When I say that NEED a clean space, I really need a clean space. Even when I was in high school, my room had to be completely clean and put away before I could study. I used to stay in a tizzy all the time, cleaning here and there all haphazard. I would clean what I saw needed attention at the moment, and was constantly worried about getting the house cleaned; I stayed overwhelmed by the sheer size of the job and all that needed doing in our home. But now I pretty much have it down to a science, and I don't worry about it all week, because I know when/how it will all get done, so when I see something, I tell myself Thursday!
Yes, I could pay someone to come in and clean my house, but talk about $ saving, geez. I had someone come in during the Summer when I couldn't dedicate a few hours once a week, and it was costing over $200/month and they weren't even changing all the linens. That's over $2400/ year, like a week long vacation rental at the beach! I can clean 1 day a week in exchange for vacation! Plus, I still had to go behind them and make sure things were done the way I prefer them, not everyone is this way - DISCLAIMER: I am very particular, lol. And when they do it, I don't know what I am running low on, things like toilet paper, etc. I like to keep that running Costco list of what we need.
Here's MY theory and the premise on which I base HOW I organize things... My Family is my complete priority and maximizing my time with them is my goal. I feel like I was chosen for this amazing role for a reason, and try to do everything each day to make that count. I want to ensure that in the limited time I will get to spend with them, and especially with our family as a whole (weekends and a couple of hours at night) we are focusing on them and impressing our values on their growing minds. My days, when they are at school, are spent getting everything possible done, so that when I pick them up from school, THEY are my only focus. They are in someone else's hands so much, more and more all the time, and I need to know what they are taking from others. I hate to have a 5 year old trying to convey his thoughts and feelings to me while I look the other direction to fold laundry. If we are trying to teach them to make eye contact and feel self value, should we not honor that and devote the time we can to only them? I try my best to be completely available to them when they are home. Obviously, everyone does not have this luxury, I am thankful that I do. If I have to work in my chores with them all home, they get assignments too, and they enjoy them (most of the time). Tucker, armed with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, is the best scuff finder in town! :)
Weekends are my BIG goal...I aim to have the house completely cleaned, and as much of my grocery purchasing, laundry, etc. DONE by the time they are picked up from school on Friday, so that as much as possible of our weekends are spent together as a family. No laundry, no cleaning, our errands are almost entirely run as a family (which my friends laugh at me for when they see us and our 2 carts, 4 kids being hauled into Costco as each holds a list), and dinners are cooked together. So, if there is maintenance that needs to be done, we do it together. We cut, edge, blow the yard together every weekend! They help and see the value and the finished product, and they LOVE helping. And, sometimes if you are early enough, you can spot the hubs at Walmart with all 4 kids stuffed into a cart, likely walking the fishing department, but that's only while I am getting my run in. ;) Yes, I know that this is NOT possible for everyone, and not every week for me, but it IS what I work towards and does make for a treasure each weekend.
Everyday Chores
There are quite a few things that I do everyday so it doesn't pile up too bad, mostly in the kitchen & laundry. I keep the dishwasher turning all the time, and I wipe down all the kitchen countertops and dinner table after every meal, with my lemon/vinegar mixture. I keep a large spray bottle of white vinegar & lemon under the sink and use it for everything.
Laundry
Obviously there are mounds and mounds of laundry with a family of 6. There are always baskets of laundry...always. Every morning, when I go in to wake the kids up, I gather ALL the laundry and sort it into white, colors, delicates. Every single morning I run a load of regular colors as soon as the kids get up. I get it in the dryer before we leave for school, but many days there is at least 1 more load behind that one. My goal is to have it all dried and ready to be folded at bedtime. So, when the kids go to bed, my wonderful & helpful hubs and I chat and discuss our day over a romantic pile of laundry. Haha. This doesn't sound glamorous I know...but we usually watch something on TV, make weekend plans, and talk about the kids and their daily events. It's quiet, and it's actually our time. We fold it all and stack by the kid's doors to be put away in the morning.
Dishes
Our dishwasher runs every single day at least once! I usually am unloading it while the kids are eating breakfast, and then loading it with breakfast dishes while they dress. I almost always prep my dinner meals during the day so those things go right in, and once they return home from school, I pop the lunch boxes in the dishwasher and decide if it needs a round before dinner or if it can accommodate a few more. After dinner, I wash anything that won't fit into the dishwasher and run it when we go up for the night! From time to time we do use paper plates to keep from running it more than once a day!
Floors
I usually sweep the kitchen every couple days. The in and out traffic brings in so much stuff, especially during the warm months when the kids spend so much time outside, and ALWAYS on Saturdays. Plus, we have a Lab who adds to the dust bunnies as much as he can. ;)
Otherwise, I save it all for The Big Day...
The BIG Day
Instead of cleaning here and there and never really having a sense of the whole house being clean all at one time, Thursday is my cleaning day. I am a cleaning machine on Thursday so that I don't feel the need to worry about the dust or the floors over the weekend! Yep, sometimes things come up on Thursday and I have to be able to shift...which means I usually do all I can Thursday and finish up Friday morning.
I am blessed to have a big playroom for the kids and all their stuff. For the most part we try to contain all their many toys, dress ups and clutter in that room. Tucker does have his closet turned into a fort for him with Legos and Lincoln Logs in there, but with 3 girls in one bedroom, there isn't much room for excess in there! They do know to pick up behind themselves, and each day they have to tidy the playroom at the end of the day; however, it is a little lax all days except Wednesday afternoon. They know that the afternoon before my cleaning day, the playroom MUST be cleaned up and put away properly so that I can dust and vacuum the next morning. This is their job and they don't come down for dinner until it is done...which could be 10pm, lol. Sometimes it is a HUGE battle, but it's my rule. The playroom IS my saving grace though, because the walls are scuffed and stained and there are toys everywhere, but I don't fight that battle. That is the kid space. When they are old enough to really know how to take care of everything, we will paint! Tucker is 5, and is responsible for keeping his room clean. He actually does a great job and likes to reorganize his hideout when it gets messy.
On Thursday morning, the second I roll off my bed I take my pillow and my corner of the fitted sheet with me and if my husband isn't already up, he will be rolled off by my immediate stripping of the bed. I get that set of sheets going before I even fix breakfast. And as soon as the kids are dressed, they are responsible for stripping their beds, with help from Tucker and me, and getting ALL the sheets to the laundry room. Of course they usually use them as magic carpet rides and such, but they get them there!
When the sheets come out, I go ahead and start running the rugs/bathmats, which I alternate upstairs one week/downstairs ones the next week. So rugs get done every other week, and the bathroom they're in, gets mopped when the rugs get washed.
First, armed with a swifter duster (with the reach arm), an old burp cloth and a can of furniture polish, I dust everything, upstairs and then down. All surfaces each week, with blinds & light fixtures every other week. Then I hit all the countertops, tables, etc. so that any crumbs, crud and crusts are knocked to the floor. At this point I do the whole kitchen: countertops, microwave, cooktop, wipe down fridge, scrub out the sink w/ bar keeper's friend, wipe down any spots I see on the cabinets, everything but the floors, which I save until last.
Then bathrooms, I do bathrooms all at once. Not sure why, but I always have. So first I clear ALL the countertops, spray them each down, spray down the tubs/showers, then I go from room to room, counters & mirror, then cycle through all the tubs, and back to get all the toilets, before mopping the floors and replacing everything on the counters and the rugs. I guess because sometimes when I finish the bathrooms altogether that is a good stopping point if it's time to get the kids or grab lunch or whatever.
At this point some days I put the sheets back on, if I have time before picking the girls up from school. If not, I save this item for late afternoon because the kids like "to help."
Next I travel...Vinegar spray, rag and paper towels in hand, I walk the whole house washing the windows and looking for wall marks and scuffs. I usually save the playroom for Tucker since he likes to do the walls in there. ;) Then with a container of Clorox Wipes I make a careful pass wiping down the things that little fingers touch the most, light switches, door knobs, the pantry doors, THE BANISTER and stairwell walls, cabinet knows and the edges of doors and cabinets, the ledge on the built-ons in the playroom where they perch, all the toilet flushers, and tons of other things 2 feet and lower. ;)
Then I vacuum and mop the downstairs. I always try to get the downstairs completely done before the kids get home...for one, they are mostly upstairs and they won't wreck downstairs that fast, two, I can finish the vacuuming, sheets, and rugs upstairs with their help! So, once I vacuum everything downstairs, I grab my vinegar spray bottle, walk around hitting any little spot I see with that, which usually ends up being the entire downstairs, remove the large rugs, haha. Then I go back with warm water and mop everything up, sometimes a Swiffer wet if I am in a hurry. But I always pre-soak with vinegar. And if I am really in a pinch, I have been known to hand them each a warm rag and have them scour the wood floors scrubbing up any spots they find. They actually LOVE to do this, but it almost always backfires with the scrubbing of odd things like the brick around the fireplace or the already clean windows. lol... Once the floors are dry I replace all the rugs and then downstairs in done!
At this point if the sheets aren't back on the beds, I get that all done before I vacuum upstairs and hit the bathrooms with the mop. I collect ALL the trash, take it out, and all the way to the street for pick-up on Friday. Last, I fill all my oil diffusers with a new fresh Purifying Scent and I am done!
This is how I do it. I only give this scenario because so many people ask how I get it all done myself. It doesn't matter in what order you do it, how exactly you attack it, the important part for me is knowing that on Thursday that is what I do, having my own schedule and sticking to it, knowing that by bedtime on Thursday it will be done, and having the clear mind about it. And to be clear...that doesn't mean that the house is always neat and tidy, doesn't mean that I don't wish I had a rag on me at all times because I NEVER walk around the house that I don't see grubby fingerprints, doesn't mean for one second that it's perfect...it is NOT...but it is pretty good...good enough!
Yes, it is a long, HARD day....but on Thursday night, when I pour myself a glass of wine and sit back, proud of my neat and tidies...knowing that it should theoretically stay fairly clean for me to enjoy the weekend....it's a great feeling! And that is my own personal little vacay...Cheers!
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