Let me start with this...
The above picture is NOT my house.
I repeat, NOT my house!
Though things are quite askew around here,
it's not quite that bad.
We are, however, knee deep into school
and the housework does, indeed...suffer.
In fact, it suffers greatly.
So here's the subject for our latest discussion:
Do you have any *magical* advice or
system that helps you keep things neat and tidy
while also homeschooling?
Now listen,
if your house is, as mentioned above,
neat and tidy,
I will require you to submit a picture.
Ok, just kidding.
Sorta.
Actually, it would only depress me if I knew any of
you actually had it ALL together.
So, let's go....
Do you schedule your housework?
Do it as you can?
Save it for Saturdays?
What's your method to control the housework
madness while homeschooling?
The above picture is NOT my house.
I repeat, NOT my house!
Though things are quite askew around here,
it's not quite that bad.
We are, however, knee deep into school
and the housework does, indeed...suffer.
In fact, it suffers greatly.
So here's the subject for our latest discussion:
Do you have any *magical* advice or
system that helps you keep things neat and tidy
while also homeschooling?
Now listen,
if your house is, as mentioned above,
neat and tidy,
I will require you to submit a picture.
Ok, just kidding.
Sorta.
Actually, it would only depress me if I knew any of
you actually had it ALL together.
So, let's go....
Do you schedule your housework?
Do it as you can?
Save it for Saturdays?
What's your method to control the housework
madness while homeschooling?
11 comments:
Thank you for posting the picture--it makes me feel much better about my own house!
One of my issues is the 2-year-old boy who goes around wreaking havoc while I'm trying to teach his sisters. He's a sweet boy, but he can trash a room in no time! I try to "make hay while the sun shines"--get a lot done during naptime!
We just started a new chore system, based on Choreganizers, that I'm hoping will help. The girls are very excited to get their assignments in the morning--of course, we're only on day 2, so I'm hoping it will last! I'll let you all know how it goes.
OH MY! I do feel a bit better about my own clutterbox after seeing that. Well, I searched the interweb(lol) for easy ideas and tips for keeping both housework AND schooling clicking along. Itried Flylady and some have had success with her website. I just got overwhelmed with it. I found nothing really workable. I tried the library. I had checked out a few books. But still found very little that was helpful. I have toddlers too and it feels like any time I am working with the bigs on school the littles are causing so much demolition we need a new living-room after only an hr.
So here are a few tips.
I decided what was THE BARE minimum of housework Then I divided it up over the week. I have it like this
Mondays is Bathroom day(it gets a BIG cleaning-sinks, toilet, tub,floor), and every day chores(these are trash, dishwasher,school,beds made)
We have assigned kids these every day chores and it is a pain to have them do them, but I keep telling myself it is a good thing.
Tuesday is Kitchen day(clean fridge, microwave, counters,fronts of appliances and floor)
Weds. is mopping the living room, dining room and entry and hall.
Thursday is bedrooms day. All bedrooms get cleaned up and mopped by their owner/s.
Friday the bathroom gets a refresher.
Saturday we do yard/outside/car. Then also menu and groceries
Sunday we go to church and chill.
NOW! This is our tentative schedule/list, but it if it is done the whole place is reasonably clean. The first MONTH of school has us a bit off. Not to mention adoption plans and stuff. So, I will not be posting pics today. lol I may have to post in my blog though a picture session. MY main point, find out what is important to you.(for some it is counters, some is floors, others is dishes.) Makes sure the things that affect you the most get done often. I have to believe that a girl CAN be successful at both homeschooling and housework, or I would go nuts without the HOPE! But I also think we all have to find our bare minimum of what needs to be done and be ok with the minimum while schooling.
My stars, Hezra...you need to have a bootcamp for those of us who don't do all that in a MONTH...much less in a week!
Ok, you've inspired me. I am going to try your schedule...grudgingly, but I will TRY. I know I'll love the results at least...even if it kills me doing it! And it will kill me, just so you know.
Oh Lori, did you miss the part where I said TENTATIVE?? lol That translates to "this stuff doesn't ALL get done every week. EVER!" lol It is just my aim for list. What is that saying? He who aims for the stars may not reach them but he at least gets off the ground?? something like that. lol My goal girlfriend is to get off the ground every darn day. ;-)
Yes, thank you, Hezra! You are giving us something to shoot for! The only thing we do that I have learned works for us, is that we all do chores in the morning right after breakfast. The kids clean their room, toys get picked up, they do their pet jobs, and then I give each one at least one "mom job" we call them. They often do a "dad job" too. They get more mom and dad jobs if they have bad attitudes. Meanwhile I am trying to wake up, reading my Bible, checking my email, reading Lori's blog :), and I clean up the breakfast stuff, etc. Then we start school. It feels good to have everything neat and orderly before we start. I know I could have it all done the night before, but ya know, I am tired the night before! :) Also, it's nice that when they are done with school, they know they are FREE! All the other cleaning gets done whenever I get a chance, and then a lot on Saturdays.
Wow Holly, I feel so blessed that one of your first-thing-in-the-morning priorities is to read my blog! Oh the pressure! :)
Good plan on chores. I am also tired of doing things the night before. Though when I get up in the morning to find the mess STILL there, I always regret it!
I have decided to try to do the majority of my big house-cleaning stuff on Saturdays...and so here I sit...on a Saturday morning...on my laptop, reading and writing. Sigh. Oh well...I've got ALL DAY to do the yucky stuff.
Ha ha, Lori. No pressure. I read other blogs too, so you are not my only morning entertainment/inspiration. :) Guess what I did today.....Every bit of laundry in my house! I almost took a picture of the bottom of the hamper in the boys' room like you told me to do if I ever reached the bottom! I do have a few blankets I need to take to the laundromat, and a few things to take the dry cleaners, but those don't count. Aaaaah. Nice. :)
We are still in the planning stages of homeschooling. Philip goes to a wonderful preschool just two mornings a week for a couple of hours, and then we work on a few things a couple of other days a week. Next year I will begin homeschool in earnest. But reading your posts is good for me to begin my planning.
I have difficulty getting the housework down NOW let alone when I begin to do hs full-time!! LOL!!
Keep writing girls. Thanks for the tips.
Well this being our first year homeschooling I can tell the house has taken a turn for the worst. And really it was not too good to start with. lol. I have a 2 yr old and while my 5 yr old and I are working he seems to find a crayon, or a marker and writes on walls, doors, the toilet, anything he can possibly write on. So I will be going today to buy more magic erasers.
Housework...what's housework?:-) I had to decide what was more important... a spotless house or homeschooling our kiddos. The kiddos won:-) My older 3 have daily chores (kitchen, laundry, trash, etc) The boys get the bathrooms. Yuck! I always try to be sure that the house is never too bad that we can't pick up the downstairs to a presentable status in the time it takes me to saunter to the door for an unexpected visitor. I did have to give up my desire for "perfection" with the cleaning. The kids are learning and they are getting better.
I like everything clean at once, I feel a sense of accomplishment that way. For me, doing certain rooms each day, just felt like it never ended, and something was always dirty. So--We do all the vacuuming, duxting, change beds, scrub bathrooms, all in one day-Thurs. The jobs that the big kids do flip-flop from week to week. We also rotate bathrooms, with me doing one of them, at least I know it is REALLY clean every 3 weeks! I do all the wash at once too, usually Mon. and Thurs. Then aside from daily stuff--we are free the rest of the week.
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