S/o mistakes and advice for k'er and 1st grade, Tips for maintaining a house

[mommyto2]

This year we are transitioning to two kids being in school. Other than hiring someone to clean your house, what tips do you have for keeping the house reasonable.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Everyone pitches in ( we found that each person having a specific job/chore was more efficient than switching up ) , the house must be tidy and ready for school the next day by bedtime each night, do a little cleaning each day, get rid of clutter, a place for everything and everything in its place.

[BakersDozen]

Everyone pitches in ( we found that each person having a specific job/chore was more efficient than switching up ) , the house must be tidy and ready for school the next day by bedtime each night, do a little cleaning each day, get rid of clutter, a place for everything and everything in its place.

:iagree:

 

I also have a basket right by the kitchen that I toss things into that I pick up during the day. I got tired of calling kids back to pick up so into the basket things go! At the end of the day (or twice/day if it fills up) everyone has to clean out the basket; anything left gets donated.

 

We have clean-up right before lunch where I call a # and everyone down to the toddlers has to pick up that many items. It helps keep things a bit more under control. The house is entirely cleaned up at night before bed as I can't stand waking up to chaos and mayhem.

[Joyofsixreboot]

We use the everyday plan too. The house gets picked up everyday, swept, dishes done at 3pm ish. I have a loose meal plan for the week so I don't have to think about what to cook. The crockpot gets used often. I put a load of laundry in (or have a kid do theirs) every night so it's ready to hang (no dryer) the next morning. That way I'm not dealing with it during school. Kids do their own laundry after 10 yo. My younger than teens bathe at night so that's out of the way for school. HTH

[Gentlemommy]

:iagree:

 

I also have a basket right by the kitchen that I toss things into that I pick up during the day. I got tired of calling kids back to pick up so into the basket things go! At the end of the day (or twice/day if it fills up) everyone has to clean out the basket; anything left gets donated.

 

We have clean-up right before lunch where I call a # and everyone down to the toddlers has to pick up that many items. It helps keep things a bit more under control. The house is entirely cleaned up at night before bed as I can't stand waking up to chaos and mayhem.

 

 

 

Ohhhh I LOVE this basket idea!!! Might start implementing it!

 

What's worked for us-

 

We have one "home day" per week, where we do not go anywhere at all. We might bike to the neighborhood park, but that's it. That's the day we deep clean.

 

I have two daily chore lists, one for me and one for the girls.

 

Simplify and declutter. Seriously, that has helped tremendously. Every time the house starts looking messy, I'll get rid of a bunch of stuff and that helps. Everything has a place, if it doesn't, we don't need it, or we have to make a space by getting rid of something else. We love Goodwill and Goodwill loves us lol.

 

If I keep up, nothing ever gets really unmanageable, kwim? So, every day when I brush my teeth, I take a wipe and wipe down the bathroom counter and sink. After I pee in the morning I do the same for our toilet. The shower and bath get sprayed daily, and I never have buildup that way. Dishes get put directly into the dw, and it runs in the evening. I unload in the morning first thing. Counters get wiped after every meal prep, so 3-4 times daily.

 

I've found that honestly, each chore really only takes a few minutes. If I know that mopping will only take me five minutes, I'm more likely to do it rather that out it off, kwim? My only down fall is laundry. :glare: I love washing, but hate folding. We almost never have dirty laundry because I wash daily, but I seem to ALWAYS have a basket of laundry waiting to be folded. Hmmm. Maybe I'll pass that chore on to the kids...;)

[Soror]

Everyone pitches in ( we found that each person having a specific job/chore was more efficient than switching up ) , the house must be tidy and ready for school the next day by bedtime each night, do a little cleaning each day, get rid of clutter, a place for everything and everything in its place.

 

That sums it up! At least from the age of 3-4 and up they can help some. Train them early, get them and you in the habit of cleaning up messes as soon as they happen. Have family clean times- like before supper here everyone gets the place in shape while I cook and afterwards everyone pitches in to clean up. In the am you can then have time to do a few chores. Things work much better if you keep it clean.

 

My kids, 5 and 7.5 are responsible for their room and have been for at least a year. They hang their clothes on the line, then fold their own and put them away. Ds takes care of trash and rabbits, dd sets the table and then everyone pitches in for various things- like cleaning bathrooms. I don't expect perfection though but they are quite capable to do a pretty good job, with training.

Edited April 23, 2012 by soror

[iquilt]

Twice daily pick ups for everyone - right before lunch and before dinner. We also decided to have someone else do the deep cleaning every other week which forces us to keep everything picked up and leaves us time for field trips and library visits while they are cleaning. HTH

[Aspasia]

Three words: home management binder. http://abowlfulloflemons.blogspot.com/2011/01/weekly-challenge-1-home-management.html

 

This concept seriously changed my life. It helped me set up routines throughout the day to get things done. I use a weekly planning sheet where I write down everything I need to do each day (including that day's chores, the meals planned for the day, errands to run, etc). I keep cleaning checklists for each room in the binder. I plan my meals a month at a time, so that on Sunday night when I plan for the week, I just transfer that week's meals over to my weekly planning sheet and make my shopping list. Same thing with calendar stuff, just transfer it over to the weekly sheet. I have a "to do" folder where I put mail and everything else that needs attention and then I deal with all of it on one day (Monday). That way, it's not cluttering up the counter or the fridge, but it also isn't getting lost or forgotten.

 

As for cleaning specifically, I second what everyone has said about the importance of daily maintenance. Daily minimum for us is dishes, laundry, and picking up. I find that if I keep up on those things, my bigger chores are a breeze. DD is responsible for pcleaning her room and the play room. Both kids help pick up the house every evening before Daddy gets home. After that, I just divide up my rooms into days.

 

Monday is kitchen--scrub the sink, mop the floor, wipe down appliances, clean microwave.

 

Tuesday is bathrooms--toilets, sinks, showers, mirrors, mop floors. (This is my most dreaded day, because we have FOUR bathrooms!)

 

Wednesday is living and dining room--dust, vacuum, tidy up homeschool bookcase

 

Thursday is bedrooms--change sheets, dust, vacuum

 

Friday is rec room in the basement--dust and vacuum? I also give the bathrooms a little touch up on Friday. That just involves a good wiping down of the counter and sink. I'm thinking of handing this over to dd.

 

Saturday is vehicles (in theory :tongue_smilie:)--vacuum and dust

 

Most days, these chores only take 30-45 minutes (with the exception of those dreaded Tuesdays, which do take a little over an hour).

 

I like having specific days for things, because if I notice the living room looking particularly dusty (for example), I don't let myself feel overwhelmed by how much needs to be done. I just think, "Boy this place really needs a good dusting...and it will get it on Wednesday, so no need to worry about it today."

 

Sorry for the novel, I just LOVE my home management binder! It can help you get a handle on anything you need help with.

Edited April 23, 2012 by infomom

[Tarreymere]

We can't afford to have someone come in and clean, but if I could afford it I would do it. We also don't have chore lists or things like that. We function as a team and Mom is the team leader. I direct the kids as I work myself, I can see what they are doing, and no one is fighting over who has what chore or waiting for someone else to get their chore done in order to do theirs. I've been around that block a few times and it was more of a chore for me to put up with it. Now, no one stops working until everyone is done (exceptions for kids three and under, of course). I think this builds teamwork and a team spirit, and it seems to have made the kids more aware that if there is a mess in between times it is just plain easier to take care of it right away. It's like they internalize a feeling of responsiblity for the whole house. For basic, daily stuff I often set a timer for anywhere from five minutes to fifteen minutes and turn on some music.

 

The five minute pickups happen maybe once a day for a quick pickup of clutter. I do like to do one right after breakfast, and depending on how the day went I might call one after lunch too.

 

I also do have pretty wicker laundry baskets in the living room and the kitchen as 'clutter catchers'. It really helps when we get unexpected visitors! We do a good fifteen minute pickup that includes sweeping, vacuuming, dishwashing, putting away clean dishes, ect right before dh is due home (makes it look like things are under control :lol:).

 

I do laundry during the school day, but the laundry area is right off my kitchen so I'm not running up and down steps to do it. I would not be doing laundry during the day if I had to run up and down steps.

 

The kids are all taught how to do laundry starting around eight, so if I'm working with the five year old on something I can have the eight year old who is waiting for me take a couple minutes and swap things around. We seem to have three loads of laundry a day and I really prefer to keep up with it instead of waiting. I find laundry piles depressing.

 

Deep cleaning happens on the weekends, usually. I do sometimes have some time during the week when they are all outside or reading or something and I do try to get at least ONE thing scrubbed during that time. I don't have a list, I just get started on what looks the worst or bugs me the most. Dh is usually willing to spend an hour helping me and the kids do a big deep clean once a week too, and with all of us it doesn't take more than an hour.

 

I do meal plan on the night before we do grocery shopping. We shop for two weeks so I have a two week plan. I sometimes juggle around with which meal for which day since sometimes I just can't face something I had planned that takes more time to fix. I have a magnetic whiteboard on the frig with a running list of stuff we need to pick up at the store in between shopping trips and dh and the kids who drive are good about picking stuff up for me.

 

There is always going to be something that needs to be done. The house isn't ever going to be perfect and I'm not just talking about clutter. I mean, people do live there. You have to find a clutter and cleaning level that you are comfortable with and that your dh is comfortable with and balance that with your homeschooling. If you find you are neglecting school and falling behind in order to keep up with the house then you probably should do some thinking about what cleaning you can stand to not do as often or what level of clutter you might be willing to tolerate. It isn't worth stressing over the house. You can go back to having higher standards when the kids are older. Or if you are like me you can just keep on acquiring kids and figure that at least they'll have housekeeping in the nursing home since that is where you plan to check in when the youngest kid graduates :lol: