I'm not sure how many comments I'll get on this one, but I've been thinking about it, so we'll see. How do you keep your house clean? I've been in a few houses that always seem to be in order, even when I come over unannounced. Do these people clean all night after their kids are in bed? Does their husband love to help and do chores?
I've gone through different routines with our house. For a while I had a chore for every day: Mondays were laundry, Tuesdays were bathrooms, etc. But if one day got busy I usually didn't make up for it the next, so the chore waited for the next week. Ew. Then I switched and tried to do a big clean once a week, usually on Saturday. But I got burned out on that pretty fast.
Now I clean something every day but there's no schedule. I just look around and see what needs to be done and how much time I have that day. Today was a busy Tuesday so I just vacuumed. Yesterday I did laundry and swept/mopped the floor. What works for you?
And the other part: how do you teach your kids to work? For a while Trevor's job was to wipe off the kitchen table. Now I give him options as long as he does something every day. I probably should have some kind of chart to help me be more consistent but it hasn't happened yet. How do your kids (and husband) help at home?
16 comments:
I have acutally been thinking about this topic too. For me, I have chores that need to be done weekly, and I usually do the same ones on the same day (monday laundry, tuesday floors, etc). I also have a monthly list that I pick a few each week to do, and a yearly list that I do one a month. On the weekly and monthly list I am 'allowed' to skip a chore once but never twice in a row. As far as kids helping, Gracie has things that are HER responsibility every time they need to be done (silverware from the dishwasher, folding her own clothes, clearing the table). My problem is keeping stuff off the floor and counters which I usually only straiten first thing in the morning. By the end of the day our house looks a little cluttered, but mostly grime-less.
I tried to do the one cleaning item per day, but of course, i started it right after Eerika was born and we all know that you shouldn't try out new things when you have a newborn at home. Now I do what you have been doing, clean what looks it needs to be cleaned. Also I try to keep the kitchen clean, because I feel that it sets the tone for the rest of my house due to the lay out of our house.
my problem is clutter. things pile up on my counters so much.
Also I don't enjoy cleaning like some people do, so it is hard for me get really into a cleaning mode.
I'll be checking the comments to see what people suggest and maybe I can adopt some of their ideas as well:)
I don't have a routine at all, but Manuel does help and the girls only clean up their room and pick up their toys from all over the house. I actually just read an article that says young children should only have one or two chores that they are in charge of. Whether that is true or not, I don't know. But it seems to work much better for our girls. They seem to do a better job at cleaning their room.
I do one thing a day, dust one area a day (I hate dusting) and leave Saturday open for make-up. The kids are in charge of cleaning up their toys every day after quiet time and at bedtime. They usually "help" with the daily chore. Around 4:30, I give the kids something to do or send them outside to do a final dinner prep and kitchen clean. Some weeks I have sick kids and then it waits until Saturday. And my floor could definitely be mopped three times a week, but it isn't. Now that summer is coming, I'm hoping to get up earlier so we have time to go swimming every day. We'll see. And by the way, my bedroom and the craft room only get thoroughly cleaned monthly. :)
Oh my goodness. I just typed what had to be the longest comment ever and then blogger "couldn't complete my request." Basically it said, I have no great suggestions. I have three kids and a messy house that I try desperately to keep clean. It doesn't work. (Having a third child turns life a bit upsidedown.) My kids have a mom who is always telling them, "just a second, just a second..." so I can finish this or that important job. It finally hit me that while keeping my house clean is important, it is more lastingly important to spend more time with my kids. No matter how clean I get my house, it will get messy again. But my kids will only be little once. So I guess this is how I justify (to myself) my messy house! ;) I do think involving kids in the cleaning is necessary. I am not good at that. Hence the messy house. One person cannot possible clean up after 5 people without it being a completely full time job. So I need to work on that. It sounds to me like you are doing a great job having your kids help out, especially for their ages.
I let my 19 month old unstack the dishes. He hands them to me and I put them away. We have plastic dishes and so this works for us. We do have a few glass ones, so we quickly check for those. I also let him clean the window, tv screen and oven screen with a windex and a paper towel on Saturday if he is awake. He also helps me load the washing machine. We try to do this routine often. It instills in him confidence and he enjoys being helpful. I think he knows he is contribution to our home even at his young age.
I've tried to keep my house clean with different methods over the years; 1 chore/day, scheduled daily chores, etc, but with my energy completely zapped in these final weeks of pregnancy I mostly just clean up whatever mess I can't stand the most- honestly. I find that my work is a lot less if things are organized and we all know where everything goes and it goes there as we get or use it. So, mail doesn't go to the kitchen counter, it's sorted right away. We include Noah in our chores as much as we can, but we focus mainly on getting him to clean up his messes (no toys from that bin, until the toys from the other bin are put away, put your dishes in the sink, wipe the table after a meal). Noah also usually "helps" with the prep work before cleaning; picking toys up off the floor before vacuuming, clearing off a shelf before dusting, etc. I also know how often things need to be done, really. I used to vacuum, mop, dust, and clean the bathrooms once a week, but I've learned how long we can really go with or without those things being done. So, now I vacuum more often (because of our dog it's needed more like 2-3 times a week), and because of that the floors don't have to be mopped as often and I only need to dust every couple of weeks. It may not be the cleanest, but it's liveable ;)
Cleaning a House While Children are Growing is like Shoveling Snow While It's Still Snowing.
Ok so first of all I really don't like housework...I would so much rather go outside and play all day! With that I have one day a week usually Mondays, after the weekend, that I totally attack the house like mopping, dusting, etc. Then the rest of the week I have bathrooms for one day of the week and I just make sure they are "tidy." As well as the bedrooms for the other day of the week and the living room...ya know. I have been waking up early when Jeremy goes to work and I usually get all the check ups done on my list for that certain day, so when the kids get up it is all about them and having fun. I made the kids a chore chart with their chores, like making their beds, cleaning up their clothes, helping unload dishwasher, picking up toys, feeding dog, etc. They love it! It has really helped especially with Michael. They get to put a star next to it when they have done it for the day. As far as husbands...let me know when you get that mastered :) So far though the "schedule" has been working out. We well see though.
My sister once told me she had read a quote that said "A clean house is a sign of a life mis-lived"
Since residency, my motto has been "I'll clean it when I feel like it." Its worked out pretty good!
I used to be a bit more scheduled but since Justin works every other day i find it much easier to clean on the days he is not home. which may sound strange but we usually pack the days he is home with so many projects that I cant focus on things. I do clean a lot after the kids go to bed because I hate little footprints on the newly mopped floor or when you pick up toys just to have them taken back out again.
Camille, I have to admit that this post was definitely a motivator to me making that job chart!
I recommend the book Speed Cleaning by the Clean Team. Cuts your cleaning time by at least half, maybe more. Great philosophy and great methods!
Wow. Lots to be said about this. I have tried chore charts, which are fun but eventually my kids have lost interest. I am reading Teaching Children Values by the Eyre's and it has some good suggestions/rewards, which I may try once school is out. This is the suggestion of Aunt Nan, after I asked her about her kids buying their own clothes and being responsible for their own money.
For now, Jake has one responsibility daily. It used to be the dishwasher and Alisa did the silverware, but now I give him the option if I can. I let him empty all garbages in the am on trash day, have him sort laundry w/my help on laundry days, I've had him scrub the bathtub. I don't start officially with chores until 4, but Alisa's been helping for awhile. Somedays when she refuses, I do it and remind her that when she turns 4, she is a big girl and gets to do it all by herself.
We are also loosely doing piano with Jake. Instead of practice, we say "can you play your songs for us?" and somehow that is motivating for him.
Hey! Thanks for coming to my blog...I'd lost track of yours! Your kids are so CUTE. :)
I have been trying to figure these things out lately too (my house is NOT one of those that's clean if you stop by unannounced), and I finally made a job chart for my kids. They have a couple simple things they do every day, and then rotating things that i can choose depending on what needs to be done, like for Blake (3) and Annie (2), there's pick up blocks, help put away silverware, put away shoes, stuff like that. They like the chart because it's pictures with velcro, so they can look at it and figure out what their jobs are. For Emma (10) there's dishes, helping with dinner, sweeping or mopping, etc. I actually have had my own chart for a few years for what I'M supposed to do every day, but the only thing I'm ever remotely consistent with is laundry on Mondays. My poor floors went a long time neglected recently due to morning sickness...haha!
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