Simplicity. Priority. Routine.
When it comes to keeping my home, those three things are essential. I have happily, easily and efficiently been able to keep up on my home with plenty of time to spare. I have a day or two when I get overwhelmed with things, but with the routine I follow, I manage to catch back up with no unnecessary stress. I hope that perhaps my routine will encourage and help mothers and wives with the keeping of their homes!
My mother taught me the importance of organization and routine, organization is my weak point for sure. That talent my sister inherited, however, I got plenty of practice living in a home where two women had it down pat. Priority was something I always seemed to have a talking too about, growing up! It is strangely an aspect in which I am now very grateful for my mom emphasizing. It is a skill though, to prioritize. A skill in which, as a busy mommy and wife, has to be used quickly and effectively.
When my husband is 30 minutes away from getting home from work and expecting a hot meal, and the house is a mess and dinner is not quite cooked and kids are crying...it is so very stressful! I find myself in the living room, pulling my hair out and turning in circles. The only way to solve such an issue is what my mother taught me! Prioritize! I think in terms of priority: Mikey will be home. What is more important? Clean house? Hot dinner? So I start dinner and nurse the baby while it cooks. While I'm nursing him, I think about what hubby will see first when he walks through that door. Living room. Ok. My priority is now to straighten the living room. Flip the food on the stove. What will he see next? The bathroom. Straighten the bathroom. Cara's face is a mess! Wipe! Bounce that baby! Hi babe! :-) I prioritized in the order of what he will see. He won't see the mess in the baby's room yet, so put it off. Or care for the bedroom quite yet. Dinner and a shower is all that matter. He will see a straightened living room so he feels peace and rest while in his home, a stark contrast from the work place. A smile on my face (even if it is not fully felt! It is much more attractive to see his beloved smile and kiss him hello after working so hard to provide for the family!). I apply that same method of prioritizing to pretty much everything. From what laundry needs washed first to shaving my legs! Ha!
My cleaning is a daily/weekly routine as follows:
Mon: Clean counters, microwave, fridge (of leftovers and shelves a wipe if needed) (so pretty much kitchen)
Tues: Bathrooms (sink, toilet and mirror. Change out towels)
Wed: Dusting (Wood and dry) (I swiffer all first, then wood dust next, Not switching back and forth from room to room)
Thurs: Mopping (I mop all floors after a real decent vacuum/sweep) (I use a push broom with a wet pad to mop)
Fri: Shower (every other Friday or as needed) and change of bed sheets (weekly)
Sat: Organize (I choose only ONE of the things I know needs orgnaized or sorted) (I sometimes make a list and pick one to do)
I invested in a small little vacuum for $20 from Walmart to make sweeping quicker. I don't like having to sweep stuff into a dust pan. Misses a lot, so the vacuum does great on my hard linoleom floors. Doesn't do great on the one rug in our living room, but does pick up the crumbs. I usually do a super quick vacuum over the house every other day, maybe, or just on troublesome messy areas. I don't have a dishwasher and my kitchen is super tiny. Combining those two factors means that one meal's worth of dishes makes my kitchen look like I went on strike. I wash everything by hand, every day. Yuck. But it gets done in the morning with my routine pick up .
This morning routine pick up is simply going through each room and doing a super quick straightening. I start in the back of the house usually and work from room to room. The key is to not get distracted too much if you have to put something in a different room. My room: I make the bed, pick up the diaper off the floor, open our curtains and take out any cups from the nightstands to the kitchen. Cara's room: Open curtains, fold her blankets in half and drape on crib rail, check diaper can if needs taken out. Bathroom: Laundry off floor, put away the loose things on counter that goes in cabinets, hang towel back on hook, close shower curtain, check trash, check tp roll. Living room: open blinds, throw loose toys in basket, tip the baby books back upright, dishes to kitchen, shove ottoman back into place. Kitchen: put away dry dishes, rinse dirty dishes, wash dirty dishes, wipe counters real fast of crumbs and stickiness, check tray of "need to do" (I have this wooden tray thing on my microwave for bills, letters and things that need hot glued back together! Ha!). Start laundry. Takes the better part of morning, and I usually work out and eat breakfast first. I go back through the house two other times during the day: Kids nap time and before bedtime while hubby is showering (he takes long showers at night to wind down). Obviously the two other run throughs are much much quicker and help keep the house out of that "absolute chaos" look. Sometimes the before bed helps so much at keeping it under control that the morning run through is a BREEZE! Minus the dishes. Yuck.
But I tell ya! Having the one chore a day thing isn't just for kids. It helps keep it simple and quick for me! And it helps you keep track of when the last time said chore was last done if you do miss a day! And it also makes it easy for jumping into! You can arrange the daily chore to whatever days suit you and your family and start whatever day is convienient! The organzing day takes the stress of having to "do it all" off your shoulders. After the weeks pass you see progress! I got to a point where everything was organized and it became just simple maintenance! I could use that day for vacuuming out the closets or in the couch! And it freed me time to go on walks with friends! Sew! BLOG! All with two young young kiddos!
I think it will evolve into something different as my children get older and I have to school them, but they will also be able to help with the simple things like their toys!
I hope this helped you wives and mothers, in some way!
Have an awesome new year!
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