Retired folk - how long do you spend on household chores?

I'm with Kate1949. As little as possible and only if needed. I've come to my senses as when I was first married and working I used to spend every Saturday cleaning the house top to bottom for 7 hours, which meant I only had one day before I was back at work again!!

ginny

I keep the place tidy, make sure loos and basins are clean and sweep the kitchen floor each day. Other that that things get done when I notice them or don’t have anything better to do.
Anyone who thinks I should do more is welcome to do it for me.

Well said ginny. I could have written that but you have saved me the trouble.

After reading rhese comments we have cut back on housework and are enjoying the free time in nuch better ways. So thank you Revolucion.

I was just thinking to-day as I did my weekly clean of the houses of the older people in our family when I was young . You could recognise the smell of these houses a mixture of damp , unwashed bodies and clothes and moth balls . I tell my children to let me know if our house ever starts to smell . I only have one friend whose house usually smells a bit and it comes from the kitchen and the fish she cooks often . I had one great aunt who was told by her GP that she was a dirty old woman . This poor woman never had running hot water or an inside toilet let alone a bath. I rember her telling my mother that her hot water bottle had burst in bed. Goodness knows how she got her bedding dry again.

Far too much.

Probably around 2-3 hours a day, including cooking, gardening, etc.

I quite enjoy housework. If I'm stressed, it helps take my mind of things.

Hellogirl1

As little as I can get away with, probably about 6 hours a week. My 3rd daughter comes and does some cleaning now and then, I think she thinks I`m idle............I am!

A woman after my own heart! I live on my own and hadn't had any visitors since lockdown started. I had a visitor a couple of weeks ago and probably did about four hours cleaning. Other than that, I do the laundry, washing and hoovering in double quick time because I really do resent the time it takes. I spend about two hours a week batch cooking, freeze everything and then put it in the microwave. I make a big bowl of salad every day, which takes about five minutes.

kittylester

Kali2

Younger friends keep nagging me to have one- but honestly I just can' see the point.

Why if you have a cleaner. A roomba won't move the furniture like a real live person can.

A friend of mine has one and the cat likes to sit on it while it meanders around the house. It's fascinating to watch - it beats watching the washing machine any day.

I'm a tad OCD.
I do a room a day.
Mon: main bedroom.
Tues: bathroom + d/stairs loo.
Wed: living room.
Thurs: dining room.
Fri: spare bedrooms.
Sat: hubby's office.
Sun: kitchen + utility.
I also have a twice monthly job sheet which contains things like: check smoke alarms, clean outside doors, polish mirrors, descale kettle etc.
But I'm happy being sad!

We did have a once a week cleaner, then we moved. My husband puts far more elbow grease into cleaning than I ever did. He was the one who hired our cleaner in the first place and quite likely he's going to get sick of his new found house cleaner status after a while and do the same again here. I miss our cleaner on a personal level we became very fond of her over the few years we employed her, she was sorry to lose us I know, she bought us new coffee cups on her very last visit, which I always use now they remind me of her. Me, I do all the shopping, cooking, I clean the kitchen as I go, although he wouldn't necessarily agree on that. I do also clean basins and toilets, but have to admit don't get in the shower and bath and do those, I leave it to my other half. I round up all the washing, lay out bed linen and towels, maybe do half a bed change, duvet covers often defeat me. Plump up cushions, dust a bit. We have wooden flooring throughout the downstairs, I sweep up as and when and similarly wash the floors. My husband does the hoovering, I can't remember the last time I handled a hoover We split the ironing maybe, 60/40, I do a bit more on that score because generally I do the bed linen as well. Quite honestly doesn't amount to much over the course of a week. I think we live in a clean orderly house, I hate chaos. My thoughts are if you keep your home reasonably maintained as to cleaning and tidying up on a day to day basis then not onerous amounts of time are required in big clear ups.

In my last house I decorated from top to bottom. Now the urge to pick up a paintbrush has completely gone. I’m very good at pottering. Deciding whether to vacuum or not can take a few hours, but then there is always tomorrow !

As little as I can get away with, probably about 6 hours a week. My 3rd daughter comes and does some cleaning now and then, I think she thinks I`m idle............I am!

Cleaning most days for a few hours and the garden and allotment for another few especially at this time of year. Washing every few days and ironing once a week. Fridays for volunteering so no time and try to keep weekends free in case we want to go anywhere which is usually the local tip with all the gardening waste.

2 hours cleaning the house.2 hours washing.1 hour ironing thats a week.Just us 2 so does not get too messy or dirty.Live is to short for chores.As Dave Allen once said dusting is just moving grandma's dead skin around!

Just what I have to do in as little time as possible. I hope my window cleaner comes soon or I won't be able to see outside.

Kali2

Younger friends keep nagging me to have one- but honestly I just can' see the point.

Why if you have a cleaner. A roomba won't move the furniture like a real live person can.

I'm like that Kali, I think DH wants to help and he can't so sees it as doing something to help me which is a nice thought.

Younger friends keep nagging me to have one- but honestly I just can' see the point.

DH wants to buy me a robot vacuum (he can't do much due to disability) but I can't decide if I want one.

Least time the better!?

GreenGran78

I can’t access a large chunk of my house, to be able to clean. My daughter, granddaughter, 2 dogs and everything they possess in this world, moved in with me last January. They are between houses, and the one they have bought is having major renovations. In the meantime my house is piled up, in every available space, with their furniture. Even my bedroom is a depository.
This has given me a wonderful excuse to do very little housework, because I just can’t get at large areas of the rooms.
When they finally move out, probably in August, I will definitely have to tackle the layers of dust and cobwebs that will be revealed. At the moment, we are living like Steptoe and Son, and it doesn’t bother me at all.

That sounds brilliant, you couldn't get a much better excuse.

Depends on several things.
1. How much childcare I'm doing with GC, definitely more food prep and clearing up if they are here alot not to mention food shopping.
2. Do I include the things I do as a carer for DH?
3. Live in a seaside town, one of the blessings of lockdown was not be a free hotel for old friends and family. I do like seeing them but it does cost and we live here and don't always want to do the visitor things again.

Having said that I haven't a clue as I've never thought about it.

Well my late mother in law used to say: Nobody ever lay on their deathbed and said I wish I’d done more housework. I have a cleaner every week who is a much better cleaner than me!

**Kate49 echoed my sentiments exactly. …….. which is strange, because most people call me Kate even though it’s not my actual name , & I was born in 1949! Still, what’s in a name?

I can’t access a large chunk of my house, to be able to clean. My daughter, granddaughter, 2 dogs and everything they possess in this world, moved in with me last January. They are between houses, and the one they have bought is having major renovations. In the meantime my house is piled up, in every available space, with their furniture. Even my bedroom is a depository.
This has given me a wonderful excuse to do very little housework, because I just can’t get at large areas of the rooms.
When they finally move out, probably in August, I will definitely have to tackle the layers of dust and cobwebs that will be revealed. At the moment, we are living like Steptoe and Son, and it doesn’t bother me at all.