amo_mea_filiis. Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I've nailed some bit of a weekly housekeeping routine but it's not nearly enough. On Tuesdays I clean the bathrooms, but they're no longer clean by Thursday. On Wednesdays I clean the living room, but by Friday I can't safely walk through it! I clean a room daily but it only lasts a day or two. I can't seem to find a livable daily kitchen routine, but I clean it well on Fridays. Ds has become nearly obsessive with his room and it's great! Dd, on the other hand, still needs daily help and reminders for even the most basic task of picking up her wet towels. **Dd has a severe dust mite allergy and I have no choice but to make sure it gets done. I'm much better with laundry, but am still lacking with putting it away. We do not eat or drink outside of the kitchen and dining room, so nothing ever gets nasty. It takes a looooooong time to get school done, and even longer to stay on them about their chores. Any ideas for stepping it up even more? I'd like to get to "good enough" by the end of the month and work on making it nice after that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 have you looked at flylady? for the bathroom she suggests 'swish and swipe' with no soap, just the toilet scrubber and a towel (or paper towel) every morning - 30 seconds - to keep the bathroom looking good between cleanings. The other rooms - a 2 minute race to pick up stuff with you and the kids every day? anyways, i find flylady sometime inspiring or helpful, and other times i just live with my house being messy . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbanSue Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I once read in a housekeeping book that if you have a couple of young children you should plan on cleaning your bathroom . . .ready for this . . . twice a day. I don't clean my bathroom twice a day but after that I stopped being surprised when things got dirty so fast. I am not at all a natural housekeeper and I'm still learning so I hope people will chime in, but we've had a big turning point with chores this year. My kids are younger than yours but they each have a certain area of the house they have to completely pick up before dinner. I had to stay on them daily for MONTHS at first but now the two older ones are pretty reliable and the 4yo is starting to get in on it a bit. Getting things picked up is the huge obstacle for me. I can run the vacuum over my whole house in about ten minutes if things are picked up. So . . . stay on chores? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 We spend < 30 minutes each morning on basics like bathroom counters, dishes, and putting away laundry. Again in the late afternoon we spend about 15 minutes straightening up. After supper we spend another 15 cleaning the kitchen including the floor. It doesn't really feel as though it is too much time each day because it is broken up, but, wow, if we miss a day we can really tell! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I don't know if you already do this, but at the end of every day, and sometimes twice a day, we clean up for the day for about 20-30 minutes. This includes putting random things away, cleaning up spills, wiping tables and counters, sweeping the kitchen and breakfast area (where we eat), and straightening up furniture. This keeps the house clean longer than cleaning it and leaving it until the next week. Dishes are also done regularly, and I go back and forth between doing laundry daily or weekly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amo_mea_filiis. Posted March 8, 2013 Author Share Posted March 8, 2013 Thanks everyone! So my problem is lack of kid help. There is not a single task, chore, or skill that they do without serious reminders. Ds keeps his room neat. Dd will keep her gerbil tank clean with minimal reminders, but that's it. I guess I'll pick a chore or routine set to get them independent with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbmamaz Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 independent isnt the first goal or even an early one. Doing it well without whining - thats the first goal and it can take months. independence is a longer term goal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flowing Brook Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 What about having a chore list for the kid's something different for each day. Growing up there were three of us. So mom would make four chore lists one for her as well. She would put three or four chores on a index card Then she would put them all in a bowl. Sometimes we would close our eyes and pick one. Other times we would read each card and pick which one we wanted to do. Afterwards we would all work on our list. Maybe making it a competition to see who gets done first would work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Lulu* Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Did I give the impression mine were independent? *laughs hysterically* The 10 year old has attained a tiny bit of independence, but, in part due to processing issues, has to be reminded of every.single.step. of every.single.task. What helps is that we have posted routines so that everyone can check what they are supposed to be doing. We also all work in the same area at the same time. If we are cleaning the kitchen, we are all in the kitchen. So I might have Punk doing dishes while I wipe the table, but I am a few feet away still keeping him on track. I used to get very frustrated by how much supervision they needed for very simple tasks, but then I decided to just adjust my expectations. I expect to have to break it down for them each time, so I am not upset if they need it, but pleasantly surprised when they don't. We have been with the current set up for almost a year and I am beginning to see them get it. (I was gone for a week for a family emergency and the kids were able to help DH keep the house in superb condition. He said they were awesome about completing the chores each day. It felt great to hear that and I realized that one day shy of their 18th birthday I might see them initiate and carry out to completion the cleaning of the house!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~*Beatrix*~ Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 To me, picking up and cleaning are different. So while I might only clean the living room on Wednesday, I pick it up daily. Same with bathrooms-- deep clean weekly, but daily I wipe down counter, faucet, toilet seat, plus pick up clutter. It's not clean-clean, but it removes the worst of the pee drips and soap misses, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NorthwestMom Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I clean the sinks and toilets in both of our bathrooms daily with a few bleach wipes. I keep a bleach tablet in the toilet tank to help keep the toilet clean, and about once a week I scrub the tub after I am done showering. My husband empties the garbage nightly. It really takes very little of our time. Good luck! It's much easier to maintain clean than to achieve clean. KWIM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 I set my kids' chore list by picking things that I wasn't getting to, but that I wouldn't feel compelled to re-do every time. So, they swiffer the dining room and clean the rarely used guest toilet. They also have a few chores that were killing me with frequency, like round up all the library books and sweep the kitchen. Also, the dc have to clean up alltoys every night. Figure out the thing(s) that most bother you and divide out sone individual tasks. What is cluttering the living room each day? Is it something someone else can be tasked with putting away? Keep in mind that it doesn't have to be perfect, it is ok to tweak it later. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2squared Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 I've nailed some bit of a weekly housekeeping routine but it's not nearly enough. On Tuesdays I clean the bathrooms, but they're no longer clean by Thursday. On Wednesdays I clean the living room, but by Friday I can't safely walk through it! I clean a room daily but it only lasts a day or two. Your housekeeping routine has to include daily maintenance. At least once a day every room in the house needs to be picked up. If you can do this, your house will maintain itself. If you miss even one day, everything goes backwards. It's vicious and unfair, but necessary. We missed picking up today, and it shows. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Cornelia Snook Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 I've had good success with using index cards, and separating them out into what needs to be done daily, weekly, and monthly. But I agree with the PPs that daily maintenance is crucial. It doesn't have to take long, however. I've had to work a lot of hours this week for our business, and haven't been able to do the daily things, let alone the weekly tasks. Then today, my laundry and catch-up day, I had a migraine! Argh!! I'm praying I can catch up tomorrow, because we'll keep sinking into the mess hole if I can't... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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