The boys EARNED their XBox time that weekend….the amount they cleaned was directly proportional to how much they cleaned. This was also helpful because it meant I didn’t have to worry about people stomping on the wet kitchen floor because they were fully immersed in their gaming by that point.

We do not allow food during XBox sessions (specifically for this reason). If you want a snack in our house….you eat it in the kitchen!

Once every few days or so I go on a “pitch it” sweep. I do not like junk lying around and I encourage EVERYONE to just throw things away. With five kids we simply cannot hold onto every little piece of paper that comes home from school. The really good stuff gets displayed on the fridge or put in the “save” drawer….everything else gets pitched.

Also…I have a NEW trick. The boys are growing like weeds so now when I see them wearing jeans that are too short (but I don’t want them to change because they are just playing outside and there is no need to put on new clothes to get dirty)…….I attach a safety pin to the inside cuff of those jeans. THIS way I have the pants marked when I do the wash and I can put them to the side when they are clean and dry…..into the Goodwill pile they go! With five kids it is simply too hard to remember which pair of jeans were riding up on he middle one, etc…..

Kitchen is the highest priority for obvious reasons. Then the bathroom, next is the living/dining room and finally the bedrooms. Breaking it down to spending 10 or 15 minutes per day on one room at a time seems to keep things relatively tidy.

The only thing worse than glitter and sand is sand with glitter in it in the hands of a 2 yr old.

Thanks for the info.
kv

After I had my little house fairy killing rant, they have done a much better job of keeping the house picked up and clean. It needs cleaning today, so I will probably do that tonight. Haven’t done a lot around here this week because it’s been too dang cold in the evenings. When is spring coming?

Which reminds me. #3 and I are getting up a road trip. If that dang groundhog sees his shadow, he’s going to be in serious trouble. You wouldn’t happen to have a good groundhog recipe would you?

I have had enough of winter.

Prioritize, prioritize…since I have a husband, three dogs, a cat, two parakeets, and usually at least one house guest, there are many days in which the mess they create is greater than the number of hours (or minutes, if I’m really against the wall with work-work) I can spend cleaning up. So I have created categories for ranking messes:

1. Will it make anyone sick? (really serious biohazards)
2. Is it causing damage? (leaky pipe, something that will leave a stain)
3. Is it unsanitary? (not an immediate hazard, but will turn into one over time)
4. Will it cause collateral damage? (sand, lost mail, mold)
5. Is it in my way? (dishes in the sink, full trash cans, stuff on the floor)
6. Will it cause me to be late? (this can be a lot of different things – consider the things that have made you late in the past, like wet pantyhose or a lost cell phone)

1s and 2s will get done if I have to lose sleep to do them.
3s and 4s will at least get a stop-gap measure applied to them. (quick wipe with a disinfectant, swept into a corner, gathered into a temporary and easily identified cache)
5s and 6s are maybe partially dealt with, but sleep or bathing may be a higher priority

On really bad weeks, I sometimes have an entire weekend of nothing but catch up, but at least we stay functional in between. And no, beyond taking out the trash and hauling in firewood, I can’t delegate. (

I usually have to get my laundry done before I clean, It just seems all over the place untill it is all washed, then it is usually ver easy to clean the rest of the house.

My most irritating cleaning thing is socks. My husband leaves his socks everywhere! No matter how many times I check to make sure I have them all before starting the wash, I still find one lone sock after the laundry is finished (under the couch, behind the fridge, kicked behind the toilet). I swear, if I ever die and go to hell that will be my punishment, picking up socks the rest of eternity.