clean house reality...

[milkmommy]

Inspired from the peaceful home possible thread...

I live in a relatively small house
*I only have 2 kids
*one kid is old enough to actually HELP clean
*one kid is old enough to begin some simple tasks and understand not to add to the mess and let others work...
*I'm neither a messy or a neat freak. I prefer less stuff and organization.. However I can easily step over projects or ignore corner clutter.
*I generally like out house but do wish some of the layout was a bit better

Some kid/home challenges:
bedrooms are small, their is not other like family or play room for toys or playing. Between school and having a little one the main area of the home gets uses

small bathroom with growing girls not a biggie now but its going to be fun soon enough

builders grade kitchen.. its not "bad" but we could REALLY use a pantry.

almost no closet space... (but we do have a full sized laundry room *its nothing exciting but more than just a closet* and a garage.

My cleaning matra:
We clean daily usually in the afternoons about 3pm (after school and before dinner hour) Margaret helps by picking up toys in the living area she might have left out (like the blocks) and cleaning her room

Cecilia handles straightening the living dining area, bathrooms and kitty liter and her room

I handle kitchen dishes sweeping and mopping and vacuuming

we divide and conquer over the week dusting, trash cleaning base boards doors and handles, mirrors and glass doors and other general work..

Mondays takes us the longest because we generally let it all go over the weekend except Laundry or like letting dishes go crazy.

Monday clean up usually takes about an hour the other days about 30 minutes...

Sooo...
The before this is our home after a weekend of letting most things go..


living area

[edit]
Margaret's room


Cecilia's room


bathroom


Not pictured office Master bedroom second bathroom and Laundry room honestly I don't overly worry about those space nothing tragic about them but the rest is our main focus.

This was after todays cleaning time we started at 3pm and ended at 3:49pm so a bit under an hour...

living room




dining area


kitchen

bathroom


Cecilia's room


Margaret's room (and yes this room was totally cleaned by her)


My house isn't immaculate.. We could step thigns up and do more but honestly I don't want to at least no day in and out. This is where we are... I havea 12 year old you understands it is time to clean and she totally steps it up now and does things the best she can and just asks can I do more untill we are done.. I also want her to know she can flop on the couch with her friends or play with her cat on the bed and just be a kid without thinking ohh I might messy this up...

I have a 4 year old who wants to help who everyday proudly announces I CLEANED my room COME SEE!! who cares if it isn't perfect and darn it I'm not touching a thing..
Dishes get done bathrooms get done my DH comes home to a generally clean home.. because we do it 5 days a week each its rare things get really bad.. Were still the cool house with the big blocks and art stuff and a free range cookie jar and fridge that magically delivers ice and water *seriously that is like huge in this neighborhood* Were also the house where kids clean up after them selfs (and it gets better daily) and ask permission....


As the girls get older I'll likely demand/require/teach a bit more and our whole method might go out the window with a third child but for now.. This is where we are.. I think we are in a very good place.


Our home reflects our love of family friends and our faith That is our peaceful reality.

[mommychem]

[sunflowermom]

thanks for sharing!

[Singingmom]

I love your balanced attitude and I think your house looks great!

[marbles]

Thank you for sharing all that. Housework is definitely my weak point, I'm just not very good at it. I think I could do a once a day pickup though, I'm always looking for more ways to keep time and have a flow to our days. This is a greAt idea to try, thank you!

[milkmommy]

Originally Posted by marbles

Thank you for sharing all that. Housework is definitely my weak point, I'm just not very good at it. I think I could do a once a day pickup though, I'm always looking for more ways to keep time and have a flow to our days. This is a greAt idea to try, thank you!

It works really well for us. I do some things at other times. I try to at least keep on top of laundry and then we use the weekends to totally catch up so that if often done "inbetween" Dinner dishes still get done in the evening and I generally do a finial quick sweep of stuff in the evening after others go to bed. However for the most part having the one point of the day where we just "get it done" for us works best. I also thinks it helps the kids to see exactly what is involved to decently maintain a home. Cecilia is slowly realizing things and it has made a huge difference in her attitude. Like she finially put it together that when she and her sister help to the best they can work goes 3xs as fast and that when I did it alone I then had to work 3xs longer... Everyone pitching in means less work for all and more time for cool things.
The other day the neighbors kids had come over to play with Margaret in the evening and had played with all the blocks and her barbies so they were again all over the main living area She then ended up falling asleep before i could get her to pick up again.. SO I asked Cecilia to just help me toss the blocks back int o the bin and take her barbies to Margaret's room (like under 1 minute of work) She did but made a comment on how we'd JUST cleaned this area earlier.. I told her yes its like this every evening I always go and do a "finial" clean after everyone goes to sleep. Did you not ever wonder how the kitchen gets cleared or the dishwasher is magically cleaned for the morning?? Did you think the magic bathroom fairy made sure you had toliet paper in the morning or the Kitchen elves cooked those muffins that were ready and waiting for you and your sister to wake? I wasn't mad and was totally teasing her and she knew it But.... It still struck a chord because since that night she has been going around making sure toys are returned and encouraging Margaret to do her part before her bedtime. Or she'll do little things like peek into the washer and if their are clothes change then into the dryer (she'll ignore ones in the dryer cause those would need folding (totally MY daughter!) .. Or say notice trash is filling and just change things without asking..
she still wont close a drawer or cabinet door to save her life Our bathroom looks like a disaster area after she showers ans she leaves a trail of shoes purses jackets and varies snack wrappers strewn through the house.. Just enough that we never forget A TWEEN lives here
She is also becoming a fine young woman!

[staceylayne]

So encouraging! Thank you!