Keeping House

Ahh... keeping house.  Believe it or not, I find great joy in maintaining a functioning home, and that includes cleaning and organizing.


I never really thought about my process for keeping home, until the babies were born.  During my early twin research, one thing I came across was a schedule for cleaning.  It was just a simple weekly schedule of chores so that anyone who was helping out (of which many people were) could see what was done and what still needed to be done.  I used this greatly in those early days, and that eventually developed into a consistent pattern of cleaning.  When running a busy home, it really helps to know that certain jobs will get done on a specific day.

I haven't figured out how to embed a document, but here is what it looked like:

Family Chore List

Initial when complete

Week of ______________________

Chore	Sun	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat
Empty Trash
Wash dishes (PM)
Make Bed (AM)
Pick up House
Empty dishwasher (AM)
Feed dog (AM/PM)
Recycling emptied
Sweep/Vacuum up
Mop floors
Check/Water plants
Vacuum down
Walk dog (AM)
Walk dog (PM)

Honey Do List

Another important part of keeping my home is decluttering.  Let me say, this is an ongoing process.  On a daily and weekly basis I do a tidy-through to manage the day-to-day clutter.  Throughout the month I try to tackle a bit of decluttering here and there as I clean through different rooms.  I've seen people develop this into an annual schedule, but for me that feels a bit overkill.  I just do what I can as I can, and that is generally good enough.  I have a mother's helper come in every now and then so that I can go through the kids clothes and toys, but that is a job that never ends!  I wish my house was more clutter free (don't we all), but at this point in time, this is it and that's fine.

One way I have found to handle the clutter of toys is to start a weekly toy rotation.  I have some mainstay toys that stay out, but the rest of them are in 4 boxes and I rotate them weekly to keep the clutter at bay.  It really does help and I think the boys find more enjoyment in their toys this way.

The other thing that has really helped me keep my home in order is to adopt a system of meal planning.  I'll save that one for another post, but knowing what I plan to buy and cook has made life much more simpler.