I've been a stay-at-home-mom for two and a half years and it took me over a year to get into a good routine. Since I don't go to work anymore, I consider my "work" the housework I do around the house. I really struggled with playing with the kids (entertaining a two-year-old while taking care of a newborn), making meals, and cleaning the house while Caroline was little.
I am a neat freak and I love organization. Our house always stayed pretty clean when I had a regular job because no one was home during the day to get it dirty. Now, three of us are home a lot during the day and Ben works from home a few days a week. So I had to come up with a new plan to keep us organized and mostly clean. :)
In January of 2016 I came up with a house cleaning plan to help us stay clean and organized. I was getting so stressed when laundry wasn't done or the living room needed dusted that I had to change the way I worked.
Here is my cleaning plan:
Monday- I do laundry.
Tuesday- I clean the main floor (we live in a four-story-townhouse) and the basement. I vacuum, dust, mop, and clean the half bathroom on the main floor.
Wednesday- I clean the master suite- vacuum, dust, an clean the master bathroom
Thursday- I clean the top floor- vacuum, dust, and clean the girl's bathroom
Friday- I do laundry.
I try try try to only do the "work" assigned to it's given day. When we travel I usually have to switch a few things around, but otherwise I try to let it go. :) I have learned that letting it go (thank you Frozen) really helps with my stress.
I also try to do my work while Caroline is napping and Elizabeth is having rest time. It takes me about 30-45 minutes to clean each level. After I am done working, I can focus entirely on playing with the girls, art projects with Elizabeth, or baking/cooking with Elizabeth.
The girls usually play together in their playroom while I am working on dinner or come up and watch one TV show while I am cooking.
I try to incorporate them into as many activities as I can. It makes me feel less guilty about having to get something done AND it is teaching them how to cook/clean/bake/etc.
Oh-my last tip- I serve breakfast on paper plates. Once they are done eating, I just toss the plates in the garbage can and my kitchen is still clean. I know this seems a little funny, but it really helps me keep the kitchen clean and organized for the day.
Happy Monday y'all!
I love the idea of your house cleaning routine. We live in a split level hours, so there are four levels, but only a few rooms on each level. I've been thinking about doing a floor a day so then I don't have to spend hours cleaning on the weekend!
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