Spring cleaning when you're old.

What do you class as elderly? Lots of local gp surgeries or councils can point you in the direction of local services such as cleaners. They're usually people who live locally and are properly checked so shouldn't be worried

Loving that it's not Astronomical Spring until 20th of March, so plenty of time to think of what needs to be done and why I wont!

honeyrose

I’m not hugely into cleaning, although the house is relatively clean and tidy as I clean things when I see they need doing/as I go along. There’s just the 2 of us and DH is very neat and tidy (and fairly clean!). I don’t do any spring cleaning as such, just try to notice cobwebs etc and then tackle it. The kitchen and bathroom are relatively clean - I do tend to make a bit more effort when I know someone is calling round, I must admit. I do need to buy a new mop for the kitchen and utility room - the one I have isn’t particularly user-friendly and isn’t used as much as it should be - eek! Also, the windows could be a bit cleaner (more noticeable in the summer when they need a chamois leather!)

I’m much the same as you where cleaning is concerned and the house usually looks just fine.
Am not into Spring cleaning or deep cleaning but just keep things clean as I go along.
The kitchen and bathroom I keep cleaner than other rooms.

I try to keep on top of the place hiving a light clean to bedrooms (4) weekly, concentrating on one every week eg moving furniture, cleaning blinds. Bathroom is cleaned and as fully tilled walls washed down once a month, same with an ensuite. Other ensuite (quite small) is wallboard and wiped down every week. Downstairs toilet walls half tiled gets a quick wipe down weekly. Rooms downstair rooms are done weekly, micro mop for walls and blinds but furniture in only one room moved weekly others as and when needed. I just keep in mind if you don't use it you lose it. I have never enjoyed cleaning but now treat it as a form of exercise.

My advice ...get a few houseproud friends over to visit ... always amazes me how quickly I clean properly when guests are coming Provides ample motivation !

I look at my energy levels and do what I feel like - spiders and cobwebs got a blitz on Saturday, but nothing today.

However, I have bought a long handled duster and I find my floor mop quite good for ceilings and walls too ( I dispensed with wallpaper decades ago) I have a long handled duster that can be damped and this is great for corners and skirtings, window sills and a quick skim over lampshades (although these do need more attention from time to time.
I am eyeing up lighter weight vacuum cleaners too, but my 30 year old Dyson is still good ( Silicon spray on the hose and the wheels made a huge difference)

petra

Some wit once said that only dirty people spring clean 😂

Another quote:

Housework is a waste of time, you do it, and in six months you have to do it again <lol>

I find it hard getting down to clean skirting boards and round the bottom of the shower tray etc.
I have mops and long handled things but nothing beats giving things a good scrub with a cloth that you can get into corners with.
I'm not too old but have some health problems and it seems to me that every few months, there's something else you realise you can no longer do.

Thanks SO MUCH to EVERYONE who has answered my post about spring cleaning (or deep cleaning or whatever you want to call it!) when getting old. As you can see, there are some invaluable tips from kind and interested Gransnet members, and I send special thanks to those who are not so mobile, and have shared their personal difficulties and experiences. In fact there's a lot of good philosophy here!.
I’ve made a file and transferred all tips for reference. The advice I find most useful and common sense is what I thought: do a bit at a time, don’t worry if it doesn’t get done until you feel you can handle it, use white vinegar and bicarb, and (advice from so many) get an extendable duster! I also think I’ll invest in a lightweight cordless hoover for upstairs, and I must say I’m attracted to the idea of an electric scrubbing brush. Oo-er! Here comes Mrs. Mopp, ready to 'do it now'! Thanks a million.

I have put my back out. Even emptying the dishwasher is difficult. I wish I could clean the whole house.

I have one of those Lefant robot cleaners . Most mornings I set it up on the app to clean downstairs while I go for shower ect ect then when I come back downstairs it’s all cleaned very nicely , wouldn’t be without my little “ Betty “ .

Am 54 with limited mobility and have at times had to get a friend to help me clean my house. Once a week I try to do skirtings, give kitchen and bathroom a thorough clean and do my bed, I try to wash my windows monthly but don't knock myself when am unable to. I bought a noodle mop which extends and I use to clean ceilings and walls. Do spring clean one room at a time with regular breaks and rest in between

A telescopic duster will reach the corners and light fittings without standing on ladders. I'd be lost without mine.

I have a lovely cleaner who comes every week and goes extra jobs when we're away. I just worry about tidying the odd drawer and cupboard!
I remember those elderly relatives who 'let things go!'. Usually talc in the bathroom, the smell still comes back to me nostalgically now.
I must admit I'm more prone to gathering my books and papers around me, and do not worry about my house being immaculately tidy when people come round, but I've always been a bookish person and never been fond of housework,!

I remember my mother-in-law saying “this place is never bottomed”
Guilty as charged.

The problem is as we get older we need to keep on top of housework so we can just do a small amount each day. But what has happened with me is my mobility and energy levels have dropped so much so quickly that I seem to take one step forward and two steps back, and it’s getting worse.

In y neck of the woods a Hogmanay deep clean has always been the thing.
I well remember my mother cleaning all day and doing the windows just before midnight so that no trace of dust or dirt existed for a New Year .
Most people I know still do that alongside the other Hogmanay traditions that are alive and well and still passed on.

I’m not hugely into cleaning, although the house is relatively clean and tidy as I clean things when I see they need doing/as I go along. There’s just the 2 of us and DH is very neat and tidy (and fairly clean!). I don’t do any spring cleaning as such, just try to notice cobwebs etc and then tackle it. The kitchen and bathroom are relatively clean - I do tend to make a bit more effort when I know someone is calling round, I must admit. I do need to buy a new mop for the kitchen and utility room - the one I have isn’t particularly user-friendly and isn’t used as much as it should be - eek! Also, the windows could be a bit cleaner (more noticeable in the summer when they need a chamois leather!)

Depends on what is meant as old. I have always tended to clean when I cant stand the mess any more. So I'm not a lot different now at 73. I dont do ladders except to get in the loft with a poper loft ladder. I do have a step stool thats usually high enough but I have to use it to reach any high cupboards as im only 4'11". Ive just cleaned the I side of all my windows coz of the sticky marks made by my lights and noticed I didn't do it last year 🫣🫣

In total agreement with you Betony. Best of luck when you get going. Happy New Year.

Re any type of cleaning I had a big rethink of my cleaning tool. I have cordless vacuum cleaner and a hand held cordless plus a few things now with either telescopic or additional bits of handles to reduce bending too much of too long or using ladders. That'a helped a lot. Also a really good feather duster.

However, motivation isn't always there so I have to use self discipline :-) I find one room at a time for a deep clean works best for me.

I think the first thing is to decide what matters . That is very indivual and what annoys or upsets one person, has no effect on another. So as far as I am concerned so long as I am clean and my clothes and the bed is , the kitchen and bathroom kept cleaned , anything else can wait until or if I can be bothered to use my precious energy on that instead of something more worthwhile to me, such as the garden or a good book or writing on here!

So I have always been quite an organiser and have over the years worked out different ways to get jobs that I either cant do myself or hate doing done. There is quite a surge in a repair cafe trend where you can take things to be repaired rather than thrown away. In the same way I have talked to friends and then another time to the womens group I go to, with the idea of swapping skills .So the way we did that was to offer our skills and we had a system where you earned points, which depended on the difficulty or length of time taken to do something. So you did not have to just match up with one other person, so if you happened to be a good seamstress or knitter you could make something for someone who supplies you with the materials. Another area that works well is if you are known to be a good cook, or cake maker. Then you could "spend" your points with someone who is a cleaning buff, so you are only allowing one person who knows what they are doing to come and sort it out for you.

You could have a little notebook and jot down things that you cant really manage yourself easily , so that when that lovely tall grandaugter calls you can ask her to have a go at the ceiling cobwebs, which will be no effort for her at all and can be sorted out in minutes. I find that it is annoying when a relative visits and genuinly asks if there is something you want doing , and my mind immediately goes blank and I say no there is nothing, only to find 10 minutes after they have left that I cant get the lid off the beetroot!

Resolve to get out and about as much as you can while you can, and just dont look at the cobwebs or jobs M! Whilst I do make an effort to keep things going, I have had to accept that there is no way my back will allow me to do things as I did in the past, but any good weather day at this time of year, I would rather have a bit of a walk or a drive to my beloved Swaledale. They gladden my heart, cheer me up and I am more likely to do a bit of tidying up when the weather is not so good another day. You never see wonderful cobweb cleaner on a grave stone!! Mine is more likely to say " I was going to do it tomorrow"

I would say just do a little each day.

Yesterday I changed the bed and today I have blitzed the shower with the anti-mould stuff. I hate the smell of it but it works.

I only move furniture if something has been lost underneath. White vinegar is my go to for most cleaning.

Have painful joint problems and om strong painkillers. So even having a clean plate is a big deal.

My place would put Men Behaving Badly in the shade.

Just do one thing at a time. It doesn't matter if it doesn't get done straight away.