A few days ago, I participated in a FB conversation about how to clean up a house where kids live. I must admit this is a struggle for me! A few people asked me to share what we do... so here goes.... I get easily discouraged because nothing stays done. Clean dishes, clothes and floors never stay clean. When my kids were smaller I use to think, ok this isn't too bad for a mom of four kiddos all under 5, but when they range in ages of 13 to 8 and the house still looked like I have four under 5 I was very discouraged! I began to pray about this and ask God to help me come up with a plan to get the chaos under control.
I have a confession....I AM A PERFECTIONIST! Not a good one, not the kind that gets everything done because I like perfect but the kind that gives up because I can't make it perfect. This was my first obstacle to overcome. God began working on this one many, many, many years ago. Right after Josh was born, Tim pointed out to me that I was going to be miserable if everything had to be perfect because this life is messy and I'm not going to be able to reach perfection. He did this as lovingly as a husband could. And, in time this truth sank in and took roots. So my first piece of advice would have to be DON'T AIM FOR PERFECTION! Even in the "clean" state my home will never be considered perfect, and that is just fine. It is my hearts desire to have an open door policy. God has given us this house to minister to people in need and to love on those who need some love. So my goal is to have a house that is warm, welcoming, and loving not dust free and freshly mopped (although that'd be AWESOME too :-D)
So.............here's what I did.
1. I prayed that God would change my attitude about cleaning. That He would help me to work as unto the Lord and to teach my kids to do the same. I prayed that He would help me to see that I wasn't doing chores but that I was serving where He placed me. I prayed that He would bless our efforts, help us to be thankful for what was accomplished, and to see clearly what needed to be done to maintain the house after we got the chaos under control.
2. I started laundry. My first load was all curtains. After each load we all stopped what we were doing and folded, and put away what ever was in that load. This also was a timer for a break for us. every 55 minuted the kids got 15-20 minutes to do whatever they wanted. This gave me time to plan and think and pray.
3.. I started in our living room. We had a box for every other room in the house and a GIVE AWAY BOX. I did this so that we would not get distracted in other rooms while we were putting stuff up. Everything went into the box of the room that it belong in and then the boxes were moved to the next room we were going to de-chaos-ify. Then we dusted everything from top to bottom. We swept the whole living room and vacuumed the couch. We wiped down all switches, and knobs. After this room was completed we declared it a NO DROP ZONE! From this point on we just had to maintain this room and that only takes about 10 minutes a day.
3. We moved on to the next room, our kitchen the box marked kitchen was emptied first. We didn't make a box for the living room because it was a NO DROP ZONE so everything that belonged in there was put in the proper place. We continued through the house in this manner until every room was completely cleaned. It took alittle over a week. I had to remember that our house didn't get in the shape it was in overnight and I wasn't going to fix it overnight.
****Side note: Encourage your children to be a blessing to those who may not have by giving away stuff they no longer need. Tim and I are not "stuff" people. I'm NOT bragging about that, it is just the way God made us so we have no right to brag. We want to teach our children that God uses His children to bless those in need. I can't begin to tell you how very blessed we have been by gifts of unselfish people. I have on many occasions prayed for something and been either given it or was able to find it at an amazing price used. This is an opportunity to teach your kids that God blesses others through our unselfishness.
OK, so once you have the chaos under control you have to maintain it daily. We set aside about 1 hour (it can be all at once or broken down into 15 min slots) to maitian. Each day has a FOCUS room and then the rest is just TIDY TIME.
Here's my weekly list
DAILY: 2 loads of laundry completed and put away. Dishwasher unloaded and reloaded. Straighten up our bedrooms and sweep (we have concrete floors so each room is swept each day, when we have carpet only the living room and kitchen had to be done each day the other rooms were vacuumed once a week).
Monday: FOCUS: Kitchen. We sweep, mop. Move everything off the counters and disinfect. We clean all cabinet doors . We clean all windows, and glass. We wipe down the outside of all appliances. Then we do a once a month chore: Wk1 wash all curtains and wipe down all window sills. Wk2 clean all switches, door jams, and knobs. Wk3 Clean out fridge Wk4 wash the garbage can and ceiling fan
Then we tidy up the living room, bath room, hall and our bed rooms.
Tuesday: FOCUS: Living Room. We sweep, mop. Move everything off the book shelf, table and entertainment center and dust. We clean the windows, tv screen and all glass. We vacuum the couch and the area rug. Then we do a once a month chore. Wk1 wash all curtains and wipe down all window sills. Wk2 clean all switches, knobs and door jams. Wk 3 clean the ceiling fan Wk4 we clean baseboards and corners.
Then we tidy the kitchen, bathroom, hall and bedrooms
Wednesday FOCUS: Bathrooms. We have 3 bathrooms so each job is done in each one. Clean tub, toilet, sink and mirrors. We sweep and mop. We empty the trash. Then we do a monthly chore. Wk1. wash the shower curtains. Wk2 clean and disinfect the trash can. Wk3 Declutter any drawers and under the cabinet. Wk4 clean all switches, door jams and knobs.
We tidy the living room, kitchen, hall and our bed rooms.
Thursday: FOCUS: Bedrooms. No one has their own room here. So the partners all work together but we all do the same task to stay focused. We put away all stuff that has been left out (there is ALWAYS stuff) . We dust and sweep and mop. We change sheets and remake all beds. We empty trash can. Then we do a monthly chore. Wk1 clean all switches, door jams and knobs. Wk2 we wash all curtains, and clean all windows and sills. Wk3 we make sure we are using what we have if not it goes to give away. Wk4 we clean ceiling fans and any mirrors in room. (this is the day that takes the longest, our kids haven't quite mastered the idea of keeping their rooms clean just yet but I have faith that we will one day.
We tidy the living room, kitchen, hall and bathrooms.
Friday: FOCUS: School room. We make sure all school stuff is put away. We empty the trash and vacuum. We wipe down the school table and load any give away in the van. Then we do a monthly chore. Wk1 clean all switches, door jams and knobs. Wk2 wasll curtain, and clean all windows and sills. Wk3 &;4 we use as make up days for any jobs we missed due to schedule issues or sickness.
Saturday: Clean out our van and do jobs that we missed during the week. This is great incentive to get it done so we can have a family day. We only have to tidy all the rooms if we have done our work through the week.
Sunday: REST
This plan won't be perfect for you but hopefully it will help you come up with a plan that will work for your family. I admit fully that we have not been able to get to Saturday and only have to clean out the van. I will tell you, there have been times where we had to start over and get the chaos back under control. But it was way easier and then we start the maintenance again. Last week we didn't do any of our FOCUS plan, we just cleaned went to doctors, cleaned and got sick and cleaned and got sick again, and cleaned and went back to the doctors. Life still happens and things still get backed up. But this plan has helped me greatly.
