Apologies, I didn't know what section to put this in. It's not scrictly specific to Switzerland.
Housewives/husbands. Does anyone know of the best app for cleaning and organising?
We've been here a week now and am starting to see dust and smears everywhere!
I have 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms to upkeep (the most I've had since I left home, am appreciating my mother now who had even more to do!); this is the first time I have been an "official" housewife (rather than student, or looking after babies, or having a part-time job as an "excuse" to not keep the house perfect) I want to keep the place pristine and am feeling a bit overwhelmed. I have children so I can't rely on setting one day aside to do a solid 6-hour blitz.
What would suit me is something which staggers the chores (like one room per day or something) and sends me notifications to remind me what my schedule is for that day. I googled but there are loads (surprisingly!)
Any recommendations? (I have tried a search on here too)
Not trying to sound picky, but men and women have been doing housework for centuries without having to resort to an App to tell them when and what to clean. If it's dirty, clean it; if it isn't, then don't.
I don't have a strict schedule or rotation for cleaning the flat in general. Basically, when I can't stand it any more I clean up.
The exceptions to this are the bathroom and kitchen. The kitchen gets the once-over every day and the bathroom a couple of times a week, well, the toilet and sinks. The shower and bath get the once-a-week treatment.
Also, my hair gets everywhere so I've got one of those hand-held vacuum cleaners to keep the escapees down to a minimum.
I think if I had an app to tell me to clean my windows or descale the kettle I would have chucked my phone out of the window at the first "reminder"
Not too long ago, I bought one of those automatic vacuums, iRobot Roomba (Galaxus.ch had a pretty nice sale on them) - and it's changed my life.
It doesn't pick up everything, high thresholds and stairs are problematic, and it's quite loud. You will need to sweep or even vacuum manually once in a while.
I just let it run once a day while I'm at work. Always get home to nearly dust-free floors; the robot is off in its corner recharging after a day's hard work. Low maintenance. Highly recommended.
Cleaning while cooking is a great way to keep the kitchen clean. It's almost got to a point where I see the dinner afterwards as a reward for doing the dishes, wiping off the surfaces, and cleaning up the stove.
Same here, it's nice to cook and use the time things are stewing/boiling/baking to clean up, so all that's left is running the dishwasher after the dinner. The nice things about cooking with kids is also the fact they can hep you clean, see the amount of work that is done and realize things do not get done by themselves (even if this "help" makes you have more clean up to do, heh).
I am not sure about this app, but maybe not relying on it might be actually good, developing some rhythm on your own. As a single parent, with work and studies, some things were essential to arrange - like having playdates twice a week in our home so that our place has to be done and clean on a rhythm basis, worked the best for me. My kid chips in as well, since I want her to grow up knowing a family is a team work, and she looks forward to hosting friends or neighbors kids to play. This way, if a little neighbor buzzes to come and play even if it is not planned, it is always more or less presentable. So, instead of an app, I use cooking time as a time to clean up, and, planned visits (logged in in a family calendar, together with extracurriculars, etc), as a reminder. I have this calendar right on the kitchen window, I look at it when I do the dishes so things don't get forgotten. It's probably unappealingly old school, all this, hahah.
Today I cleaned the sinks, toilets, mirrors and worktops. But I don't feel satisfied, I want some stars or someone to tell me I'm on a one-day streak or something! and I want to feel like even though I've not done the floors, or changed the beds, it's ok because it's not on today's rota
In that case couldn't you do a chore rota chart for each (week)day and stick it up on the fridge or somewhere. You could then have a gold star or some other sticker to stick on the appropriate day on a regular wall calendar once the chores for that day are completed. Then you'd be able to see that you'd done your jibs for the day.
I understand a stay at home mom who feels tracking down endless housework. If it is an app or a chart, doesn't matter.
You know - make a spread sheet for a month, mark it there (bathrooms, laundry days, floors, big groceries, etc..), together with kids' chores or whatever you need help with, windows down once every while, and stick it on the fridge.
I remember the panic phone calls my best friend went through when she was in a similar situ, but just started to be an aupair abroad and had no idea where to start (well, the family was really asking too much of her). Housekeeping can be overwhelming. Especially if one is ambitious
It's not sad at all, as long as it's your own free will. It's an excellent way to stay organized and be able to plan your days.
I don't know if you have already but if you have a look around on the Apple or Android app stores (depending on your device), and search for apps to track daily tasks, there seems to be a lot of them. If you were previously searching for daily chore apps, there aren't nearly enough results, but a task management app should suffice.
Another idea would be to just use the calendar in your phone and set up weekly or bi-weekly recurring events or appointments each day of the week that you want to clean.
For example:
- 9:30 - 10:30 every Tuesday: vacuum the children's rooms.
- 11:00 - 12:00 every Thursday: clean bathrooms.
Set reminders x minutes before each task. If you use something like Google Calendar, you can set up your events and appointments on device with larger screen space and have it sync with your phone/tablet.
Well, why not start writing one (app that is) instead . It will put the procrastination problem into a whole different perspective, if you consider how tidy the bedroom of a typical software developer usually looks like...
Pixie, I normally love your posts, but an app for chores?!?! Seriously
I don't use an app or a chart, even if I live my life by making lists and 5-year plans. I do, however, let the dust and mess dictate my cleaning schedule. It's working quite nicely thus far.
Clean house the "Swiss way"...... I learned this method by observation.
Once a week the house gets vacuumed and furniture wiped down.
Bathrooms/toilets get a once a week good cleaning.
Spring cleaning once a year .... that means cleaning windows including all the frames and doors/frames, individual rooms get completely cleaned - a room a day.
Truly windows can last a year if properly cleaned once. Same with the rooms if tackled with a bucket of disinfectant water/sponges/cloths, and everything given a good clean - underneath/sides/top.
Spring cleaning season is when individual family members clean inside their own cupboards and sort out clothing to be recycled.
This way, one`s sense of accomplishment is satisfied, and leaves one free to get on with more interesting things in life.
(It`s just that one dreads Springtime)
Oh yes ... and each bedroom has it`s next set of bed-linen for changing each week - up to the person occupying the bed to change it.
In Autumn one washes and (if wood, oil )the window shutters.