5 Ways to Keep up with the Housework

Image by katybird via Flickr

Today's post was going to be something fun for training, but as life would have it I'm not in a fun mood today. As we all know sometimes the best paid plans can get thrown out the window and stomped on by a passing elephant. Wow...apparently I'm creative when I'm tired...or maybe I just sound like a complete whack-job.

Last night was date night with my husband. We went out to dinner and had a wonderful evening. When we got home the kids were already asleep, how wonderful was that?! Well, about 11 pm Riley woke up because she was scared - I'm not sure what she was afraid of. I calmed her down and put her back to bed. I went to bed shortly after that.

This morning I had zero energy. I could barely make the kids breakfast, let alone workout or clean the house. This got me thinking of how I can make life easier on myself. I came up with some common pitfalls and solutions to keep the house somewhat organized and clean.

1. Dishes 

I don't have a dishwasher...I AM the dishwasher. I find when the mess from supper is cleaned up, the next morning I'm able to keep up with the kitchen. The nights I "leave it until tomorrow" I end up with a disaster that grows beyond chaotic to monstrous.

2. Laundry...laundry...laundry...laundry...laundry...

We're a family of five and I...HATE...laundry! It's NEVER done! Realistically, if I did one load a day I could keep up with it, but who wants to do laundry every day? Instead it piles up until I can't find my laundry room. Or worse, the laundry is clean but needs to be folded and put away! That's when I cant find MY room.

3. Bathrooms

I admit it...another one I'm not good at keeping clean. Clothes all over the floor, a layer of dust on the back of the toilet and a black ring around the tub. (Comon...I have 3 kids, it gets a black ring after one day of bathing them.) This is another one that seems so hard to do, but can be very simple. Keep a laundry hamper either in the bathroom or near it. Keep a cloth in the bathroom under the sink to wipe the sink, counter and any other spots that need wiping.

4. Main Room (Living Room or Family Room)

I think if it was just my husband and I we'd be okay with keeping this room clean. Unfortunately, with kids, comes all of their stuff. Oh and it doesn't help that I've "lost" my office so the living room has become my surrogate office. The room starts off clean

5. The Kids Rooms

I can only stand their version of clean for so long. This is the bane of my existence. How many times a day do you ask (tell) your kids to clean their room? If you're anything like me, you ask them too many times.  To be honest...I don't have any real answer for you here. I've asked nicely, bribed, threatened. They've all worked and they've all failed. Please feel free to send me your suggestions!

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