Cleaning house with kids around

 

One of the most wonderful things about cleaning house professionally, I think, is the reward in cleaning in peace and quiet, no interruptions or distractions, with having just the right amount of time needed to do the job to perfection, then getting to walk out before seeing it all undone again.

No such glory in cleaning for yourself! ESPECIALLY with kids around.

Possibly the biggest obstacle in cleaning your own house, is the destruction of your progress by other house members ESPECIALLY children! Even a professional cleaner like myself, my cleaning strategy continuously gets sabotaged by my family. Not just cleaning for that matter but getting ANY kind of work done with kids around seemly becomes impossible.

So just give up! NOooooo…..

No, for real, we can’t, would love to, but we can’t. There ARE some tips n tricks I’ve implemented over the years that finally started helping me push past an obstacle in getting work done with kids around and into productivity, and the greatest part, withOUT the guilt of sticking them in front of the zombie screen while it gets done (in case your wondering, that’s the Tv;)

Ironically that last part, actually BOOSTED my productivity, and by SIX because that’s the number of hands that WAS obstructing me. You can use this tip yourself wether your obstructing hands are infant, toddler, teen or even your spouse 😜

One final thought, using the TV as a babysitter, which I admit, I have done SO…..MANY……TIMES……actually works against you in the long run. Plus, it never really made me feel like the best mom I could be when I DID use it to get my work done. I actually felt HORRIBLE afterwards. Sure…….the house gets sparkling and I get on top of my inbox, my payroll gets done and new schedule posted………but MY KIDS! My kids were the cost of getting that done, and it didn’t make me feel good. So more and more I started using the tv less n less, and I want to show you the ways it actually REWARDED ME, getting ME more accomplished and making ME feel like a better mom. In addition to my kids being happier, they were just as exhausted as I was. We all know what a GIFT exhausted children are!

ONE…LAST POINT I’d like to raise about this tip.

If you have kids, they are YOUR, in the words of Charlotte the spider to Wilbur the pig, “life’s GREATEST work; my masterpiece”.

Cleaning house, emails, payroll, though entirely essential, are NOT my masterpiece, they are just a mere means to an end, equivalent to taking a shower, doing my hair and applying my make-up. They gear me up to function and support myself in order to exist, however, my existence is immaterial if I have nothing of worth to leave behind, no accomplishment in having done them or leave no imprint on after I leave it.

That deep and depressing analogy is to say that your children are that worth while legacy and not your chores that will find themselves back on your plate the week after or even the very next day if your living in a house like mine. But I think about this each time I go to pop my kids in front of that screen so I can get something done.

Currently, as I write this, my preschoolers tattoo my feet, legs, and even knees with crayola markers.

Hey! No judgement. I gotta do what I gotta do.

BUT…..we are bonding, they are productive and they are NOT wrecking my house or getting into trouble while I get stuff done.

So if I haven’t convinced you yet to find an alternative to the tv as a babysitter, and you haven’t already figured out my TIP, well, here it come…..

Have your kids clean WITH YOU!

You’re probably slapping your forehead, saying “Nooooo, that’s it?!…..she is crazy!

Bare with me for a minute. Remember productive, bonding, your getting stuff done, and not only are they NOT tearing your house apart, on the contrary, they are helping you get it in order.

Quick stat….the most googled how to cleaning question is, first, “how to clean the bedroom”, then “how to clean the bathroom.” It’s assumed that it’s college students inquiring as this is typically all they have to clean. The point….they DON’T KNOW HOW!

It’s a sad reality that while we pick up one ball, we drop another, and this is very true in the cleaning department. For years we women have focused on our education and competing in the work force, to which we have succeeded; kudos to us!….but…..at the expense of loosing our daily life skills. The average women has no idea how to clean, gets stumped over what product to use on what, and at the very least feels that the time to do it is just not there. Me too! But we can change this for our kids. Even if I myself am on the journey to learning HOW to clean, I need to let my kids share in that with me and join me on my journey.

Clean WITH your kids.

(Quick update) My highschooler has joined the tattoo’ing 🙄

I now have a “Muscle Man” tattoo! 😎

Where were we…..oh yes! Clean with your kids…….

Check out my previous post Kids Can Clean Too for more on this but cleaning with kids is risk free when you clean green and natural.

Chemicals can harm the kids and the kids can harm your house with them so a simple spray bottle of water and a cloth and they can undo a million fingerprints on the walls, and teens seem to dig squeegeeing the windows. Water n vinegar and simple some soap is what even the pros use.

I recommend getting a double headed squeegee and scrub brush (under $20 at Home Depot). Beware! Hubbies tend to love this tool as well 😜

But armed with just simple soap, and a damp cloth your kids can wash down anything without risk.

They can run a vacuum cleaner forever too if you own a canister vac with a lightweight and manageable wand vs a bulky upright (check out more in my post Food for Thought; a Vac Buying Guide).

Dusting is perfect for all ages. A good fleece square in cute prints my kids like makes a fabulous kid dust cloth and they run around your house dusting by themselves and can really make a dent in your weekly dusting.

Sure I still have to do these things I can’t look at the inferior job they’re doing, I see that they are busy, happy and doing something that helps me, and as they age their capabilities grow into something truly helpful. Through assisting you they will never be found googling “how to clean…..this or that” because mom taught them! And they will always have that memory and bond with you the way that I had with my mom:)

So the next time you need to clean, and you go to pop the tv on for your kids, give your toddler a damp cloth and say “help mummy” or let your infant sit at your knees next to your caddy stocked with safe, natural cleaning alternatives (see what’s in my green cleaning caddy) and let him/her busy themselves with its contents, while you clean the bathroom because IF you do, I promise you, someday soon you will have a few extra super helping hands to make cleaning more of a family thing vs a chore left on your plate.

Happy Cleaning!!!