I’m not a slob but my house is a mess

As a stay at home mom the responsibility of cleaning our home falls largely on me. I’m typically a pretty clean and organized person but with a husband and a toddler my house can quickly become a mess without me even looking. It’s amazing what one small boy can do to a room within the time frame of a minute. And somehow those dishes keep reappearing in the sink and that laundry never ever stays clean. EVER. I feel like I just washed and folded all of our laundry to only suddenly have it in the hamper again! I often feel like I can’t keep up and that feeling has only gotten worse as I become more and more pregnant and the desire to sit on my butt all day becomes stronger and stronger. I finally had had enough though. My house was a mess pretty much constantly and my sanity was wearing thin. My old routine of a maybe weekly cleaning day just wasn’t working anymore. I had to try something new. So, during one of my sitting-on-my-butt sessions I was cruising Pinterest and came across a free weekly cleaning routine chart. “That’s what I need,” I thought. So I pinned it and later decided to print it out and actually give it a try. I changed some of it to fit my cleaning needs and put it on the fridge in hopes that I could get some control back of my messy house.

Instead of cleaning the entire house in one day I am now focusing on one main project a day and then maintaining cleanliness throughout the house. So far, this has proved to be a great change to my routine and to my sanity. Instead of facing a giant of a mess, I now face just a few things each day that can be reasonably accomplished. I have also instigated a new rule with my toddler. If he’s whining for no reason (which, if you have a toddler, you know this happens a lot) then he is given work to do. So I have him help me with the chores and I am working with him to clean up and put away his toys at the end of the day. (I will enforce this rule with anyone so beware of you ever come to my home.;)

So now it’s a Wednesday night and my house, instead of being a mess, is really pretty clean! And all I did today was vacuum, run the dishwasher, wipe down the counters, and put away some clutter. I didn’t spend all day cleaning and my preggo body isn’t complaining anymore than usual. It seems like such a simple solution that I feel kinda silly for having not thought of it before. This is how I always managed my schooling schedule in high school and college that you would think that would have translated over into managing a house. It didn’t, however, and I blame marriage, then pregnancy brain, mom brain, and now pregnancy brain again! Basically, my brain is not what it used to be. But that’s another post for another time. 🙂

I know that I’m not alone in my need to take back control of my house so if you are in the same boat, take a look at the cleaning chart and see if it’s something that you can use! And always involve the kiddos if you have any. Yes, they can often make it more difficult but it’s important that they help maintain the home and learn how to clean! As my mom often said, we are not their maids! Everyone, even the toddler, can do their part.

Here’s to cleaner homes and saner moms everywhere!