Let's talk about one of my most favorite things...cleaning!
It just makes you feel good when you clean and then have a clean space afterwards, doesn't it? Getting started is often the most difficult part, but I have found that if you are consistent with your cleaning then it won't always seem too overwhelming. Now believe me, I know that things come up, people get sick, and life gets busy, and sometimes I just down right don't wanna clean, but I know that deep down (sometimes it's really,
really deep down) I'll feel immensely better if I stick to my cleaning. I'm positive you will too.
My advice is to find something that works for you in order to promote consistency in your home. Not everyone has the same time or energy or desires when it comes to just about everything...that includes cleaning! Go browse around Pinterest for cleaning schedules and you'll find one for every single person under the sun, plus a few thousand more. Proceed with caution! You may come across cleaning schedules that seem completely unattainable. I know I find a lot to be that way. Pinterest in general can make you feel like a complete failure of a woman, wife, mother, friend, sister, daughter, need I go on??? That's why I say proceed with caution. All the ideas and cutesy things you see on Pinterest are other people's ideas...not yours. So. Don't live up to other's standards. Set your own standards and then live up to those. You most certainly can use other's ideas as a
guide to set up what works for you, but let's all quit the comparison game. Mmmk? (Didn't plan on going on a rant there...but...sorry not sorry)
I've always been a bit of a neat freak. I get a bit of a rush from cleaning, and no, it's not because of the cleaning supplies I'm using. ;) I'm just the type of person that completely enjoys order over chaos and that translates to how I like my home to look too. I like to clean the whole house before I go on vacation so that when I come home it's spotless. I can't sleep or rest well at night if things haven't been put where they belong. Cleaning super random things like outlet covers, doorknobs, and behind the stove or the fridge is exciting to me. I am fully aware that it drives my husband crazy that I
absolutely must clean the entire house when we have company coming over...even if they've been there before. I just like things clean ok?!!??! It could be worse.
When I had my first baby, (and after the second and the third) I felt super overwhelmed with how I was going to get everything done. I mean looking after a tiny, little person is difficult and time consuming and exhausting enough alone, but then add to it keeping up a house. Yipes! Now my life is even busier as I've added homeschooling the two older ones to the mix and also extra curricular activites. I've got a lot to do and a little time to do it in. And then the mom guilt creeps in too, and I remember that
stupid poem about "dust bunnies will always be there but babies don't keep"...or something along those lines. I understand the idea of it, and will forgo the chores every so often, but then I just can't handle the mess! So then I feel guilty for wanting to clean, but really should I? I mean as Queen Bee of the Hive I want it to look nice for everyone...myself included. The struggle is real y'all.
So I put myself on a schedule. I posted it on the fridge so that I would be held more accountable. And you know what? It helped and I stuck with it...mostly. ***enter the life gets busy, people get sick, I don't wanna, at times*** I've changed my schedule up lots of times (and it no longer stays posted on the fridge) in order to better suit our families needs, and that's OK! Just because you have to change the "how" you're going about something, doesn't mean you're not consistent with it. As long as you are trying...as long as there is effort...then you are being consistent because you are not giving up. You know that's the best thing I've learned in putting myself on a cleaning schedule. You have got to absolutely 100% give yourself grace. Yep. Grace. Cut yourself some slack. You've got a lot going on, and it's ok that you didn't get it all done today or heck, even this week. Just try again tomorrow, Scarlett.
I've also found that if I can involve the girls in any way at all...I do! In fact they help out quite a bit. I've taught them how to fold washcloths and napkins (we use cloth napkins not paper napkins). So every laundry day they do that folding. They also know how to sort out their clothes from the pile, will take their pile to their room, and then put it away. With the exception of a few items, like shirts or dresses that belong on hangers, they can put away everything. My husband doesn't even do that much work with his part of the laundry. ;) A lot of time when we are cleaning I will put on music and we will sing and dance while we work. That always makes it fun and seems to go quickly-er. (Yes, that's a word, at least in our Hive) It also pleases my singer and dancer girls. The girls are in charge of nearly all the dusting in the house and they also clean all the bottom cabinets in the house. They think it's fun when one of them uses the spray bottle while the other one cleans it up with a washcloth (we use washcloths not paper towels). Those are just a few of the examples. Do you have any ways that you incorporate kids with cleaning? Or how about your cleaning schedule, do you have one? I'd love to hear what works for you.
In case inquiring minds want to know...here's what my schedule looks like:
Daily Chores:
Wipe down the kitchen counters
Load/unload dishwasher
Wash dishes in the sink- (most things just get pre-rinsed for the dishwasher)
Straighten pillows- on the couches and at our banquette
Clean bedrooms- Yes, everyday. Yes, all of them. This means clear off flat surfaces like dressers, nightstands, desks, or chests of drawers. Put away clothes or shoes that are randomly sitting out. For the kids rooms put books or toys where they belong. Make beds.
Put away toys- This is done twice a day for us actually. We clean up all toys before nap time and then again before bedtime. Now that we have an actual playroom where all the toys live (hallelujah!) I am occasionally a little more lax and will allow this room to look like a disaster for a day or two. But then I start getting a severe eye twitch and snap, and it has to be clean regardless of what time it is or who is around.
Mondays:
Kitchen and Windows- As far as the kitchen goes it's actually pretty minimal in addition to the daily kitchen chores, but we use this day to wipe down all the cabinets. I like to go through the pantry and fridge to reorganize them and discard anything that is out of date. I'll also use Mondays to clean behind the fridge and stove every so often. Windows take a bit of time since we have so many in our house, but again...if I stay on top of them then they are never really all that bad.
Tuesdays:
Dusting- This is one chore that the girls really enjoy helping me with and they do well on their own. Give them one of those Swiffer style dusters and let them take off. Table tops, window sills, TV armoire, baseboards, banisters. There's tons to dust.
Wednesdays:
Laundry- I typically have two loads of colored clothes and one load of white clothes. I don't go so far as to separate linens or bedsheets. It all gets washed together. Honestly, the fact that I'm separating clothes into colors and whites is a huge step. The college version of myself would be super impressed by that, and by the fact that I'm doing laundry once a week compared to once a month.
Thursdays:
Bathrooms- Everything gets wiped down. Mirrors, counters, toilets, tubs, and showers. I also use this time to browse over the bath toys for the kids and get rid of any that look gross and do a quick check of the bathroom cabinets and drawers. This is a good time to make sure that the linen closets look presentable too.
Fridays:
Floors- "Floors on Fridays," that's usually what Ava will call out as soon as she wakes up...every Friday. We have all tile downstairs and all laminate upstairs with the exception of the bathrooms upstairs, those have tile, so no carpet in our home. Hooray! I don't like carpet. Germs. Stains. Dust. Dead Skin. Just eww. This is the day that we sweep, Swiffer, and steam mop. I'll be honest though, steam mopping doesn't happen every week. The girls love helping out with the Swiffer part of this day. They will use the Swiffers as horses and "ride" them all around the house. It kills two birds with one stone...playtime and cleaning. Double the awesome. I also like having the biggest job on Fridays, that way if we have company for the weekend then the biggest eye sore is taken care of already.
I also have been making my own cleaning supplies for about 7 years now. It is one of my favorite things to do, it's cost efficient, and is super easy! Just go out and buy yourself some empty spray bottles (or repurpose some you already have...after washing them out of course), washing soda (not borax or baking soda), liquid detergent (Like dish soap. I like the clear kind.), vinegar (I like to use white distilled vinegar), and essential oils are optional if you'd like to make your cleaners smell differently. I like to get my essential oils from
Bramble Berry Soap Making Supplies. I've been purchasing from them since I started making cleaning supplies and can vouch for their quality. Also since you need so little of the essential oils you won't be reordering very often. It seems like everyone knows someone that sells essential oils now though, so you may want to support them instead. I personally LOVE using peppermint oil (which is a natural spider repellant) and lime oil in all of my cleaners. Sometimes I will switch it up and use eucalyptus oil if I need to de-stress or lavender oil if I need to calm things down around here.
Here are my recipes for my two favorite, go-to cleaners:
All Purpose Cleaner
4 cups hot water
1 tsp washing soda
1 tsp liquid detergent
15 drops essential oils
Mix all the ingredients into a spray bottle. Make sure you give the bottle a shake before you begin using it each time.
Glass Cleaner
4 cups hot water
6 tbsp vinegar
1/2 tsp liquid detergent
25 drops essential oils
Mix all the ingredients into a spray bottle. Make sure you give the bottle a shake before you begin using it each time.
Whew! That was a long post with a lot of information! After writing all of this it's inspired me...I think I'll go clean something now!
<3