Good morning and happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and are looking forward to the week ahead. Today Adrienne, Dara, Jen, Joanne, Sarah and I are linking up to share our favorite cleaning hacks. Just in time for some spring cleaning, perfect!
Today I have my top 5 tips for cleaning, hopefully you'll come away from this post with a new idea or two.
1. Less Stuff = Less to Clean Up-- Did you see my post on Friday? I am doing another month where I go through our house and donate/throw away/give away a whole bunch of items. I correlate the number of items I give away to the day of the month. So for example on April 7th I gave away 7 items, on April 8th, I gave away 8 items, etc. By the end of the month I will have gotten rid of 465 items, yet the process never feels overwhelming and takes roughly 10 minutes per day.
It's kind of sad to think that we actually have that much stuff to get rid of, but we really do. I'm going through the kids' clothes to get rid of what doesn't fit, same with their shoes, old toys and books, etc. I went through our Tupperware drawer and tossed the ones who didn't have a lid or weren't frequently used. I went through old medicines and tossed the ones that were expired. It's amazing how much you can tackle in a month.
2. Enlist Help-- Okay, are you ready to read something embarrassing about me? Our kids have certain basic chores they are expected to do (make their beds, clean up toys when they're done playing, put dirty laundry in the hamper, put their dirty dishes in the sink/dishwasher, etc.). For the "over and above" chores, we pay them. The embarrassing part is what cheapskates we are. For each "extra" chore they do, they get $0.25. The kids are learning how to trade different coins in for a dollar, so sometimes we will give them a quarter, sometimes 2 dimes and a nickel, etc. It makes it fun for them, a learning experience, and also it's helpful to us! Examples of "extra" chores are: vacuuming (they both LOVE our little handheld vacuum), sweeping under the table after meals, wiping down countertops/tabletops, mopping (LG loves this and is actually halfway decent at it).
3. Set a 10 Minute Timer-- Do you ever feel like "ugh, this will take forever and I don't want to do it?" Sometimes a mess can look really big and like it will take forever to clean. I often feel that way with dishes/the dishwasher. The dishes are my #1 enemy-- we eat most of our meals at home, so they NEVER end. Well, if I'm feeling particularly unmotivated, I'll set a 10-minute timer and tell myself to do whatever I can in 10 minutes and then I'll finish the rest later. I don't think there has ever been a time where I've actually had much to clean up "later", so I just finish what I was doing.
4. Go Into "Do Not Disturb Mode"-- This is one of my favorite ways to clean. At the end up the day, I tell Devin I'm going into "power clean mode" and he is in charge of the kids. This means that if the kids need something, they go to dad. Mom is temporarily unavailable. I put on some noise canceling headphones, turn on a podcast, and power clean for 30ish minutes. It is honestly shocking how much I can get done when nobody in the house interrupts. For the most part, Devin and the kids are in the backyard so it prevents any new messes from being made.
5. Treat Yo' Self 😉-- Maybe it's a piece of cake that you've been eyeing up as you clean the kitchen, maybe it's that show you wanted to watch afterward, maybe it's a few extra minutes scrolling social media once you're done. Once you're done with your cleaning, you deserve a little treat. Whatever your "prize", go ahead and reward yourself mama, you earned it!
Thanks for reading along today. If you blogged, please link up with us below:
Great tips! I used to hate unloading the dishwasher, but I timed myself and it's actually a really quick task and staying tidy is all about an empty/dirty dishwasher, you know? I also am not afraid to run it if it isn't packed - sometimes you just need to run it so it will be empty when you need it empty.
ReplyDeleteI love my new cordless stick vacuum. To think that the darn cord was holding me back!
My problem with getting rid of things is that I procrastinate on actually getting rid of it! Thinking who would want it, listing it on free groups, etc. it just takes me forever!
ReplyDeleteI love the treat yo'self tip! It's always great to have a reward to look forward to at the end of a chore.
ReplyDeleteRuth@playworkeatrepeat
I don't think that amount you pay is embarrassing at all-- they are little and those extra chores add up fast at that age; plus I LOVE that you are teaching them to much about money itself. I have started listening to my audiobook while cleaning and I love it. My boys never bother me when I'm cleaning because they are afraid I'll give them even more chores... and since I cleaned the WHOLE upstairs today I treated myself to a lovely hike and a big mug of ice cream.
ReplyDeleteThese are great tips! I'm encouraged to get rid of some stuff and to set a timer. Thanks so much!
ReplyDeleteSetting a timer is such a good one. I am always thinking a job is too big to bother starting since I'll run out of time but I need to remember to just chip away at it and eventually it will be done.
ReplyDeleteGreat tips!
ReplyDeleteGetting everyone to help is the best tip. My girls have their jobs to do around the house and can earn money by doing extra things.
I sometimes set the timer too, and a lot of times I just finish the job even when the timer goes off because I'm so close to being done. Great tips!
ReplyDeleteI love the 10 minute timer idea! I use it for my own kids sometimes. haha 25 cents. love it!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of power clean mode and no one bothers you.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know how hard it would be to keep my house clean until I had a toddler. They are always taking things out of place and spilling things. And don't start me on when he did a little art project on our carpet. Thank goodness for professional carpet cleaners! I've decided I needed to start a decluttering goal for each day. Thanks for this post. It gave me the motivation to start tomorrow!!
ReplyDelete