Getting Family On Board With Keeping A CLEAN HOUSE

Ever since I became a mom, I’ve been trying to get better at keeping a clean home and keeping the house organized. I’m still not where I would like to be, but WOW, I have learned and improved a whole lot!

Here are some ways to keep your house clean and get your family on board!

1. Make your bed first thing in the morning.

This sets the tone for a day of organizing and keeping things neat and clean. Get your family in the habit of making their beds first thing in the morning and everyone starts the day off taking care of their part of the house. Explain that keeping things neat and clean helps keep things running smoothly. It’s hard to get work done on a messy desk. It’s hard to cook in a messy kitchen. It’s hard to relax on a messy couch. Start the day off cleaning up after yourself and continue that throughout the day.

2. Be clear and honest.

If you want things done a certain way, don’t make your family try to guess what you want. Be clear and honest. If you are not okay with something, don’t accept it because then it will be harder to cooperation the next time it happens. Being clear is really necessary when dealing with children. You can say go clean your room, but your idea of a clean room may be completely different from your child’s idea of a clean room. Be clear. Tell them exactly what you mean, even if you have to take it step by step.

3. Post expectations.

I got tired of repeating the same things over and over, and if you’re like me, you may not want to be a nag. So, for my kitchen, I posted the expectation I have for how to keep it clean. This way, there’s no guessing. I figured this was just the teacher in me, but then I was told my grandma did the same thing!

4. Try not to be petty.

This is the hardest one for me. I don’t do anything petty (that I know of), but I struggle the most internally with it! For example, you may get tired of the closet door being left open. A petty way to handle that is to open all of the cabinet doors to make a point that you want the doors closed because it looks crazy with them left open. Another petty thing to do is if someone leaves something where it doesn’t belong, you throw it on the floor. Okay, I actually do this (several times in my classroom when things are put on my desk that doesn’t belong there and I already struggle to keep it clean! But these are not the best ways to get cooperation. It just makes you look like a crazy jerk.

5. Create simple routines.

Simple rules like ‘clean up your mess before leaving the kitchen’ are easy to follow. I honestly don’t see how you can come up with anything complicated when it comes to cleaning. But anyway, this rule makes the expectation clear and says when to do it.

6. Assign duties.

Assigning duties helps everyone contribute to the caring of the house. When duties are assigned, you can hold each other accountable better. Assigned duties can include who takes out the trash, who cleans the bathrooms, who does the dusting, and so on.

7. Schedule duties.

After assigning duties, now you can schedule what needs to be done on which days. For example, clean bathrooms on Thursdays, take out the trash on Mondays, and so on. Keep this up and with everyone doing their part, things will room very smoothly without you stressing out or feeling overwhelmed by doing everything while everyone else sits back watching tv or nowadays, on their phones. No more feeling like Cinderella.

8. Use competition and incentives.

This is great for getting your kids involved and cleaning correctly. If it’s not done right, they know they won’t get the prize or the fun incentive. I’m pretty competitive, so things like the first person to finish their chore gets an extra dessert or gets to pick the game for family game night. Whatever excites your kids. I like the idea also of having incentives on the fridge or a board to show what could be obtained from completing certain chores. For example, have a board with a list of chores that need to be done around the house and when the first person to complete each chore is done, they receive the incentive which could be cash, a treat, wifi code, or whatever you choose. Basically, make it fun!

9. Remember, clean as you go!

The very best way to keep a clean house is to clean as you go. What I mean is you clean up as you mess up. Get your family to understand this and you will smile so big when you see your kids tidy up their mess before they leave out of the living room without you even having to say anything. (Now, remember it will take some time and practice to get to this point, but it’s a wonderful thing you do!) Let’s say you are cooking dinner. As you finish with certain ingredients or dishes, start cleaning them up right then. Done with the large pot? Go ahead and put it in the sink or dishwasher. Done with the lemon juice? Go ahead and put it back in the fridge. Done with an empty package? Go ahead and throw it away. Clean up as you go! Used a blanket on the couch? Fold it back up before you leave. This way, there’s not piles of things to clean and put away all at once!

By the evening, all you have to do is some minor tidying and start the dishwasher and go to bed with a smile! Good thing the bed is made! It’s nice to be able to wind down for the evening to a neat and inviting bed!

Good night!!!

Thanks for reading!!!

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Have a SUPER day!!!

Amy McCutcheon

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