Around here, we love germs!

So the argument may be that germs for a kid make them healthy later.  We aren't afraid of germs, we don't always like them when they make us sick, so lets just say, we like to get dirty, and I am not one to spend hours cleaning my house!  I feel my kids are better for it in more ways than one.  I was raised and trained how to clean house.  God bless my clean laundry loving, pick up your crumbs while you eat, anti-sticky mother.  I really did have a great childhood!  I just don't live exactly how I was raised.  My mother and I have had these conversations and we agree to disagree.  She has her way, and I have mine.  When she visits, she helps deep clean, sort, and keep things tidy.  When I visit her house, we pick up at night and wipe the table after every meal.  I am getting better at cleaning, and she is getting better at playing with the grandkiddos.  I am truly fine with this difference.  I love her and dad for who they are, and how they raised us.  I truly feel it is generational, the way she wants a picked up house every night.  My father-in-law also spent a good 1 1/2 days on his visit to the US cleaning our car.  It looked better than when we bought it!  For almost a week!  God bless these parents we have! 

The difference is this.....my husband was an only child, we have four.....I only have 1 brother making that 2 kids growing up, we have four, and a dog, and other animals.  So when my dad gave me this sign.....I laughed my head off and placed it in my kitchen, to view everyday :)

I even cleaned houses, a beauty shop, and an office in high school to earn money.  I do really enjoy purging and cleaning stuff, I just have to be in the mood.  I mean, this started a while ago with my style.  I remember the fateful day in college, living with my best friend, when I came home to her vacuuming my room b/c she couldn't stand the hole punch dots all over the floor anymore from my portfolio in progress.  Everyone has what works for them.  This post is about what works for us, and what doesn't.  We have gotten over our hang-ups when dealing with a house full of kids, on 4 acres, with a large furry dog, and chickens(even before we had 4 or the chickens :).  We also have some basics that always get done, some deal breakers that have to, or it leads to some un happy parents around this house, and some that we are not interested in at this point in our lives :)

Laundry:
1. I do about 2 or 3 loads of laundry a day. This means wash and dry, not fold and put away.
2. Laundry is sorted (not really folded, there's no need for that :) into baskets for all the kids, lined up along the wall in the hallway.  Alex and mine gets another basket folded and put in our room.  I do not get to put it away everyday.
****deal breaker***** He prefers his dress clothes put away so they are not wrinkled for work(awesome b/c I do NOT iron anymore, unless it is sewing fabric or pearler bead projects :) And so he can find outfits in the morning while I am still sleeping off the middle of the night waking with kids, or getting ready in the morning. 
3. Cloth diapers get done about every other day, soaking at night and washing the next day. 
4. Now that the girls are older their individual baskets need to be put away weekly, by Sunday supper time.  This helps me to get the boys' put away, with Isaac helping.  I have low bars for hanging in the kids closets, and baskets that they can reach, or drawers, for easy dressing.  The girls dress themselves all the time, and Isaac is about half-way there. 
5.  Closet floors must be free of laundry or stuff.  ******deal breaker*******This stems from the nature of where we live.  Spiders in the summer, and some are pretty nasty here in Missouri, and mice in the winter.  This is my biggest pet peeve, mainly for safety. 
6. We have 3 dirty laundry baskets.  One in a central corner of the hallway, close to all bedrooms, one in our room, and the third....well, that is throwing it down the basement stairs.  It is collected and taken to the laundry room. 

Almost empty b/c yesterday was laundry put away day.

A normal 4 over flowing baskets of clean to be sorted.

Bathrooms:
1. Spot cleaning gets done weekly, deep cleaning about 2 times per month....hopefully.  This does not take me long at all.  Isaac LOVES helping with the toilets, mirrors, and wet mopping the floor, so that is awesome!  Startum' young!
2. I do have a problem with the sink bowl not having left over toothpaste. ******deal breaker****** it is just so hard to clean when it is dry, the kids are being trained to rinse the sink clean when they brush.
3. Now having a 3 year old boy who stands to pee, he has had more than one return trip to the bathroom to clean up his mess.  We are working on "making it in the hole" 

Kitchen:
1. Dishes are done while I am cooking.  Usually in the morning during breakfast with the baby, and at night while I am cooking supper.  I usually have a sink full after supper, but that is fine with me.  I am more interested in bath time, cuddling, reading books, homework help, favorite show, husband time(wait, I'm married?), etc.  I will do them in the morning. 
3.  Baby bottles are now washed again daily, sometimes twice.  And are almost always still drying on the counter until they are filled the next day. 
3. I clean my countertops periodically.  When clutter really bugs me, about every 2 weeks, I deep clean and clear off.  I do try to wipe them down daily where the kids have eaten. 
4. High chairs/booster seats are cleaned when sticky, the tray after every meal, hopefully.  They are deep cleaned when the weather is nice enough to hose them down. 
5. The oven/microwave get minimal attention.  The micro is clean usually while I am cooking/doing dishes when it needs it.  the oven....?.....2 times a year?

Floors:
1. I sweep daily in the kitchen and dining room = wood floor, and I HATE stepping on old cheerios, popcorn, or Legos and craft stuff.  The kids get a verbal warning I am going to sweep to pick up what they want to keep, otherwise it is in the trashcan.
2.  I used to vacuum about once a week, now that has vamped up since little mister is 8 months old and starting to crawl. Our dog gets a lot of freedom, so leaves come in, dirty foot prints from everyone, and anything from crumbs to paper scraps are found.  Now I vacuum at least every other day I think, in the living room, not bedrooms. 

Dusting
1. Yeah right!  Probably seasonally, when we change decorations?  Or when the dust gets bad enough to bug me, I will take a quick rag to do something in my view. 

Picking up:
1. We have a new system just put into place last week and we like it so far.  Again, with most of the toys upstairs we need to watch what is in the baby's reach.  Every other night we have a 15 minute clean-up before bed.  This can be changed if mom or dad ask for something in particular to be done due to the baby, a mess, or the need to vacuum. 
2. Clutter such as books, papers, crafts, and puzzles are picked up when they get to be too much.  I cycle out toys as much as I can so not everything is out at once.  School papers get sorted about every 6 months, they are fun to look through!  Some areas such as junk corners, or paper stashes get sorted about 2 times a month. 
3. Outside toys are picked up before dark, hopefully the same day.  We love our beautiful property, and junky kids toys are not really what we want to see every morning.  They have a large bin for toys outside, and an area under some trees where they dig that the toys are stored.  This is better than scattered all over the lawn!

Walls/ceiling fans/windows:
1.  This has to be seasonally or when I notice it.  Right now I have many handprints on walls, some marker lines from the 3 year old, and scuffs from shoes.  When I get a wild hair to paint, then it will be cleaned.  I have some plans for painting the hallway and living room this summer. 
2.  The bathroom cleaning 3 year old also enjoys windows.  So when the spray bottle comes out, then he helps.  For sure this will happen in warmer weather, hopefully when the girls are home, they like to help sometimes too. 

Company:
1. When we have company over I usually like to pick up.  I love where we live, and do want to be proud of it when others come over.  Though our house comes with these precautions:  1. You most likely will get dirty, 2. you definitely will eat, 3. the house, it will be lived in, only super clean if we had to show it to sell, and by golly my kids moved out to Grandma and Grandpa's when that happened!  4. and the mess might be bigger when its over, but boy will we probably have a great time!  We are not planning to get new carpet, or furniture for a while....what's the point!
2.  You know you have crossed the good friend line when you are invited over and it looks exactly like it did yesterday.  Welcome to my world, one day I am sure I will miss the mess.....or so they tell me!

And sometimes we all stop and clean up together, like this last weekend.  My husband is getting ready to sheetrock part of the basement.....this means dust, and LOTS of it!  We worked to move things to one side of the basement, which lead to some sorting and trashing, and cover what we could to prevent the white dust from getting everywhere.  I think of these as Cinderella Saturdays.  I used to do this when working.  We clean most of the morning/early afternoon, then have fun in the late afternoon/evening.  It is a nice thing to do together, so the kids can learn, and show responsibility for their own stuff.  Once our basement is finished, there will be more space to "live" upstairs, and not have it look like a playroom at a daycare 24/7.  That will be downstairs, where I can ignore the piles of plastic toys, and leave it to be cleaned up about once a week.....hopefully. 

I wouldn't say my house is dirty, just un-kept.  I just can't keep up and stay happy.  I tried, I really did, then it overcame me.  I was mad all the time and didn't want to yell about some minimal thing on the floor.  Bless my friends and family who love cleaning, have that type of personality that can get it done before bed.  I just don't.  I want to be real, and me, around my kids.  I wanted to spend time with my kids, especially after a long day of teaching this was my choice.  I want to play, read, craft, giggle, and run outside with them.  So I chose differently.  I compare it to a volcano.  You do know most of the time when the blast will happen, but you just can keep up with the flow.  So sometimes you have to jump out of the way, and stay with the ones you love. 

Cheers to our lived in, comfortable, sometimes foot print filled, handprint on the wall home, we love it here, and you are welcome anytime!