Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Working Mom Shortcut-Cleaning Schedules!
So here at Giggling Girls we are getting ready to embark on a new journey. Now I am a pretty decent housekeeper! Not as good as my mom but I do okay. Well except for laundry! I HATE Laundry!! But we will get back to that!! I read quite a few blogs and I found a few stay at home mom's that use cleaning schedules. Now when I stayed home and even when I worked part-time, I felt that doing the housework was my job, I am a firm believer in roles in marriage and I believe the household duties fall to the woman IF she is staying home or working part-time. Now hold on all you stay at home people, don't go getting your undies in a bunch!! Just because that is my opinion doesn't make it yours and I am okay with that! That is just how my household ran, Tim helped out but most of the work including getting up with our girls fell to me (and his jobs were mowing the yard, taking down the trash, doing that "guy" stuff ) and I was good with that UNTIL we made the family decision that I would take a new job that would require me to go back to work full time. When we were discussing this I made it very clear that if I was going to work full-time I was not going to be the full-time maid, and Tim agreed. I started working and I did okay managing and Tim pulled his weight and all was fine and then the weeks passed and things started slipping, both girls became more mobile and more messy and things started getting left undone. So now, one of my biggest gripes is that my house is never as clean as I would like it, I know to some I hold a to high standard of clean, and I have learned to compromise somewhat but it isn't working well so I am going to implement a Cleaning Schedule!! You should see how excited Tim is!!! He just can't wait to find out what his new duties are going to be!!! So as I am creating our new calender and schedule (which don't worry I will share with you) I am wanting to know, what are some of your quick cleaning tips, your best kept secrets to a clean home, and habits you have gotten into that help things go smoothly!! I can't wait to hear them! Oh and don't worry I will touch back on the laundry thing ........(yeah maybe this is why I get piles of laundry, I ALWAYS run the other direction when it comes up!!)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
My #1 tip is to not forget to include the girls on your schedule. Figure out little things that they can do to help... A few examples:
ReplyDelete*have a 10-15 min clean up every night before getting ready for bed: Picking up toys, making sure the pillows and blankets used in the family room are back on the couch, or in a basket, or wherever it works for your family.
*When the brush their teeth, showing them how to take a minute to rinse the toothpaste out of the sink so it still looks pretty.
*putting all dirty clothes in a designated area so they are ready to be washed.
Just a few ideas... I know that you like to do things as a family, so why not include daily chores. It will teach the girls a great work ethic! I'm grateful that I was expected to contribute around the house... as the girls get older you can add more age appropriate chores: setting the table, emptying small trash cans (bathroom/bedroom/etc) into a larger can so Daddy can take out the big trash.... I think the girls will enjoy the importance of contributing to the family this way. Good luck!