Most people have phobias of spiders or of being stuck in small places, mine is the phobia of cleaning. Working full time and being a full-time mother makes cleaning a very exhausting thing to do and usually, it doesn't get done. Everyone knows how a magic show works right? Usually, someone is making people or things disappear but at my house things are different. After I spend hours on end cleaning the house, I turn around and there is a pile of toys on the floor with no apparent warning and sometimes not a kid in sight. I swear my kids are the best magicians around!
If the same thing happens in your household, it can be one the most tiring things to deal with so I had to come up with some type of cleaning strategy that works for me and most likely will work for everyone. My strategy is as follows:
1. Dedicate a day to one room at a time.
I give each day a name such as "Kitchen Mondays" or "Bathroom Tuesdays" and I focus on that one room on that assigned day. One week I sanitize and then the next week I just tidy up that room and it feels good to know that it is clean even if it may not be perfectly tidy. You can even break up a room into 2-3 days if it is still too much to do an entire room, even dedicating one day to vacuuming and mopping, the next day to laundry, and so forth, whatever works for you!
2. Allow your kids to help.
Sometimes we underestimate our kids or we don't want to bother allowing them to help because they may not clean the way we want it to be cleaned. Teach your kids now because in no time they will be very great little helpers. You can make a little chart and put a sticker next to their name if they finish their job. At the end of the week, you can give them a treat of some sort or maybe a dollar for allowance.
3. Keep Clorox wipes on hand.
The best way I am able to keep a clean but not always tidy house, is to keep Clorox wipes in each bathroom and in the kitchen. Each night after the kids are in bed, I wipe the counters and the toilet and sometimes even "mop" the floor with the wipes. This helps keep the bathrooms fresh and eliminates build up in the sinks and on the counter tops. It just makes life a lot easier!
4. Keep Focused
Have you ever tried to clean the entire house in one night? You start in the kitchen and before you know it you are making your bed or sitting on your closet floor organizing your shoes. I am not sure where people get the idea of multi-tasked women from but I am far from it. Do not try to clean the house in one night! This is why I came up with the one room per night strategy. It was taking me more time trying to focus on getting a room done then it was actually cleaning it. Sometimes I caught myself walking in circles and wondering where I was headed next. Trust me one room at a time is a lot more productive.
5. Rest on weekends
Some of the best things about dedicating a night to one room at a time are that you can focus a lot easier, you are more productive, and you can have a clean house by the weekend! Many times I am so tempted to clean on the weekend but I had to put a stop to it! I never felt like I had a break, I was working full time and coming home trying to clean and tidy the entire house, every night. Do not do it! Get into the habit of resting and having fun over the weekend. Enjoy your family, allow a little mess here and just enjoy life.
