Last week I was watching TV with my daughter when we both saw a commercial for vacuum cleaners that stated, “Neat Freaks Rejoice.” My daughter looked up at me and said, “Mom, are you a neat freak?” I looked at her and proudly declared, “Yes I am!”
However, just because my goal is to maintain a neat and tidy home, this DOES NOT mean my house always reflects this goal. It is true that many nights before I go to bed my house looks immaculate. After the kids are tucked in I take back my living room area and enjoy a few hours of peaceful cleanliness. I wouldn’t run a white glove over any flat surfaces or peek inside my microwave to inspect it, but generally it’s organized and no malodorous smell floats from any area of my house.
Then by the time I return from dropping off the kids at school it looks like Gremlins partied at my house. (I used to love that movie when I was a kid. Remember the mess they made? They would eat two bites, leave the rest behind, and then move on to the next treat until their pile of remnants resembled a pile of fall leaves. Sound familiar? But, I digress.)
As a self-professed, proud neat freak I admit I have a passion for cleaning and organization. But don’t get me wrong. I hate cleaning – especially taking out the trash or doing laundry – but a clean house does make a happy home in my book. So, I’d like to impart some of my wisdom I’ve learned over the years. And when I say wisdom, really I mean shortcuts to making housecleaning less painful so there’s more time for fun.
1) Let the kids eat cake. I used to hover around and clean up after my kids all day before I realized what a royal waste of time that practice was for me. Now, I let the kids be kids until we do our magical makeover 15 minutes before my husband walks in the door. (He actually came home early once and saw what the house looked like at 3:30 p.m. and nearly died. He thought we were having a bad day. Bless his heart. It was just a normal day!) So, I say let the kids eat cake, pudding, and whatever they’d like. It’s OK to make a mess as long as they tidy up once during a day. Ten minutes every day puts a bigger dent in your clean up than you’d think.
2) Buy products that make your life easier. While it may be hard to justify a more expensive cleaning tool, you have to arm yourself with the right weapons to win the battle. Some of my favorite tools actually cost less than $5 – such as Magic Erasers and Scrubbing Bubbles Gel – but are worth every penny I spend for the hours of hard work I avoid. (Check out Thursday’s blog post for more great cleaning products.)
3) Teach your kids to clean. What 4-year old knows how to clean a toilet? They do in our house. We start them doing chores at a young age. I gave up on timeouts when my older girls were about 6 years old. Now, the more attitude they dish out, the cleaner my house gets. I figure it’s a win-win. Everyone makes the mess, so I figure everyone can pitch in and help. Toddlers can clean up their own toys, older kids can help with laundry, and nothing makes me love my husband more than when he comes home and says, “How can I help?”
Question: What chore do you hate the most?
oh happy day! I love that you blog. I am so excited to get my daily dose! this sounds so much like you and I LOVE IT!! as far as my most hated chore-really I don’t have one. I like each chore in itself. Its the constantness (my new word) of the same chores that gets to me some days. I don’t mind laundry if I can keep it under control, its when the pile is higher than my head that it gets frustrating. the dishes, no problem! I can pound them out in no time flat. My kids take hours. the days when everyone is following my cleaning and making a disaster are the days I hate chores. all of them, not just one!
Speaking of a tidying disaster, I just moved from a house to an apartment. I’ve got a husband, a brother-in-law and a 124lb dog. They all might as well be kids. I am convinced that I can break them of leaving the dishes for me. None of us are employed right now, you think they could help out!
Question:
How does one take care of hardwood floors? Like, what kind of cleaners do I use?
Any tips for living in an apartment?
BTW Ann, I love your idea!
The toilet. I live with a boy…need I say more?
Check you out! You have got to be on of the most “on the ball” people I’ve ever known. You amaze me with the amount of time you find for things like this. I can’t wait to start checking out your helpful blog all the time, and passing it on to friends. As for the chore, I hate hate hate cleaning toilets and bathtubs. I love doing the laundry.
LOL! Yesterday I made the comment, “Is it sad that I get more excited over buying new cleaning products than I do over buying a new pair of shoes?”
I am a neat freak. I LOVE a clean house. I learned that from my father. However, with 6 children (and a small house), I’ve learned to sit back and “let it go” too. I learned that from my mother.
My house doesn’t always reflect my neatness, but I do love it when it is clean.
My kids clean once a day, I clean once a day, and Charlie helps out whenever and wherever he can (he usually does the laundry and we split the dishes).
My 16 month old can even help. It takes more of a joint effort, but with a little prompting, everyone can help out.
This will be fun and informative I can tell! Women used to talk and share tips “Over the Fence” we need this! Thanks for sharing!!
Tammy
Hi Cousin! Thanks for your great tips. I really need to be better at getting my kids to work. I like the work-instead-of-timeout idea!
Your writing is so great and fun! Thanks for the invite.
What chore do I hate the most? I have two: washing dishes and matching the socks!
Okay, I have a question. When your child dumps shoes, papers, toys, etc. on the floor and you notice it while they are at school, so you pick it up right then or leave it until they get home? And if you DO leave it, how do you not go crazy every time you walk by it during the day?!
Dear Ann,
I remember one of my friends telling me that she complained to her husband saying, “Do you know how many times I have cleaned up this playroom today?
He answered, “Why don’t you just clean it up once?” Hmmmmm!
The statement, “A Woman’s work is never done!” is really true!
Thanks for all of your comments. It’s fun to see people logging in from all over the country and in all age groups. It’s good to see that I’m not the only “neat freak” with a messy house!
Any advice on cleaning hardwood floors?
How to do deal with kids who leave messes behind? Should we pick up after them?
Please post and share your advice with others. Check out tomorrow’s blog for more fun topics.
If its just me at home, I leave the mess. If someone is coming over I move the mess to their room and then no one can see it. It is their responsibility to take care of their own stuff, and I think they need to clean it up. One thing that I have heard before is piling it into a bag or box and putting “away” so when they look for it they can’t find it, and have to earn it back by keeping their stuff cleaned up.
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