), rinsing out the vacuum filters, deep cleaning the bathroom (vs my usual swiping), and so forth.
 
Back
Top