How do you WOHM's keep your house clean?

[freshwaterfish]

Mine is getting bad... and staying bad... I can't remember the last time I put laundry away... was that February? :scratch My desk is piled high with junk... my bathroom gets cleaned about once a month. :O Sheets? Floors? What's that?

I work Mon-Thur, 8-6 (if you include travel time), and then Friday and Saturday are spent catching up on errands that I didn't get done during the week, literally leaving the house at 8 and not getting home till 6, just like a work day... and then working on my wedding plans or collapsing on the couch in exhaustion. Sundays are the only day B & I both have off, so we spend the day together, going to church, making lunch, etc...

Today I managed to get my kitchen cleaned, cleaned off my kitchen table and swept the dining room. Did a load of laundry, took a shower, made meals, and here it is, midnight and i'm off to bed... :/

I need a plan, girls. Right now the "plan" consists of Brent cooking on Monday night and we eat leftovers Tues & Thur (Wed is fend for yourself night). I cook Friday nights and eat leftovers Sat & Sun. I could fit in cleaning on Wed night (our night off) and Saturday (while Brent is at work). I just feel so unmotivated, but the mess is driving me batty.

April

[something glorious]

first, can i just say that you are amazing?? :heart

seriously, i have soooooooooo much respect for single mamas. i can barely hold it together most of the time with just one child AND an actively involved husband/father :crazy (and that was true both as a SAHM and now as a WOHM :blush )

now, on to the nitty gritty.....reduce, get rid, eliminate....that is my first tactic :yes the less stuff we have, the less time required of me to clean, maintain, fix and organize it.

second, no matter what else i accomplish, my 'baseline' is a clean kitchen. if i can just go to bed with a sparkling kitchen every night, i feel like the 'core' of my home is ordered. :shrug

third, every time i'm up i try to grab one thing and put it away. just a simple way to always be getting stuff back where it needs to be before the whole house goes to pot.

and of course in all honesty, i do lots and lots of running around like a chicken with my head cut off on the weekends :shrug

the good news is, you will soon not be doing any of it as a single mama anymore :heart and i think that by itself will make a world of difference :tu :hug

[freshwaterfish]

Thanks for the validation. I too am amazed at what I do in a week... and wish I had about 20 extra hours a week. :giggle

I actually don't have a lot of clutter. I'm more of a minimalist, and hate "stuff" everywhere. The junk piled up on my desk is wedding stuff and paperwork that needs to be filed.

Micah does have to clean up his toys everyday, so that keeps that part of it all under control.

The kitchen does stay clean for the most part cause on the nights that Brent cooks, I clean it up, and on the nights I cook, Brent cleans it up. I should mention that Brent is a HUGE help and doesn't believe in "women's work" or "men's work". :phew :heart Being in the same house will DEFINITELY make a HUGE difference!!! :yes :rockon

Only 6 months to go! :giggle

April

[MrsLisaE]

I go by the 1 a day rule. 1 hour of cleaning ( you can break that into half hours or 15 min at various times)...My best hour is 4am-5am ( I know thats not for everyone but it works for me) I do 1 load of laundry a day.. and save Saturdays for a couple hours of mopping and vacuuming.. I start my day with an hour of cleaning and cooking, then go into devotions for an hour, the next hour I get ready for the day, then get my daughter up,ready, and fed, and then my work day begins :) Best wishes!

[OpalsMom]

A) Not very well.
B) The cleaning people come every 2 weeks.

Sorry.

[freshwaterfish]

A) Not very well.
B) The cleaning people come every 2 weeks.

Sorry.


:laughtears B is genius!!! I need me one of those... :yes

[Cara]

1. I absolutely make time for my quiet time every morning. When I do this, the rest of my day is always more manageable!

2. I do 45 minutes to one hour of work every evening. I literally set the timer. Tonight it was only 45 minutes, as DD had horseback riding and we weren't home till 8 p.m. I make sure the kitchen is cleaned up, laundry rebooted, latest dry load folded and put away, dishwasher emptied, and the public areas are somewhat picked up.

3. I understand that I can't do everything perfectly. My first responsibility is loving the Lord. Then I must love my husband and my child and make an emotional home for them. :) Third, I have to give my all at work, because God expects that of me. My house falls to a very distant fourth place on the list, and I think that's where it belongs.