When I was married and had 2 kids and a dog my house was spotless. If you walked into the house at almost anytime of the day you would not know anyone lived there,everything was in it place and perfect enough for a photo shoot. When I think of all the time I wasted keeping the house that clean it frosts me. I should have spent it playing with my kids or taking a walk, anything but cleaning . A house should be clean enough so it isn't just a path through clutter to get from one room to another. A little dust ,pet hair never hurt anyone.
I do have to clean up after every project and vacuum/mop once a week . I try to keep clutter to a minimum but it doesn't work too well when everything you own is in just 2 rooms and my brother is a "collector" I keep reminding him that he wants to retire someday in the next 10 yrs and move to Hawaii with his kids so it is easier to get rid of stuff little by little.:-)