2 years ago, we lived in a one bedroom house. It took me 15 minutes to clean the house and maybe 45 tops to deep clean the place. Then we moved next door and added a few bedrooms, toilets, creveses, and what not to clean. Making the choice to stay-at-home with my little ladies meant that I was also signing up to be the one and only Molly Maid of our house. I found a few things that really work for me when it comes to keeping a clean house!
1. Have a plan
Here’s the deal, it’s great to have a plan but don’t be a slave to it! My plan was inspired by online bloggers and their home management binders. Check out my binder here. Before you start judging me as a crazy woman for making this binder, remember that I thought these women were crazy when I read about these things a few months ago. Then I started to feel like my head was spinning with all the information and things I needed to manage around here and I found sanity in creating my own Mom Binder as some call it.
2. Always
There are a few things you should strive to always do. These simple things can really save you on days you have unexpected visitors or you find yourself stumped during naptime and you can’t muster the strength to clean.
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Always make your bed. It takes a few minutes and will make you feel good everytime you walk into your room through out the day.
- Don’t save laundry for the weekend. I once read to take a load of clothes out of your room or your kids room in the morning and pop it in the laundry machine. A fresh start to the day!
- Go the extra mile to hang your clothes up. Aim for a slam dunk. Dirty clothes need to end up in the hamper and not on the floor.
- Load the dishwasher and run it when you go to bed at night. I don’t ALWAYS do this one but it sure feels good when I do.
3. Cleaning Tools
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My friend sells Thirty-One Gifts. I purchased this tote and keep it in our laundry room. It’s filled with cleaning products. I carry the tote around from room to room with me to save time on running around the house to gather my products.
- I keep plastic grocery bags on every floor of our house. Once a day, usually first thing in the morning when I am throwing a load of laundry in and making the bed, I will empty our bathroom garbages into a plastic bag and bring it downstairs with me when I go to get my cup of coffee. I can easily fill half a bag a day with empty toilet paper rolls, dirty pull-ups, etc.
- Remember to keep chemicals and plastic bags locked up when you have small children at home.
4. A Few Things I’ve Learned Along The Way
- Talk with members of your house when making a cleaning schedule. Try to work with likes and dislikes of family members. My husband doesn’t mind vacumming and prefers to clean the showers so I am happy to hand over those duties to him. He also really enjoys yard work so I don’t fight him on it!
- Make a permanent recycle bin in your kitchen and you will stick to recyclying.
- Keep recycled grocery bags in your car and you will be more likely to use them when shopping.
- Give your children age appropriate chores. Believe it or not, chores help children develop a positive self esteem because they feel they are a contributing part of the family.Check out these adorable chore charts!
- Share your secrets with friends! I love, love, LOVE my Shark Steamer to clean our wood floors. There are no chemicals involved so I feel good about having our baby crawl around the floor and not injesting anything toxic.
Tell me in the comments below, what are your favorite cleaning supplies or tricks to making cleaning manageable?
