How I Keep My House Clean (As If!)

It happened once, a few weeks ago.  My family was out of town (that's the key).  And I paid my friend to come help me clean.  I had about 3 hours of Clean House before my family arrived home.  The end.  (Ha!)

Recently, my sister posted a status on Facebook that went something like this, "I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever have a clean house."  Sis, the simple answer is nope.

But I've been thinking about your plight; and in the 12.5 years I've been married (11 since I've had children), it has been a constant struggle for me.  Not just a struggle to actually get it done, but a mental struggle of why it must be so.

The reasons of why I probably have listed on another blog post somewhere.  Briefly, here are my two major reasons:  1) it's safer, and 2) you know where stuff is.

So now, here is the answer to how I get it done, imperfectly:

1. I have finite time and limited energy.  That means that I get to choose one major activity per day.  Sometimes that's cleaning.  Other times it's playing, shopping, running errands, etc.  I get to choose one.  So I have to consciously recognize that on those other days, I'm not a failure at keeping my house clean.  I just did something else that day.

2. I have to let things go.  Sometimes cleaning isn't the most important priority.  And sometimes my "helpers" aren't as thorough or efficient as I would wish, but I have to choose to be happy that it is better than it was.

3. I have "helpers."  I cannot possibly clean up after, cook for, and otherwise nurture  6 (soon to be 7) other people (and still have time to take care of myself too!).  So each person has to carry an appropriately-sized load.  The bigger kids have more responsibilities than the younger kids.

4. Over the years, I had to get more and more organized out of necessity.  I certainly didn't start out that way.  Some books that really helped me learn organizing principles are Lose 200lbs. This Weekend and Make Your House Do the Housework, both by Don Aslett.  The first is about how to declutter.  The number-one take-away from this book is that if you don't use it, don't keep it.  There are only a few exceptions to that rule (such as food storage, children's clothing if you plan to grow your family, seasonal decorations and clothing, and memorabilia).  The second book is about organizing your house to cut back on the amount of work it takes to clean it.  This is accomplished in two ways: 1) the materials you use to construct your house (not always practical, especially if you didn't construct your house or just that you don't currently have the $ to upgrade), and 2) systems you put in place to make things run more efficiently.  The number-one take-away from this book is that you need to brainstorm and get creative to both recognize and solve the problems that are organizationally frustrating to you.

So here are a few tips that I have gleaned from others and/or created on my own:

• Recently, we assigned each kid a color-coded cup and bowl.  They are responsible for rinsing them out and putting them in the drying rack for later use.  I wash them once a day.  This one simple thing has cut back drastically on the amount of dishes we wash.
• I stopped folding laundry a while ago, for the most part.  I wash it, dry it, and sort it into each person's basket.  The kids are responsible for putting away their clothes (folding and hanging) and returning their baskets to me.  The big kids help the little kids.  We also have separate laundry hampers for each kid, and they are responsible for sorting their dirty laundry for me to wash.
• We have lots of toys.  I regularly sort out the ones the kids don't play with, but we still have a lot.  I sorted them into bins based on type, and I put them away in a locked closet.  The idea is to rotate through the toys.  I try not to let them get new toys out until they put the old ones away.  At the very least, this keeps them from dumping all of the toys out at once.  We are still working on learning how to clean up after we are done playing.
• We have daily chores.  You will hear me in the morning say this phrase: "Get dressed, make your bed, clean your room."  A short time later, "Did you put your lunch in your backpack?  Did you put your homework in your backpack?  Are your shoes on?  Did you brush your hair and brush your teeth?  Are you completely ready for the day?"  The consistency of the routine keeps things organized and helps us be punctual.  Often, the older kids don't need the reminders, and the younger kids like to report what they've done without being asked.  They have other rotating chores, and those are addressed as a second priority on a daily basis.
• I sort through the mail as soon as it reaches my hands.  I throw away the junk and the unsealed envelopes.  I pay the bills online immediately, and I file the important papers.
• I hang things.  This keeps things off the floor.  It also gives things a place.  I recently hammered some nails into the wall by the garage for us to hang our keys.  When used properly (ha!), we don't lose our keys.  It's not pretty, but it's efficient.
• I label drawers and bins.  This also gives things a place.  It is helpful in many places, such as toys, currently unused clothes, food storage, bathroom and cleaning supplies, etc.
• We have weekly jobs.  There are certain things that we only do on Saturdays, like cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming, and yard work.  Tuesday, we gather the garbages for trash pick-up day.  Saturdays and Tuesdays usually end up being laundry days.
• We have spring cleaning, which involves major decluttering.  We usually have two piles: one for the dump, and one for giving away.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list of all the things I've tried.  My house is usually not clean.  But when I am more on top of it, I'm usually only an hour away from it being pretty clean.

What other things have you tried that have given you success in keeping a clean house?