~ Rachelle's Housecleaning Secrets ~

*Would anyone else care to share some of their housecleaning or time management secrets? Would you like to add anything to mine? You can be a working woman, a working mom, a homeschooling stay-at-home mom, a mother of preschoolers, a stay-at-home wife without kids or even someone who isn't married! I would love to hear from you! :) Just leave a comment(s). *




This summer I have pretty much been stuck at home. We don't have a lot of money left over for me to be driving around all over and when I drive around I end up spending money at thrift stores, yard sales or whatever. I am pretty much limited to church on Thursday and Sunday and grocery shopping twice a month.

So, this summer I have been doing a lot of cooking, cleaning and sorting. It's been nice to be able to sort and get rid of things on Freecycle, since we just moved here. I've been wanting to post a few housecleaning secrets on here. Sometimes housecleaning becomes too important to me, so I have to be careful. I also know that having a clean, comfortable and uncluttered home is a good thing, too...so...about 90% of the time my house is clean, picked up and running smoothly. I have a few secrets for all the people who ask me how I do it with three kids! :)

I remember working for a little while, while I was pregnant with Zane and I know it was harder to keep my house clean. We lived in this rickety house that was infested with mice. It was horrible and I was so glad when we moved out of it! That was the only time I think my home was gross...

When I lived in the camper for 18 months I kept it really clean, too, though it was hard. I had to de-clutter every month and I had to clean twice as much (or more) as I would have had to do had I been in a normal home. It was concentrated mess! :) I sweep once a week here, whereas in the camper I swept twice a day. Living in the camper with three children showed me that I can live in any size home and run that home, smoothly. So, here are some of my secrets for keeping a clean, uncluttered home:

1) PICKING UP THE HOUSE: My biggest secret, is really something very simple indeed! The kids and I pick-up (not to be mistaken with clean ) the house every night before bed. The whole house must be picked up before bed, including the yard. Why is this my biggest secret? The reason is because, in the morning I can clean. I don't have to deal with the discouragement of having to pick up messes, so I CAN clean! :) I get up and I can vacuum after breakfast. I can even vacuum the kids rooms if I beat them in there, before they start playing. There is nothing better than waking up to a picked up house every morning! :) There is also nothing better than being able to go out and mow grass in the morning and not have to waste my time and energy picking up toys in the yard. This is my biggest time-management tip, ever, I think!

2) CHILDREN: Kids MUST clean up their own mess. My kids have been trained to clean since they could walk and now it doesn't take them long to get it done. I have a bit of trouble with Sheldon. He knows how to do it, but thinks since he's little he can get away with playing, while the others clean. I have watched him clean, though, and I know I trained him well, (and the same as the other children) because he knows where everything goes. Every so often (maybe once every two months) I go through the toy boxes and containers and put misplaced objects in the right places. Usually things get put away in the wrong places when kids come over to play and don't know where things go. I must say that organizing the kids toys has helped them immensely to get their cleaning done quickly. For a very long time I would keep large diaper boxes and certain toys would go in certain boxes. You can line them up in closets or along a wall. It's best if they are in a closet because they don't look very pretty. If you can afford to buy organizing boxes that would be nicest (I finally do have some, now). Anyway, trains in one, Barbies in another, baby dolls in one, doll clothing in another, army men in one, cars in another, etc....you get the picture. We have one toy box for misc toys. We have one larger toybox for all manner of swords, indoor balls, very large trucks and construction trucks, play guns, etc. What I am getting at though is that EVERY toy needs to have a place. It doesn't take long to teach a child where they all go. My kids have come to me before with a piece of trash to throw away or a new toy without a home, and told me they didn't know where to put it. This works very well! I rarely clean up my kids messes. If they want to watch a movie they have to clean the livingroom, or if they have made a huge mess elsewhere they have to clean it up, before they can watch a movie! NO slumming allowed!!! I don't know why it bothers me so much when they watch a movie and they are surrounded by their mess. I can't stand to watch a movie amisdt my own mess, either. Anyway, they know the rules about movie watching. My house usually has toys scattered all over it, all day long. It doesn't bother me; as long as they are cleaned up before bed.

3) CLUTTER: I think we all know that clutter is the biggest enemy, when it comes to keeping a clean home. The reason is because you have to move it, to clean, and it wastes so much precious time and energy. Mail needs to be sorted daily....open it...throw envelopes and flyers away...file the statement...put the bill portion and sending envelope wherever you keep your bills...and throw out the junk mail. Or recycle it. Join Freecycle.org to get rid of larger items or just take them to the Goodwill. I took so much stuff to the Goodwill when we first moved here, and got rid of an old washer, and two tv's on Freecycle. Don't make piles! I have one designated area for pile-making. I puts odds and ends, papers, lists, etc, on one place on my island and before bed I try to sort the pile. You could also use a basket. Having a designated area for your pile works really well. A lot of the clutter I have seen in people's houses is trash, plain and simple. Just throw it away as soon as it becomes trash! :) Get after your kids BIG TIME for leaving candy wrappers or whatever somewhere other than the trash.... If you don't, they won't learn to throw things away. If you have major issues with clutter, a good website is: www.flylady.net I've never had to use this, per-say, but I like what she has to say on there, and she has good steps to take! :)

4) MEAL CLEAN-UP: Somehow, I got into the habit of cleaning as I cook/bake. After I am done, it doesn't look like I even made anything! :) There are just dishes in the sink to load in the dishwasher. Some people are REALLY good and load the dishwasher as they cook, but I'm not that good!
My dishrag is my best friend, ever. I use two a day usually, cleaning up my kitchen as I cook.

5) LISTS AND SCHEDULES: If it helps you, make a cleaning schedule for the days of the week. Such as: Mon:bathrooms, Tues: Vacuuming, Wed: Dusting or Windows (I've found that these need done every two or three weeks and so I alternate them, accordingly ), Thurs: Mopping, Fri: Mowing/yardwork/clean Garage, or whatever your unique needs are. Do dishes, laundry, picking up the house, bedmaking, etc, everyday. Make a list of things you can do monthly and bi-monthly, and every so often pick one of them to do. Some of the ones on mine are: Washing all the sheets, Vacuuming the car out, washing walls (if you have any that need it), my husband's shower, organize the Tupperware cabinet, organize the bathroom cabinets/ drawers, Refrigerator/freezer, wash doors and doorways. I also have a yearly list that contains: mini Blinds, window frames inside and out, clean behind stove, fridge and washer and dryer, etc. You will have specific things that are unique to you. My summer house cleaning list is different than my winter list. No gardening or yardwork. A daily list helps, too! :)

6) LAUNDRY: Do all your laundry everyday. I do one or two loads a day and that's it. I wash it, dry it and fold it. I fold it right out of the dryer and set the piles on the washer and dryer. I leave the piles there (usually three days at the most) until I have enough to put them away. I hate putting away laundry so this is a way I can skip out on it. Plus, the piles are not in the way of anything. They would be in the way if I folded on my bed or on my couch, which is what I used to do. I would end up moving the piles to the dressers or wherever and I wouldn't put the clothes away. By putting them on my washer and dryer, I can go for three days without having to put them away, but also not having them in the way. You can sometimes find loop-holes for your procrastination! :) This is one of mine! I have a rack above my washer and dryer with hangers on it for shirts, too, which I would never use if I folded on the couch. So, I get to use them now, since I fold in the laundry room! :)

7) MORNING ROUTINES: I get up with my husband, pack his lunch, eat a snack, read my bible and work out, check my email, and go back to bed (usually). When I get up the second time, I make my bed, gather laundry from every room and put a load in. I eat breakfast, shower if it's hot, and start my daily cleaning. The rest of the day I have free, pretty much, except for meals and dishes. My kids have to make their own beds, too. When school is in (we homeschool), I still have the same morning routine, and that free time I would have had is when we do school. Your situation will be different from mine. Some days if it's busy I stay up in the morning after my husband leaves and sometimes I don't. During school time, I won't be doing that. In fact, I may have to start getting the kids up earlier.

8) CLEANING SUPPLIES: Why clutter up your shelves and under your sinks with things you use to clean with??? That doesn't make sense! As a stay at home mom and an Army wife, I can't really afford to buy all the latest cleaning innovations, but my house is still clean! I have found a few products that I really like. I have ONE (I repeat ONE) shelf that has cleaning supplies on it and none under any of my sinks besides dish soap and automatic dishwasher detergent. My favorite is Windex Multi-surface. I use a bottle of it every month, on every surface. My other favorite is Mr Clean Magic Erasers for walls, crayon, and smudges. The only other cleaning supplies I have are: Scrubbing Bubbles (we have hard water, otherwise I wouldn't use it, but I need it for the tubs and sinks), a bleach based cleaning spray which I use on many surfaces (I actually use the Walmart brand Great Value), bleach for doing the white laundry, concentrated Carpet Cleaning solution, Murphey's Oil Soap for cleaning my linolium floors and Comet for cleaning toilets. And that's it! If you don't have an oven with an automatic cleaning cycle you would need oven cleaner, also. But why collect all kinds of cleaning supplies when you only need basic things. All the things I listed besides the carpet cleaning solution, I use for multiple things. Take Murphey's Oil Soap. It is CHEAP and concentrated and I use it to dust, clean floors and polish furniture. Minimize the clutter but get the job done nicely! :)

9) TRACKING: Dirt gets in from animals, kids, adults, the breeze, etc. I think we all know that taking shoes off helps, but i go farther in the summer. The kids don't come in unless they have washed their feet off at the spicket. I have big beachtowels on the floor at each doorway (and we have 4 doorways) and the kids wipe their wet feet on that before they go on the carpet. When the dog runs in the house (which is ALL day long) he ends up wiping his feet on the towels as he runs in. It really helps. It looks stupid to have these beach towels all over but it really works, so I don't care! If you care about color coordinating, you could buy towels to match the decor. I use towels rather than rugs because they are easier to pick up and wash because I wash them every week.

10) PRAYER: I pray that I will do in the day, what God would have me do...HIS agenda. Not mine. God wants our homes to be comfortable, not stressful, overwhelming and depressing. At the same time, He also wants us to be nurturing our children. Spending time with them in the best ways possible. We need to be making healthy meals for our husbands and ministering to them at the end of the day. I wouldn't have the energy if I worked like a mad woman all day long. Neither would I be able to function and enjoy life with a house that looks like a tornado went through it. There is a BALANCE!

No excuses, no blaming it on the kids or lack of space (we have a big house now, but we have also lived in camper, so none of you have an excuse!). No blaming it on your husband, too much yardwork, not enough money, not enough storage space, not enough time, not enough organizational skills, or whatever it is. You can do it! :)

Anybody want to add to this???