Juggling Life; Part II: Cleaning

8.07.12

Being a mom is a 24/7 responsibility. How our child is raised, what they learn, what they do, and how they act becomes our main priority. And in the meantime, often times, the other aspects of our lives are slacking. Cooking, cleaning, blogging, and hobbies. How do we make time? What works? This week I will talk about these 4 subjects, and talk about how each one is incorporated into my day to day life.

I know a lot of people say that when you have children that your house becomes a "zoo." A disaster. A toy zone. And although I can see glimpses of this from time to time... you will rarely find that at our house. In fact, it would take me a matter of a few minutes to make it even seem as though no child lives at our house {with the exception of the baby proofing}. This doesn't mean that E doesn't have a ridiculous amounts of toys. Doesn't mean that we don't let her play. It just means that we are particular about where the toys are at and how they are hidden.

We like organized chaos. We like our home to look like a home and not a kid zone. And we like E to have fun at the same time. In order to do so we have a toy box that blends great with our furniture. And we keep the rest of the bigger toys in that area. We have little places around the house, like bookshelves, that we will keep a few of her flashcards and books stored at. Places that make these things blend in all. Overall,  this helps in the "cleaning" and "organizing department."

As far as the real cleaning and such goes. We make it a habit to do this throughout the day. And I say we because husband helps a lot over the weekends and at night when he comes home from work. But for the most part its just me. Laundry gets done every day. Dishes are cleaned and put away by the end of the day. The home is picked up, things put back to where they belong, and overall by the time our heads hit the pillows, our home is in a picked up condition.

But the nitty gritty stuff like toilets, washing windows, and so forth? Well that, I have to confess, doesn't get done right away, all the time, and as often as it should. But it does. Eventually. But needs to be done more.

And thus I have printed out a little printable to serve as a reminder. Things that I forget need my attention as well. Things that we all, as homeowners, need to be aware of.

I went through a lot of printables. Searched my little butt off. And this was the favorite one that I came across.

Image Source

To be honest with you, a clean home for us is one of the most important things that we value in our lives. It makes us feel better and we are more productive and happier when our home is picked up.

However, I don't dwell on the big things. To me, as long as the kitchen is cleaned, the dishes are done, laundry is done, and the house is picked up? I am happy. We are happy.

And when we had more babies to the mix? We plan on continuing this practice... to the best of our abilities.