My “Pledge” to Be More Domestic
You know how I’ve been struggling with balancing it all? Well, I’ve made some great strides. I’ve scheduled some “me” appointments, I’ve been exercising more often, I’ve been studying my Bible better, I’ve been working on my role as a wife not just a mother, and a few other things. However, housekeeping keeps falling through the cracks.
Don’t worry, I haven’t went all “Hoarders” or anything…
It was dusty enough to write on the bookshelf. Proof? If you insist!
Embarrassing but true. You’ve been there too, right? (Nod your head or at least pretend.)
In order to get my fall decor out, I knew everything needed a good dusting. So I got out my trusty Pledge®, turned on some tunes, and in no time I was finished. Why do I put it off for weeks when it’s that simple?
The Pledge® Yellow Can can make more of your home glow than you probably think because it dusts, cleans, shines and protects not only the wood (furniture/cabinets) in your home but it also makes stainless steel, granite/marble and leather look great too!
And since cleaning is contagious, I kept on chuggin’ into the kitchen. My stainless steel dishwasher sparkled like new with just a simple wipe down. My cabinets were shinier than I’ve seen in… *ahem*. Even the oven hood got some love and attention.
I used to be so disciplined to do a few cleaning tasks each day, and now all that seems to get accomplished is the laundry! (Which feels like a full-time job at times!) I know in order to maintain the clean, I need to make cleaning part of my routine again.
I work best with a cleaning plan and a checklist, so printables like these are helpful to me:
Weekly Household Checklist from Life As A Mom
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Simple Mom’s Daily Docket
Home Ec 101’s Weekly Chore Schedule
Also, as the boys get older, I’m involving them more and more in things they can do to help around the house.
Some things I have them help with as 3 1/2 year olds? Putting away their shoes, helping with emptying the dishwasher, putting away their socks and underwear, picking up toys, and assisting me in dusting or wiping up spills.
Resources for Teaching your Kids Responsibility at Home:
- An Age-Appropriate List of Chores from I Dream of Clean
- Preschool Chore Chart from Simple Mom
- I’m An Organizing Junkie Has a Printable Chart For Girls and For Boys
So tell me, how do YOU keep up with it all? What’s your cleaning routine? Do you involve your kids in home management tasks? What’s your advise to help me keep my domestic “pledge”?
QuatroMama
Thanks to Pledge® and One to One Network for sponsoring my efforts in writing this post. My honest personal experience, dusty shelves, and smiling little cleaning helpers are all my own.
I do better if I can clean in the morning, so I try to keep at least one morning a week (M-F) free to do the cleaning. My son (3-1/2) is in charge of picking up the toys/shoes so that I can vacuum the floor. He tries hard to help match the socks, and puts the socks/underwear away himself (along with his pajamas) and he tries hard to help with dishes. He rinses, and can put away his own dishes along with setting the table. I do best if I keep up with it all week….and when I’m discouraged and can’t do any.m.o.r.e. I set the timer and we make a fast/fun game of it together!! My son is my sidekick and LOVES to help!!! Good Luck staying on top of it…its no easy task!!! BUT an organized home helps keep my mind clear!
We just did a MAJOR cleaning last week. Like you said, everything other than laundry had gone to the wayside since I went back to work this school year….and then I had a house full of friends coming for a dinner party. PANIC! We cleaned good each night and I made a mental note to not let it go that long again! dust, clutter, messes…I can only ignore it so long and then I go nuts!
My kids love to dust with Swiffer dusters and use the Swiffer floor sweeper, too. They always help pick up the floor before I vacuum, too. (Partly to help and partly b/c they’re worried I’ll vacuum them up if they don’t! ha!)
In the summers when I’m home, i try to set 1 or 2 chores for each day so I’m not cleaning the house all at once. Monday may be dusting and cleaning off the kitchen counters. Tuesday, vacuum and mop. Wednesday, bathrooms, etc….it helps spread it out and not be so overwhelming.
I try to clean up every day–make beds, all dishes done, wipe off counters, go through papers (I can’t imagine how it will be for you when they are all in school–I am SHOCKED about the amount of papers that comes home with my ONE in school!), etc… In a perfect world, I don’t go to bed with a messy kitchen. I have someone that comes in every 2 weeks and cleans for us (I call it surface cleaning, she doesn’t go through the papers, clean out the drawers, etc…) so I don’t have that. But on her off weeks, I TRY to sweep and mop and vacuum. I don’t dust though (my downfall, I HATE it!). I printed off several of these lists–THANK YOU!!! I love the chore lists for kids too. My son (age 6) has to do the trash every week and then he helps clean up toys every night before bedtime. It’s not much but I think with these lists he will have more. 🙂
Thanks so much for the link love! Cleaning and organizing are two totally different things and unfortunately I love organizing but hate cleaning. Thankfully I have three kids to help share the workload since they also help contribute to the mess. We all work together as a team and it means we can be done sooner and off playing before we know it! 🙂
I’m with you, Laura! Thanks for your sweet comment! I’m hoping to get my boys more and more involved with the cleaning and organizing! Thanks for being such a wonderful resource and positive spirit to so many of us!