Spring is upon us and, if you haven’t already begun, join me for a month of eradicating dust bunnies, clearing cluttered spaces, and finding new homes for old stuff. Every Friday, I’ll be posting about tips, tricks, methods, and my own journey to tame the mess. Catch up with Week One, Week Two, and Week Three, then grab your spray bottle and a garbage bag and let’s get started!
As I back crawled out from under our dining room table, my back twinging from the odd angle, I reminded myself why I was picking up errant Cheerios from the floor instead of turning a blind eye. In the past, I probably would have ignored the half a dozen stray O’s in favor of later sweeping up. Even if later meant tomorrow. But I’ve learned a few things about keeping our house clean since I started staying home full time.
I may have mentioned once or twice (or possibly ten or fifteen times) that I don’t really care for cleaning. But since it’s a fact of life (unless I’d like to share the kitchen counter with the ants), I’ve put some thought and time into a methodology that works for me and for my family. That may sound like a little much, but in truth, I’ve tried for a while to find a way to keep a house clean when there are seven people living in it, some of whom enjoy throwing cereal from their highchair as a matter of sport.
Because it’s not just cleaning that keeps the house clean. We aren’t all attacking our house with sponge and mop in hand every hour of every day. And if you are, let me give you my address if you have a spare hour. But what keeps a house clean is maintenance of work already done. If you can maintain the cleanliness and neatness of your home to some degree after you’ve put in the elbow grease, then there is less and less that you have to do with those sponges and mops.
Now, in theory, this is a lovely idea. Imagine a house where the children pick up their toys each day, where dirty clothes always find their way into the hamper, and toothpaste spit is rinsed from the sink every time. A house where husbands put their dishes in the dishwasher after use, keep their nightstand from overflowing with detritus, and there are no whisker shavings on the bathroom counter. Ahh, what a house..
Pop! Sorry to burst the bubble, but let’s get back to reality. Trying to get others on board with a cleaning plan is not as easy as we would hope. Kids will be kids and guys will be guys. Not to stereotype, but whenever I encounter an especially neat man or child I give them the eye, wondering if they’re real or perhaps something Apple developed. But in all seriousness, this goes for women, too.
Not everyone is a neatnik and most of us just fall just short of the definition of slob. I’m the type of person who, once things have gotten out of control, will let them spiral into a full blown disaster before donning my hazmat suit and going in. Nothing has ever made more sense to me than the criminology theory of broken windows, which says that by preventing low level crime (such as a broken window) and addressing it when it happens, prevents more violent offenses. In my house, this would be akin to picking up the kids toys each day to keep the living room from looking like a Toys R Us exploded in it.
Hence my practice of straightening up daily, with the help of my husband and kids. Here are a few straightening up tips that might help you keep your house neat with minimal effort:
- Nightly pick ups. Before bed, toys and books have to be put away. Nothing crazy, but I don’t want to stumble over a Matchbox car on my way to the fridge at night (for some carrots, of course. Not cookies.. ahem). Sometimes I give them a one minute countdown to get it done or divide the living room into sections, whatever I think might motivate them to get it done with the least complaints.
Dishes are washed immediately. I won’t sit down to eat until the dishes are done. I never leave pots in the sink anymore, unless it’s to soak and that won’t be for long. In the early years of my marriage, we would often leave dishes piling up in the sink until there was a distinct odor emanating from the area. I know, gross. And at that point, who really wants to wash those nasty things? While we had gotten better, it was still a task to clean crusty pots and pans. So now, they are done right away before anything can set, or worse, smell.- Counter wipe downs. Counters and tables are wiped down after use. This keeps things from building up and just plain looking gross. This goes for faucets, too, since toothpaste spittle on chrome is oh so unattractive.
- Papers are filed or tossed, never left. It’s so easy for a mound of papers to build, what with bills, junk mail, kids’ schoolwork, and important documents. So to avoid this, everything gets sorted and filed as soon as it appears. Documents are filed, junk mail tossed, school stuff is read and tossed, and bills put on the desk for payment. While I still have a pile accumulate at times when I get lazy, it’s nowhere near to the proportions of the past.
- Sweep and spot check the floors throughout the day. I probably sweep about three times a day. That may be more than others but that’s because I no longer have dogs (God’s perfect vacuums) and I do have toddlers who miss their mouth as often as hit it with their spoons. So I sweep to keep the ants from getting interested in us and pick up what I see when I see it. By keeping up on this, food isn’t getting stamped into the ground and I’m not having to scrub so hard when it’s time to mop.
- Beds are made. We leave our beds made as soon as we’re out of them, whether it’s morning or after naptime. The room looks neater the second the blankets are in place and it sets the tone for the whole room. The kids forget a lot, but most of the time they do a great job, and I think enjoy arranging their stuffed animals on the straightened sheets.
Once I started doing these things, I noticed that the family got on board without even having to be reminded (much). My husband now washes the pots right after cooking since the sink is always empty. My kids offer to clear the table because leaving it empty is the new norm. My younger children even fight over who gets to make my bed because that’s just what we do when we get up.
The whole point of straightening up each day is to keep on top of things so they don’t get out of control and make us feel overwhelmed when we see the task before us. Our home is our sanctuary and keeping the kitchen clean, the couch cushions empty of toys, and the bed ready to be climbed into makes it more warm and inviting. And best of all, keeping things fairly neat leads to less messes. No one wants to be the one who leaves that one cup in the sink, the one smear of toothpaste on the counter, or the one dirty sock in the middle of the bedroom floor.
I hope a little extra straightening in your day leads you and your family to a more neat and welcoming home. Give these suggestions a try and I believe you’ll see the difference in how things look, and also in how your family acts. Good luck!
Do you have any great straightening tips that keep your house clean with little fuss? Let me know in the comments below!
Thanks for joining me these last few weeks for some spring cleaning and decluttering. I hope your home is looking more the way you always dreamed it would and you can now put your feet up and enjoy all your hard work. Relax! You earned it.
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