Poll: When do you do housework?

[Bess]

Just wondering how other homeschool moms get the housework done. Thanks for participating!

[jmgconner]

All of the above. :)

 

I try to get laundry started before school. Light cleaning during school. Pick-up cleaning after school. When my DH gets home, I try to get a big hunk of cleaning donw. And, I rarely get any work done so it's a mess. :glare:

[angela in ohio]

Kind of the first four all together, LOL. I have certain things that I do morning or night, certain things I do during the day, and certain big things I do in big chunks of time.

[Amy loves Bud]

In the interst of full disclosure, I must tell you that I have a housekeeper who comes in once a week for the big cleaning.

 

As for the daily maintenance, laundry, dishes, sweeping, etc. I just do it throughout the day as the kids work. Seems to be the easiest that way.

[TammyinTN]

My house is now so small I clean it all in 1.5 hours and I do it before school. I do the laundry twice a week (Tuesday & Friday) and it's in the evening. We also do the dishes right away, and each night everything is put away before bedtime. So it's very easy to clean quickly. I'm phasing out doing any housework on the weekend so that we can travel and do fun things. :auto:

[Plucky]

All of the above. :)

 

I try to get laundry started before school. Light cleaning during school. Pick-up cleaning after school. When my DH gets home, I try to get a big hunk of cleaning donw. And, I rarely get any work done so it's a mess. :glare:

 

Same here, before, after, during... it's a constant thing. I'm never really done but I have the kids help me as much as possible and give myself a time most days when I am done even if there's more to do.

[Brindee]

 

Kind of the first four all together, LOL. I have certain things that I do morning or night, certain things I do during the day, and certain big things I do in big chunks of time.

Same here. But we do have a big clean on Fridays, so I put the one big swoop answer.

[Plucky]

Could you change your poll to all of the above or other?

[PameliaSue]

I hate housework and constantly sabotage myself by avoiding it..... just to be honest. :willy_nilly:

[cin]

I generally do it on an as needed basis. I do start laundry when we start school and hang it after lunch. The kitchen is cleaned as I cook or after dinner, and the rest is done whenever I have the time & it shows a need.

[Kris]

When do you do housework?

 

All of the above -- basically, when I darn well feel like it. I've tried schedules and they just don't work for me. If I'm not inspired, I stand in the middle of the room for fifteen minutes and nothing gets done. If I'm ready, I can do the whole house in a couple of hours! :D

[SnowWhite]

I'm with all of the above posters who said before, during and after. Here's our rundown:

 

Morning: make beds, unload dishwasher, put clothes in washer, swish and swipe the bathrooms.

 

During AM: do breakfast dishes, sweep kitchen if needed

 

At LONG lunch break for this purpose: Pick up and straighten up, finish laundry, do vacuuming, mopping, dusting, Windex as needed.

 

After school: Yard work, Re-clean the kitchen (it will be a mess from lunch and snacks), work on supper, then load dishwasher again. Pick up and straighten up again till we all fall in a heap.

 

AND it mostly still needs more attention than it gets.

[mommylawyer]

I'm learning, much to my chagrin, that if I do some every day with a big PUSH on the weekends, I can keep on top of it.

 

I do a lot of work after the children have gone to bed - and before my "me" time. However, I'm learning to have my older two (5 and 3 y.o.) to do some simple things - clearing the table, putting away their laundry, cleaning up their toys and rooms).

 

With the exception of laundry (and I only have 3 kids, so I can't imagine how you ladies with more can do it all); Mount Laundry never goes away completely.

[Marie in Oh]

I start before they get up, do some as they work, and everyone does stuff after school is over. I even do some after they go to bed. On Friday mornings we do quite a bit, but I have to maintain during the week becasue I have too many mess makers.

[BMW]

When the kiddos were younger, I'd start laundry first thing and swap it a couple times during day and end of day... I'd focus on the kitchen and "try" to delegate... and on Sat. mornings the children had lessons for several hours and I'd stay home with just the youngest two and knock out the cleaning jobs (bathrooms, de-clutter, mopping, thorough vaccuming).

 

Now the children are 8 and up and they each have a chore. I cook and do laundry (I have the hardest time delegating that even to teens). The rest of the chores are done by children, with me wiping up here or there as needed.

 

For the first time in years we have allowance for the children and I love it because I charge them for offenses... leaving clothes in bathroom, dirty socks on the living room floor, toys left out... it each costs .50 cents... and it's SO nice to not have dirty socks left in the living room any more! For each day that they neglect their chore, loss of $1.00. And after a recent thorough cleaning of their bedrooms and me charging them if they toss clothes on their floor or leave bedroom messes, they have learned what a tidy room looks like, day after day...

 

I think I sound like mean mom... but I like tidy rooms...

[Remudamom]

My strategy is to get caught up and keep caught up. That means all the time cleaning, or putting away etc. No housekeeper, but two older dds. Big/unusual/not everyday jobs on Sat. morning.

[SusanG]

I had to go with Rarely. I keep up with the dishes and laundry, and dh vacuums, but beyond that our house is usually in a state of disarray. I think I've made our bed 2 times in the 9 years we've lived here, lol, and that was when we had family coming and knew they'd want to see our bedroom b/c it was their first time at our house. If you asked my kids to make a bed, they'd think you wanted one built, lol!

[beansprouts]

All of the above. :)

 

I try to get laundry started before school. Light cleaning during school. Pick-up cleaning after school. When my DH gets home, I try to get a big hunk of cleaning donw. And, I rarely get any work done so it's a mess. :glare:

 

 

Like she said, here and there. I often do dishes/clean the kitchen while preparing meals. I switch laundry loads while getting dressed in the morning. I try to do at least one "deep clean" a week.

 

My home is consistantly in a clean, but somewhat cluttered state.

[Miss Marple]

Before, during, after, as well as when I have insomnia at 4:00 a.m.

[WTMindy]

We take a couple hours either on the weekend or on Monday morning to do some cleaning (bathrooms, dusting, etc...) The kids have a list, I have a list and we get to it. The rest of the week we just do maintnance, especially before dh gets home.

[Gretchen in NJ]

I do a little in the morning before school: both bathrooms. During school, I just try and maintain my kitchen. Then, a little of it after school and most of it on Saturday.

[Jenny in Atl]

A little of all the top three. I just try to get to things as needed. Some jobs I save for either before or after school, since they are not easily interrupted, like cleaning the fish tank.

[Crissy]

a, b, c, and d.

 

I do it as I come to it all throughout the day.

We make our beds as soon as we get out of them.

After I use the bathroom for the first time in the morning I'll clean the toilet.

When I finish brushing my teeth and washing my face I wipe down the sink and mirror.

Dishes are done as soon as we finish a meal.

I sweep and mop while the boys are working on their independent studies.

 

And so on. The house is continually being cleaned.

[Desert Rat]

I voted one big sweep but that's a bit misleading. I do the bulk of my daily housework, beds etc. in the morning. I do laundry during and then I do a sweep of the house to tidy up after school but before dh gets home. I clean my parents house on Wednesday afternoons then ours on Thursday. And boy, does everything get messed up (literally and figuratively!) if I get off track!

[ummix3]

I picked "in one big swoop", but I also do a little bit everyday as part of the routine (or try to anyway). The one big swoop is doing the laundry (I live in an apt. and have a portable washer I keep in the closet hidden from the super, therefore I wash only once a week. If mngt. finds out I have one I would have to get rid of it), also bathrooms and bedrooms if need be. The little bit everyday is trying to sweep the living, dining and kitchen floor and swiffer mop it if I have the energy. Sometimes I won't sweep for a whole week and get to it on that one big swoop day. The more work I do during the week the less the work load is on the day I do laundry.

 

nycmom

[kat19]

I choose one big swoop.

Usually on Monday we do the cleaning, but there are some days where we need to pick up things also.

So I guess it just depends.

[Melissa in Australia]

I put on the laundry and milk the cow before school. race the kids with their math while I make beds and hang the washing.( the younger ones that is, it is amazing how fast they can do their math if they are in a race.if I get all the beds made and the washing hung on the line before they finish the math,than I get a prize. if they beet me , they get a prize. the prize is usually a piece of chocolate)

do kitchen cleanup after grammar. vacuum the floors ever 2nd day while everyone eats lunch and fit in whatever needs doing anywhere else I can. I always have a basket of unfolded laundry sitting around.:glare:

[crazycoffeechic]

Whenever I get tired of seeing the mess.:D It just depends on what kind of mood I'm in that day, I at least try to keep the clothes washed so we don't run around nekkid all the time! And I have to keep the dishes washed unless I start buying paper plates, forks, and spoons hmmm.....

[dirty ethel rackham]

I voted "almost never", but that is not entirely true. I do have a few things that get done regularly. However, I am a classic "Oh cr*p, company's coming - quick, hide this!" kind of person. Total Flylady drop out. Can never get the cheerful housekeeping thing going. Said through gritted teeth "I am blessing my family. I am blessing my %&$* family!" I keep trying but I think I can add only one new habit a year, that is, unless I don't backslide on two others in the meantime. In essence, a total failure as a housekeeper! The good news is ... I teach a class in my home once a week, so the house "appears" somewhat presentable and two rooms are actually clean. The bad news is ... I have 4 "company's coming" boxes in my bedroom - soon to add a 5th.

 

Putting back on my rose-colored glasses of denial. Aahhh. There. Much better!

 

I forgot to add that I do have a housecleaner come every 2 weeks to do the clean cleaning. The picking up happens before she gets there.

[Quiver0f10]

Laundry is never finished here. The floors get swept after each meal and washed every night. Bathrooms touched up every morning. Major cleaning is done every Friday or Saturday. I used to clean a room per day top to bottom and loved that, but we have just gotten out of that habbit and I can't seem to get back into it.

[Ellie]

Major cleaning on Fridays, upkeep during the week.

[Ferdie]

During the school year I have a morning routine which includes swiping my bathroom, starting the robots (mop and vacuum) and starting the laundry. During school time I fold laundry and maintain the kitchen. After school we attempt 30 minutes of chores, but sometimes I am so tired that I collapse and leave it for the weekend. :glare:

[KellyGirl]

I had to go with Rarely. I keep up with the dishes and laundry, and dh vacuums, but beyond that our house is usually in a state of disarray. I think I've made our bed 2 times in the 9 years we've lived here, lol, and that was when we had family coming and knew they'd want to see our bedroom b/c it was their first time at our house. If you asked my kids to make a bed, they'd think you wanted one built, lol!

 

:lol: That is just funny! I make my kids make their beds, but mine doesn't get made very often (in part because there are always bodies laying on it reading or something - at least that is what I tell myself)

I, too, am a a rarely. I'm embaresed to think about how infrequently I clean my bathroom:o