How To: “Keep” Your House Clean!

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June 1, 2013 by rebeccaannemarshall

Its another Dissocial Mom “how to” today. This time I thought I would venture into the world of chores. If you are a stay at home mom, like I, you know that part of your daily duties, aside from child wrangling and the like, is consisted of cleaning, laundry, cooking etc. It is certainly a well known fact that these are never ending, repetitive daily duties. I mean really, these obligations to your home come weather you are a stay-at-home-mom or not. Weather you work or stay home, clothes still get dirty, carpets still hold fast to crumbs, dirt and pet hair, floors still need mopping, the family still needs to eat, and dishes still need to be cleaned.

So today I thought I would share with you my secret to a successfully clean home. OK clean-ish home. This same step by step system I use daily and religiously. It is a proven and trustworthy daily house work program that has never failed me. It is only fair that I let the world know just how I keep my house so clean…………ish.

~6:00 am until 8:00 am~

Up with the children. This is when I make coffee, clothe, feed, water and brush the kids and get the oldest ready for school and pack everyone up to make the trip to the bus stop. I always make sure to not clutter my busy getting-ready mornings with any cleaning or other house work so as not to overwhelm myself.

~8:00 am until 9:00 am~

This is when I have another coffee and spend sometime writing in my journal. I make sure to treat my journal as sort of an extensive “to-do list” where I write about what I would like to or need to get done throughout the course of the day. It is a good way to gather my thoughts and organize my chores.

~9:00 am until 10:00 am~

This is when I call my sister and we discuss, together, what we need to do throughout the day. It is nice to have someone to share your plans with, someone to share support with and encouragement that things will get done as well as someone to complain with about having to get those things done. This helps to jump start my cleaning day, really gets me motivated.

~10:00 am until 11:00 am~

This is when I get dressed and do my hair, wash my face, brush my teeth, you know make myself look like a human being. This innately makes me feel better and in turn puts a little pep in my step and really promotes a good-day-having. This is pertinent to successful house cleaning.

side note: In case you are concerned that by now so much time has passed seemingly not having mentioned my children, I assure you that they are very much there, for the sake of this “house work” topic however I have chosen to walk you through only certain steps throughout the day that pertain to it.

~11:00 am until 12:00 pm~

This is usually the time where I will sit down to check my email, blog comments, check my face book pages and my Avon account, look to see if magically money has appeared in my bank account, the norm. By doing this before I start the house work it gets it out of the way, to leave me to fully concentrate on my duties. This insures that I can successfully get my chores finished without the other interruptions of the internet.

~12:00 pm until 1:00 pm~

This of course is lunch time. Understandably this is the time where lunch will be made and eaten, not much further explanation needed for that one.

~1:00 pm until 2:00 pm~

This is always quiet time/nap time. Fairly self explanatory, if nap times are a bust (which lets face it, it happens) then quiet time takes its place. This usually means movie time, couch time, lay down and relax time. For babies and mommy. It is extremely important, not only for your little ones to have some down time but that you yourself also have some time to relax and have a little mid day battery re-charge as well. This battery charge will do well for boosting your energy back up for the cleaning tasks at hand.

~2:00 pm until 3:00 pm~

This time is what I call “free time” this is a time for me to allow myself to indulgence in whatever other none-homemaking activities I may choose. This may be reading, or writing or working on Avon if need be. It is essential to the sanity of a stay at home mother to make sure there is always time in a day for other hobbies or activities. To do this before you being your daily chores is also important as it helps you pull away from the pressures of keeping house for a while before having to really delve deep into the murky waters of dirty dishes and smelly clothes.

~3:00 pm until 5:00 pm~

This is time spent picking up Chelsie from the bus stop and allowing the girls to have some outside play time. This is something there is just no getting around. Of course the daughter needs to be picked up and the girls need fresh air, running, sandboxing, swinging, ball playing and the like. By allowing them to get the rest of their days sillies out I then become able to do my chores mostly uninterrupted by bored children (oh we ALL know how children can get when they are bored).

~5:00 pm until 7:00 pm~

It is crunch time now. The hubby will be home within the next couple hours and there is dinner to be made. This is the time where I: Pick up the toys, vacuum the living room, “dust” (which means wipe stuff down in the living room with a baby wipe), fold up the throw blankets and place them back nicely on the couch, sweep the kitchen and hallway floor, tidy the bathroom, put the clean dishes away, wash the dirty ones, wash off the counters and kitchen table, fold the laundry that is in the the dryer and put it away, put the next load into the dryer, quickly organize the “dumping grounds” (everyone has one or many, that place where all the clutter seems to get put throughout the day, ours is the microwave stand and the top of the deep freeze), make dinner, eat dinner, clean up the dishes from dinner and then greet daddy at the door as he comes home to a nice clean house and dinner in the microwave!

There you have it! Easy peasy right?! Don’t forget to point out to your other half how clean the house is. Feel free to emphasize what you have accomplished, feel good about it. There is also really no need to mention that you, super women, were able to do all these things in just the the span of a couple hours, no need to brag.

Granted not all days will be the same, there are still grocery shops and play dates, errands to run or other “must-do’s” that pop up and take priority. However this is a proven guide line to a successfully clean house and your significant other will remain amazed that you are able to keep the house so well kept day in and day out 😉

Until next Saturday! Tata!

Becky A.M.