With four children, I have given up on having a home that looks pristine. If I’m being completely honest, I don’t want it to look pristine.  I want it to look like a home that our family loves to be in, to hang out in, to play in.

I love to look at spotless homes in magazines, but even more, I love to look at the play dough masterpiece on the table. I love to look at the kid-painting that is hanging on my refrigerator. I love to look at the LEGO fort that our son built in his room.    I want our kids to know that if they build their fort on the floor, it is clean. If they build that masterpiece on the table, it is cleaned and sanitized.

Well… with that being said, I do love a CLEAN home. Our home is organized, clean and there aren’t big messes on the floors or tables. I like it to be tidy and I just don’t tolerate it not being clean.

So… with four kids, picking up after them constantly would be like brushing your teeth while eating Chocolate cookies… next to impossible, so instead, we just have a daily cleaning list and everyone helps out.

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We have made a list that we TRY to stick to daily.  It is probably a 20 minute a day thing, so not a lot of work, because we have 6 people that help. 🙂   This list may not be for you, but it works for us.

Click here to download the whole list… and I have another one that I’ll send to you, as well.  I’ll also sign you up for my FREE declutter challenge.  Together, we will declutter and organize until your home is all that you dreamed it would be

A few tools that help me to get everything in order is:
1- A broom
2- My robot vacuum (yes, really – when I say “sweet daily”, I put it into a different room every morning)
3- Clorox Toilet Wand
4- Disinfecting wipes
5- Clorox dusting wipes (I love using these to clean any ceiling fans!)

DAILY CHORES:

• Cleaning the toilets that get used a lot. Yes, every single day. Did I mention that I have four kids (three of them are boys.)
• Spraying the kitchen countertops after meals.
• Sweeping the floors in the kitchen (I could do this all day long).
• Make beds (everyone does their own).
• One load of laundry every day (to keep the mess from getting too big)
• Wipe down bathroom countertops in main bathroom. (I just leave Clorox Disinfecting Wipes in the bathroom, under the sink. I clean it and toss it into the garbage. 60 seconds total).
• Have the dishes unloaded before I go to bed (or I will start the day out with a mess)
• Clear off any “hot spots” (areas in the room that collect stuff. It might be a basket, it might be your mail, it might be a bench where you lay stuff as you walk by. Clear it off at the end of the night.)
• Five Minute Pick-Up twice a day (before lunch and before dinner). Set the timer for five minutes and everyone rush to clean what you can.
• Optional: we have to clean our front door glass daily because it is full glass and the kids put their hands on it all the time (especially our 3-year-old).

KIDS DAILY CHORES:

• Taking care of self (teeth brushed, hair combed, dressed)
•  Bed Made
•  PJ’s picked up. Clothes put away.
•  Put toys away in a certain area. If they complain that another child made the mess, I will follow up with “well- what if I only wash my own clothes, make my own dinner, drive myself places, etc… we all help each other in this family.”
•  Get their shoes and back packs ready for the day. I am teaching them to be responsible adults.
• Watch the time for when its time to catch the school bus. Our oldest son is responsible for checking the time. He leaves at 8:08 and by 8:05 he is always ready at the door (he doesn’t want to be late and he would ask me every minute if it was time for him to leave (from about 7:50 on!), so I have given him this responsibility and he has done very well watching the time- of course, I am watching it, too!)
• Every day they pick an age-appropriate chore (easy chores that they can handle- cleaning the steps, picking up toys, sweeping the front porch, wiping the sinks in the bathroom, cleaning up under their bed, etc…)

Here is a post for more on kids chores… 

FAMILY WEEKLY CHORES:

• Clean up the outside toys and bring them in or put them away.
• Be sure that even the guest bathrooms have been cleaned (I use the Clorox Wipes)
• Clean up closets – just hanging up shirts that have fallen, putting away toys, etc… (takes 5 min.)
• Clean the microwave and stovetop (wipe down)
• Cut the grass (my husband does this)
• Clean the bathrooms.
• Toss out old food (I do a deep cleaning once a month to clean up spills, etc…)

MONTHLY: 

• Floors- cleaning the wood floors every week or two. (This means using a cleaner with a mop and then applying a coat of shine for the top-coat.
• We have to reorganize the garage every month (with 4 kids, it gets to be messy in no time!)

Quarterly (monthly if you have more people in your home): 

• Ceiling fans can be done monthly if you have child with allergies, but you can do one room a week to make it easier.
• Baseboards

DO YOU WANT THE LIST
E-MAILED TO YOU (to save or print?)
CLICK HERE FOR THE CHART.

RESOURCES TO HELP YOU GET STARTED: 

1- Here is my book, Freed From Clutter… it is a month long book where we go through each room of your home decluttering, cleaning and organizing.

2- 7 day declutter challenge– a free challenge to help you declutter your home (includes multiple cleaning/organizing charts that I will e-mail to you).

3- Whole-home makeover course (This is a course that will transform your home from cluttered to your dream-home.   I’ll send you the book above as a freebie for joining!)