Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Cleaning With Kids


Let's NOT Clean the Entire House In One Day: It just gets messy 4 hours later!


Looking back over the years as I had my three children, I realize it took me nearly 4 years to get this routine down. I admit I am a cleaning crazy lady. I obsess over clean, I cannot stand it if my kitchen looks like a big fat mess. I throw wet towels left on the floor at the person who left them there. It's not too much to ask that the other people living here help clean it right?! Work, desire to have fun and watch tv, making (or getting) dinner often gets in the way of properly cleaning everything, and I really think I have finally found a way to keep on top of it all, even while working. There are days where my house looks like a complete mess, but most of the time I can keep it tidy- ish. 40 hours a week and a tidy (ISH) home with three kids? How?
Well my general rule for the Husband is he is in charge of the Trash, and Dishes at least twice a week. Does he do this? Yes if he doesn’t want his pillow filled with trash. And my kids all help out as well. The eldest always gets the hard chores, and the younger one "helps" wipe down whatever he can reach. The baby sleeps. Sometimes. Here's my weekly schedule that works out remarkably well:

Monday: My list for the day is Laundry and Dishes. My relaxing time is Sunday, and usually I barely even cook a real meal let alone get off the dang couch. So Monday I catch up on my dishes (left from the whole weekend) after dinner, do the kids laundry, and call it a day by 7:00pm.

Tuesday: This day is my vacuuming and wiping kitchen day. Notice I said wipe, not clean. I wipe down the counters and microwave and table, and my eldest child sweeps the floor and vacuums my house. I make sure to do a quick wipe of every surface in my kitchen including cabinets on the outside and the fridge and dishwasher. And usually do the dishes while she vacuums and hubby takes out the trash for trash day. I may throw a load of laundry in, depending on how much of my clothes the baby has spit up on. Which I don’t fold until tomorrow.

Wednesday: Bathroom day. I clean my bathrooms from top to bottom including floors. And make my husband reluctantly do the dishes haha. Fold that load of laundry I neglected yesterday (maybe). Now, I only have two bathrooms to clean, one of which is technically in the laundry room. So someone who has lots more should give their kids a sink full of pine sol water and some rags and tell ‘em to go crazy on those floors.

Thursday: Laundry day. I do towels/sheets, and my husband’s clothes. And fold all the laundry I probably neglected to remove from the baskets during the week. This includes the kids beds and mine as well. If I’m feeling frisky I’ll throw in some quick dusting (But not usually). Hubby gets dishes today too.

Friday: I don’t do SQUAT. I make my daughter wipe the table off and sweep the floor around it. And maybe if I still have energy after work I’ll do dishes.

Saturday: My rule is if it can’t be done before 12pm, then too bad. I've left laundry in the dryer til Monday because it hit 12:01pm.  I get up, fix breakfast, clean my kitchen with real soaps, do my laundry, vacuum if I need to, dust the house, mop some floors and by 12pm I am DONE. The eldest has usually helped with the vacuuming and dusting. Let the weekend begin!

Sunday: Ignore everything. It works for me.

My goal was to feel as little stress as possible about my house, because sometimes you can feel overwhelmed and just not know where to start. I make kids pick up their own toys, I make them put away their own clothes (except the baby and toddler need help), I delegate chores on Saturdays. Home life shouldn't just be about cleaning all the time! Even if you're a stay at home mom, a schedule really helps ease your mind and allow you to play with the kids a bit more. And, as always, we are here to clean for you so you can go out and enjoy! J


Tiffy

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