Keeping It Clean

Women (and a few men) know that it is no easy feat to keep a house clean. The level of difficulty increases exponentially with each child and pet you add to the mix. You have to come to terms with the fact that your house is never going to look like it belongs in a magazine because you actually live in it.

Clutter happens.

The mirror you have on your coffee table is going to have fingerprints on it 90% of the time. Said coffee table will also have rings from sippy cups and bottles. The magazines stacked oh-so-nicely underneath will be scattered by someone trying to add his favorite books to the pile. The baby wipes will find a permanent home there as well because, to be honest, the living room is where all the diaper changes happen.

I give you Exhibit A:

I can shamelessly post this picture because I know that there are plenty of homes out there that look very similar to mine. But, clutter is tolerable. Dirt, not so much. (And, no, I don't consider fingerprints and water rings "dirt".)

We have a few simple rules that everyone in the house must live by:

1. No shoes in the house. My husband thought this was a silly rule until we tried it for one week and then I had him sweep the entire house. He was shocked at how clean the floors stayed when the shoes were left at the door.

(Most of you in Canada or on the eastern coast of the United States will be shocked to know that, here in the Valley of the Sun it is not common practice to remove your shoes when entering someone's home. I can only assume it is because it doesn't snow here or rain often so native Phoenicians never saw the need. Therefore, I feel uncomfortable enforcing this rule when we have guests. I just make sure to sweep after they leave.)

2. When you're done with it, put it away. This includes dishes to the dishwasher (or at least in the sink) and clothes in the hamper. No stray socks or cups need to be left around.

3. The house gets a nightly pick-up. As everyone in my household (myself included) is human and nowhere near perfect, there are times when Rule #2 isn't followed as strictly as it might be. So, every night we go through the house together and pick up all the toys, bring any cups to the kitchen and just generally neaten up. There is nothing better than waking up in the morning to a (mostly) clutter-free house.

Those three rules tend to keep the house as neat as possible. But, you ask, what about the actual cleaning?

I give you Exhibit B:

(Try clicking on the image to view it larger)

I made this for myself to try and stay on top of the cleaning. To be more specific, I made this for myself last August. I am not embarrassed to admit that I didn't start putting it into practice until I was on maternity leave.

In February. 

My original plan was to come home from work, start dinner, and do the chores on the list for that day. Instead, I would come home and convince myself that I was too exhausted and that I would rather relax after work and then do the cleaning on the weekend.

Boy, was I wrong. Having kept up on it the past few weeks, I have been able to truly enjoy my weekends with my husband and kids as opposed to sending them outside to have fun while I clean the house.

I am pretty proud of this schedule. It's very organized well thought out. Even when bi-weekly and monthly chores are added, they go hand in hand with the chores already scheduled on that day so it doesn't feel like there are many extra steps at all. Feel free to copy it if you think it will help you!

There are a few reasons why I enjoy this chart:

1. I am a lover of lists. They keep things nice and organized. A chart like this one is just a list that is spread out over the course of a week.

2. I never feel overwhelmed. I know that I only have a few things to do every day and then I'm finished. I don't feel guilty if I don't pull out the canisters and the microwave to clean behind them each night after dinner because I know it will get done every Friday when I do a deep cleaning in my kitchen.

3. It's flexible. If, for example, I have a day filled with doctor's appointments or we are going to spend an entire Saturday at the zoo, I can easily take the chores from that day and spread them out between the day before and the day after

Yes, I know there are only 24 hours in a day, but each day I spend about 30 minutes getting it done. I prefer (now that I am on maternity leave) to get it done first thing in the morning. That way I don't have to think about it for the rest of the day. But, those 30 minutes could easily be used any other time during the day. Right before you get in the shower for the night, or right before your favorite television show comes on. (At least you would have an incentive to get it done by a certain time!)

When I go back to work in May, mornings will be hectic around here and I will have to find a different time of day to get it done. I'm thinking I'll use the time that Roy is giving the kids a bath and getting them ready for bed. That way we'll be ready to tuck the kids in together and we can both enjoy our evening after all is said and done.

Granted, the chart isn't perfect, and it may need some tweaking as time goes on. For example, once Lily is mobile the floors will need swept every day. And I doubt I'll be able to go a week between mopping once she's feeding herself and most of it ends up on the floor. But, it's a place to start and it's keeping my family and me sane.

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