Sorry and New Post

First let me say sorry that I haven’t posted in nearly a month. The month of October always seems to be a busy month for us, especially now that we have a baby with an October birthday.

I know that I have posted about this before, but it’s been awhile so I figured I would post about it again hopefully with a different spin.

People think that my home is always perfectly clean and organized, but that is not always the case. I would love for it to be and at times it has been, but in the past 2 years with upgrading to a bigger home, being pregnant, officially starting homeschooling, and adding another child to the mix, it has been pretty much impossible to keep this house perfect.

I have figured out the key areas in my home and life that have to be organized and decently clean in order to help me function as a human being, wife, mom, homemaker, and homeschooler.

#1 – The Kitchen

I don’t know about you but the kitchen seems to be the place that needs to be cleaned the most in my home. With 4 people, 3 of which are home most of the day, eating 3 meals and 2-3 snacks each day in there, it is a 24/7 cleaning job. How do I keep it up? I have daily benchmarks that I aim to meet.

Morning:
In the morning I come down and make sure that everything is clean. If the dishwasher was run the night before and dishes are in the left side of the sink dry and ready to put away, I put all of the dishes away. Any dirty dishes get done. I make sure all counters, table, chairs, and high chair are clean. I make sure the floor is pretty clean. On a good morning all I am doing is putting away clean dishes. On a bad morning I am scrubbing and washing dishes left from dinner. J

After Each Meal/Snack:
I really try to wash dishes, load the dishwasher, and wipe surfaces after each meal/snack. If I do this, it doesn’t pile up and each time we come to the kitchen for another meal/snack, we have a clean work area.

After Dinner:
I really try to wash all cooking dishes as I cook (that is a major help). After dinner, my goal is to wash all dishes and pots and load the dishwasher or put in the left side of the sink (where clean dishes dry). I wipe all surfaces really well. I sweep the floor. If it is dirty, I try to Swiffer mop the floor (especially under the table). It is helping having Lee do baths after dinner giving me more time to do this.

#2 – The Living Room

We play, watch TV, rest, and snack in our living room. My goal was that it wouldn’t be a play room but it is. It just has to be with the myriad of tasks that have to be done in the kitchen throughout the day. Again, I have daily benchmarks that I aim to meet.

Morning:
In the morning I come down and make sure the living room is straightened. I put away blankets that may have been used the night before. I straighten up any snack refuse. I put away remotes. I make sure the toys are not out of control. Ideally, there aren’t toys everywhere because they have been cleaned up the night before. This takes just a few minutes.

Afternoon & Before Daddy Comes Home:
We try to do a quick clean up of toys.

Before Kids Go to Bed:
We aim to clean up the toys.

#3 – The Homeschool Room

Since we homeschool 3-4 days a week, this room has to stay straightened up for my sanity. We have a shelf for all supplies with little plastic containers for each thing (crayons, markers, pencils, etc). We have another shelf for all of our materials. As we do school we straighten up and when we are done we do a big straightening. It is nice to come in each day to an organized, straightened room.

Other Tasks that Make Life Smoother:

Making Beds

I make the master bed and Luke makes his bed. I love the way a room looks when you walk in and the bed is made. It seriously takes like 1 minute but it makes a huge difference in a room. I also think it tends to make you make less mess in that room throughout the day.

Straightening Up Toys

I love the way it looks when toys are organized and straightened up. I aim to train my kids by about 2 years old to clean up their own toys.

Laundry

I aim to do at least 1 load of laundry each day or 2 loads every other day. I don’t like for it to pile up. I try to toss a load in first thing in the morning and have it done by lunchtime.

I have found that these things help my life run smoother and make my home appear cleaner when people come over.

What are the things you have to have clean and/or organized to run smoothly in your life/home?