Score One For The Cleaning Team

After a few Fridays and Saturdays at home when I was looking at every imperfection about my house, I decided we needed to make some changes. Starting with me. I had to face some facts.

Number 1, as previously stated, was that I had to to let go of some of the cleanliness standards. Fact.

Number 2, was that I was not going to be able to marathon clean anymore. I'm a turn on Lifetime, clean for 2-3 hours straight and get everything done at once kind of girl. Neva-gonna- happen with the addition of a second child. Chunks of time are a thing of the past, at least for now.

Number 3, and most important, realize that Scott does not see dirt and is never going to see dirt like I do. Triple Fact.

So I decided to devise a plan that would keep us on track and our house clean, or at least cleaner. And I have to share because it is working!!

The Plan:

1. Come up with a list of 2-3 things that we can do each day that will keep the house cleaner and assign them to people (i.e. me & Scott). Some examples, Scott gives Nate a bath at night and Nate plays for a bit after he is clean. So I asked Scott to wipe down the sink and toilet while he was in there. I take a few minutes after I put Lila to bed to dust. I have my list, Scott has his list. And eventually (very soon) Nate will have a small list of tasks. 5-10 minutes of focused cleaning each day makes a huge difference. Truth be told, I've been doing this for years, but something about getting other people involved has really helped.

2. Do the major cleaning tasks on Thursday night, so that the house is clean for the weekend when we are home looking at it. After dinner on Thursday night, I start sweeping, cleaning the bathrooms, etc...Then after the kids go to bed, Scott mops the floors. Another thing on Scott's list is to facilitate the clean-up of Nate's toys with him and help take everything back downstairs so that we can start fresh.

And these simple steps have made such a difference. I am so happy! You see, Scott will do anything I ask him to in regards to cleaning, but as stated above, he's not going to see dirt like I do. So by farming out the tasks, it makes everyone feel like they have ownership for the cleanliness of the house. Score!

Another big benefit of this plan is that since we got the major have-to-do cleaning out of the way before the weekend, I can spend any spare time I have doing all that other stuff that needs to get done...i.e. cleaning out closets, cabinets, junk drawers, etc...

Some of you may already employ these tricks. I'm just slow to the game. What are your tricks to keeping a clean house?? C'mon, leave a comment. It won't bite you!