Totally and finally done with the kitchen...

Schedule, schedule, routine, routine - how to have a {fake} immaculate house (part 9)

The very last day of our series "How to have a {fake} immaculate house" is here!  This is the very last way you can fake keeping your house tidy and clean!  How have you done so far?  Well, the very last way you can do this is another very important thing.  It's having a schedule and routine to your life!

Helping Kids Organize

How to paint a ceiling - a list of adventurous misfortunes!

Put it back - how to have a {fake} immaculate house (part 8)

So are you able to keep your house looking pretty decent now?  After all we've talked about for the last couple of months, I'm hoping that you gleaned at least one or two helpful ways to keep up with your house - and hopefully you've even got other {hint: your kids} helping to make your house stay cleaned up.  It's not that having a "perfect" house is so drastically important - or makes you any more godly than anyone else.  But, it's the fact that you can always have an open door to having others over and making them feel comfortable and enjoy it.  I mean, having no where to sit because your couch is filled with laundry {whether clean or dirty} is probably not a great way to invite someone for tea.  I do NOT spend a lot of time working on cleaning my house, despite what others seem to think.  I used to do my 15 minutes a day of cleaning, back when the kids were super little.  But, now I have one day of cleaning/laundry and I'm done for the week.  In fact, even though I can see the floors need vacuuming probably more often, I don't vacuum everyday - only if something spills or the kids make a big mess under the kitchen table {that's when THEY have to get the little hand vacuum and clean it up}.  Plus, there ARE benefits to having a dog, really there are!



This week I want to focus on "putting things back". First it's important that you actually know WHERE to put it.  So, if you find that you take something out to use and don't know where it goes back...that may mean you have something else to work on!

Here's another way to teach kids - do you sense my hints about teaching kids to do stuff {they are REALLY useful, too, once they get older}.  When you take something out, put it back.  But, don't wait to put it back a few days later.  Put it back, right away.  As soon as you're done with it!  Really?  Could it be that simple?  Umm, yep!

My kids know my constant mantra of saying "are you done playing with your Barbies/trains? Put them away when you're done."  My son know so well that he says "Mom, of course I put it away, I was done with it."  Makes my heart leap for joy!!  Set a good example, put it away when you're done with it.  Letting things lie around "un-put-away" {OK, that's a word I made up} is only going to make your house more cluttered and less put together.  

If you missed any part of this series, go back and look over from the last few weeks!  Be inspired.  Make your New Year's resolution to get your house {fake} immaculate next year!

 

 Like what you see here? Consider becoming a follower or subscribe via email! Are you an Organized Reader? I'd love to see your organized space. Email me HERE and show me your space to possibly be featured as one of my Organized Readers.

 

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How to {fake} and immaculate house series:

Christmas gift organizing...of sorts!

My kids LOVE games...and we have this fun little game that we play now.  I made it up last year.  See, once I get the kids' gifts, I want to get them wrapped and under the tree because I don't want to hide them or deal with them (nor do I have the room to hide so many in my bedroom).  Anyway...I was telling my friend about what I did last year and she said "You HAVE to share that on your blog!"  So, here goes!

Ceilings....sigh!

 We have those really awful popcorn ceilings....you know,  "acoustic" ceilings really popular in the 1960s and 1970s?  Well, our house was built in 1947, so our awful acoustic ceilings were not original to this house, at all!

Let it go - how to have a {fake} immaculate house (part 7)

 Let it go, let it go, let it go....so timely for this time of year, right? Christmas, for us, is a GREAT time to start letting go of stuff!  It's a great motivator - birthdays too!  My kids have a ritual that they go through their stuff and start giving away the toys and clothes that they don't use or no longer fit a little before Christmas and their birthday!  I tell them, if you don't have room for new toys, you can't have them...meaning, we need to clear out the clutter in their rooms.

Christmas busyness and organizing a party!!

How we organized a boys' new desk!

 So, we took the old desk from the entry, replaced it with a new entry dresser, and then we took that desk and repainted it and put it in my son's room.  We're going to be slowly updating his room.  

Clean as you go- having a {fake} immaculate house (part 6)

Keeping Christmas stuff organized!

Here's an idea for keeping your Christmas stuff organized! When you put back all your stuff this year in your boxes, take a picture of the box inside.  Like this:

Boys' desk how to's!

Don't clean everything up yourself - how to have a {fake} immaculate house (part 5)

Do you sometimes feel like you are the ONLY person in the house who really cares if the house stays clean?  Does it seem like everyone, kids and hubby included, seem to sabotage your efforts at having the floors so spotless and clean that you can eat off of them - when five minutes after cleaning them, they spill milk, step in it and walk across the floor to get more?

If this seems to be a problem for you, I have a solution!  No matter how little {well, maybe not an infant} your kids are, they can begin to help you clean up!  I have a rule in my house with the kids {now age 6 3/4 and 11 - have to get that 3/4 in, you know}.  I do NOT clean up after them - at all.  Now, occasionally Mom will have mercy upon them and HELP them, but I try to save that for a time when they really need it and not every time.  I want them to learn to be responsible for the messes they make. Another rule I have is:  if they take something out to play, they need to put it away before starting something new. This is important to remind them EVERY time they play stuff.

Being a stay at home mom, it would be easy to just do everything myself. I don't ask my hubby to do much - I have set up "systems" to help make it easier to put his clothes in the hamper and such - but I don't ask him to clean much of anything.  Around here, his job is the "fixer" and "provider" so the kids and I do most of the cleaning and keeping other stuff up.  

If you have NO idea what your kids are capable of doing, here is a few ideas for you, listed by age. {Sources:  Me, Cozi morning routine, and Simple Organized book}. 

1-2 yr. old


1.  Put toys away in bin {with Mom's help}
2.  Wipe {just give a damp rag and a table and let them go at it}
3. Hand Mommy things to put away

2-4 yr old - 

1.  Get dressed, put pajamas away {tuck under pillow to use again = less laundry}
2.  Brush hair
3.  Brush teeth
4.  Set the table
5.  Make bed
6.  Fold clothes and small items
7.  Empty dishwasher {with Mom's help}
8.  Empty wastebaskets
9.  Pick up toys before bed

5 - 6 yr old - 


1.  All of the above
2.  Clean bathroom sink
3.  Help clean and straighten drawers and closets
4.  Clean up after pet
5.  Feed pet
6.  Walk dog
7.  Dust furniture in room
8.  Vacuum room
9.  Help put groceries away

7-9 year old - 


1.  All of the above
2.  Wash bathroom mirrors
3.  Wash windows
4.  Wash floor in small area

 10+ yr. old -


1.  All of the above
2.  Wash car
3.  Mow lawn
4.  Make dessert
5.  Paint
6.  Clean refrigerator
7.  Do yard work
8.  Iron
9.  Fix an entire meal
10. Do grocery shopping

To quote Emilie Barnes in her book:  "We cannot do it all by ourselves in our homes {when we try, we become frustrated}.  When we begin to delegate responsibilities to our children and allow them to do some of the work for us, they begin to feel as if they are a vital part of the family."




Here is a copy of my kids' current chore charts.  Teach your kids YOUNG to clean up after themselves.  But, you must also teach them where everything belongs, so don't assume that they know where things go.  You have to teach them how to organize and declutter, also.  Another great resource is here to teach them how to organize.

So, now you know that I can't keep my house "immaculate" {a term I use loosely} by myself!  Teach your children to clean up after themselves and do part of the housework!

 

 Like what you see here? Consider becoming a follower or subscribe via email! Are you an Organized Reader? I'd love to see your organized space. Email me HERE and show me your space to possibly be featured as one of my Organized Readers.

 

Connect with me:

For more organizing ideas, go HERE!

How to {fake} and immaculate house series: