The no stress way to Keep it Clean!

I keep a very clean and tidy home and I've often heard things like "I dont know how you do it all" or "your house is never messy" and when friend's kids drop food on the floor, "It's ok I trust Jessi's floor" (that's my fav!) I have not always been this way though! Growing up my parents called me messy Jessi. haha. Cleaning and chores were no fun! Then I grew up and moved out and couldnt stand my own space being so messy.  I know my parents wonder why I couldnt do that while I still lived at home! It's interesting how your priorities change when you become an adult! :) 

Before I became a stay at home mommy I would get ultra stressed out when the house got dirty.  I was too tired to do anything when I got off work and would end up spending a whole Saturday cleaning the house.  Or if we had plans to do something I wouldnt have much fun because I would just be thinking about my to-do list at home!  It was a constant battle.  Of my own.  Jeremy always thought the house was good. It was picked up but I could see all the dust and dirt building up. *shiver* yuck.  

Then came Caden!  Who wants to clean the house when you get home from work when I've missed my little angel all day!  But of course not cleaning the house is not an option with a little one.  Keep it clean for a healthy baby! So I created a cleaning schedule that helped me do one big chore a day along with the little daily chores so I had more time with my family, and didnt waste a whole day of my weekend just cleaning.  Now I dont have to look at the chart because it's so much a part of my routine I just do it. 

I thought I would share the schedule so maybe it could help you with your cleaning and hopefully stay stress free! Here are the daily chores I do:

*Dishes
*Wipe down kitchen counters and stove top
*clean table (I feel like the whole kitchen is messy if the table is cluttered)
*Hang up towel after shower (it's amazing how messy the bathroom can look with a crumpled towel on the floor)
*Put away toiletries. (leaving hair products and styling tools out clutter up the bathroom)
*MAKE THE BED (I emphasize this because once the bed is made the bedroom looks clean and tidy even if you have a dirty clothes pile in the corner!)
*Pick up your clothes and shoes.  (make it a habit to put your dirty clothes in the hamper. This helps you with laundry too!)
*Do a quick pick up of your belongings before bed. 
*One load of laundry (I dont have to do this every day because with just three of us we dont make enough for a load every day)
*put away clean laundry

I know that looks like a lot!  But really it's just cleaning as you go about your day.  And each of these only takes a couple minutes to complete! Especially once you start doing it every day it's even faster because you'll remember to put things back where they go so you dont have to pick it up later. 

Here's my list of big chores I do each day of the week:

Monday:
Wipe down exterior of appliances
Sweep front porch and back deck

Tuesday:
Bathrooms

Wednesday:
Take out trash (thursday is our trash day)
Windows (wednesday windows! helps me remember :) )

Thursday:
Dust

Friday:
Vacuum
Water plants

Saturday:
Clean pool
mow lawn
pull weeds
(These are obviously during the summer.  So the winter is more relaxed!  Also if you just could not get to a chore during the week, do it real quick!)

Sunday:
Sweep/mop floors
Change the sheets
Bring dirty laundry downstairs
Take out trash (Our other trash day is monday)

So there you go! It's so much easier when you break it down to just a little each day so you dont get to that overwhelmed stage.  Also I feel like it helps show your kids the importance of cleaning up!  Caden is my super helper during the day.  He's always picking things up and putting them away without me even asking! And he's only 20 months yall.  And I like to have him "help" me.  When I'm cleaning the windows he gets his own paper towel to help wipe.  He likes to put the silverware into the dishwasher too. (I put the knives in) And when I'm dusting he also gets his own dust rag.  It's so cute to watch him try to clean stuff.   And you're getting things done while still spending time with your little one!

You can easily create your own schedule.  I know everyone has thier own way of doing things so just map it out and do a little during the day every day and you'll be amazed at how clean you start keeping your house!
And dont get stressed when you dont get to complete everything all the time. So one day you didnt get the bed made. Big deal.  Do it the next! Life happens! 

Good luck and let me know how it goes!