Hi. Can you guys please brainstorm on how to minimize the amount of time that a person wastes cleaning their place?
I'm asking, because now that I have time to actually think and be home a lot, I'm unable to focus on anything until the place is clean (or at least reasonably clean). I notice dirt where I never noticed before. It's apparently important now that those horrible pans underneath the burners on my stove not be caked in grime. This is not why I down-shifted however. I refuse to spend my precious free time scrubbing at things that will get dirty again. So what can be done?
I already try to minimize stuff but I still have a stove, a fridge, a bathroom with all the usual fixtures, carpeting etc.
So in my head, I'm coming up with a fantasy apartment/small house that would be as low maintenance as possible. Let's not focus on price for the moment as I assume that good products get cheaper in time. I already know it would contain:
-absolutely no carpets or rugs of any kind. They're pretty lint-traps as far as I am concerned.
-those flat top stoves which are kind to absent minded cooks who let things boil over frequently.
-no bed frames that allow dust bunnies to collect underneath. The boxsprings would sit on the floor. No dust bunnies.
-I'm torn about the dishwasher.
-Fabric laundry bags that get washed with the laundry.
What else? Thanks.
Avni
Minimizing domestic drudgery
Boxspring on the floor invites mold, depending on your climate and how much you sweat. Is it that hard to sweep under the bed?
Flat-top stoves tend to get caked in burned-on crap. Probably easier to use a regular coil/gas stove and just use some tin-foil under the burners. Also, it's hard to use cast-iron on glass-top stoves, or heavy pots like canners.
I'll agree on having wood or concrete floors for sure though. Better for the enviro too.
Flat-top stoves tend to get caked in burned-on crap. Probably easier to use a regular coil/gas stove and just use some tin-foil under the burners. Also, it's hard to use cast-iron on glass-top stoves, or heavy pots like canners.
I'll agree on having wood or concrete floors for sure though. Better for the enviro too.
Machine washable slip covers for furniture.
Hard surface floors I 100% agree on. If you do get a few area rugs, make sure those are also machine washable.
Also trade anything else not washable for hard surfaces like blinds instead of curtains.
Squeege for the shower tiles. Just squeege down the walls after each wash and you'll never have to clean it.
Take your shoes off immediately when you come inside.
If you're willing to spend whatever, maybe get a roomba? They do work, but I honestly enjoy sweeping so I sold mine.
Hard surface floors I 100% agree on. If you do get a few area rugs, make sure those are also machine washable.
Also trade anything else not washable for hard surfaces like blinds instead of curtains.
Squeege for the shower tiles. Just squeege down the walls after each wash and you'll never have to clean it.
Take your shoes off immediately when you come inside.
If you're willing to spend whatever, maybe get a roomba? They do work, but I honestly enjoy sweeping so I sold mine.
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LiquidSapphire
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Lower your standards? At least to where they were before? Maybe spend some time thinking about why now all of a sudden this stuff matters whereas it didn't matter before. Not seeing your house, maybe its cleanliness really isn't the problem here.
That said, flylady.net has this routine where you spend only 15/30 minutes a day cleaning and after 2-3 weeks you have a spotless house and are basically only doing maintenance. Stuff like, spend 3 minutes cleaning your bathroom every morning during your regular routine and then never, ever, ever, ever worry about it ever again. Rules of thumb like "soap is soap" so you just squeeze a bit of whatever is in the bathroom into the toilet, do a few swishes, done. Good system, though the personality erks me a bit sometimes.
Otherwise I'm not much help... if there aren't dust bunnies everywhere and I can eat food I dropped onto the kitchen counter with a clear conscience, I am pretty happy.
That said, flylady.net has this routine where you spend only 15/30 minutes a day cleaning and after 2-3 weeks you have a spotless house and are basically only doing maintenance. Stuff like, spend 3 minutes cleaning your bathroom every morning during your regular routine and then never, ever, ever, ever worry about it ever again. Rules of thumb like "soap is soap" so you just squeeze a bit of whatever is in the bathroom into the toilet, do a few swishes, done. Good system, though the personality erks me a bit sometimes.
Otherwise I'm not much help... if there aren't dust bunnies everywhere and I can eat food I dropped onto the kitchen counter with a clear conscience, I am pretty happy.
I'm passionate about not spending a lot of time cleaning 
Don't make a mess:
*Shoes off, slippers on at the door.
*Use few dishes/pots and rinse them when done... I often use a half slice of bread to wipe bowls clean... Haven't "done the dishes" in years.
*Throw my laundry into 3 piles: hot, warm, cold.
Easy cleaning:
*Poor excess boiled water onto stove top, let it sit for a few minutes. Everything comes right up.
*Keep a cleaning brush in the shower... Use suds off you to clean bottom of tub when it comes to mind.
*Foil burners and bottom of oven.
Simplicity:
*White vinegar + baking soda = excellent cleaner.
*Bronners concentrate = body wash, shampoo, dishsoap, laundry soap, household cleaner... I use maybe a gallon a year.
Don't make a mess:
*Shoes off, slippers on at the door.
*Use few dishes/pots and rinse them when done... I often use a half slice of bread to wipe bowls clean... Haven't "done the dishes" in years.
*Throw my laundry into 3 piles: hot, warm, cold.
Easy cleaning:
*Poor excess boiled water onto stove top, let it sit for a few minutes. Everything comes right up.
*Keep a cleaning brush in the shower... Use suds off you to clean bottom of tub when it comes to mind.
*Foil burners and bottom of oven.
Simplicity:
*White vinegar + baking soda = excellent cleaner.
*Bronners concentrate = body wash, shampoo, dishsoap, laundry soap, household cleaner... I use maybe a gallon a year.
I like clean and despise spending my time cleaning too, so this is something I have thought about with almost every possession or use. Minimalism helps since there are so many things that are not worth having if you have to clean them 
For a bed, I still think it's easiest to have a platform with no box spring as it's quick and easy to sweep underneath.
Foil for the stove/oven if it's going to be messy. Better to avoid the mess if possible by using a deeper pot.
Getting things off the floor really helps, making it easy to sweep saves time and agida.
To actually think of low-maintenance as a design project, the book "Make Your House Do the Housework" is a good introduction to the topic:
http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-House-D ... 0937750336
For a bed, I still think it's easiest to have a platform with no box spring as it's quick and easy to sweep underneath.
Foil for the stove/oven if it's going to be messy. Better to avoid the mess if possible by using a deeper pot.
Getting things off the floor really helps, making it easy to sweep saves time and agida.
To actually think of low-maintenance as a design project, the book "Make Your House Do the Housework" is a good introduction to the topic:
http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-House-D ... 0937750336
Big fan of only slippers, socks inside as above
I try to limit myself to days and times of days for housework.
Eg Monday is shopping, tuesday housework, Thursday housework, friday shopping.
No housework, but can garden one day at the weekend. And I like to do it in the morning only.
I've created a duster on the end of a stick for skirting boards.
Personally I like housework now because I'm not thinking of things I never have the time to do, and I lose myself in it.
I avoid bleach, now if I used that I would hate cleaning.
And I'm learning to cook properly, made the most beautiful cake yesterday, loved the whole process and watching it rise as I do the dishes.
There's something so satisfying now about the domestics. I know sickening isn't it. I'm actually really hopeless at it, but I don't care.
I try to limit myself to days and times of days for housework.
Eg Monday is shopping, tuesday housework, Thursday housework, friday shopping.
No housework, but can garden one day at the weekend. And I like to do it in the morning only.
I've created a duster on the end of a stick for skirting boards.
Personally I like housework now because I'm not thinking of things I never have the time to do, and I lose myself in it.
I avoid bleach, now if I used that I would hate cleaning.
And I'm learning to cook properly, made the most beautiful cake yesterday, loved the whole process and watching it rise as I do the dishes.
There's something so satisfying now about the domestics. I know sickening isn't it. I'm actually really hopeless at it, but I don't care.
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George the original one
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Stove cleaning is best done before the spill becomes hardened (e.g. do it ASAP). I like our smooth cooking surface, but you can't use cast iron on it (scratches the surface).
Long ago, we banned carpets. Except on stairs, where the carpet provides safer footing than other materials.
Slip-on shoes encourage shoe removal. We don't require guests to remove shoes... odds are they haven't been mucking in the garden.
Long ago, we banned carpets. Except on stairs, where the carpet provides safer footing than other materials.
Slip-on shoes encourage shoe removal. We don't require guests to remove shoes... odds are they haven't been mucking in the garden.
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Riggerjack
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jacob
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I'm in the "don't make a mess clean everything up immediately" camp. This keeps everything so-so clean (not sparkly).
DW is in the "that's not a mess, this is a mess, I'll clean up once it reaches critical mass" camp. This makes everything look like a mess most of the time but occasionally everything is sparkly.
It's very hard to reconcile these two orientations.
DW is in the "that's not a mess, this is a mess, I'll clean up once it reaches critical mass" camp. This makes everything look like a mess most of the time but occasionally everything is sparkly.
It's very hard to reconcile these two orientations.
Go to onceamonthmom.com or some type of similar site and cook / clean the kitchen about once a month. You might use plastic containers like I do then just throw them out after. Eat outside on a picnic table or patio.
I also recommend the previous suggestion of not cleaning. Just clean when people are coming over. Also, there is a difference between tidy and sanitary. Specs of dirt on your floor do not cause you to get sick. Otherwise the moment you stepped outside in the dirt you would become a disease bag. Most of what is worrying you are your aesthetic tastes.
Asian style apartments are great, I've noticed from living in Asia for a while now. The bathroom is a wet bath, so just spray the whole thing down with the shower nozzle to clean it. The floors are all tile. Often people sleep on a small cushion on the floor that does not allow sweat and bacteria inside it (waterproof) and then fold it up and put it in the closet when they wake up. Plus I eat out for every meal affordably so I don't bring food in the house unless it is a Styrofoam container.
I also recommend the previous suggestion of not cleaning. Just clean when people are coming over. Also, there is a difference between tidy and sanitary. Specs of dirt on your floor do not cause you to get sick. Otherwise the moment you stepped outside in the dirt you would become a disease bag. Most of what is worrying you are your aesthetic tastes.
Asian style apartments are great, I've noticed from living in Asia for a while now. The bathroom is a wet bath, so just spray the whole thing down with the shower nozzle to clean it. The floors are all tile. Often people sleep on a small cushion on the floor that does not allow sweat and bacteria inside it (waterproof) and then fold it up and put it in the closet when they wake up. Plus I eat out for every meal affordably so I don't bring food in the house unless it is a Styrofoam container.
I second the recommendation for the book "Make your House Do the Housework". If you can't find that one at the library, Aslett also wrote a similar book called "No Time to Clean: How to Reduce and Prevent Cleaning the Professional Way". Both are fun reads if you like that kind of stuff (I do!), and can make you think about your physical surroundings differently. These books offer a lot of payback in terms of reduced time spent cleaning!
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George the original one
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Just wanted to say a belated thanks to everyone who responded. I am indeed thinking of this as a design problem so the referral to the book was very useful.
I already do the foil on the burner thing but it rips so easily that it is basically pointless for me. Incredibly, I hadn't considered getting bigger pots. That has been immediately useful.
I've also realized I want drains in the floor in every bathroom and kitchen in my fantasy house. It would make mopping so much simpler. I also want machine washable curtains. Hate dusting Venetian blinds and bamboo blinds are transparent.
I'm curious about the recommendation for tiles. One of my most hated chores is getting the mold out of the grout between tiles in the bathroom. I've always wondered why people love tiles in the bathroom so much. A solid surface would be so much simpler to maintain.
@Hoplite, how exactly do you get under the bed to sweep? Sorry about the silly question but even without my boxsprings, my bed is large enough that I can't get to the midline even at the most extreme angles of my broom. A special horizontal broom that stays under the bed? It's an idea.
A
I already do the foil on the burner thing but it rips so easily that it is basically pointless for me. Incredibly, I hadn't considered getting bigger pots. That has been immediately useful.
I've also realized I want drains in the floor in every bathroom and kitchen in my fantasy house. It would make mopping so much simpler. I also want machine washable curtains. Hate dusting Venetian blinds and bamboo blinds are transparent.
I'm curious about the recommendation for tiles. One of my most hated chores is getting the mold out of the grout between tiles in the bathroom. I've always wondered why people love tiles in the bathroom so much. A solid surface would be so much simpler to maintain.
@Hoplite, how exactly do you get under the bed to sweep? Sorry about the silly question but even without my boxsprings, my bed is large enough that I can't get to the midline even at the most extreme angles of my broom. A special horizontal broom that stays under the bed? It's an idea.
A
@Avni,
I think that the design aspect is interesting and not given enough thought (thinking is better than cleaning). Most people look at design as aesthetics versus functionality. For example, the aesthetic side prefers a pretty lamp shade even if it throws very little light, whereas a functional person might choose a shade for the maximum lumens per kilowatt hour, even if it’s ugly. But people don’t usually consider whether the shade in question is a bug-trap
The bigger/deeper pot theory goes against the desire to proportionately conform the container to the contents. It just seems wrong, like serving a single sardine on a huge plate.
For tile and grout, it makes sense to buy something like Tilex and let the chemicals do the work on the mold without (most of) the fumes from bleach.
For sweeping under the bed, I should have mentioned the Swiffer: http://www.drugstore.com/swiffer-sweepe ... ch=swiffer
Cheap, compact and can be stored anywhere, even under the bed. The swivel joint allows the cleaning head to remain flat (and rotate 360) even as the handle is brought below level, so all that’s needed is about 2 inches of clearance for the head. The refill pads are about $.22 each, which is frugal enough given the time and hassle they save, though you can substitute if you wish.
I think that the design aspect is interesting and not given enough thought (thinking is better than cleaning). Most people look at design as aesthetics versus functionality. For example, the aesthetic side prefers a pretty lamp shade even if it throws very little light, whereas a functional person might choose a shade for the maximum lumens per kilowatt hour, even if it’s ugly. But people don’t usually consider whether the shade in question is a bug-trap
The bigger/deeper pot theory goes against the desire to proportionately conform the container to the contents. It just seems wrong, like serving a single sardine on a huge plate.
For tile and grout, it makes sense to buy something like Tilex and let the chemicals do the work on the mold without (most of) the fumes from bleach.
For sweeping under the bed, I should have mentioned the Swiffer: http://www.drugstore.com/swiffer-sweepe ... ch=swiffer
Cheap, compact and can be stored anywhere, even under the bed. The swivel joint allows the cleaning head to remain flat (and rotate 360) even as the handle is brought below level, so all that’s needed is about 2 inches of clearance for the head. The refill pads are about $.22 each, which is frugal enough given the time and hassle they save, though you can substitute if you wish.