Little Changes Making a Big Difference

With three little ones (or with any little ones, really), keeping the house any level of clean is a challenge.  I hear a lot of times to not worry about it, that I should just spend time with my kids as they grow up so quickly, that I have a good reason to have a messy house, etc.  

But over the last few years, my attitude about our home and keeping it clean has changed so much.  I used to loathe housework.  I mean, truly hated it.  And mostly didn't do it.  When I did do it, I resented it.  Somewhere along the way though, my perspective changed.  I began to see the value and blessing of having a clean home.  I could tell that when the home was clean (not spotless, don't get me wrong) there was more of a sense of peace and rest in our family.  I realized it was nice, I enjoyed it.

But as more and more little mess-makers arrived, I found it hard to keep up.  I had just found my groove of keeping it clean with one child, and then Nathan (and mono!) arrived.  It took me a lot longer to find my groove with two kids, but I found it...right before Hannah arrived!  We are now five months in and I feel like I can finally relax and say, "Ah, things feel (a little bit) under control!"

A friend recently gave me some tips that have helped me immensely in staying on top of housework, so I thought I'd share them in case it is helpful for anyone else.  Please hear me saying this loud and clear: there is NO WAY I actually do everything on this list every day.  At all.  But it has given me a good starting point and I'm making good progress in the right direction and cutting myself slack for the rest :) 

Having a list of daily chores that I work through at certain times of the day has changed things so much for me.  Before, there were always dishes to do, laundry was piling up, I felt like I followed around behind the kids all day cleaning up (and making them clean up!) and I found it stressful.  I was always cleaning but the house was never clean!  Please don't think I expect my house to be spotless with three little kids learning, playing, exploring and creating every day.  But I don't want chaos, and I want to not clean all the time.

My solution:

In the morning, I work on cleaning for less than an hour (it would be much less without my three little helpers!).  I hate putting away laundry, hate it, but when I didn't just fold it and when it's just one basket I don't mind it too much (Nathan helps with the kids clothes). I empty the dishwasher (Matthew's job is to unload the silverware) and load it throughout the day.  I also do one of my weekly chores (clean the bathroom, vacuum, etc) at this time.  And I start a load of laundry.

The best part - then I'm free for the day from thinking about cleaning!  I play with my kids, run errands, go for walks...whatever!  And I don't give cleaning another thought (except to put laundry in the dryer in the afternoon).

As soon as the kids are in bed, I sit down in front of the tv to decompress and I fold one load of laundry.  That's it - done with laundry for the day and it sits waiting to be put away in the morning.  We try to clean up the kitchen right after dinner (often Brad does this while I give the kids a bath) so I usually just have to clean the counters and sweep and it's good!

We do several small clean-ups throughout the day (me and the kids) before lunch, before dinner, and before bed, or if we go out so that the dog doesn't chew up any toys.  This helps me too because I don't worry if there are toys everywhere, I know they'll be picked up later on and it won't take long.

I love when the kids are in bed and the house is cleaned up and I can just sit with Brad and chat or watch tv or do whatever I want without that feeling of "I should be doing something,,,,"

I'm so thankful for our little house and I am grateful to God for blessing us with such a lovely home.  I enjoy taking care of it and trying to make it a place that feels peaceful and calm and cosy.  I'm thankful to have found what works for our family!