Fall Nesting {Day 25} - Keep Up, Don't Catch Up

Now that we've gotten a fresh start for the season by making donations to thrift stores and tossing our clutter into baskets, let's concentrate on maintenance.

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It's always easier to keep up than catch up; that holds true for work, school, and our personal lives. And have you noticed that a clean house equals a calmer house? And a calmer house equals happier, more fabulous family members? 

Every day I try to tidy as I go so giant messes don't accumulate, and when my kids are in the habit of cleaning their toys every day it's sheer bliss around here. So once you tackle the clutter, just work to keep up with it instead of falling behind. Here are some general tips that I've found helpful (and try to implement):

• Only touch stuff once - put it away, don't put it down.
• If you don't use it, get rid of it (hopefully we already did that earlier this month!)
• Store things where you use them, not where they "belong" (homework and movies in the armoire? Why not!)
• If you have kids, use them - helping with the house is the job of all members of a family. Here's a great list of some age-appropriate chores for your children.

I also like to try and maintain an easy weekly schedule for household cleaning so I don't get overwhelmed or end up wasting my entire weekend scrubbing bathrooms. Spend fifteen to thirty minutes a day on chores and then let it go... I promise, if you keep up instead of catch up, your house will be plenty clean and you won't have panic attacks when someone calls and says, "I'll be right over!"

 

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Here's a general idea of how I aim to plan my weekly chores. Your list may be totally different depending on your schedule...

Monday: Vacuum entire house

Tuesday: Dust, clean mirrors & windows that need it

Wednesday: Laundry

Thursday: Deep clean bathrooms

Friday: Deep clean kitchen, mop kitchen/dining room

Saturday/Sunday: Hopefully noooooothing!

Note: I do spend more time on laundry day, but I don't spend all day; I make a massive pile of clean clothes on my couch as I do loads of laundry and then fold them in the evening when my kids are in bed and I'm watching TV with or without the hubster. (I love the help when he's home, though!)

And sometimes things get crazy and you fall behind. It happens to everyone, and it's okay. Don't be too hard on yourself, just do what you can and work to catch up... then go back to keeping up. 

{Click here to see the other posts in my 31 Days of Fall Nesting series...}