Happy Monday, Girls!
Just what we all want to start our week off with….talking about cleaning!
{Can you hear my sarcasm?}
I know this is gonna sound unbelievable, but I get asked a lot about cleaning.
*When do I clean?
*How often do I clean?
*What are my favorite products?
*Do I have a housekeeper?
*Do I enjoy cleaning?
I started thinking about it and sharing a bit about how we tackle this at our house is a little like a “day in the life” post. Right? We get to see a behind the scenes look. And those happen to be our favorites!
First, I’d like to send a HUGE shout out to our cleaning lady, Mrs. Norma. She is FABULOUS! And I couldn’t do it without her. This past year is the first year I’ve had someone come in weekly to really scrub the house. Before that we had someone every other week or just on random occasions, but after a year of working with Shay at Mix and Match Travel, Tab and I both agreed there wasn’t enough time in the day for me to do the hardcore cleaning. Keep in mind, I’m still daily cleaning the kitchen after meals, doing dishes, flushing toilets-because kids (anyone else-hahaha!), and doing laundry.
Before Mrs. Norma arrived on the scene, I tried to set aside a morning or an afternoon to clean the entire house. I tried several of those cleaning schedules you see on Pinterest, but it always bothered me the house was never all clean at one time. It worked better for me to just plan it into my week.
Nowadays, I feel like I’m picking things up ALL THE TIME! We all pick up every night before going to bed. And then throughout the day, I’m picking random things up or making piles for the kids to take up to their rooms. I’d like to say I’m always whistling show tunes while I’m doing all this, but that isn’t the case. ha!
Now, if we have people coming over or something happening at our house I’m not frantically running around like a crazy woman trying to get the house clean. I used to morph into a MAD WOMAN!
Deep down in my heart-I don’t love to clean. I wish God had given me that gift.
These are my favorite cleaning products.
Every time I even see a can of Pledge I think back to my childhood. On Saturday mornings we usually cleaned the house. My brother and I were responsible for cleaning our own rooms-picking up, dusting, and vacuuming. Then we’d help with other things once we were finished. I remember one Saturday my brother was done with his entire room in like two minutes. I remember going in his room and the smell of Pledge was so strong it could knock you over. My nine-year-old self just KNEW he didn’t really dust-he just sprayed the Pledge so Mom would THINK he dusted. He denied it then and he still denies it to this day. But I’m not buying it. 😉
In our house, we’re working on our kids transitioning to doing more chores around the house, but at this point-I feel like I’m the one reminding them ALL THE TIME. Are you guys constantly having to remind them at your houses too? Or is it just me? Do you guys have any helpful hints about this? I usually ask a different kid every night to help me with dinner dishes. That works out great! I get one on one time. They are being responsible and at this age-they love it!
At this point, it’s hard to even imagine me being able to count on them to scrub the toilet without me watching when they have the hardest time simply FLUSHING IT! hahaha! We’ll get there. One day.
I’m sorry I had nothing earth shattering to share about cleaning the house. But…it’s always fun to see what others are doing. What about YOU? How do you keep your house clean?
Thanks for stopping by today! XO
Thanks for stopping by today! XO
I'm six month outs since I quit having my house cleaned and I miss it every single day. Maybe again some day!!
I just had my boys empty the dishwasher on their own this week. Game changer!
http://www.lettinginthelightblog.com
Total game changer!!
I am so thankful you came to work for Mix and Match Travel…because you are AMAZING at your job. God bless Mrs. Norma for giving you the extra time in your day to focus on our clients 🙂 .
Me too, girl!! So much fun!
I feel like I need to take the time to teach my boys how to help with specific things. I'm always picking up and asking them to pick stuff up. Like always!
The 1 day a week for the cleaning lady is a life changer though. I remember our conversation in the park that day. 😉
I remember that conversation-it was life changing!! 🙂
Have you ever considered Norwex cleaning products? Makes cleaning quick and reduces the amount of chemicals in your home!
You might have just convinced me to have more kids.
Just kidding.
😉
Young Living Thieves cleaner will change your life! It is 100% chemical free/nontoxic and it is the ONLY cleaning product you would ever need in your home. From cleaning kitchen counters to toilets to wood dressers it is safe for every surface in your house. You'll also have peace of mind knowing that you aren't exposing your family to toxic chemicals. Just a suggestion! 🙂
That's what I use and it seriously saves major cleaning time and it's crazy affordable!!!
Oh and it's smells sooo good! We love everything Thieves in our home 🙂
I've always loved to clean but here lately Millie Jo [my 4yr old] drags out EVERYTHING … all day every day … so I'm constantly picking up. I'm not loving cleaning so much nowadays! 😉 All of our bedrooms are upstairs, including the playroom, but somehow ALL the toys end up downstairs so I have 2 baskets sitting on our steps & every night before bed we fill up the baskets & they have to take theirs upstairs & put all the things away!
She sounds adorable. My daughters did the same thing until we made a new rule…toys are only allowed upstairs. Downstairs looks great most of the time and the playroom upstairs looks like a tornado went through it almost every day.
That is a great rule!!
Sometimes as a work outside of the home mom with no cleaning lady, I feel like I have the cleaning gig mastered. First of all GRACE. Because you can't possibly do it all. Second, we use homemade cleansers because I don't want my kids helping and breathing in the toxins or touching the chemicals. I'm pretty passionate about that 😉 the girls don't mind cleaning the toilets or vacuuming the stairs. They help with the dishwasher. But they loathe cleaning their rooms. I have a roomba that I run daily so I don't have to vacuum much. I still run he big one once a week. I keep c my cleaning spray in the bathroom so I can quickly wipe things down while the girls are in the tub or have a spare minute. Because I make my own furniture polish, the furniture stays shiny longer so I dust less often. We also make our bed daily, squeegee the shower, and do laundry daily!
Make your own furniture polish and then not having to dust as often has me INTRIGUED.
share! please, please, pretty please!
Why can kiddos not flush?! Ugh…the mama struggle is totally real! 🙂
To get my kids involved I made some chore boards and bought some button magnets with pictures for chores… some of them are as simple as make bed, which involves then just pulling the comforter up and getting dressed. My kids are 14 (his chores are much bigger than beds 😀), 4 & 2. They love the boards. They know what yo expect and get to move them over to the "done" side! That's the most exciting part of the day. It is so hard to keep up with the house! I'm glad you've got a cleaner! Those dang toilets need constant cleaning!
If someone comes by unexpectedly and uses our toilet, I always warn them it may not be flushed – sigh :)! I clean best when someone is coming over so I invite people over, otherwise I put it off. Cleaning…it never ends.
We are struggling with flushing at our house too!! Ha. Come on kids!!! Im ready for my kids to start unloading the dishwasher. It's time. Right?!?
Too funny about flushing the toilet… I feel like in my house no one can remember to load their dishes in the dishwasher. The dirty dishes make it to the sink though at least, but I'm like it wouldn't be any harder to put them in the dishwasher. Maybe I'm wrong though haha.
When your kids grow up and move out, your house will be clean. All good things come to those who wait!
You should totally look up Norwex!!! You can clean your entire home with one cloth…..seriously. It's amazing. I use the enviro cloth for bathrooms and everything else, and the kithen cloth for the kitchen. It has this stuff in it so it doesn't stink, so you clean every surface in your house, rinse the cloth, hang it up to dry and it's ready again for the next day! I have the mop too and it cleans your floors with only water…..I am OCD about my floors and have tried everything on them, and they have never looked better than they do now that I use my Norwex tile pad to clean. I don't sell it–I'm just obsessed with it!! 😉 You should totally google it and check it out–no chemicals and no more paper towels or smelly cloths!!! (Oh and my shower glass doors look amazing and I only use the bathroom mitt to clean them!)
I'm 100% with you that I need my entire house to be clean all at once. I mean, what good is it if the floors are vacuumed if the shelves and tables are covered in dust?? I do like you, and I set aside an block of several hours to clean the house top to bottom all at one time. You are so lucky to have a Mrs. Norma… I need a Mrs. Norma, too!!
I keep Clorox wipes under my kids' sinks and they have to wipe down the bathrooms (vanity, toilets) on Saturday mornings and sometimes throughout the week (for electronics time) if it's really bad. Just not sure how huge globs of toothpaste get EVERYWHERE!! So they mainly are wiping them off and I have them wipe down the toilet even though I secretly need to clean it afterwards 😉 small steps. My boys are 7 and 4….
I agree with Libby! I LOVE NORWEX!! So much so that I became a consultant myself. I'd encourage you to check out http://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners and type your cleaners into the search bar there and see how they rate. I know there is so much to worry about being bad for us these days, but cleaners can really affect your family's health. I could go on and on, but if you're interested you can check out my website… http://angelaellingson.norwex.biz Happy Monday!
I have four littles (5, 3, 2, 1) and they each have one job that they do every single day, on top of basic cleaning up their rooms and cleaning up their toys. They have each started with the same job and as they get older they move up to the next job. So my 2 year old picks up our foyer, the 3 year old puts away the silverware, and the 5 year old empties the dishwasher. Soon the 5 year old will move up to a harder chore, the 3 year old will empty the dishwasher, etc. It's so helpful having them know exactly what they have to do every day, and I love being able to count on that. Plus they love feeling so responsible. Win win win!
I love to clean…in fact, I do my best thinking while cleaning. I realize I'm probably weird, but there are worse vices to have!
Glade plug ins go a long way in making a room smell clean! 🙂
alexisdezayas.wordpress.com
As a mom of an adult male and the wife of man who only has brothers, I cannot stress enough that you are teaching your sons how to be husbands. Teach them the way you want them to act as husbands. In our house everyone had chores even with a housekeeper. It was part of the responsibility of living in our home. A chore board had every day of the week listed and what chores he had to do — with a consequence (like no tv) if they weren't done by dinner. If I cooked, my husband and my son did the dishes. It gave them bonding time and taught them both that things just don't magically get done. My mother-in-law did everything for her husband and three sons. Washed all of the clothes, cooked 3 meals a day (7 days a week), etc. They worked (literally – even as kids). It gave them a strong work ethic but very little understanding of what it takes to run a home. Yes, kids are kids and they should have loads of fun being kids but they should also be exposed to cleaning up their own toilet messes and picking up their own dirty clothes. It's tough being a mom! No one ever has it all together. We just do the best we can.
I am so glad you revealed you had a cleaning lady! We have one weekly as well but I still bust my butt every.single.day !! Two kiddo's and giant dogs… well I have my hands full and I have always been embarrassed to admit we have a cleaner… Now I feel relieved 🙂
My kiddos are 13 and 8. They clean their rooms, bathrooms, take out the trash and unload the dishwasher. My 13 year old does her own laundry. This my friend is why we have kids…haha jk. But seriously it's so nice when they can help out. And I do not pay them a cent. They are part of the mess so no getting paid to clean up after yourself. I do reward them with the million activities we do, movies, shopping, outings.
I want a Ms. Norma! HA.
I'm just getting to the point where I make mine kiddos make their own beds, put up their clothes, etc!!!
The struggle is real.
I have had the best luck typing a "to do" list for my kiddos and posting on the fridge. I pick some good Google images for fun pictures…then they check off what they have done. Checking off makes them feel accomplished. But….there is no tv, devices time until everything is done. By everything….it's 1-2 easy chores and standard….pick your plates up to the sink, make your bed, make your laundry ready to go (no inside out pants, socks, shirts). I also make it fun….blasting thier picks for music while cleaning. It's also,good to tell the kids we are cleaning fast for 3 songs….it's a hustle event!
I clean all the time…that's how I keep my house cleaned 🙂 Before kids, I cleaned once a week on Saturdays. Now I clean kitchen, living room, and breakfast nook area before bed every single night. The boys have to pick up their toys before bed…we use their laundry baskets and make a game out of it to see who can collect the most toys (when they're out in the main areas of house). Then I usually use Fridays to change sheets in house, clean bathrooms and catch up on any laundry over the weekend (but try to do one load a day). I loathe mopping so I procrastinate that as much as possible. Keeping a clean house with kids is super hard.