ARE YOU SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME CLEANING?

DO YOU EVER THINK TOO MUCH ABOUT THE TIME YOU SPEND CLEANING?

I’m guessing that some of you might think like me and wonder how the amount of time you spend cleaning compares to others. Sometimes I wonder if it takes me longer to do things than it takes other people. Or I might think about if other people’s homes are cleaner than mine because they spend more time cleaning than I do. I also stress over things like the frequency of certain cleaning tasks and if I should be doing things more or less frequently than I do. I know that I should not be spending any time stressing over thoughts about the amount of cleaning I am doing, but the reality is that at times I do.

SO HOW MUCH TIME DO MOST PEOPLE ACTUALLY SPEND CLEANING?

Recently I started a new cleaning routine where I spend 3 hours on Saturday morning doing all of my major cleaning for the week. This includes cleaning both bathrooms. I only clean one shower and tub, and only every other week. The other bathroom has a stand up shower and I clean one wall per day while showering so it’s done by the end of the week. I also load any dishes that need to go into the dishwasher.

Then I deep clean the sink and the stovetop. Next, I dust my kitchen ceiling fan. With whatever time I have left, I do a variety of things that I have listed in the cleaning app that I like to use. I try to go in order of what needs to be done most. That might be cleaning out the fridge, the microwave, the water cooler, and mop floors. On certain days when I have a few more time-intensive tasks to do, I feel like I didn’t get enough done. In reality, I probably got plenty done considering I can make more progress next cleaning session. But, it got me thinking again about how my time cleaning might compare to others. So, the other day I decided to google “average times spent cleaning house”

CLEANING SURVEY

As a result of my google search, I found a survey done by The American Cleaning Institute. It seems like they are a trade group related to cleaning products. I didn’t dig too much into what they do. But I found the results of their survey interesting. The survey indicated that “The average number of hours we clean is six, with parents spending 7 hours per week on average”. So, I thought to myself, wow my 3 hours is pretty low compared to the survey results.

However, there are other things to consider. I was only including my devoted 3-hour cleaning time slot when looking at how much time I was spending cleaning. Laundry I do during the week, as needed.  I was not including that time, which was included in the survey results. I also did not include daily chores like doing dishes after dinner, wiping down the kitchen counters, running a vacuum, or sweeping. So, when adding in all of those other things, I think that while I might still be a bit less than the time noted in the survey, I felt like what I was doing seemed reasonable. I am pretty good with the results I am getting and not really looking to expand the amount of time I spend cleaning to be more average!

THINGS PEOPLE WORRY ABOUT

Another piece of interesting info that the survey collected was what things we worry about when it comes to cleaning. The percentages do not add up to 100%, so participants were obviously able to choose more than one response. The results were: 38% Preventing illness or allergy symptoms, 34% Whether I’m cleaning frequently enough, 32% Areas in my home that I should be cleaning, and 31% Whether I’m cleaning correctly.

WHAT DO PEOPLE DREAD MOST?

For this one, you would think they would make people choose one to get a good idea of what people really dread the most. But, since these percentages also do not add up to 100 percent, they must have allowed multiple choices here too. 52% Cleaning the bathroom, 23% Cleaning the kitchen, 21% Dusting, 20% Mopping, 17% Doing the laundry, 17% Doing the dishes, 9% Sweeping.

DOES REALLY MATTER HOW MUCH TIME OTHERS ARE SPENDING CLEANING?

In some ways, it’s good to know how much time other people spend cleaning their homes. If you feel bad about the amount of time you spend cleaning, thinking that others must have better ways of doing things, it can be good to know you are doing about the same as others. But if you find out that others seem to be spending a lot more time cleaning than you are it might make you feel like you are not doing enough. However, there is no reason to believe that is the case.

CURRENT LIFE SITUATION MATTERS

As with everything, we all have different things going on in our lives. Someone with kids that are generally pretty tidy is going to have a different experience than something with really messy kids. People who live alone or with only their spouse won’t need to spend as much time cleaning as a family with many members coming and going all of the time. People with pets will spend more time cleaning than those without. And even within people with pets, there are differences in the messes those pets make. Animals that shed a lot will create more cleaning time than those that don’t.

These are just a few examples of different life situations that could cause the amount of time needed to clean our homes to be different from others. The point is that you shouldn’t judge the amount of time you spend cleaning to what others do without considering that there are a lot of factors that will impact the amount of time needed to clean any particular home.

WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR HOME MATTERS

The most important factor to consider when thinking about how much time you spend cleaning is the way you feel about your home. You are the one that lives in your home every day. You have to be the one that is happy with the results of your cleaning routines. A certain amount of time is going to be required to clean your home no matter what. That is just part of being a person who lives in a home! But, you have to decide what you feel comfortable with as far as the state of your home. If you want your home to be absolutely spotless at all times then you have to consider what will need to be given up to achieve that result.

If you notice the tops of your cabinets are getting a bit dusty and are ok with letting them go for a couple of weeks until you get around to it, then don’t worry about the fact that someone else might think they should be done sooner. We don’t want to fall too far behind on things because then it takes longer to get them cleaned once we get to them. But, we need to decide what we are ok with letting slide a bit when we want to have more time to enjoy our lives.

HOW A PLAN HELPS YOU SAVE TIME CLEANING

Regardless of how much time we think we should spend on cleaning our homes, there are things we can do to make better use of the time that we do have available for cleaning. What I find the most helpful to save time cleaning is to have a plan. Your plan can include regular cleaning tasks that you have developed routines for and other cleaning tasks that are done on a less regular basis. For example, my cleaning routine each Saturday includes cleaning the upstairs bathroom, cleaning the downstairs bathroom, loading the dishwasher, cleaning the sink, and cleaning the stove. Those tasks are done exactly in that order each week when I do my cleaning routine.

I don’t waste time figuring out what to do when I start cleaning, or which task to do next when one is complete. I consider those tasks part of my plan, as the routine part. But then there are other tasks that are different every week. It could be things like cleaning windows, washing curtains, mopping floors, and cleaning pet bedding. This list can go on and on. The point is that certain things are only done occasionally.

MAKE THE BEST USE OF YOUR TIME

To make the best use of my cleaning time I take a look to see what needs to be done and create a list of what I will try to complete during my cleaning time. Once I am done with my routine tasks, I am able to move on right away to the items on the list of other things I will work on during that cleaning time. By not making a list, I end up wasting time trying to decide what to do next. Having a plan helps you keep moving and getting things done more efficiently.

Thanks so much for checking in! If you would like to hear the podcast version of this topic check out Lola’s Frugal Life Podcast! Also, be sure to check out my other blog posts on this site!

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