Part 3

Cleanliness....It's still a chore!!! WARNING, cleaning can be a drag!

Drag Tip #1: Carry a laundry basket with you from room to room. Then you don't need to make
extra trips. When you come to a new room, check the basket for
anything that belongs in the room. Then throw all the extras from the
room that belong elsewhere. Pretty soon, your basket will be empty.

Doing the daily minimum for making my house clutter free: This is my minimal requirement for the Norton household to daily function. I try to get it all done in approximately 20 minutes, so I will have more time to relax.

Kitchen: Empty the dishwasher, wipe down the counters, clean off the table, sweep the floor, and use SWIFFER WET JET(It saves you time....No Bucket, no getting on your knees and scrubbing)!

Bathroom: Wipe down everything, use daily shower spray, and sweep the floor.
Our Bedroom: Make the bed, gather the dirty laundry, close all the dresser drawers, and put the shoes away; shoes seem to be a problem in this household, because I find them in the oddest places!
Living Room/Family Room: Straighten the pillows and the blankets.

Family Room: Tell the Boys to clean up the toys in the family room. I also tell them that I will be back in 5 minutes to vacuum and straighten the pillows and blankets.

Child's Bedroom: Make the bed, put the shoes away, and get the boys to put the toys away with the "I will be back in 5 minutes" rule, which I make in a very authoritative voice.....

HERE ye, HERE ye, ACROSS THE LAND

I hereby do declare that your royal Mom will be
taking away all toys left on the floor by the time the clock strikes _______,
at the time the clock strikes___________,
all toys should be away!
The Vacuum will sound and if you have not
banished the toys back into their toy box chamber
in your castle/kingdom (your room)
than the vacuum will be after them to suck them up!

I then start to vacuum (this will make the boys "pick" up the speed on "pick"ing up the toys). I vacuum the living room and my bed room and the family room, then I come back. I will keep any toy that is on the floor that was not put away and give it away to a child that really needs a toy (AREN'T I TERRIBLE?) I rarely have to resort to that.

Husbands are always welcome to be incorporated into these tasks. We now family clean together with our children (ages 5 and 1.5). It gets done faster and we can get to our next fun activity a lot faster.

Invite people over. This holds you accountable for keeping your house clean!

After meal time have the kids fill the dish washer and not the sink with their used milk cups, juicy cups, and dinner plates. That means that half of the step is done and I run it in the evening for the list to be done the next day!!!