I am neat. I am clean. I like order. But… I’m a mom. So my house is NEVER neat, clean or in any sort of order!
I can spend all day cleaning up messes the other (little and big) people, and animals, living in my house make. Don’t get me started on what our playroom looks like! After every weekend, my house looks like a tornado hit it. For a long time, I spent way too much time cleaning. And worrying about how neat it was. Each night, as soon as I got the kids in bed, I’d clean more. And then when I’d wake up in the morning, I’d clean up more. I felt like all I did was clean up everyone else’s messes.
But recently, I’ve had a “chore awakening” and I decided I am tired of cleaning up after EVERYONE, when I am the neat one! So I thought long and hard about it and realized I really only need to clean 5 things in the house to keep it in “pretty good” shape. And you know what? “Pretty good”, is awesome these days! So I’m sticking to these 5! They are…
1. The bathrooms. The little people in my house.. And yes, even the big one (my husband), they all think it’s easier to pee, and just walk out of the bathroom. No flushing whatsoever. Ok, if I must admit it… even my little one poops and doesn’t flush. Of course, I remind them all to flush. ALL THE TIME. But I am mom, and all they hear is mom nagging. So the toilet is often left unflushed until I go in and FLUSH! Such an easy thing to do. But so hard for some! So I make sure I clean the bathrooms regularly. Otherwise, just YUK!
2. The kitchen. I make so many snacks/meals each day, sometimes I feel like I’m running a diner. And I always cleaned the kitchen up after each meal. But I have made things much easier by waiting until after dinner, and then giving the whole kitchen a good wipe-down. Just once at the end of the day. And I run the dishwasher each evening. So I wake up in the morning to a clean kitchen. All ready for me to make breakfast!
3. Windows. Just the insides! I have 3 dogs, and 2 kids… so my windows are always covered with schmootz! Dog noses, drool, kid’s fingerprints… ok, kid’s drool sometimes too! They need a regular wiping down. I’ve discovered a mixture of vinegar and water, does a fabulous job.
4. Vacuuming. I do need to vacuum every few days because of my zoo. Well, and the kids too. But it’s amazing how much cleaner the house feels when I run a quick vacuum over the floors.
5. Laundry. Sometimes the idea of skipping laundry, is just too appealing. But then I think that I can’t let my kid be the smelly one in his/her class. So I do laundry. Someday I will invent an automatic folding/putting away machine too. But until then, it’s a chore I can’t skip.
The rest of the chores… well, I’ve decided they can wait until my kids go to college!
#cleanhouse #momschores #laundry #vacuum