In case you missed the small series that’s been going on…you can catch up here:
My home sets the mood.
If my home is messy, I feel messy, when my home is looking shabby, I feel pretty shabby, when I’ve got piles of clutter, I ‘m stressed. And when I’m stressed, my husband and children feel the pressure. I become irritable, I become a crab, a complainer and simply someone you don’t want to be around.
When my home is clean, tidy and I’m not surrounded by piles of laundry or a floor full of crumbs, I feel energized, and ready to tackle whatever comes my way. And I know for a fact, I feel better. I’m also positive my countenance changes too – allowing it to bubble over – spilling happy all over the place. {Just ask my husband!}
So what mood would you prefer to see me in? 😀
As a Godly wife and homemaker, it is important that we manage our homes, and manage them well. I didn’t say perfectly. God doesn’t ask for perfection, only our best!
As keepers of our homes, we must be purposeful throughout our days. In doing so we will go that much further, accomplishing much more. Fluently and effectively.
Does your home display…
- Love for your husband?
- Love for your children?
- Thankfulness for what the Lord has given you?
- Does it bless those around you?
The lazy man does not roast what he took in hunting, but diligence is man’s precious possession. Proverbs 12:27
Be Diligent.
It’s so much easier to stay “caught up” than it is to get “caught back up”. We must be faithfully diligent, in keeping our homes full of peace, kindness and encouragement. {And one way to experience these lovely things in our homes is by starting with a clean home.}
When it comes to cleaning your home, something entirely different might work for you? At this time in our life, we have found, that this schedule works amazingly well for our family. If you are interested in trying it out, I’ve prepared some helpful printables for you. You may want to make your own or just tweak mine to meet your families needs better?! If so, you are welcome to use these as an inspiration or as a whole.
I am NOT a one-day house cleaner – My house will just not stay clean in one day. It just doesn’t work for us.
I’ve also tried schedule after schedule where I would clean the bathroom one day, vacuum the bedroom and dust the next, etc. I just constantly felt like I was behind. The room I cleaned the day before was falling apart already, and I hadn’t even finished my week of cleaning! I like having the house completely cleaned daily. I function better.So the Art & Science of Keeping House is? Daily Maintenance!
{More charts printed and made up for some loved ones.}
The great thing about this Cleaning Schedule is that it involves my children! They are learning how to manage a home, and take on more responsibility as in individual in our family. And we are learning that: “Many hands, make light work.” and that “It’s actually FUN working together”.
Remember, having our schedule is NOT going to give you a perfectly clean home. But one thing this schedule will do, is easily allow you to maintain your home on a day to day basis. Keeping you from feeling so overwhelmed, and helping you stay up on top of things. Giving you a little self discipline, and motivation. {I need this often!}
Besides having our cleaning maintenance schedule in place we also practice these as well: HELP KEEP HOME TIDY on a DAILY BASIS 5 Motivators to Help You Clean.
Here is how I manage to keep our home in a “lived-in” clean state. It’s simple, really.
I have our Maintenance “Cleaning Schedule” and our “Happy Helpers” Chart on our Fridge front.
1. I spend a couple hours throughout my day cleaning and crossing things off my daily schedule, along with doing 3-4 things on my weekly schedule.
2. Each child has a chore chart hanging in their rooms. These are simple little charts that remind them to make their bed, brush their teeth etc…{Yes, we need reminded of these things daily!}These chores are done BEFORE breakfast, and before their daily “Happy Helpers Jobs”.
3. While I’m finishing preparing breakfast, the children will start on their assigned jobs {they find this on the fridge.} We rotate through the jobs. These assigned jobs are something they help maintain throughout the day. Kitchen Duty, Bathroom Duty, Gate Keeper Duty, Lil’ Munchkin Duty etc… Each child performs their duties for that day, along with something I assign them to do on their weekly chores listed below. {These jobs are their responsibility for the day, they are in charge to keep it tidy, and are being held accountable.}
We do homeschool too, and with our maintenance schedules in place, we are able to school and maintain daily. By the end of the week we have just a handful of things to do. Leaving us a day for family, fun and preparation for the Lord’s day, on Saturday. This schedule has been working wonderfully for us!
Remember, we do have off days. Things happen or our schedule becomes rearranged. We are learning to be flexible and roll with the punches. Remembering that, we can just pick up where we left off the next day.
To be able to use my printables as “dry-erase” I printed the schedules and sewed on projector sheets over top. {Walla – dry-erase charts!} Now these schedules can be used over and over again! UPDATE: I was informed by one of my readers that they bought the plastic page protectors you use for notebooks. So, I of course had to try them! They work, however, the marker starts to bubble the page after some time. So you’ll have to replace more often. But it’s a quick fix – just replace the protector sheet with a new one. So, my favorite is still the projector sheets for durability, but for ease I prefer the protector sheets. You pick what works best for you! 🙂
Another way to use these printables over and over again, are by placing them in a picture frame. Just use a dry-erase marker on top of the glass. {I did this for my children’s chore charts.}
Enjoy these free printables below. I pray they are a blessing to you, as they have been to my family.
Have you found a method of keeping on top of housework that is working for you? If not, does something like this sound doable for you? I’d love to hear it in the comments below!
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