Sometimes I wonder how I manage to keep a clean house with 5 children and 3 dogs!! First off, I’ll be the first to let you know that it is not easy but it is possible with some patience and organizational skills.
There are times when I go on a rampage and want everything spotless! That’s when my kids run to their rooms and hide under their beds! Those times are not very often, but I must admit they do happen. It can get frustrating to spend hours cleaning the floors, and polishing the furniture, washing and drying dishes, to have it all look a mess in a matter of seconds. My kids are like mini tornados!
So, what I do to keep my sanity is write out a schedule on Sundays for the entire week. This schedule will include the meals for the week as well. This plan has helped me tremendously because having a family of 7, with 4 very active children and many activities, would drive anyone crazy!
I usually will do the major cleaning on Friday mornings, while everyone is asleep, so I can enjoy my weekends. This will consist of sweeping and mopping all the floors ( I have wood floors), and cleaning the bathrooms. Mondays and Wednesday are laundry days, and I usually have my younger girls sort the laundry and place them in designated baskets in the laundry room. On Tuesdays I clean the kitchen, I usually will pick a specific area of the kitchen to clean each Tuesday, today was cabinets and refrigerator day, next week will be cleaning out the drawers and organizing the cabinets and shelves, etc. Thursdays I do touch up cleaning, usually dusting and cleaning the ceiling fans, and I wash the towels and sheets on this day as well. The weekends we usually just touch up, and make sure the house is not a complete mess for the following week.
My children help a lot as well; they don’t have much of a choice. They are responsible for keeping their rooms clean, as well as their beds made and drawers and closets organized. This is a weekly chore for them, because quite honestly they are piglets. I usually go in and monitor their cleaning and make sure they are not shoving everything under their beds…..
Keeping a clean house is a never ending job, but much easier to manage with a schedule and a little bit of discipline. It is also easier when you have help, but sometimes I would rather do it alone. Cleaning and organizing is a type of therapy for me and actually contributes to my sanity.
The Dr. Mommy Chronicles will continue….
Tags: children, cleaning, home, job, My Life, organization, schedule, tips
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