Stay at home moms: on average, how many hours of the day do you spend cleaning?

Question

I was wondering how many hours out of the day you spend cleaning as a stay at home mom? (I consider doing laundry as cleaning).

When do you do your cleaning? Do you get it over with in the morning and just tidy up in the evening or do you clean your house all day?

Also, are you in charge of yard maintenence?

Answer 1

I usually get a few things done in the morning before my daughter gets up (for about an hour), and then again for 2-3 hours while she naps. Depending on her mood, I may be able to get some stuff done during the day while she is awake too. She's 16 1/2 months old, so much of my housecleaning is cleaning up after her :)

Answer 2

I spend all day and into the evening cleaning,cooking, doing the books, shopping,doing all laundry and handling all business that comes into this house. Of course I take breaks and go online, but mainly that's all I do. Every day, 7 days a week.

I do ALL the yard work as well. I paint what needs to be painted. What I cant do doesn't get done. Yikes, now I'm so depressed! LOL I need a maid....or maybe get my kids and husband to start doing a few things around here. Sometimes I feel so guilty that I am a stay at home mom that I dont feel like I deserve any help. Typing that I can see thats absurd, but it is how I feel most days. So I am a guilt ridden, over worked, housewife. Oh I wish I hadn't seen this question. LOLOLOLOL

Answer 3

Now that the kids are older, cleaning is much easier. I find that when I'm not working, I spend a lot more time cleaning, but the house never seems to be as clean. Maybe it's just because I'm here to notice it, or maybe it's because I think I have plenty of time, so I'm not as efficient. I spend about an hour every morning, picking up, putting away, cleaning up after breakfast, then starting some laundry. BUT, since I'm home, just before my husband gets home, I find I need to straighten up again. I didn't spend nearly this much time on housework when I was working.

Also, when my children were little and I got to stay home with them for a couple of years, I spent MOST of the day cleaning up. You are constantly picking up toys, cleaning up after feeding them, doing laundry, and just taking care of them. Small children are a full time exhausting job! Just taking them out to go grocery shopping or to the doctor is a job in and of itself. Don't get me started on lugging around children, diaper bags and bottles! A new mom is lucky to get a shower, let alone clean!

As I said, the kids are older now and so we ALL share the yard maintenance. I mow if I have time and if I don't, then he does, or the boys do. I like to mow, because I like the exercise. I also like getting out of the house and doing the landscaping, but sometimes he helps, or I recruit one of the kids. He does ALL the weedeating. I won't use a weedeater. They are too noisy and heavy. We also both do the windows and screens twice a year. Thats a big job you should never have to do alone.

Answer 4

I am at stay at home mom of an almost three year old girl.

I like to do my cleaning as early as possible. In the mornings, my daughter is usually in a good mood to play by herself, so I can get 30 minutes or so of light cleaning then.

I average about 30 minutes a day on laundry. I sort at night and start the machine first thing in the morning and then end up folding during her afternoon nap.

On weekends, I usually do about three hours of heavy cleaning.

I am not in charge of yard stuff, but I'll help out a little in the summer with weeding and such.

When my daughter was younger and still took two naps a day, our home was a lot cleaner!

Answer 5

i suggest going to www.flylady.net or maybe it is www.flylady.com she is excellent about this. I am a stay at home mom and I am busy all day long. Not just "cleaning". That is only part of what I do. most of my time is meal preparation, dishes, caring for the baby, helping with homework, doing the bills, and taking care of the pets, car, post office errands, doctor visits, odd projects..... many many odd projects (today I am painting the family room). I've been working on this for over a week. One wall at a time. Anyway, it is a full time job being a stay at home mom. We had cereal for dinner tonight! Not enough hours in the day. I have 2 kids and 3 step kids that are here about 30 days a year. Anyway, I try to clean 1 1/2 - 2 hours a day in the mornings before lunch, but I don't always succeed. Gotta go. good luck.

Answer 6

I'm not a mother, but my mom was pretty much a neat freak. She was a stay at home mom for about 3 years, and lemme tell ya, she cleaned 24/7. She took 3 hours cleaning the kitchen when nothing was cooked, cleaning the bathroom took 2 hours at least, doing laundry was a constant, because she doesn't like a pile of dirty clothes. She wasn't in charge of yard maintenance, but she had to water around....10 rosebushes, 10 fruit trees, and vacuum the house every other day. She was pretty weird about cleaning, though our guests would always compliment on the cleanliness. We had 5 rooms and 3 bathrooms...So it was a sort of big house to work on.

Answer 7

I dont do all my cleaning in one big chunk. I do it in small bits throughout the day. Probably about a total of an hour, 2 if I have gotten behind from being busy. Typically, I try to clean messes as they happen. Also, I make picking up toys before bed a routine game with my daughter, and she has fun helping.

I clean a bit when we first get up, when my daughter naps, after she goes to bed, and while she is playing quietly. My daughter is 2 (just turned 2 today actually!)

I dont have washer/dryer hookups, or a dishwasher, so this makes a bit more work for me. Our laundry room is across the yard, in our apartment complex. Therefore, I can only get it done when my hubby is home, and I'm usually behind on it, lol.

We dont have to do our own yard maintenance, thank god!

Answer 8

I would say on a average day i spend 3-4 hours cleaning...2 hours playing with my yougest son....1-2 hours helping my older children with homework....1 hour cooking...1 hour on bathes for the kids.....then after everyone is in bed I spend about 45 min picking up....30 min. taking my own shower...couple hours either watching tv or talking to friends on the computer or phone.

I do tidy up at night but just enough so I don't feel overwelmed in the morning!!!!
Well as far as the yard we are a military family and we live on a Army base so they actually mow and landscape for us....but before we lived here how we did the yard work thing was whoever had time did it.

Answer 9

I clean all day, I have my kids at home, so it seems like nothing gets done because I clean one room move to the next by the time I'm done there the room that was already clean gets messy. Same with the kitchen you cook breakfast, clean, lunch, clean,dinner,clean. It never stops! And laundry, forget about hours, it takes days to finish. But of course, I never get caught up cause my girls have to have a fashion show and use like 3 outfits a day. And on yard work, h*ll NO. Not now not ever.

Answer 10

I clean during different parts of the day. In the aftenoon when my girls are napping I do the dishes from breakfast and lunch. Then I usually do something else whether it be laundry or whatever else needs done. Cleaning all the toys up does not get done until the end of the day, no point in cleaning up when they will just get pulled out again. My girls clean up their toys before bed. After they are in bed my boyfriend does the dinner dishes and whatever other dishes. And I will finish laundry or do homework. I don't know how many hours get spent on cleaning not too many.

I am not in charge of the yard. It is my boyfriends job, unless it is flowers being planted or what not then it is my job.