[christineka]

Yesterday a talk compared our homes with the temple. He asked questions. One of them was, "Is your home clean." My home is not excessively dirty, but it is cluttered with all kinds of junk everywhere, I have 5 children with one on the way. I admit to not having the most energy or desire to bend over. My children are ages 2 up to 9 and the 9 year old is the least helpful. (She has asperger's.) We have what I think to be a fairly large house, but only really "live" on the main floor, which is 1200 sq. ft. I think that is fine, but we do have a lot of stuff. Oh, and we homeschool too, so the kids are home all day, every day, making messes. The bathroom is a disaster. I have the kids clean up, but the very next day or evening the room is a disaster again with toothpaste, toothbrushes, towels, and toilet paper all over! The living room gets mostly cluttered with books. We are a book-loving family and the kids just set things down wherever they are. Plus the 2 year old is Mr. self sufficient and Mr. messy. He is very high energy and runs about with food before I catch him. (Food is supposed to stay within the confines of the kitchen.)

Anyway, I think you get the point that my house is a mess. Can you give good advice on how to clean it and keep it clean while needing to spend a good portion of the day homeschooling, washing dishes, and making dinner, plus adding in the multiple young children, and the fact that I'm pg and have a bad back?

[DivasMomma]

i try to do things one step at a time


1. I have clorox wipes in the bathroom...whenever i am in there i wipe something down, which makes the big clean much quicker

2. I always take a load of laundry down stairs before i leave in the morning...then when i come home i just stick it in the dryer and by bed time i have a load done...if i keep up with it everyday i dont get backed up

3. dishes get rinsed and put right into the dishwasher (if you dont have a dishwasher i would implement the one plate/fork/cup per person per day...the makes the older kids wash their things when they are done with them,

4. Only give the 2 yr old food strapped down in a high chair if you dont want food to leave the kitchen...thats the only way you can break the habit

thats really all i have right now....if i think of anything i will let u know!

[twinzplus3]

I hope your husband helps you! Seriously, homeschooling is a "partner" decision and even though your spouse might not carry the bulk of the teaching load--he can help with dinner,cleaning etc.

In our house, we have a few tricks. But I have to tell you too that when I had mostly little kids, I got done what I could get done and didn't feel guilty about it. We do 30 min. of chores in the morning. . .the older kids pick up/organize and the littler ones do things like take magic eraser or Lysol wipes and wipe walls, the bathroom floor etc. We do 15 min. of chores after lunch--just so the house doesn't explode and then my husband makes the kids do stuff after dinner. They put away the laundry etc.

As for me, I try to have a "magic minimum" that has to get done daily or frequently and I do that first. Then I work my way around the house getting to the other things. It takes me about a month to work through the house and the yard. I'd like to get through it a little faster but I've never heard of adults complain that their houses were a little dusty in the corner when they were children. I've heard of tons of adults complain that their children never spent time with them.