I don’t know what it is about my house, but every afternoon it could be proclaimed a federal disaster area! I have 4 beautiful children living, learning, and playing within its four walls everyday (praise God!).
I do praise God for the mess…but it doesn’t seem to make it go away! I’m going to show you a part of my cleaning routine that has simplified the way I keep our home clean while homeschooling. The 20 minute Home Rescue!
I think of my time in chunks and the majority of our morning is devoted toward our more traditional school activities. I decided this year I needed to give my children my complete attention during school time and not worry about housework at all during that time.
By 4 o’clock every afternoon, I look around, question my sanity, and wonder whether the house will ever look the same again. But I’ve got a working solution!
I turn on some peppy music, round up the troops, and we accomplish as much as we can in 20 minutes. Just 20 minutes! I am always amazed at what we can accomplish during that time!
We made the switch from cleaning in the morning to cleaning in the afternoon this year, and it seems to be a much better fit. The house is clean for our relaxing evening as a family, and, with an extra 5 minute clean-up before bed, we wake up to a clean house every morning.
Here is why I do a 20 minute home rescue every afternoon and why you should too!
Why you should do a 20 minute rescue every afternoon
- Your husband will be welcomed home by an orderly home after a long day at work.
- You can enjoy a relaxing evening with your family instead of cleaning.
- Your children will learn to take responsibility for their mess and work together for the good of the family.
- You can start each day with a clean home.
- You can be at peace with the mess during the morning knowing that it will be cleaned every afternoon.
Tips for a Successful Home Rescue
Enlist your kids (of all ages) and assign them very specific jobs.
Your children are a large contributor to general clutter lying around your home (I don’t need to tell you that) and you will not be able to accomplish a clean home without their help. If you try to clean, they will only be making more mess as you clean! Even if your littlest doesn’t contribute much, at least being occupied will slow the disaster making down a smidge.
Making your children responsible for cleaning up will help them learn to not make such a big mess in the first place. I often hear my 8 year old tell his younger siblings not to “dump” things out or it will make more work later!
Make it Fun
Put on some great music! Dance around while you do it. Avoid barking orders. Instead try to tell them what to do in a fun way!
Make it routine!
Doing cleaning on a daily basis means it becomes a habit. AND doing a little something everyday means things don’t pile up so much. There will be a lot less complaining if this habit just becomes a way of life.
Be specific
Instead of telling my preschoolers to pick up the toy room, I assign them each a specific toy to clean up (example: clean up the blocks). This helps them focus on their one task till it is accomplished and then I assign them another job.
A typical 20 minute home rescue in our family
2 year old: pick up toys
4 year old: pick up toys, swiffer floor, vacuum
8 year old: vacuums rugs, wipes down bathroom, general pick-up
Mom: sweeps floors, picks up, and barks orders kindly assigns tasks
I find we can often get our work done in less than 20 minutes. When that happens, I turn to deeper cleaning and organization tasks.
Of course there are things that are not accounted for in this quick clean-up. Laundry gets done several days a week with the kids helping to fold and put things away while we listen to an audio book. Dishes are done quickly after every meal. The rescue focuses on the general atmosphere of your home.
The best part of the 20 minute rescue? I am getting my tasks done quicker and teaching the children responsibility.
I love having a clean home every evening. I think the 20 minute home rescue is going to be an important part of our day for awhile.
What is the one cleaning habit that helps your homeschool and home run more smoothly?
This is a great tip! We do something similar now in the mornings but it just gets undone throughout the course of the day. I definitely agree about giving your kids specific jobs. I know my kids are easily overwhelmed if I just say, “Clean up this messy room.” But when you give them a single job to focus on at a time, it’s much more manageable.
We used to do our cleaning in the morning as well. It worked for us then, but like you said, it just got undone by the end of the day. Glad you found it helpful!
Hi, thanks so much for joining The Pinterest Game with the pin to this helpful post. All the best. We hope to see more of your pins on Friday.
Kathleen