It’s hard to keep a tidy house when you are a busy mom! We have a simple trick that can help!
Photo by Francesca Tosolini on Unsplash
Whether your children are babies, school age, or teens, keeping a tidy house with kids at home is so difficult! I’m constantly looking for ways to cut down on clutter and to put systems in place to keep our home picked up and neat looking. From major purges of stuff to complicated chore charts and cleaning schedules, it seems like a complicated task to keep the house clean.
Recently, I was talking to a friend whose kids are grown and out of the house and I asked her if she had any suggestions for straightening up and lucky for me, she did! She told me about the “Six O’Clock Sweep.” Basically everyone stops whatever they are doing at 6 pm and all family members spend 10 to 20 minutes cleaning up. Her solution is simple and if done daily, really works to keep the house tidy!
Here’s how you can implement the Six O’Clock Sweep in your home:
Choose A Time
Choose a time that works best for your family. Do you want to schedule your straighten up time before your spouse gets home from work so they come home to a clean house? Maybe it will be before a treat, like a dessert or screen time to motivate your kids? Perhaps you’ll schedule the cleanup time to occur right before bedtime so that all family members can help out. Whatever time you choose, keep it consistent.
Name Your Tidy Time
As a family, come up with a cute name for your 20 minutes of clean up. A catchy name will help the task feel more fun and less like a chore. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Tidy Up Time
- Bedtime Blitz
- Pre-Supper Spin
- Post Dinner Dash
Set A Reminder
Setting a reminder alarm on your phone or home device relieves you of having to remind the kids yourself. You don’t have to worry about nagging them to get started once they get used to the scheduled alarm.
Tidy, Don’t Clean
The purpose of this quick clean up time is to tidy up messes, not to clean per se. If you are only spending 10 to 20 minutes, use that time to quickly put away all the things are left out. You can do other tasks like take the trash out, empty the dishwasher, and sweep the floor. But, don’t use this time for deep cleaning.
Work Quickly
Encourage the family to work quickly! Make sure every item in your home has a place and make sure all family members know where all items belong.
Make It Fun
Photo by Eddie Kopp on Unsplash
Try to make this a fun activity! Put on upbeat music. Take before and after photos so the kids can see the improvement in the house. Race each other to put things away. Keep the mood light and happy so the kids look forward to this time instead of dreading it.
Keeping your house tidy doesn’t have to be complicated. Try this simple technique with your family. Be consistent about it. Set time aside to straighten at the same time every day for at least a week so you can gauge the progress you made.
