One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries. ~A. A. Milne
I love that quote. It describes my personality entirely. You would be amazed at the items I find and become distracted by while attempting a task or to clean. I once found a Verizon rebate Visa card, sadly, it was expired. Another time I found an old box filled with cards and items I intended to put in a baby book for my third child. I never started it and she is now six years old. While, these finds are good for nostalgia or comedic value they have no place in an orderly home. I do not run an orderly home. I aspire to do so and in the past I had moments of living in an orderly fashion. Then I realized my problem. I realized that everyone is different and one person’s idea of an orderly home may not be another person’s idea of an orderly home. Find your order and the discipline to keep your home maintained. Forget perfect, forget June Cleaver, forget outside opinions and run your home in the fashion that works for your family. For me, that is not finding rebate cards months after the expiration date or being distracted by an old box when laundry needed to be put away. I thrive in a flexible, creative, yet ordered environment. Yes, those terms clash thus my struggle. As a homeschooling mom, I find keeping order even more challenging since my primary duties all reside in one place. There is no reprieve or transition from office to home. Yet, we can find ways to maintain the order of keeping our homes clean.
Practical Solutions:
Teach and Clean: I have taught while doing dishes, weeding my garden, and folding laundry. If the lesson is such that you can multi-task then do so. Do not feel confined to one room and one activity. You can easily listen to a child reading aloud while folding laundry.
Morning routine: Establish a morning routine. I know you have all heard that before but it really works. I was my most organized when I followed Fly Lady and her morning routine. I highly suggest you define one for yourself. Getting a load of laundry in the morning and wiping down the bathroom will help your overall day.
Night routine: Take an hour or so before your bedtime routine to do a final clean up. Have the kids straighten their rooms as part of their bedtime routine. You want to start the next day fresh and not with a load of chores just waiting for you. Who can get out of bed for that?
Clean as you go: Make it a habit to clean as you go. So simple but it will help you feel less overwhelmed and dining room table messes won’t sneak up on you.
Steal five minutes to 15 minutes: Only have five minutes before your child finishes spelling or a math quiz? Use that time to clean your countertops, wipe down the bathroom, clean your dining room table or tidy up your room.
Enlist help: Children need chores and we need them to have chores. Assign age appropriate chores and work together as a family. Working together makes it more fun and easier to make them accountable.
The Well Planned Day: A Planner for Homeschoolers