Looking for a new way to spend your days that doesn't require a mop in one hand and a laundry basket in the other? This article contains things that I do to speed up my cleaning process and then get to enjoy the rest of the day/evening doing things that I enjoy doing for myself.
Spend one-two entire days to get the entire house cleaned. I found that doing this on a weekend was a lot easier and better. Thoroughly clean the entire main part of the house one day (living room, kitchen, dining room, family room, etc.) The next day clean the rest (bathrooms, bedrooms, computer room, etc.) If you live in a smaller house or just have loads of energy, you can finish this entire project in one day. Include dusting, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, cleaning the walls, whatever you need to get done, do it. If you start on a Saturday morning, then this entire process will be complete by Sunday evening. Beginning on the next day, do a little bit of cleaning each day. If you keep up with this process you will only be spending, at the most, an hour per day cleaning.
You could also make a list of things you need to have done each day. I found a wonderful chart to use at http://www.paintedgold.com/Organize/house-cleaning-c hecklist.html. If you do all of your chores on your chore list for that day, by the next week you will only be spending 30 minutes to an hour cleaning up your house. The rest of the day is completely for you, and you don't need to worry about the housework.
If you have children this is a fun and simple one to do to reduce whining and 'mommy's mean' comments. Get a lined sheet of paper and write all of the possible chores that the kids are capable of doing. Tear those up to where you have only one chore per paper. Fold them up (very well) and toss into a large Tupperware bowl. Keep it somewhere in the kitchen, or on the dining room table. Each morning when the kids are eating breakfast, have each child pick 3 pieces of paper (more or less, if you choose) out of the bowl. These are to be drawn out randomly, and they are not to be looked at, then 'traded' in. Once all children have their chore papers, have them open them and read to you what their chores are for that day. Now, nobody can complain about 'how unfair mommy is', because she isn't the one who did it, the bowl is.
All of these things are things that I do (or plan to do when my children are older). They have worked out quite well for me, and I truly do hope you can find a longer, more peaceful part of the day just for you. You deserve it.