Now, I have 4 really great Tidy-ers, 2 sort-of Tidy-ers, and 3 not-helping-at-all-ers. They helped as much as they could while I worked like a whirlwind. Some might argue that of course I can have a really tidy house in 15 minutes because there are a whole bunch of us working, but remember, the flip side of having a lot of children to help out is that I also have a lot of children creating messes! For what it is worth, we have been doing a 15 Minute Tidies since my oldest two children were tiny. OK, so now that we’ve worked out those assumptions, let me mention the number of children thing. If your home is so bad you are beyond overwhelmed, may I gently suggest FLYlady or A Slob Comes Clean.įLYlady is how I learned to keep my home under control, but A Slob Comes Clean is for those who have failed at FLYlady and need something even more remedial.
Here are a few of the ways I have kept our home clean over the years: If your home is NOT clean underneath, take some time to work out a cleaning routine that works for you that will get the underneath clean. This method works no matter how many children you have, but it is based on two assumptions…that your home is relatively clean underneath the clutter, and that you and your family know where most things go – meaning your stuff has a home. However, you can tidy up throughout the day, and find that your home can be relatively neat even with children underfoot! We call it the 15 minute Tidy, but you may only need 10 minutes, or you might need as many as 20 minutes to get the house back in order.
You have physically clean it every so often. We all want a clean and neat house, but when you have children in the house, it doesn’t matter how hard you try, the house will not STAY clean. Have you ever looked about your home after a day of homeschooling or a day of play, and gasped at the mess? It can be absolutely frightening! But, you do not need to be afraid of the mess because you are only 15 minutes away from tidy!