If you know me you know that tidy is not usually one of the words most would use to describe me.
But its not because I don't like it when things are clean. In fact, truth be told, I have always said I function much better in a tidy, clutter free environment.
Getting and keeping my house that way was always the problem.
Before we came to BGC Cliff and I vowed that we would try to do better with this. We wanted to keep the house clean to keep up with licensing standards, but also to teach the kids how much better it feels to live in a neat and clean home.
This blog post caught my eye because it talks about a few of the things that I have seen practiced in the most clean cottages here at BGC. I particularly agree with the less is more point.
With eight kids its easy for things to get messy in a hurry, but the BEST way to keep it clean that we've seen since being here is to
set aside time each day that is cleaning time
for everyone in the house.
The cottage that we have seen that seems to really be on top of things in this area (and that we want to mimic when we get our own cottage) does bedrooms and bathrooms first thing in the morning before leaving the house for the day. 15-20 minutes each morning and if you stay on top of it, its no problem to keep clean. The kids are each responsible for their beds, end tables, floors and desks and since they each share a bath with one other resident they split this chore down the middle. Cliff or I go in each morning after the kids are finished and spray down the showers with bleach.
Then in the evening the whole cottage is cleaned in a quick twenty minutes with each kid responsible for one chore. The chore chart rotates each week so everyone takes a turn with the less desirable chores. Sure we have eight kids to do the work but I could still see this style working in a smaller home with kids doubling up on chores or chores being done every other night.
This way the house always looks awesome and Saturdays can be more free to enjoy instead of having to be marathon deep cleaning days.
And don't underestimate the little ones as your house. Three year old Bug is learning to do the chores step for step with his older cottage brothers and has a blast helping out!
Also, I have found that especially when living with teenage boys
Febreze can become your new best friend!
Here is the link to the post I found helpful:
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