Having a hard time keeping your home clean and homeschooling?

There are only so many hours in each day, and we are responsible for feeding our families, homeschooling and keeping our homes clean. If you are like me you function better when your home is uncluttered and tidy. I say “clean” but we all know that when our homes are lived in 24 hours a day it’s rarely magazine clean. We also all have a different standard of clean. The bottom line is we must spend time everyday cleaning and, in order to do this you gotta have a plan.  Here’s a simple plan to get your house clean.

1 – Make a quick list of all the rooms in your home that need cleaning.

2 – Next, write down the different jobs that need to be done in each room. For example, in the kitchen you need to clean the sink, stove, counters etc. Don’t make this list complicated. You can always add to it later. Just set your timer for 10 minutes and make this list quickly.

3– Now write down next to each of these jobs a “D” for daily and a “W” for weekly. You might even have some that only need to be done monthly or yearly.

4– Type it up and put it in a clip board.

5– Now count up the number of weekly jobs on your list and jot that down. Now count up the number of cleaners you have. I only count people who will do a good job at the standard I expect. So for me that’s me, my 9 year old and my 15 year old. Now figure out how many days per week you want to devote to cleaning and which days those will be. I’m not talking about tidying up toys but actually cleaning. Divide the number of jobs you have by the number of days and then by the number of people. The goal is to figure out how many jobs everyone needs to do each day in order to get your house clean. You’ll need to do the same thing with your daily jobs. Daily jobs do include tidying up toys, dishes, laundry and that sort of thing. Little people can do daily jobs. My 4 year old empties the silverware from the dishwasher each day(after I take out the knives). My 6 year old empties the rest. Get your small ones involved.

6– So now you know what needs to be done and which days you will clean. You also know how many jobs need to be done by each person. Now gather up your kids and start cleaning. Give everyone a different colored highlighter and tell them how many jobs they need to do and have them highlight the jobs they do when they are complete. Repeat this on each of your scheduled cleaning days.

7– For your daily jobs you need to do the same thing. I personally assign daily jobs. One person folds laundry and cleans up a room. Another person empties the dishwasher and quickly tidies the bathroom. You get the idea.

8– Now for your secret weapon – the 10 minute clean. You set the timer and everyone cleans as fast as possible for 10 minutes everyday. You may need to do this more than once a day if you have a lot of stuff. As far as clutter goes you must find it a home or get rid of it.

So, that’s my cleaning plan. The key is to actually work your plan. We homeschoolers have a bad habit of doing lots of planning but not actually lots of doing. Just start! Think of it as a workout if you want. You’ll be amazed at what 15 minutes of quick effort will do to your home. You got this momma!

If you don’t have time to type up your plan I’m happy to email subscribers an editable copy of my plan that will give you a head start. Simply “follow” me here, confirm it by email, and then pop over to the contact page and send me an email requesting the cleaning plan.

Happy Cleaning!