An Easy Way to Keep a Clean House

 

As a busy mom of two, I’m always trying to improve on my organizational skills! Sometimes I straight-up just don’t want to clean my house! My husband and I work together to keep our home organized and clean, so it isn’t just on me, but I am kind of the one in charge of how it all works.

Over the last few years, I’ve figured out a system that helps me stay on top of things. I don’t always follow it… But I try! I’ve found that if I divide things up by daily chores, weekly chores, and monthly chores, then the cleaning is easier to manage. Here’s how I divide it up in my house:

Household Cleaning List

Daily

• Make beds
• Do dishes
• Clean kitchen counters and table
• Sweep kitchen and dining room
• Pick up living room(s)

Weekly

• Vacuum
• Mop
• Wipe down bathroom(s) (disinfecting wipes, clean toilets)                  
• Fold and put away laundry
• Pick up bedrooms

Every Two Weeks

• Deep clean bathroom(s) (clean/disinfect toilets, counters, tubs, faucets, floors)

Monthly

• Dust
• Declutter household papers
• Declutter bedrooms
• Declutter toys (throw away ones that are broken; give to friends or charities ones your kids don’t play with anymore; put in keepsake boxes toys you want to keep as memories)

 

I have two printables for you! If you want this list as a reference to keep on your fridge, you can get it here!

And if you want a checklist version of the list, where you can check chores off as you go, get it here!

Happy cleaning! 😉

 

Simple Chore Chart {Free Printable}

It seemed like every morning was a battle with our son. It would easily take over an hour to convince him to get ready for the day. Even getting him to eat breakfast was difficult. He just wanted to wake up and play. After a particularly difficult morning, I realized something had to change. Enter our chore chart.

I know this may have seemed like an obvious solution for some parents, but sticker charts can be hit and miss with some kids. Especially since our son is only two, I wanted to make sure that the chore chart I made wasn’t too overwhelming. I tried to find some templates online, but honestly most of them included things that I didn’t need my toddler to do yet.

So I decided to make my own. It would only include the very basic things he needed to do in the morning. This is what we narrowed it down to: a fresh diaper, eating breakfast, and changing into clothes for the day. That’s it. These were things that we argued about on a daily basis. Three things that could be completed in less than 15 minutes if our son was focused. Once he finished his chores, he could play as much as he wanted.

I started out with a hand drawn chart to make sure this idea would work, and it did! Then I upgraded and made my own printable which you can view here: My Chore Chart. It’s in Word so you can either print it or adjust it to your child’s needs!

Our mornings are so much smoother now. We still argue over getting his chores done, but because he can see the visual and physically “check off” items, it makes things so easier.

Do you use a chore chart? What chores do you expect your toddlers to complete?

Fun Quotes For Childhood

I love looking for fun quotes to hang up in my house. And I’m such a sucker for free printables! Because I love quotes and printables, and because I am currently learning the art of designing wall art, invitations, greeting cards, etc., I am sharing with you a few of the printables I’ve created! I’m planning on using the first Dr. Seuss one soon in my own home. 🙂

To download the quotes, just click on the links below!

Dr. Seuss reading quote

Star quote

Dr. Seuss stand out quote

 

If you aren’t familiar with printables, here’s what I do when I find one I love:

1. Download the printable and save it as a file to your computer.
2. Choose paper that you think is nice enough to be hung in a picture frame. (I often use card stock paper).
3. Print the printable on the paper of your choice.
4. Hang the printable in a picture frame, then hang it up somewhere!

Enjoy!!!

Your Self-Esteem Becomes Your Child’s Self-Esteem

Think about it: our children learn how to think about themselves from us. We help them form their view of the world, through our actions and words. Sometimes, we forget that it isn’t just what we say to our children that matters: what we say to and about ourselves matters a great deal as well.

I came across this eye-opening article about a woman who had a wake-up call about her self-esteem: Do Stay-At-Home Moms Have Low Self-Esteem? (It’s a quick read. 🙂 ) This article is getting me thinking about a lot of different things. Mainly, I’m asking myself: What am I doing or NOT doing to maintain and enhance my own self-esteem?

Being a mom is HARD. It’s the most important work but also the least recognized, in my opinion. Personally, I choose to stay at home with my children because I love it- I honestly enjoy the life of a SAHM. But this doesn’t mean that I don’t have days where I feel like locking myself in a closet by myself with all the chocolate in the house and ignoring my children… 😉 But seriously, sometimes I feel really brain dead. I haven’t been a mom for very long, but I’m already learning that for my own sanity and well-being, I need to do things for myself that remind me I’m not JUST a mom. First and foremost, I am ME.

Studies show that mothers who have low self-esteem put their children at risk of having low self-esteem as well. This makes sense, because if a child consistently, year after year, witnesses his or her mom putting herself down, obsessing about her weight, rejecting compliments, etc., the child will naturally accept these behaviors and attitudes as normal. This article explains how important it is for a mother to be aware of how she treats herself, to protect her daughter from low self-esteem. This advice can also be applied to mothers and sons.

I have an idea. Maybe some of you already do something like this… I think moms (or really, just any person) should give themselves self-esteem checkups. It can be a way for us to see how we’re doing and help us get to where we want to be. To help you in your healthy self-esteem journey, I made a printable self-esteem checkup worksheet! You can download it here:

Being a mom requires more than just taking care of our kids. We are raising the next generation! We are raising precious souls who crave love and validation from us. One of the greatest and most enduring gifts we can give our children is the gift of a mother who loves and accepts herself.

I also designed a printable quote for you to put on your wall or mirror, to remind you of why self-love is so important- not only for your own well-being, but also for your child’s! You can get the quote here. 🙂