Ok, so there's been alot of this quote circulating on Pinterest. It's cute and it's funny, and it certainly is true...to an extent. When I think of my dream home life, nothing in it is touched. It's constantly in a state that Better Homes and Gardens would be proud to show off. Honestly, my dream home life is a bit unrealistic.
For one, the homes in Better Homes and Garden are usually of people who are wealthy- in other words, they aren't home enough to mess it up. Or maybe they're at their other home. Or they're retired. Whatever, because...
For two, photographers come in and stage their homes with props and lighting. It's not real, like really real.
But still. That doesn't mean you can't live in a beautiful, clean home. And maybe kids run your life (and certainly your home), but it's possible to get things done. And I would know. If you came over to my place uninvited, you would probably swear I was expecting you. I don't stress over it, either. Even while pregnant and exhausted, this homeschooling mother to a 6 year old, caregiver to a 2 year old, and full time University student keeps the house under her thumb.
It's simple once you get going. For me, a perfectionist, the hardest part was waiting for my disastrous home to come together. Have patience. Here's how to have a spotless home despite having kids:
1. Understand that a magazine home is not worth the stress. No housekeeping is. In the end, your children remember you, the activities- and alot of times, those activities include the messes they've made- and the good times at home. They do not recall how clean the bathroom was or whether or not the blinds were dusty.
2. Start with the basics- what do you want done everyday? Write out a list. Here's mine:
1. An empty sink
2. An empty laundry basket
3. A generally clean, company-approved home- in every single room.
4. No all day cleaning projects
5. A home that smells fresh
Ok, so I started off with something like that. These are the goals I would need to work on everyday. From this list, I made a couple routines. Routines are the answer. If you're someone (like me) who hates routine, you might swear this isn't going to work even before you begin. I can assure you that you will be so happy with your home and how little effort you put into it that you'll stick to it. You might hate it, but you'll know you can never go back to the way things were before.
Before routines, I would scrub down the house every Sunday. I would clean from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed. Or I would wait until a part of the home got bad enough that it demanded my attention. And I did this because I just didn't have the time. Or the energy. And it wasn't like I grew up in a spotless home. It was a foreign concept. But I chose to make house cleaning a priority for one single reason:
When I got a moment to myself (so rare, after all), I didn't want to spend it guilting myself with things I "should" do around the house. I just wanted to relax for once.
I created a morning and evening routine. Each of them take less than a half an hour. Here they are:
1. Wake up, make breakfast.
2. Clean up after breakfast: have kids clear the table, unload the dishwasher and load it up with breakfast dishes, wipe the counters and table.
3. Get dressed- have Spiderman do his morning routine (get dressed, make sure clothes go into laundry basket, brush teeth and hair, and make bed), help She-Hulk get dressed, get self dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed...
4. Make bed. It's amazing how good it feels to crawl into a made bed after a long day.
5. Do a load of laundry
Tada.
Then I open the blinds and am ready to begin homeschool lessons and studying for my own classes without being completely distracted by mess.
In the evening, after dinner, it looks similar:
1. Clean up: have kids clear table, load dishwasher and run it, wipe counter and table. Have kids start cleaning up their toys and rooms.
2. Sweep kitchen floor
3. Empty trashcans from kitchen and bathrooms
4. Do a once over of the entire home- pick up random messes
5. Kids nighttime routine- bath, book, pick outfit for tomorrow, bed
When making you routine, you have to consider any issues you are having. For me, Spiderman pulls clothes down from his closet, breaking the hangers and leaving piles of clothes on the floor. So now we pick out an outfit before bed. Now he's in charge of making sure all the clothes are in the baskets. Every morning, he combines the baskets and brings me the clothes to make a load. I made sure to put a basket both in his closet and his bathroom. With She-Hulk, she kept getting into the homeschool supplies in the bookcase. So I put the supplies in a tote bag and made our lessons portable. Then, I filled the bookcase with toys she could play with while we did lessons.
Now that the routines were in place, I could feel good knowing the basics were taken care of. But if you are anything like I was, every room in your home needs some serious cleaning. Take it slow. Do a room or an area everyday after your morning routine. Then, in the evening, when you do a once over, make sure to upkeep that area you deep cleaned, nothing else. Tomorrow, do another area and maintain both areas. Keep it up and within a week or so, your entire home is spotless and maintained. As for kids rooms, if they are young enough, it's best to clean it for them and then when you do a once over, make sure they are picking up after themselves. I still have to go in and clean their rooms, but I only do it about once a month. It's just not worth the stress!
After everything has come together, you'll realize there are other things that need to be done on a regular basis. On top of my morning and evening routines, I have a daily chore. Just one.
Monday- Mop- kitchen and two bathrooms
Tuesday- Dust- anything and everything
Wednesday- Scrub bathrooms- I suppose you could add this to your morning routine. FlyLady does. But I have better things to do.
Thursdy- Vacuum- and honestly, I find we do this more than once a week, but I just want to make sure it's in there.
Friday- Linen- change all the sheets on all the beds and wash the old ones. It's important to wash your sheets once a week. Plus, the freshness is welcoming. :)
Saturday- Swing day. This was a term I got from Pinterest. Basically, I realized there are things that need to be done even less often, but will get overlooked if I don't schedule it in.
1. Bleach trashcans
2. Clean walls and baseboards- kids, hello?
3. Shampoo carpets- I live in an apartment and my cheap carpet is destroyed.
4. Special Project- in my case, I'm moving at the end of the year and I'm having a baby, so these projects could be anything from downsizing a closet to painting a dresser. For anyone with kids, this could be downsizing toys, organizing toys, clearing out old clothes, cleaning under their bed, etc.
So week 1, I bleach the trashcans. Week 2, I clean the walls, etc., etc.
5. Sunday- grocery shopping. I have a whole system for this- menu planning, sales ads, couponing, cleaning out fridge and cupboards, etc.
This works for me. It seems like alot at once, but if you integrate it slow and create routines that work around your family's natural habits, it's really simple. At night, I get the satisfaction of sitting down, lighting candles, and relaxing. I don't worry about a single thing that needs to get done.
I think your schedule might be a little different, but I'm pretty sure if you stick to the routine, I could come over uninvited. :) If I can keep it up without any energy and having to put hours in on campus and then study hardcore at home while actively homeschooling (I have a separate afternoon routine for homeschool) two kids, I think you can do it, too. I certainly hope so.
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