Easy Cleaning Schedule Options for Busy Moms

Easy Cleaning Schedule Options for Busy Moms. Cleaning Routines and schedules for moms.

I love to clean. I really do. I don't just love the result of cleaning, I enjoy actually cleaning. Even with that love, cleaning as a busy mom feels overwhelming and can at times be too much. As wonderful as children are, they make cleaning harder. They contribute to messes in a big way. They also take up your time in a big way. We only have so many hours in a day, so cleaning can be a big burden on our limited time to get anything done.

Over the years as a mother, I have changed up my cleaning schedule several times. What has worked in one stage of my parenting journey has not worked in another. My cleaning schedule has needed to shift to fit my current constraints and preferences. Below are the details of my different cleaning schedules, what worked with each one, and what I didn't like about each one.

Cleaning Schedule Ideas

All At Once Cleaning Schedule

There was a time when my cleaning could be done all at once. Naturally there are things that have to be done each day, like making a bed and doing dishes. Before I had kids and when I had one and even two kids, my all-at-once schedule worked. I had my typical daily tasks, but other than that, I did all of the major cleaning all in one day.

I loved this because it left the house feeling clean. It was spic and span all at the same time. I also loved that cleaning was my focus that one day of the week so I could focus on other things the other days of the week. 

At some point between one and two kids, I moved laundry to a different day of the week. Here is what my cleaning routine looked like:

• Monday: Laundry
• Friday: Bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming, mopping, cleaning kitchen, picking up

A Daily Task Cleaning Schedule

Once I had three children, my cleaning schedule of all at once started falling apart on me. Cleaning everything on one day a week wasn't often enough to keep up with the number of young children messing up the house plus my time available for cleaning. It also was unreasonable for me to dedicate an entire day to one task, no matter what it was. Cleaning one day a week was also not often enough to keep things clean enough. I needed to spread things out more. This was my new weekly cleaning schedule:

• Monday: Laundry
• Tuesday: Put laundry away
• Wednesday: Pick up entire house very well and dust
• Thursday: Clean bathrooms
• Friday: Floors
• Saturday: Kitchen

This type of schedule worked well for me for many years. I was able to spend less time in one day to get the tasks done. I was able to do a bit of cleaning each day so things stayed in better shape. I was also able to easily teach my young children to do chores. On dusting day, I taught them how to dust. On bathroom day, I taught how to do the current bathroom task they were learning. 

I did not like that the house never had that "Ahhh...it is all clean" feeling. I also did not like that I cleaned every day. I felt like I was always cleaning. I also didn't like that if I missed one day for whatever reason, it put me behind and playing catch up. For more on this cleaning schedule and how I implemented it when I had young ones, see my post on how I did chores. 

Mostly All One Day with 10 Minute Cleaning Schedule

Now that my children are older, I am back to my all in one day plan. With my children being older, they have more chores they are in charge of. This is LIFE CHANGING! I can't encourage you enough as a mother to teach your child to do work and to give them chores. It is good for them to learn, good for you to lighten your load, and good for the family for mom to not spend all of her time cleaning. This is what my current cleaning schedule looks like:

• Monday: 10 minute cleaning, Laundry (note, some people really prefer to do one load of laundry a day rather than all of it in one day)
• Tuesday: 10 minute cleaning. Vacuum.
• Wednesday: 10 minute cleaning
• Thursday: 10 minute cleaning
• Friday: 10 minute cleaning. Pick up house well. Dust. Bathrooms. Floors. Kitchen.
• Saturday: Clean appliances. Declutter school papers. (Saturday tasks are things I am okay missing once in a while if Saturday gets too busy). 

For my ten minute cleaning, I literally set a timer for ten minutes and clean as much as I can in that time period. I focus on a room or on a certain task. It might be general pick up that day or a deep cleaning task. I am always amazed at how much I can get done in ten minutes. This concept works well for moms who love to clean and those who hate it. For those who love it, it makes it so you can't just clean all day. I have more opportunity to clean now that my kids are all in school, but I have much more than cleaning I need to get done each day. I can't let myself get swept up in the never-ending hole of cleaning. For the mom who hates to clean, ten minutes is easy to sacrifice to get some cleaning done (you easily spend 10 minutes a day on social media or some other time suck that doesn't need to be spent). That ten minutes can go a long way to get things in much better shape.

Involve the Family

As your children age, instill chores your child is responsible for. I have a series of posts detailing what chores children can reasonably do per age. Also, each night as part of our bedtime routine, we all work to pick up the house. The entire family does this. Kids pick up their rooms and all other messes in the home. We have an everybody cleans policy, so we all clean no matter who made the mess. This really helps me out so I am not cleaning up after 6 people each day (well...as much ;) ). 

Deep Cleaning

Deep cleaning is a whole other ball game. There was a time in my life when my time was free enough and my house small enough I could deep clean the entire hour every month. Every month! That meant my blinds were cleaned monthly. Now, frankly, I am happy to get that done once a year. I have deep cleaning tasks divided up by month so I have a few things to focus on each month. When I was in the thick of lots of young kids, a lot of times it really came down to just what seemed to need attention the most at the time. 

One of my favorite books for cleaning is How the Queen Cleans Everything Affiliate link. It is amazing! I can't recommend it enough. She has how she cleans and also when she cleans what.

Conclusion

In the end, you need to find what works for you. This might change as your family dynamics change. Do what feels good to you and what works for your time constraints right now. Make your cleaning routine something you can do now. Do not worry about it working in a year--just what works now. You can change it up in a year. Whether you love cleaning or hate cleaning, you can create something that fits you best.

Related Cleaning Posts:

How I Do It: Chores

5 Steps To Teaching Your Children to Do Chores

12 Chores Your Toddler Can Do

9 Chores Your Three Year Old Can Do

10 Chores for 4 Year Olds

10 Chores You Five Year Old Can Do

Balancing Household Responsibilities with Family Time

How to Organize Your Cleaning Schedule

Making Laundry Easier (and more tolerable!) 

Organizing Tip: Remove Everything

Quick Cleaning: Laundry Day

Quick Cleaning: The Bathroom

Tips for Organizing Your Bathroom

Cleaning the Baby's Room

Everyone Cleans

The ladies of the BFBN are all discussing cleaning topics today. Click to read their posts:

• Challenge Yourself to Not Clean Up For Your Child
• How To Encourage Your Children to Help with Household Chores
• How To Have A Clean Home When You Have Small Children 
• How to Keep Your House Clean in Ten Minutes a Day
• How To Use a Block Schedule to Prioritize Cleaning

How Women Can Ease the Mental Load They Carry (and how men can help)

In this post: How to ease the mental load. How men and women can lift family burdens and keep the load more equitable.

There are days I feel completely over-burdened. These are days I feel like if one more thing pops up, I will surely melt into a puddle of tears on the floor. Those are days that a glass of spilled milk seems like a 1,000 pound brick has been placed on my back. My brain feels like it will explode and I cannot take one more piece of information into it! I cannot possibly take another problem to solve or task to do. This is the impact of the mental load growing too large.

The "mental load" is every single thing you have to keep track of. It is the myriad of things that have to be kept track of for a family. We all have our daily "to-do" lists, and those can be long, overwhelming, and seemingly insurmountable. Even heavier and more overwhelming is the mental load we carry. All of those invisible tasks or things that can't simply be checked off you have to keep track of in your mind.

Add on top of that mental load a day filled with children who talk constantly and you just can't take one more thing. You can't even adequately track that mental load because you can't even complete a sentence when you talk to yourself. You are constantly interrupted by a child; a child whom you love and whom you want to talk to and whom you want to take care of, but whose endless talking is significantly adding to your stress. A child who is so excited to tell you what she learned, or ask all of the questions that pop in her mind, or who needs a lot of help because she is just little. Now you have the load to carry while juggling the children. 

Men are more and more doing more in the home to help out. For the most part, gone are the days when a man gets home from work, sits down, and relaxes the night away. Men are coming home and jumping in. Men are helping out and are even happy and eager to help. They want to be more involved and they want to help their wives. This is such a great step! 

The next step is acknowledging "mental load" a woman carries and helping ease some of that mental load. Studies are showing that even women who work full time carry the brunt of the mental load. Women can get quite good at learning to balance and track all of these things. But when something comes along that is suddenly added to that load, it can be that straw that breaks the camel's back. 

Even something as simple as Suzy coming home from school sad because she had a big fight with her friends at school can be enough to put a mother over the edge. It is no small thing to talk through a situation like this and carefully respond. A mom worries about her child and the pondering continues long past the time the conversation ends, often even through the night. What advice should she best give? What is the right thing to say? Did she say the right thing? How can she help heal her daughter's broken heart? 

Then of course, the already present load of things to track start to feel like even more of a weight. How can she keep track of all of that while putting her mental focus into this new dilemma? 

Yes, it is great when someone steps in and helps out when asked. It is even better for someone to come along and say, "Hey, I got this. I will just take care of this burden I see it and take care of it."

When a woman asks for help with something, she doesn't let go of that in her mind until the task is complete. So when she asks Dad to help Johnny with his homework, the fact that Johnny needs his homework done is still on her mind and being juggled as a "to-do" task in her brain until the homework is actually done. 

So let's get the conversation going. How can the mental load be eased?

Women can help ease the mental load by:

• Avoid overscheduling the family. Do not let your children participate in more than you can keep track of and still maintain balance of that load in your head. Where possible, sign up for things with friends so carpooling can happen (and friends are usually great reminders to help you remember things you need to keep track of!). 
• Vent when you need to. Sometimes you need to talk to someone and just get it all out. Let them know you are venting. Often, when we rattle off the list of things stressing us out, we realize it all isn't a big deal. Be cautious with the ventint; you don't want to be negative or pessimistic. But I do find it helpful to talk about things you are stressed about.
• Write down everything on your mind. Do a mind purge every once in a while. Sit down and write down every single thing you are thinking of that is on your "to-do" list. Everything. Then, find a way to track it. Get an app. Keep a simple list. Get a planner. Write things on a calendar. Put reminders in your phone. Whatever works for you, do it. Get those things off your brain. Bonus tip, when you have this list completed, highlight or star things that can be done in 5-10 minutes and knock them out right then. Removing things from your brain helps ease stress significantly.
• Ask your spouse to take something over. If there is something your spouse can take over, ask him to. Do be aware and sympathetic to any mental load he may bare. You aren't the only one with worries, but studies show women carry the vast bulk, so in most cases, it is perfectly just to seek some balance. You must, however, be willing to give up anything you delegate. Your spouse may not take over a task in the same way you would do it. You have to walk away and let him do it his way. It is not relieving your mental load if you micromanage it. That actually adds to your mental load because now you have the task of overseeing. 
• Do not get mad when your husband takes initiative and does something without asking you. If he goes grocery shopping and buys the wrong brand of peanut butter, just be grateful he bought the peanut butter. If he decides to make dinner without checking with you to see what should be made, do not get upset. 
• Have fair and clear expectations. Look at the things each of you is over and try to get things in a reasonable place. If both of you work, the home life load can reasonably more even. If one person works and the other stays home, it is reasonable that the person staying home will have more of the mental load to carry than the one working outside the home. Also, talk about what you are hoping for. Don't stomp around the house mad that he isn't reading your mind. Communicate your needs. 
• Be willing to accept help as it is. If your husband cleans the bathroom but doesn't do it your way, accept it and move on. The bathroom will get dirty all over again and need to be cleaned soon, so you can clean it then. 
• Do something every once in a while that distracts your mind. A "To-Do" list is never finished. You will always have  more you can do. Find something that clears your mind so you can't think of anything on the list. My way to do this is to read a book. While I am reading, I am only focused on the book. I am not worried about my list. It rests my brain and allows me to recharge mentally. You might do this through something like a girls night out, a date night, Sudoku, or a movie. 

Men can help ease the mental load by:

A note to men. Many men, to at least some extent, wait to be asked to do something. They are happy to help, but they do not do so without their wife or partner explicitly saying, "Will you please go change that diaper that is barely hanging on the toddler?" She asks this question while she is trying to help the 6 year old with homework and make dinner at the same time. You agree to change the diaper and do it. You probably feel great and pat yourself on the back for being so helpful. 

Let me bring you in on a secret.

It would have been nicer for you to have taken note of the dirty diaper and gone and changed it yourself. That is what women are hoping for. Initiative. Noticing what is going on around you and responding appropriately. While you are patting yourself on the back for being so helpful, your wife is wondering why she has to ask a child's father to change a diaper. Here are some ways you can help ease the mental load your wife carries. 

• Pay attention to what is going on around you and take initiative. When you look around the room and see your wife balancing dinner and helping the six year old, look further and think, "What else needs to be done right now? Oh! Look at that diaper about to fall off the toddler. I will go change that." 
• Sit down and discuss the list of chores. What can you take over? What can be your thing, day
  
  after day, that she doesn't have to worry about any more?
• Ask your wife what things stress her out and see if you can take over any of that. When my husband and I first got married, I tracked all of the bills and finances. Once I had two children, this came to be too much for me. My husband took over tracking bills and the budget so that I could remove that mental load off my brain.
• Take care of everything for a while so you understand it. We can't fully appreciate and understand what a person is dealing with until we experience it. Send the wife away for several days and see what it is like to track it all. Don't just turn to technology to entertain the kids while she is gone. Get them to their events. Make sure their homework is done on time. Make sure their clothes and bedding are clean and they are showering. Make sure they have lunch money. Keep the baby on schedule and tweak it correctly if she is off. Make dinner. 
• Sort through problems on your own. Many years ago, I injured my foot and could not walk well for at least a month. During that time, my husband went grocery shopping for me. He literally called me about once every five minutes to ask a question. There were all sorts of questions. He didn't want to mess up, but it was exhausting! It is okay to figure things out on your own (and women, we have to be okay with things being done differently than we would do them in these cases).
• If you agree to do something she has asked you to do, do it in a timely manner. The reasons wives end up "nagging" you to do something is she is desperately trying to get that item out of her head. She can't until you do it. If you can't do it quickly, let her know, "I won't get to this for about an hour (or a week)." Then she can reshuffle the things she is trying to track.
• Encourage your wife. Encourage her to take breaks. Be grateful for the efforts she makes.

Examples of a Mental Load

It is utterly exhausting to keep track of everything for an entire family. There are countless invisible things a woman typically keeps track of that no one sees but her. A short list of things that need to be tracked are:

• Dentist appointment visits
• Doctor visits
• Birthdays of your small immediate family as well as extended (and for some reason, the woman is often expected to keep track of events for both sides of the extended family)
• Social events and play dates
• Changing sheets
• Hair cuts
• Clothing (what size everyone is, what needs to be purchased, what can hold on for a bit longer, and when sales are so things can be frugally purchased)
• Napping schedules
• Laundry
• Cleaning
• Teaching chores
• Lessons and extra curricular activities
• Carpool schedules
• Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
• Paying for the lessons and extra curricular activities
• Doing hair
• Making sure homework is done
• Talking to the children about their day and life
• Reminding you complete your tasks you are supposed to be doing (whether from calling your mom to taking out the garbage)
• Bathing children
• If there is enough toilet paper in the house
• Making sure children brushed their teeth
• Teaching children life skills
• Changing diapers
• Potty training
• When the car should be registered
• How the yard is looking
• Preserving family memories (journaling, taking photos, organizing photos, sharing photos with friends and family...)
• Celebrating holidays and occasions 

The list above is just a snippet of the things a typical woman is trying to keep straight in her head day in and day out.This is a surface list, and it doesn't even expand past the home. It doesn't reach out to staying in contact with friends or taking a meal to someone in need. It doesn't account for volunteering in the community or for any work the wife may be doing. 

Understanding the mental load, what it is, and how it impacts your life daily helps you understand why a seemingly small thing can feel like Mount Everest. It can help you better understand what tasks you can add to your plate, and it can help you delegate things out and accept the best others can give. It can help you on those days, that do come, when you feel completely overwhelmed, you can step back, empty your overcrowded brain, and reach out for help. 

See Also:

• How to Divide Responsibilities in a Marriage
• Easy Cleaning Options for Busy Moms
• Balancing Household Responsibilities with Family Time
• How Clean Should You Keep Your House? 
• How to Be Productive as a Mom
• Challenges in Marriage
• Developing Unity in Marriage

KEEPING A СLЕАN HОUЅЕ WITH A NЕW BABY {Guest Post}

by Margaret Latham

Hаvіng a nеw bаbу means mоѕt (if not аll) уоur time аnd аttеntіоn goes tо hіm/hеr. Thuѕ, your hоuѕе mау fall іntо a ѕtаtе of mild dіѕаrrау. Aftеr a while, you'll ѕtаrt wоndеrіng іf you wіll еvеr get уоur hоuѕе cleaned uр аgаіn. Frеt not; it іѕ possible tо kеер уоur hоmе ѕріс аnd span еvеn wіth a nеw bаbу. Simply fоllоw the ѕtерѕ below to gеt уоur сlеаn house back.

Use Quісk Clеаn-Uр Tооlѕ

• Static or lambs' wool duѕtеr - fоr ԛuісk duѕt uрѕ of surfaces and nooks аnd crannies оf уоur home.
• Flооr sweepers - (ѕuсh аѕ thоѕе used in rеѕtаurаntѕ) are ideal for ԛuісk-сlеаnuрѕ. They hаvе dіrt саtсhеrѕ that еlіmіnаtе the nееd to uѕе a brооm аnd duѕtраn.
• Erаѕеr Pаdѕ - are реrfесt for ѕроt сlеаnіng. Yоu саn use tо wipe furniture scuff marks on wаllѕ, clean аrоund dооr knоbѕ аnd wіре dоwn bаthrооm fixtures, ѕtоvеѕ аnd rеfrіgеrаtоrѕ.
• Disinfectant wipes - use саn use this tо quickly clean vіrtuаllу any ѕurfасе while gеttіng rid оf dіѕеаѕе-саuѕіng gеrmѕ and dіѕіnfесtіng. It еlіmіnаtеѕ thе nееd tо use sponges and сlеаnѕеrѕ. Go fоr nаturаl household cleaning рrоduсtѕ. It соntаіnѕ рlаntbased Cleaning аgеntѕ (coconut, раlm kernel, corn аnd sugar bаѕеd ѕurfасtаntѕ), ѕоу ester (ѕоу bаѕеd), fіltеrеd water, wаtеr conditioning аgеnt, рrеѕеrvаtіvе (less thаn 0.05%). It іѕ tоugh оn dіrt but safe аrоund babies.

Use a Baby Cаrrіеr

Whеn thеrе are chores to dо, mаkе use of your bаbу саrrіеr оr bаbу sling and gеt in some cuddle tіmе whіlе pulling оff ѕоmе lіght hоuѕеwоrk. Juѕt be sure tо аvоіd ѕрrауіng chemicals аrоund your nеwbоrn аnd engaging іn аnу mоvеmеntѕ that wіll рut уоur lіttlе оnе in harm's wау. It'ѕ аlѕо a gооd trісk whеn getting a bаbу tо ѕlеер іѕ challenging, tоо!

Wоrk Smart, Nоt Hаrd

Use уоur tіmе wisely. Inѕtеаd of сlеаnіng аll dау lоng, designate a bаѕkеt tо рut everything іn its proper рlасе аt thе еnd оf the day. And, leave sweeping оr mорріng untіl thе end оf thе dау, ѕо you wоn't hаvе tо dо thіѕ сhоrе mоrе thаn оnсе.

Lоwеr Your Expectations

Dоn’t еxресt your hоuѕе tо bе ѕроtlеѕѕlу сlеаn аnd tidy аll thе time.

It’s оkау to hаvе ѕоmе clutter here and thеrе. Later оn. Yоu will have mоrе time to tасklе thаt.

It'ѕ оkау tо buу fооd outside when you dоn’t hаvе more еnеrgу to cook your uѕuаl full оf lоvе hоmеmаdе food.

And іt’ѕ perfectly fine tо hаvе wrіnklеѕ оn your hubbу’ѕ сlоthеѕ. Nо оnе wіll nоtісе thаt. Sо don’t ѕреnd a lоt of tіmе іrоnіng еvеrу ѕіnglе сlоthеѕ thаt уоu hаvе washed. Thаt’ѕ nоt nесеѕѕаrу.

I knоw уоu аlwауѕ аіm fоr реrfесtіоn... mауbе nоt іn аll аѕресtѕ оf hоuѕеwоrk. Sоmе оf you mауbе cleaning-freak. Some mау be a hеаlthу fооd ambassador. Sоmе mау bе mіѕѕ tidy.

Hіrе Hеlр — Yоu'vе Earned It

For nеw moms whо аrеn't comfortable ассерtіng help from frіеndѕ аnd fаmіlу, consider hіrіng hеlр. Paying a сlеаnіng ѕеrvісе tо take саrе оf hоuѕеhоld chores wіll lеt уоu focus оn bоndіng with уоur nеwbоrn wіthоut the guіlt оf letting frіеndѕ and family ріtсh in whеn thеrе аrе chores to dо.

Whеn уоur bun іn thе оvеn makes hіѕ арреаrаnсе, ассерtіng thаt your priorities will bе reorganized will help сut dоwn оn stress when wоrrуіng about hоw to gеt housework dоnе wіth a nеwbоrn bаbу. Sо, сuddlе uр wіth уоur nеwbоrn, tаkе a dеер breath аnd knоw that thе hоuѕеwоrk wіll get done — eventually.

Lastly еnlіѕt the help оf уоur раrtnеr оr ѕроuѕе, especially when уоu feel оvеrwhеlmеd wіth сlеаnіng thе house and саrіng fоr your new bаbу аt the same tіmе. Yоur partner оr ѕроuѕе саn hеlр оut after he gets home frоm wоrk аnd on wееkеndѕ. Accept hеlр оffеrеd by уоur rеlаtіvеѕ or friends.

Delegate/Minimize Chores:

• Uѕе dіѕроѕаblе рlаtеѕ and сutlеrіеѕ fоr the fіrѕt fеw wееkѕ wіth уоur newborn (you’ll ѕаvе tоnѕ оf time from washing dirty dіѕhеѕ. Oh уеѕ, this іѕ a rеаl tip frоm a mоm оf twin).
• Invеѕt in a rоbоt vасuum to сlеаn thе flооr. If уоu are nоt соmfоrtаblе аѕkіng реорlе’ѕ hеlр to come оvеr and сlеаn, perhaps a rоbоt vасuum fіtѕ уоur nееd. Althоugh thіѕ won’t guarantee your hоuѕе frее оf сluttеr, it may hеlр as іt саn bе рrоgrаmmеd tо vасuum уоur flооr daily.
• Rаthеr thаn cooking every ѕіnglе dау, mаkе a big batch of meals and freeze ѕоmе оf them fоr lаtеr uѕе.

Mоrе Tірѕ…

Pеrfоrm vаrіоuѕ household chores in short сhunkѕ оf time. You nеvеr know whеn уоur bаbу wіll сrу, wake up, nееd a dіареr сhаngе оr a feeding, so trу tо dо house сlеаnіng tаѕkѕ ԛuісklу іn brіеf реrіоdѕ оf tіmе. Yоu will bе ѕurрrіѕеd by hоw much you саn ассоmрlіѕh wіth 10 tо 15 mіnutеѕ оf frее time. For іnѕtаnсе, уоu саn ѕtаrt a lоаd оf laundry, fоld сlеаn сlоthеѕ, wіре dоwn furnіturе, аррlіаnсеѕ оr fixtures (оnе rооm at a time) оr рut thе dishes іn thе dіѕhwаѕhеr.

If whіtе noise ѕооthеѕ уоur bаbу or lulls him/her tо sleep, you аrе іn luсk. Dо thе vасuumіng bеfоrе уоur baby's naptime. Thіѕ wау, уоu саn help рut уоur bаbу to sleep while kееріng your hоuѕе сlеаn.

Dо оthеr hоuѕе сlеаnіng chores whеn уоur сhіld іѕ tаkіng a nар during the day оr whеn hе/ѕhе іѕ аѕlеер fоr the nіght. Yоu will fіnd that іt іѕ еаѕіеr fоr you tо perform сеrtаіn асtіvіtіеѕ whіlе уоu are not саrrуіng уоur little оnе.

Follow Margaret on Twitter here @Mommy_Margaret

How to Organize Your Cleaning Schedule

Cleaning is a chore that never ends. It seems like you can never be done where you feel like there isn't another list in the back of your head of things that could be cleaned (hi, blinds). You have to figure out what works for you, your standards, and your time available. Here are some ideas of ways to organize your cleaning.

1-Have a 10 Minute Cleaning Every Day

This is an age-old tip, and there is a reason for that! Give yourself ten minutes to get as much picking up as you can. You can get a surprising amount done in ten minutes, and it is easy to focus for only ten minutes. This is also helpful to do at the end of the day after the kids have gone to bed. You can look at all there is to do and feel exhausted and overwhelmed. Dedicate ten minutes to it and you will be waking up to things much cleaner!

2-Decide on a Weekly Schedule

There are all sorts of ways to set up your cleaning schedule, and I have done many of them. Honestly different ways work better at different points in my life. My personal favorite way is to do all of the main cleaning in one day each week. That is my cleaning day. I like everything to feel clean all at once.

That hasn't always been feasible, however. There were a lot of years when I had to do some each day. Those were the years when my children were younger. I just couldn't focus on cleaning for a whole day, so I had to have a job each day of the week. One day was dusting. One day was bathrooms. One day was floors. So find what works for you right now in your season and go with that. It is okay if things change and even if they change often. 

3-Make a Plan for Deep Cleaning

Not everything is done every week. Have a list and a game plan for when you will do things like clean the blinds, moldings, curtains, washing machine, etc. You can do some each week, some each month, or have 2-4 times a year you have a big cleaning day that hits those things. 

4-Add Your Children Where You Can

In the young years, having your child have jobs absolutely makes cleaning take longer. For sure. I promise, promise, promise that it is 100% worth that effort. I promise. As your children get older, you have less time to clean and they make bigger messes. You need their help if you want to do more than clean up behind people. There are of course many benefits to your child for learning to clean and contributing to the home, but for now, I am talking about your time and how it is spent. For more on this, see:

• Balancing Household Responsibilities with Family Time
• Creating a "Good Helper"
• Chores
• Making Work Fun
• Teaching Children Life Skills
• Teaching Children to Clean
• Working Chores Into Your Day

5-Find Inspiration on Pinterest

There are a lot of fun printables on Pinterest for cleaning. I have a lot of ideas pinned on my cleaning board if you want a place to start.

Related Posts: 

• How Clean Should You Keep Your House? 

• How to Be Productive as a Mom

• Easy Cleaning Options for Busy Moms

Tips for Organizing Your Bathroom

My master bathroom is small. It isn't just small by today's modern construction standards (hello bathrooms that are as big as my bedroom); it is small by the 1920s "We should carve out some space from this house for some indoor plumbing" standards.
Having a small bathroom means I need it to be organized. I made a resolution this year to majorly declutter my house and I have been through my bathroom. Here are some tips for getting your bathroom organized. This post contains affiliate links. This does not increase your cost. 

Remove Everything

I say it every time that I talk about organizing. I say it every time because it is the number one and best way to make sure things get organized and that you only keep what is necessary. If you love the way things are arranged now and worry you won't remember how to get them back in the same spots, take a picture of it before you begin. However, I will say that I find when I am putting stuff back, I always have a slight tweak to how it was before so that it is better than it was. So don't be afraid to approach your current setup differently. 

When I am removing things, I work on one section at a time. I don't remove everything from the entire bathroom. I will remove everything from one shelf or from one drawer. I do this so the project remains manageable. I have kids. I am likely to get interrupted a few times during the process. I don't want stuff scattered everywhere for hours or even into the next day. I work on one small section at a time so I can get it put back together. 

Wipe It Down

The bathroom is just a dirty place. It gets dusty. It gets hair all over the place--even when you clean regularly. Hairspray and other hair products get sprayed in there. We painted a few rooms over Christmas break, including our master bathroom. Before we painted, we cleaned the walls and base moldings well. The rooms were quick and easy. The bathroom was the smallest of the rooms (by far) and took the longest to prep (by far). You need to clean each shelf or each drawer well once it is empty. 

Throw Away Expired Medicine and Products

When my mom was my age, I was a young teenager. I remember looking through her make-up and perfumes and being horrified to know she had stuff that had been around as long as I had!!! It seemed like an eternity to me an I couldn't imagine having things that long. 

Fast forward to me being the same age and I totally get it. Time flies. It gets faster as you get older and it gets faster as you have kids. One of the last things on your list of things to worry about is, "How old is that eye shadow?" 

The reality is that if it is makeup you like and use consistently, you aren't going to run into it being too old. So if you do have old makeup, ask yourself if you really are going to use it and if you need to hang onto this makeup that is perhaps older than your children...

The same can be applied to lotions, perfumes, hair products...try the items and smell them. Ditch them if they feel, look, or smell funky. 

Throw away old medicine that is expired. They have expiration dates on them.

Keep Only What Fits

You don't want your shelves or drawers overflowing. Keep what you use and what you need.

Use Drawer Organizers

I talk about this often, too. Drawer organizers!  I use these drawer organizers in our bathroom and I LOVE them. I can take them out and wash them in the dishwasher every so often to keep them clean. They help keep the brushes out of your toothbrushes (we keep ours in drawers because I once read that germs from flushing the toilet go in the air and can land on toothbrushes if they are on the counter. For the same reason, we close the lid to the toilet before flushing). It keeps the hair elastics, finger nail clippers, bobby pins, etc. together. 

Use Storage Cabinets if Needed

Our master bathroom has minimal storage built into it. It has a single vanity with one drawer, one cupboard under that drawer, and the space under the sink. A couple of years ago, we headed to Lowe's and got an upright cabinet for the bathroom. It is a similar idea to this Pantry Cabinet. I could sing the praises of this thing all day long! It is fantastic. amazon has a wide selection of sizes and styles if you just look here: Storage Cabinets. If you order online, just read dimensions carefully and measure that out at home so you are sure you are getting the size you want to get. 

inside my cabinet

Use Storage Containers

I got a few storage containers at Lowe's, also, that I use to hold things that are similar to each other. I keep them in my cabinet. I keep my monthly feminine products in one. I keep all of our medicine in another. I keep hair products in another. The final has some random things--hair removal, extra contacts, extra make-up...

I also use a basket for storing nail stuff in. I also have my Storage Caddy that I used when Brinley was a baby as a breastfeeding supply storage solution and now use to hold my hair products and facial cleansing products. 

Be Creative With Other Storage

If you are looking for ways to store things, you can "Pinterest with purpose" and search for specific storage solutions. I have this cute jewelry holder my husband made for me hanging in by bathroom. It is very handy! I love being able to see it all at once. 

Bath Towels

Side note, since I am talking bathrooms. I recently purchased some bath towels at SAMs Club. They are fantastic. Hands down, they are the best towels I have owned. You can buy them on Amazon (100% Cotton Luxury Bath Towel), but they are cheaper at SAMs. 

Lightbulbs

Another side note, Daylight LED Light Bulbs are amazing. They really do look like daylight. We put these in our bedroom and bathroom at the end of December and I will be buying them for all lights in the house as we need to change them out. It has been so nice during this winter--we have had a few weeks with only a couple of days with a little sunshine. The light bulbs have kept me on the right side of sane. 

Related Post:

Tips for Organizing Your Bedroom

Laundry Tip: Stain Fighting with Fels-Naptha

This post contains affiliate links.  Chances are you have heard of the soap Fels-Naptha. It is a common ingredient in home made laundry soap. Many years ago, before the home made laundry soap became all the rage, my mother-in-law gave me a bar of Fels-Naptha. She said it was fantastic for fighting stains. It really is! If you haven't tried it, you must get a bar and try it out! 

Above you see Kaitlyn's fleece pants. She wore them to a soccer practice. I didn't notice the grass stains until after I had washed and dried them. I was folding her pants and saw the stain (this is a major hazard of having kids sort the laundry to be washed). At first I thought, "Eh. Oh well." They are just fleece pants and really the purpose is for things like soccer practice. So they are stained. Plus they had gone through the dryer and it would be a tough battle if I chose to take it on.

Then I remembered my Fels-Naptha. I decided to give it a try.

Above is the after. There is still some green there, but it isn't so noticeable. I actually gave it another scrubbing and it is even better.

Above you see leggings. These had matching stains on each knee. I decided I would do Fels-Naptha on one knee and not the other to see the results. Pretty amazing right? I have since used Fels-Naptha to get both knees looking good as new. 

All you need is some stained clothes (you probably have some of those if you have kids), a bar of Fels-Naptha, and some sort of brush. The brush pictured to the left isn't ideal for all fabrics--it is very hard. I use it when there is a bad stain and I will either be getting the stain out or the clothing item will be moved to play clothes only status. You can use something like a toothbrush if you have more delicate fabric.

Here is how I do it. 

1. I get the stain wet. 
2. I get the tip of the bar of Fels-Naptha wet. 
3. I rub the bar over the stain. 
4. I then rub the soap in with the brush a bit.
5. I then run the stain under water for a bit again. This is so the fabric will get more wet.
6. I rub the stain with the Fels-Naptha again. 
7. I then use the brush and really scrub it out. 
8. I toss it in the washer and wash it. 

This works even on old stains that are set in. You can get a 4 pack for less than $10 on Amazon (see link below). One bar will last you a really long time, so find 3 friends and go in on it together. It is so worth it!

See Also:

Vinegar and Laundry

Making Laundry Easier (and more tolerable!) {5 Tips}

Quick Cleaning: Laundry Day

Organizing Tip: Remove Everything

Organizing for me is super easy. So easy that it all seems so simple and obvious that it seems absurd to even share how I do things because it seems so obvious to me. I have come to realize, however, that it isn't. I am aware of the phrase, "Those who can't do, teach." Organizing is so intuitive to me that it is hard to figure out how to teach people how to make it easier for them. But I have been brainstorming! I have been paying attention! I hope this tip will be useful to you and not just a "duh" tip.

The absolute best way to organize, de-clutter, and clean up a space is to remove everything from it. You really just take it all out and then put it all back. Do you really need to get rid of some of your clothes? Remove them all from your closet and drawers and evaluate each one as you put it back. Does your bathroom drawer need some attention? Take everything out and put it all back in.

Every time we have moved, I have commented that moving is the best way to get rid of stuff. Removing everything is the closest you can come to moving without having to actually move. 

Now, I know this is an overwhelming thing to do! You get it all out and along comes a toddler who really mixes things up. If you are doing an entire closet, that is a lot of stuff strewn about your house, and what if you have to stop in the middle? Then you have a gigantic mess on your hands.

This past weekend, I reorganized my closet in my office. Here are the steps I took:

• Start With a Clean Room: I started off by cleaning the office. Before you have piles of stuff around the room, you want the room to start clean so you know everything out goes either back in the space, into the garbage can, into a goodwill pile, or into some other space. 
• Start When You Don't have "Help": I waited until Brinley's independent playtime. I definitely did not want her input on the reorganizing of the closet. There are plenty of things I have her help with even though it makes it harder. Organizing with a toddler is really just setting yourself up for frustration. As soon as she started her playtime, I started my project. You might wan to wait for a nap if you need more time for your project. 
• Take it a Bit at a Time: I organize this closet frequently. Because of that, I knew I didn't need a whole closet rehaul. I just needed to tidy up. I took it one shelf at a time. I removed everything from the bottom shelf, wiped the shelf off, and then put things back on the shelf I knew I wanted there. If you need to totally revamp the space, it is best to remove it all at once. It will give you a blank slate and allow you to be creative and innovative in how to organize your stuff. Once my bottom shelf was done, I moved up to the next shelf.
• Throw Stuff Away/Donate: Don't be afraid to throw things away. And have the garbage can right there. I save a LOT of stuff. I come from a line of farmers. My grandparents remember the Great Depression well. I am all about reusing, saving for a rainy day, and taking good care of things. I keep more than the average person I am sure. Even still, there will be things that just are not useful to you any more and can either be thrown out or donated. 
• Make it Kid Friendly: The reason I have to do this closet so often is that I have children. My children use this closet for a lot of things. I am constantly having to tweak the set up so that they can get things out easily and more importantly, clean the stuff up independently. I am a master at fitting things into the space provided, but my children do not yet have that skill set. Things need to be set up so a child can get it back the way it was. It can't be a 3D puzzle. If you look at my picture below, you will notice the purple chest was moved. The previous location was next to a bunch of coloring books. Every time the chest was removed, the coloring books fell over and it was hard to get the chest back in its place. This was a major problem because that chest holds Kaitlyn's art stuff. She uses it constantly (by the way, this is an excellent way for her and I to compromise; artists are by nature usually less organized. She can have her chaos in her chest and I can have my closet clean(er)). I moved the chest to a new spot so that noting will fall over when she removes it. 
• Label Things: Label makers can be nerdy, but they are so fun! I love labeling my containers so it is easier for other people to know where things go.
• Clean Up: You aren't done until it is all put away. Take out the trash and make sure your room is back to clean when you are done. 
• Require Family to Be Good Citizens: You have to realize things will get messed up, and most likely no one else will be as good about putting things away nicely as you are; however, you can require that they put things where they got them from. You can require the best they can do. That is being a good citizen, kind to your mother, and being a good family member.

Related Posts/Blog Labels:

• Toy Storage: http://www.babywisemom.com/2010/04/toy-storage.html
• Managing the Paper Influx
• Pinteresting Fridays: Organization
• Storage Caddy

Macro vs. Micro Cleaning

Nate and I hadn't been married for long when some good friends of ours were telling us about how they were opposite cleaners. One was macro and one was micro. I found it fascinating. Nate and I are opposite cleaners, also. Over the years, I have found most people have never heard of micro vs. micro cleaning. Understanding the concept can really help a couple understand hopes and expectations of cleanliness of the home.

It is quite simple. 

A macro cleaner is someone whose first priority in cleaning is all surfaces are clean. Everything you can see is picked up and out of eye-sight.

A micro cleaner is someone whose first priority in cleaning is in the details. The surfaces are not as important as what is behind the cupboard or in that drawer. 

A micro cleaner will not clean the nightstand off unless all of that stuff can be neatly put away in organized locations, where the macro cleaner would rather shove everything into the drawer than have the night stand be a complete mess. 

While you can drive each other crazy if you are opposite types of cleaners, it can really be good thing if you both have some attention to the opposite things. If you are both a certain type of cleaner, the good thing is you can live more harmoniously as far as how clean the house is or isn't. The bad thing is one thing can become severely neglected before you really notice.

I am a macro cleaner. 

Nate is a micro cleaner. 

Luckily, we both like things overall clean, but our focus is on different things. If I walk into a room and there is clutter, I feel like the house is in shambles. Nate doesn't mind the clutter so long as the drawers, closets, and cupboards are organized.

Someone who is a micro cleaner can feel like the house is messy when everything you see is cleaned with no clutter, but the closets are disorganized. A macro cleaner, however, is pretty good with things so long as it is out of sight (out of sight, out of mind, after all). 

For some people, it can stop there. For others, it can be more complicated. I am, of course, more complicated. 

I really like my drawers, cupboards, and closets clean. A lot. I like everything organized. But I know I am a macro cleaner before a micro cleaner. I have spent some time analyzing this beyond the, "I am just OCD and like everything clean" conclusion that I could draw.

I like my closets, drawers, and cupboards organized because that means my surfaces can be clear. If everything has a place, I know the things will be put into those places rather than sitting out hoping to be shoved into a home some day. By keeping things clean on a micro level, I am more easily able to ensure my first priority, macro, is taken care of. 

And just because someone has a micro as a first priority doesn't mean that person won't also appreciate when everything is put away (neatly). 

Take a moment to figure out what sort of cleaner you are and what sort of cleaner your spouse is. It can really help you understand each other. If you are a macro cleaner who works hard to keep the house clean, only to have your spouse agitated because things are a mess, there is a good chance your spouse is a micro cleaner is and is overlooking the beauty of your clean surfaces and stewing over the tornado of the coat closet. 

If you are a micro cleaner who spends a lot of time making sure your little spaces are perfectly organized (and that type of cleaning does take a lot of time!), you might be confused as to why your macro spouse feels like the house needs some attention just because there are piles here and there. You are going to get to them at some point, right? As soon as that closet is ready for the things to be put away just so.

It should be noted that both types of cleaners can be driven insane by children. The micro cleaners can never win because no child will have that level of detail, and some children actively work against that detail. So you will either clean everything up yourself to ensure things are just so, or you will be feeling that stress of knowing your closets are messy. The macro cleaners probably don't go quite as crazy because it is just easier and faster to clean on a macro level, especially when children are helping to clean. Children will make a macro mess every day, but it can be cleaned up. 

No matter which side of crazy you are on, just don't try to follow them around cleaning all day. You won't get anything done other than cleaning and re-cleaning their messes. At some point in my earlier years of parenting, I realized I had to pick 1-2 points in the day that would be clean up time rather than cleaning every time there was a mess. 

We clean up at transition points. We always pick up before bed. I like to have them clean up at the end of independent play because I feel like it helps them learn to clean up after themselves. We clean up at the end of any sort of art project before moving on to something else. I also usually require a full clean up before something like TV or video games are turned on.

No matter what kind of cleaner you are, require your children to help clean up after themselves when it is time. I know it takes (WAY) longer with a toddler than it does by yourself. The day does come that the child does a pretty good job. It is very worth the extra time and effort it takes you to teach them and make sure they do it. 

Knowing your preference can help you just know yourself that much better and understand what makes you tic (and what ticks you off!). 

So, what are you? Macro or micro?