Most of you out there could probably care less about my cleaning schedule but I always find it interesting to know how everyone maintains their home so I thought I would write this post. If it just inspires one other mom out there it was worth my time.
I've done this cleaning schedule for a long time even before I was pregnant with the twins. But know that I've gotten doctors orders to be on my feet for only two hours a day, I've still been able to maintain my schedule with just a few changes. The changes I've made are not vacuuming every other day and not mopping my floors 2 times a week . People have given me hard time for being OCD or joke about how a messy house is a happy house, I DON'T AGREE!!!! For our household, a clean and not cluttered house is a happy house! 4 kids alone makes it crazy, so keeping it tidy makes it just less crazy. I feel like I can get my daily task done within 30-45 mins a day. And there are days I get all my household chores done even before the kids wake up in the morning. Also as the kids get older they are helping out with chores also. This might not work for your family, and that's ok. But it works for our family.
Now that I only have 2 hrs a day on my feet, Here's what I do with my time...
15min- showering and getting ready (no need for makeup or hair when you don't leave the house) or 30 showering and getting ready (on the few days I actually leave the house)
30-45 mins in the morning, some type of house work (no deep cleaning)
-first thing before I even have my hot tea or coffee, I put the load of laundry that was in the washer from the previous night in the dryer
-sweep the kitchen and hard wood floors every day
-dust the main floor every other day
-clean bathrooms every other day
-clean windows every other day
-wipe down baseboards once a week
-wipe down finger prints on the walls once a week
-dust upstairs once a week
-clean kids bathroom once a week
-put laundry away from previous day
-put bfast on table (everything is in freezer and ready to cook)
-get the kids up and ready, Avin and Parker get themselves ready I just have to dress Reed and help Cooper. (we have a morning rule see below)
-the kids are in charge of cleaning up after bfast (using paper goods, something we hardly ever did before I got pregnant with the twins before because of cost and waste)
-I wipe down the table and countertop even though the kids just did it
10-15 mins afternoon
- getting the kids lunch on the table (usually something that is already prepared in the freezer)
- clean up after the kids do their lunch clean up jobs and again we use paper goods
- get afternoon craft out and help kids clean it up
30-45 min night
- help the kids clean up the toy room ( i like to have a clean house when Jeff gets home from work, he has worked so hard all day and the last thing he needs to do is come home to a messy home)
- get dinner on table 4:45 everyday (again something that is already prepared and was frozen)
- clean up from dinner
- put a load of laundry in the washer right after the kids baths (usually it's just want everyone dirty that day, the beauty of always being caught up on laundry)
- get all the meals out of the deep freezer for the next day
10-20 mins a day getting up to do random things for the kids and bathroom breaks
Things that Jeff's doing to help out
- vacuuming at least once during the week the main level of the house
- vacuuming the whole house once during the weekend
- he brings up the laundry from the basement
- taking care of kids bath time
- helping with clean up at dinner time
- and anything I ask he is happy to do!!!!
The beauty of always have a clean house is I never have to do deep cleaning because I never let it get to the point where it needs to be deep cleaned. It's easier to clean for 30-45 mins a day instead of 4 hrs one day. It makes me feel better, having a messy dirty house would just stress me out!! I'm not sure what I'll do if it get put on strict bed rest, I'm just praying that doesn't happen.
Also a tip on laundry, I know it's everyone least favorite job to do, and as a family of 6 almost 8 It's also my least favorite job. But I've found if I can stay on top of it, it's not that bad and its about 10 mins a day total. Like I said earlier I put a load of laundry usually darks or colors in right after bath time, with the size of our family it's usually a full load. Then right after the kids go to bed, before I get to comfortable on the coach I do another load (whites, towels or gentle I let this build up every 3 days). Then the following morning right when I wake up I go to the basement and put the last load in the dryer. Then after the load is dry I put both loads aways. And on the weekends I will do the bedding! SUPER EASY, and it always feels so good to be caught up on laundry!
So that's my two cents on how to keep a clean house
Also a small note, we've made Thursdays our grocery store day (not a long trip, just fresh produce and milk), I would love to be able to go with Jeff also long as I can, so on Thursdays I only sweep the floors and do kitchen clean up (the floors need to be swept daily, we have a dog and 4 kids, don't you agree?) And on Saturday or Sunday is when I lay the kids clothes out for the week (which I can do a lot of it sitting on the floor ) but I still limit my other cleaning. Yeah there are day's I'm sure I'm up more than 2 hrs but overall I feel like I'm doing a great job of resting and staying off my feet.
*our morning rule*
This works for us and helps the morning go smoothly, the kids aren't allowed out of their rooms until Jeff or I come get them. They can go to the bathroom once but then have to go back to their beds. (this took a good week of training years ago and as we add kids they just know this is the house rule) Once Jeff or I go to their rooms they know they are to get dressed before they leave the room. And because I already have a bile of clothes for each day there is no fighting on what they will or will not wear. Their PJ's go into a dirty clothes bile in the hallway and Jeff or I take it down and put it in the laundry shoot. We have this rule because If we allowed them to go downstairs before getting dressed for the day it would take so much longer trying to round them up as there is many more distractions down stairs then their rooms (all 4 kids share a bedroom and it's just a sleep area, no toys!!! Just a few books and their furniture and that's it) Once they come downstairs they go straight to the breakfast table, were breakfast is already ready for them to enjoy or not enjoy. LOL!!! From time to time on a Saturday we will allow them to come downstairs in their PJ's! Some might find this a CRAZY unnecessary rule but it works for our family! And it allows me to know that I can have my "me time" every morning and have the day ready before they even come out of their room!
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