At this point, I’m hoping my column has convinced you to pare down the items in your home to a manageable level. If it hasn’t, maybe click back to the Clear the Clutter article and give it a re-read.
Once everything has a home within your home, it becomes a matter of resetting to baseline. After all, just because you’ve jettisoned the junk and cleaned the crevices doesn’t mean the rest of your stuff won’t get used and moved around, nor will dust stop accumulating or kid spills magically clean themselves. I keep the house in check with a morning and evening routine, which leaves the rest of the day for living.
Every morning when they wakeup, the kiddos follow their lists – pictured below. Admittedly, my eldest is a sloppy bed maker, and my youngest needs a lot of encouragement; luckily my middle kiddo has solid tidying skills. My morning list isn’t printed out; I just do it by habit at this point. I wake up, make up the bed, and get dressed. After walking to the kitchen, I start the coffee maker. While it brews, I switch the laundry to the dryer and unload the dishwasher – sometimes the kids “help” with these tasks, slowing them down but I try to remind myself that patience today will mean helpers tomorrow. At this point I take my vitamins with my coffee and start making everyone breakfast. That’s it for the morning, and we begin our day.
Throughout the day I’ll do small tasks as they pop up – loading dishes into the dishwasher, putting away clothes when the dryer is done, etc. If the kids are playing well, I might scrub a bathroom or vacuum the couch, but it’s pretty rare. If I’m feeling on top of my game, I’ll grab a washcloth and walk around wiping the endless fingerprints little ones make.
My evening routine starts as soon as dinner is done. Dinner dishes and pans get loaded or hand-washed, I start the dishwasher, and wipe down the counters. As a family we pick up whatever messes have been made throughout the day – books and games go back to shelves, toys get put away, etc., because we’ve pared down this is always less than five minutes of work. Next, as we help the kids through their nighttime routines, I run the robovac – my favorite purchase from a Black Friday sale over three years ago. Once the kids are in bed, my husband and I hangout ’til we get ready for bed. Right before bed, I load the washer and set a delayed start for an hour before I wake up – setting up myself for success the next morning. About once a week I’ll set out the robomop right before going to sleep.
These routines don’t get the house deep cleaned, but they do keep it generally clean enough to enjoy life! I’m raising children, not dustless baseboards.
Picture 1: Kids Printed Morning & Night Checklists
Picture 2: Time it takes to brew my cup of coffee (and, thus, unload the dishwasher + switch the laundry, p.s. my fave mug reminds me of one of my fave people – thanks Nichole!)
Disclaimer/Reality Check: I don’t always follow my routines. There are times I’m sick, or the kids or sick, or we’ve been too busy or I plain get lazy and take the day off. Perfection isn’t the goal, and that’s ok! This column will be about motherhood, parenting, and homemaking for the most part. It might about community theories like Dunbar’s number or regulating your emotions when every one else’s are off the charts. Most importantly, I don’t ever want this column to make another mama think she’s not doing enough. If you’re reading this, I want you to know that you are, you’re doing great, keep it up. Sing it with me: no-one is doing it allllll!
