Over the years, friends and family are always surprised at how clean and orderly our house is. With a handful of young kids, homeschool, and not having outside help they wonder how we manage to make it happen. Below are the numerous ways to Clean House as a Stay at Home Mom to Young Kids. Everything listed is something I have tried over the years whether I had two kids 2 and under or 6 kids 8 and under.
Have a Weekly Cleaning Day
Pick a day of the week that works for you and make cleaning your house the priority of the day. Dusting, Cleaning Windows, BathRooms, Sweeping, Moping, etc. Play some fun upbeat music and knock it out! Or let the Kids watch a movie so you can work semi- uninterrupted.
I first did this years ago after having my second baby. If I didn’t have a set day to clean house, then I knew it would leave my mind and who knows when I would get around to it. I still do this today, but sometimes the day changes based on what we have going on that week. For example, Friday is my go-to cleaning day if we have a low-key week, but I usually clean the evening before if we have company coming over the next day.
Focus on One Area Daily
This might look like Monday as Laundry Day. Tuesday you clean the Bathrooms. Wednesday you focus on the Kitchen, etc. Maybe breaking this large task down to one area a day is much for manageable for you.
Cleaning is not my favorite task although I am always glad to have that clean house feel and smell when it is done! I do a basic cleaning of the Kitchen daily such as Unload + Load the Dishwasher. Wipe down the Counters. Pick up the main Living Spaces and Sweep. However, cleaning cleaning everyday does not sound fun to me, nor do I have the time honestly to work on it daily in this phase of life.
Clean During Nap + Bed Time
When my Kids were little this is when I got the cleaning done. If I had the energy at Nap Time then I did what I could until kids woke up. Leaving their rooms for a later time when they were up. Don’t want to wake those sleeping babies!
Now if Nap Time rolled around and I needed to rest (Hello Pregnancy!) then I would do the cleaning when kids were in bed and Sam was home to help. Thankfully we have lived in apartments or homes over the years that were 1300 sq. ft. or smaller so cleaning never took very long.
Have Your Kids Help
Praise the Lord, we are at the stage where I have 3 to 4 eager helpers on Cleaning Day. Depending on his mood you can either count the 4-year-old in or out. My 8, 6, and 5-year-old all can help Unload + Load a Dishwasher. Wipe down tables. Sweep. Clean windows. Dust and pick up toys.
Now is their cleaning to my standards nope, but hey they are learning. Usually, Sam and I quickly go behind them and touch up which is much simpler than doing it all ourselves. Besides by the time all the kids have had a turn at dusting things look pretty good 🙂
Cut Yourself Slack
Didn’t get to your weekly cleaning because the family was sick? Kids up in the night and you are pooped the next day. Maybe you’re just not feeling it today?
It’s OK pick another day to make it a priority when everyone is feeling better. You have more energy. Or your more in a cleaning mood. Rember this is your house so as long as your house is up to your and your spouse’s cleaning standards then your good!
What ways do you clean house with young kids around?
Please share with us in the comments. Check out the Motherhood section of the Blog is you are looking for more encouragement on your Motherhood Journey. You got this!
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