I have a full time maid. Yup. She spends all her time vacuuming and dusting and cooking delicious meals. Sadly, when I wake up, she is gone and my house is a disaster. And there are kids drowning in laundry.
So until my dream maid comes and wants to work for peanuts (as if Ben would ever share his) I’ve come up with another plan.
Child labor.
aka. “family time”
aka. teaching them how to be independant
Laundry: Twice a week, my kids fill these gorg baskets with their dirty clothes, once a week, bedding gets added in.
The kids sort whites into the white basket and colored clothes into the black one. After our au pair or I fold their clothes at the dining room table, Gwen, Harry and Ben put them away in their rooms. Jane can put her clothes away too, and actually quite enjoys helping, but we carry hers upstairs and then let her finish.
Maisie is a bit of a slacker and I normally put her clothes away. Typical baby of the family. Gets away with everything. We’ll crack down on that behavior when she hits 5 or 6 months.
House Cleaning: I think I’ve tried just about every system (minus the beloved dream maid) – the clean a room a day, clean as you go, all in one day, after the kids are in bed, never….
Somehow we slipped into the system of me cleaning the how on Saturday morning while Ed worked in the yard and garden and the ran between the two of us not helping, fighting, asking to watch TV, saying they were bored…yeah, that system really wasn’t working for me.
So I delegated. Each Saturday I parcel out a room to each child, in addition to their bedrooms. I make a list of what they need to do in each room, and then I focus on the unassigned areas while bouncing between answering their questions, handing Jane yet another baby wipe to “qweeen” and tickling Maisie. Sometimes I wear Maisie in a sling to cut out a few steps.
Either way, the house is cleaner, faster and I’m a whoooole lot nicer.
Here is what the kids’ cleaning list look like:
Harry – Kitchen & Downstairs 1/2 bath
Wipe off all the kitchen counters
Microwave – inside and outside
Fridge – wipe handles, front and sides
Stove & Dishwasher – wipe front
Clean sink and bathroom in toilet
Put out new hand towel, toss old one into the basement
After I sweep, mop kitchen and bathroom floors
Gwen – Upstairs bath, hall and stairs
Organize toothpaste and brushes
Clean sink and bathroom in toilet
Put out new hand towel, toss old one into the laundry
Put bath mat in the laundry and put out clean one
Sweep bathroom, hall and stairs
Wipe stairs with a damp cloth
Ben – Playroom
Make sure all toys are picked up and put away
Put all trash in the trash can and empty playroom trash into kitchen trash
Wipe off all the shelves and coffee table
Vacuum
Then they need to do their bedrooms:
Check under beds and throw out/put away as needed
Tidy up books/toys
Make sure school uniforms are ready for the next week
Empty trash cans
While my midgets are taking care of these areas, I do the living room, dining room and Ed and my bedroom and bathroom.
My house gets clean, my kids are learning “valuable life skills” (seriously, my future daughter in laws are getting house broken men) and house cleaning went from a full day project to about an hour and a half each Saturday morning!
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