How I Keep My House Somewhat Tidy Without Losing My Mind

Have you ever just put off the house duties and continued to put it off until you look around and you don't even know where to start?? Yeah, this has been me way more often then I would like to admit. I was usually waiting until one day of the week to just clean the whole joint, and boy is it exhausting and frustrating when it doesn't stay that way.

I feel like I have come up with a pretty good system after the last few weeks to help the house stay somewhat tidy without losing my mind. I don't want to spend all day cleaning and with it being Summer time and wanting to spend all our time outside it is easy to just put it off. I don't know about you but I don't want to cringe with embarrassment if an unexpected guest shows up. HAHA! and I have soo been there.

The first thing I recommend is to start with a decently clean slate. Get it mostly cleaned up so you can start fresh with a new schedule. I have given myself daily tasks to get done throughout the week as well as everyday things to help keep things in order.

My DAILY tasks include: 

• dishes...blah I hate dishes. Especially since we lived in Italy without a dishwasher for over 3 years, I am just over it but they gotta get done. I am trying to quickly clean up after each meal and utilizing the dish washer. Load em up and get them out of your sight. 
• kid's toys. We spend most of our days in the playroom/dining area and the kids can get crazy with the toys. If I put this off I am feeling overwhelmed and it looks like crap. So a few times a day I quickly clean up the toys. I try to get Noah to help as well. 
• Wipe down the counters in the kitchen and kitchen table. Can't tell ya how many days I have had food stuck to the table haha. 
• Clean up after yourself. This means put shoes away where they go when you get home etc. 

 WEEKLY tasks:

I have this cute chalk board hanging in my kitchen to remind me of the tasks I want to get done. You can customize your list to fit your home! I give the floors a good scrubbing once a week as well as the bathrooms. When you get those daily tasks in then the big things aren't so bad and don't take a long time to get done. 

Laundry was one that was out of control for me and I had to dedicate a WHOLE weekend with the help of my hubby to get it in order. I had gone weeeeeeks without putting away our laundry so we were grabbing out of baskets and piles. YIKES. My husband works nights and is sleeping in our room during the day so it was hard to get up there to put stuff away w out waking him. We had a ton of folding to do but got it all done and put it away (insert praise hands emoji). I had decided to start the laundry on Thursday and get it folded on Friday so I could put it all away on Saturday or Sunday when my hubby is off work. I have felt SO much better since getting the laundry in order. 

MONTHLY tasks: 

A few times a month I deep clean a few areas of our home to just stay on top of things. That might look like dusting the blinds or the baseboards etc. Figure out what those items those are for you and work them in. 

EXTRA tips:

• Get yourself a hand vacuum! This has for real been a game changer for me! I would clean the floors really well once a week and be pissed when 5 minutes later they were covered in cracker crumbs from the kids. I have been loving having the hand vacuum to quickly vacuum up any crumbs or dirt that I see between weekly cleanings of the floor. Also great for the couch.
• If you are overwhelmed with your home at the end of the day then set a timer for 20 minutes and just do WHATEVER you can for that time and when the timer is done be done. It is amazing how much you can get done when focused! My sister gave me that little tip and I love it! I sometimes set it for just 10 minutes so I stay focused. 
• Give yourself GRACE. Remember that your version of clean is often times different than the next persons,  and you are doing a better job than you think!! 

It might seem silly to some to have a schedule for cleaning but it has made my life so much easier!! Let me know if you have any tips and tricks for cleaning and keeping it under control!!