Here's my 81-year-old MIL Lorraine's routine and memories of past routines:

Lorraine has a large, 3-BR suburban house over a partially-finished basement. Two of her adult sons share the basement apartment which has its own mini-kitchen. They clean their own bath and entry area as well as their apartment. They sometimes vacuum her upstairs spaces, and they share the large upstairs kitchen (and its daily upkeep) with her.

Lorraine now has paid help about 3 times per year for what we would call spring cleaning.

She mostly keeps up with dusting and does a little light vacuuming. Curtain tops are dusted/vacuumed as needed, and washed periodically. Every two years the heavier drapes are sent to the dry-cleaners.

When she had 4 growing boys at home it was her practice to clean a room a day, alternating rooms so that most BRs got cleaned every other week. She was a stay-home mom in those years but had some hied help when she became a working mom of adult children. Things began to slide out of a routine-mode when she became sole caregiver for a spouse with multiple strokes.

She has shared with me many times how impossible it was to keep anything clean when they lived next door to a coalyard; this is similar to living on a working farm on a dusty road, as we do now.

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Regarding suburban homes-- they tend to have central air which is a big help to reduced dusting, altho they do develop dust and smudge patterns particular to the layout of vents and registers.

No one has mentioned dealing with fingermarks on woodwork yet.... or stairs.... grubby kitchen cabinet fronts... or windows either! :~)

~S~