Like many of you, I am a stay at home mom. I find it hard to believe I have trouble getting everything done in my household. Why is it I occasionally can go weeks without dusting and only seem to get it done in a cleaning frenzy when someone is coming over? It's not because I spend my days playing with the kids...I find myself telling them more than I like that I am busy and can't play. I don't spend too much time on the computer...I am a magnet for the kids, so I wouldn't get anything done anyway. I don't sit and eat bon-bons on the couch while reading a novel. But I can't seem to keep up with all of it.
I have been thinking of trying to "schedule" cleaning chores. I already try to get all the laundry done on Monday. That's all I do that day. We even have leftovers for dinner. Our home is about 2500 sq ft of living space. It is easily divided up, like I could clean the kitchen one day, the master bedroom and bath another, etc. I also try to get to the gym at least 3x a week if not 5x. I lead a group cycling class and may start up kickboxing again, so that's 2 hours in the morning with getting to town, exercise x 1hr, and getting home.
I guess I am really having trouble maintaining some sort of reasonably clean house without going compulsive with the whole thing. I can't expect to have a spotless home with 2 kiddos. But I like looking around and feeling pleased with how nice the house looks after it's cleaned. And my husband doesn't like coming home to a messy, toy cluttered home.
So my question is, how do you all do it? How do you get everything done in your household? Do you have a schedule, like laundry one day, cleaning the next. Or do you just wing out what needs to be done? Do you have area where toys stay, and they cannot be in other areas? I am open to all suggestions.
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I don't have a schedule per say. I try to vaccum the house at least 3 times per week. When I vaccum I have to pick up everything off the floor, etc...so I feel like the house is a bit cleaner. Of coarse with an almost 2 year old, the toys are scattered again within minutes. We do "cleanup" every night. My office/guest room is the messiest - where all the clutter goes.
I also have a policy that less is more. I don't keep knick nacks around, just photo's of family and stuff. I do my laundry throughout the week....and I always have a list of "to do's" on the countertop. Not that I do them, but at least they are there. My house is only 1600 sq ft, so much smaller too.
My husband is very helpful as well. When I leave for a trip, he does a full house clean...and I come home to a wonderfully clean house....
I clean the kitchen 3 times a day...after every meal...it is a lot of work, but we have a huge great room, and we spend all our time there, so If I miss a cleaning okay, but has to be done at least one time at night..I can't sleep with a messy kitchen.
I am not much help.
I have a schedule that I need to stick to since I am a very scheduled person......Mondays, I strip all the beds and do linen laundry and the kids' clothing, Tuesday I vacuum the whole house, Wednesday I clean the bathrooms and mop the floors, Thursday I do our laundry and the remainder of the rest of the laundry and dust and vacuum, Friday I catch up with what I missed throughout the week, Saturday is the kids' day to clean their rooms even if it takes a few minutes (good practice for them)and we clean bathrooms again. My husband does the bathroom cleaning for me which helps a lot and then on Sunday I rest. Of course I clean the kitchen everyday like 2-3 times each day! Plus I give the kids buckets at the end of the day to fill up with things they find out of place and that helps. Hope that helps. I find that I don't get so overwhelmed if I have a schedule. Plus I do have a catch all room too. Nothing wrong with that at all.
This looks like a great blog. This is Jeanie Williams, Kara Grow's sister. I have a daughter 20 mos's old. I am a stay at home Mom also, I love it. But sometimes it can be hard! How do I join??! =)
I'm a winger. I do what I'm moved to do. I don't like feeling confined by a schedule even though I can see the benefit. It would just make me dread Mondays to know I had to do laundry all day. Fortunately I have enough obsessive-compulsive tendencies that I usually get everything done.. admittedly I often need the threat of company for the bathrooms. I usually am moved to tidy the area I'm in and tend to tidy before hubby gets home and before bed. We do have a basement where the toys can lie where they are dropped which is a big help. Though I'm still moved to organize it every few days-- I can't sit in it happily if its a disaster. OCD has its benefits! Laundry I seem to spread out thru the week. I try to wash and dry only what I have time to put away that day but am frequently unsuccessful. But I know I'll do it the next day so I don't sweat it.
This is probably not helpful but good luck anyway!
Jeanie - added you to the "hood"
Welcome!
Hey Darla,
I tend to have OCD tendencies as well. But I do have an upstairs loft that I let the kids destroy, and I only pick it up when we have company. I tend to clean in spurts. It helps that I have Wednesday night meeting because it keeps me motivated throughout the week to keep cleaning. Chris just built me a bookcase, and I love it. We used to just pile books everywhere, and clothes everywhere. Now I have the books organized, and I have enough room under the bookcase to put an organized basket with clothes!!! I also just took three huge bags of clothes to the salvation army. It seems like the more that I can give away, the better I can keep things organized. I also find that if I just start picking up it doesn't take long to straighten things up...sometimes in desperation I just leave the house to have a perspective change, and then nothing seems too overwhelming. Naptime is also a good time to get ahead...often I will lay down with the kids and rest a bit, and then wake up ready to pick up and get ahead while they finish the rest of their nap. :) It is a huge task to keep a house organized and clean with little ones. I think as moms we need to give ourselves a break once in awhile...
A friend once told me a story that I have loved...
A woman's husband came home after a long day to find the house in shambles and his wife sitting on the couch holding her little one. He said, "What did you do all day?" and her response was "Well, he's alive isn't he?!?" Sometimes I can totally relate to this story!!! ha ha ha
Okay I just signed in as grmasusie on accident, it was Kate who left the comment above! :)
Thanks ladies! I appreciate all your comments. I think I am going to try a schedule like "the wallys" suggested. (sorry, I don't know all of your first names...) I will try it for a few months and see how it goes. It may go back to winging it, but we'll see...
Again, Thanks!
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