Since I started being a work at home mom, I had to learn how to fit my daily life as a mom and a mompreneur working on my blog and business.
And when I first started, I did have an effective chore plan so that at least my house looked presentable while I worked during the day. But, that was when my twins were little. My twins are five and they can sure clutter up a house quickly!
And during the summer my kids are home! And they bring into the house dirt, rocks, flowers, sticks and water EVERY.DAY.
While I’m glad they are loving nature and having fun, it leaves a mess in my house daily since my kitchen is the go-between from the back door to the bathroom.
My ultimate goal is to make the house appear clutter free and organized for when unexpected company visits – and I have a hack for this.
But first, let’s go through my daily, weekly and monthly cleaning and organizing schedule.
My Daily Organizing Schedule
Once we moved into our new house, I had to find a time when I can do chores, feel accomplished and have time to work on my blog. The best time for me is the morning.
Before I have my coffee – I know, chores without coffee!! – I tackle my morning chores. It takes me up to thirty minutes to organize, clean and declutter my home.
Every day I:
- Vacuum – since my kitchen is the go-between to the outdoors, I run the vacuum to pick up dirt and crumbs from meals. I also do heavy traffic areas (like the hallway to the bathroom)
- Empty the dishwasher (and load the dishwasher after meals)
- Do one load of laundry – it may not be every day but I try.
- Wipe down counters – before bed there is usually cups and straws and empty bowls from snacking at night (ahem, my husband – not me)
- Clean kitchen sink – I use Comet to clean my sinks
- Wipe down bathrooms – I use these to quickly wipe the counters, toilet and tub
- Pick up in the living room – my twins play in the living room and bring toys from downstairs or their rooms. While I encourage them to clean up after themselves, some days there is no time or they are too tired. So this mama helps out and declutters the living room!
- Tidy the house several times the day – I try to tidy as I go. For example, if I’m going downstairs I pass the back door and the boot mat and coat hooks. Most times everything is there but in a haphazard way. Before I head downstairs I straighten the shoes and jackets.
This typically takes me 20-30 minutes. Now, don’t get me wrong – there are days that I may not do a load of laundry (because yesterday’s clean load is sitting in the laundry basket waiting to be put away) or vacuum, but generally, I do some cleaning and tidying every day.
My Once a Week Cleaning Schedule
There are some chores I do weekly instead of daily. I’ll be the first to tell you that out of the three types of schedules, the weekly one is the most forgotten one!
Maybe that’s because if a day (or week!) goes by, it’s no big deal!
So, for my weekly chore schedule I:
- Meal plan with this and this
- Wash the sheets
- Vacuum upstairs or downstairs (alternate)
- Wash the bathrooms
- De-weed in the garden – this house came with a beautiful garden, so I’m doing my best to make it weed-free
- Dust – I usually give this chore to my twins as they love to use these when they dust
My Monthly Cleaning and Organizing Schedule
Since we’ve been at this new house for only short time, this monthly schedule will change as the seasons change and as my twins head off to school in the fall.
But, typically during the month I like to purge clothes that no longer fit and either donate or sell toys, backpacks, books and more.
Our downstairs is our rec room. All of the twins’ toys are there but we also have a sitting area for movie night. At least once a month I focus my time organizing the:
- Storage closet
- Basement pantry (foods and toiletries we stock up on)
- Rotate toys
- Rotate books for the twins
- Organize twins’ craft bin
Once a month I also do a deep clean in one of the three rooms upstairs. Today it was my twins’ room.
I strip their beds, remove all their toys and stuffies and vacuum the mattresses and under their beds and the rest of their room.
I wash all their bedding – sheets, pillow cases, comforters and protective mattress covers – and stuffies using this miracle stain remover.
My Hack for Always Keeping a House Clean and Tidy
One thing I learned from working at home was that unexpected company always arrives.
My in laws pop by unannounced or neighbors want to talk. This is fine – we live a very flexible lifestyle and every day is different, but my house isn’t always tidy.
So, what I do for a quick tidy clean up is to only focus on the front of the house. This is only the living room and kitchen (the bathroom is always wiped down in the morning anyways).
And this is easy as the twins can clean up the toys and my living room is fairly minimal. For the back of the house, I can just close the doors!
Work at Home and Start a Blog
Starting a blog as a stay-at-home-mom was my way to be creative and contribute to the family finances. It has also opened up the doors to so many wonderful opportunities and collaborations with other bloggers!
But it isn’t easy. When you work at home your home has to be the environment for creativity. And clutter usually doesn’t help.
Having a clean and organized home can also make you much more productive.
Being in an organized office while you work makes you happy and being happy makes you a much more productive mama!
And, who doesn’t like a clean and organized house? This is where my husband and I work every day so we want our space to be as organized and clean as possible.
But, it is a challenge to keep my house decluttered and clean while working at home. My twins seem to have more small toys than ever before and when they play, they get dirty.
I’m hoping with these three types of chore plans I can manage home life and optimize my work life!
>>>If you are interested in working from home, make sure to check out my starter guide!<<<
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