At the risk of sounding old, & totally like a mom, I LOVE cleaning. Way too much. One of my “de-stressors” during downtime while the girls nap is to turn on music, pour a huge cup of coffee, and to just get down with some major deep cleaning. It’s therapeutic for me and weirdly enough, it’s relaxing. Even if the reality is that two little sets of hands are going to come through and destroy it within minutes.
3 – Less is more. The older I get, the more I want to purge everything, all the time. I’m the opposite of the show hoarders, sometimes I get rid of things & regret it later, but for the most part, living with less “things” around just makes it easier to keep things clean. I have a bin for each of the girls, I keep all their special things (pictures of each of them, memorable outfits, favorite little stuffed animals that they outgrew, esc,), but I’m definitely selective with what we keep. At one point I had 400 pictures that Waverly drew and then I realized that choosing just a few favorites was probably more than enough. 😉 Of course – I keep allllllll the pictures I take, saved on folders on my computer & backed up on a hard drive.
4 – Divide & Conquer. Thankfully, my husband is amazing, and he does his part. He has things he likes to do more than others & so do I, so we tend to do each of those things so the other doesn’t have to. Like I hate taking the trash out (anyone else?!), so he tries to do that each morning before he leaves. I actually love deep cleaning the kitchen so that’s my jam, he knows not to even touch it because I will redo it. 😉
5 – Baskets. Yall, I have a major basket addiction. The other day we counted & I think we had fourteen. Downstairs. They are just the best for organization, especially for containing the clutter that can take over from kids toys. I try to keep one in each room for both the girls toys & that way, they (or at least Waverly for now!), can just help me throw everything in there when we are done playing. It’s amazing how much random crap you can make look pretty in one cute basket!
6 – Teach your kids to clean with you. Waverly loves this. Sometimes. Of course we teach her to put away her toys when she is done with them (in a basket!!), but I will also involve her in putting away dishes or wiping the windows and try to make a game of it. I definitely want to raise children who appreciate a clean house and who want to take part in making it that way.
7 – Walk through at night (or the morning) and put everything away. I am more of a morning person so my husband is the absolute best at doing this at night, but starting the day off free of “stuff” does wonders for a fresh, energized mindset. If we are both just too tired at night, I’ll get up early before the troops get going and just do a quick clean.
8 – Clean some throughout the day. So I know the whole “the kids won’t remember if the house was clean” idea, and I agree with it, to a degree. For me, I am just a happier, less-stressed mom in general when the house doesn’t look like a giant tornado just went through it. That doesn’t mean that I ignore the girls for hours while I clean, but I do clean up the kitchen after breakfast while they play on the floor or I will wipe down counters while we are having some downtime in the afternoon. I used to regret even not playing with them for every second of their awake times, but I’ve learned that stepping back sometimes is actually really good for all three of us.
PS – I posted some fun pictures from our Easter yesterday afternoon if you missed it, hope you all had the most wonderful holiday! XO
YES!!! to all of these. I wash one and fold one each day and always do the dishes while the kids eat. While everything else may be pure chaos those two things help keep me less frazzled!
Love this list! I try to do one load of laundry a day, but usually fail miserably because I have to keep washing the same load over and over! Along these lines, we usually do 15 minute work periods – I set the timer on the microwave in the kitchen and then everyone cleans like mad, as fast as they can for 15 minutes. It's amazing how much you can get done in a short amount of time if you concentrate and hustle!
I totally want to purge EVERYTHING these days!!! We just have too much stuff!
Great Tips! I agree, no matter what, there are just never enough hours in the day. Baskets are my favorite.
All great tips! I find that as I get older I am all about purging, too! It's so easy to hoard but I when I force myself to get rid of things I feel so much better!
These are great tips if you are a working mom or not, like you said, we could all use more time! And I totally agree with cleaning up a little at a time. And I think it's good to let the kids play independently sometimes 🙂
Great tips! I am the same about laundry. If I do 1 (or 2 depending on potty and dirt messes) I am golden, but miss a day and I am so behind. I try to clean one room every day, but it doesn't always happen. Okay rarely happens. 🙂
Such good tips!! Im for sure on the minimal bandwagon, so much less to clean!
Umm if you love cleaning what time will you be over to do mine?!
So well written – loving your advice! I'm basket obsessed, too 🙂
Chris thinks I'm nuts but I can't even fall asleep if our first floor isn't tidied up. I just love to walk down to a fresh clean house in the mornings! Such a great list, lady!
Yes!! I agree with so many of these things! I have days when I love cleaning and then days when I don't love it, but my husband and I are both pretty great at keeping things tidy and picked up. It definitely helps me feel waaaay less stressed when I'm not tripping over toy after toy in my rush to get to work! And I'm with you on the "less is more" mantra. I throw away so many of the boys' keepsakes. My husband thinks I'm crazy, but one tote of things to save is sufficient in my mind!!
Cleaning is therapeutic for me also. I cannot sleep at night with a dirty kitchen. Dishes in the sink.. nope. While I get the girls down my husband picks up all the toys and puts them in all our baskets also 😉 Clutter stresses me out so picking up every day really helps me out.
I'm a get 'rid of-er' too and yes sometimes there's regrets (clothes, mainly haha) but it feels so good not to be trapped by things.
Yes to all of this! I'm so much more happy when the house is clean!
I love quickly tidying up right before bed. It makes the morning so much easier and more pleasant! And I definitely need to get my hands on more baskets. You can never have enough and I definitely could use more.
Evelina @ Fortunate House
I am totally like you when it comes to cleaning. One load of laundry a day is a must (I alternate between light, darks, & diapers). And I'm starting to go the less is more route. Now if only I could get Conor on board with all the purging.
One load of laundry a day is a great tip!
These are all great tips!! I love the laundry one and need to get better at that because oh my good lord I feel like when I do finally do laundry (once/week….eek) It's an ALL DAY job. and then it never get's put away…