By Amy L. Hatch
If there’s one thing I hate, it’s cleaning. In fact, I once took a personality test that proved that I am incapable of seeing dirt—that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
My husband used to be the neatnik in our family, and Saturday mornings would find him with feather duster in hand, admonishing me for my filthy ways. Then he enrolled as a graduate student and all his spare time went out the proverbial window.
Now that I’m managing a family of four and balancing my career as (insert sarcasm here) a busy media mogul, I have less and less time to keep the floors shining and the laundry clean and folded. That’s why I turned to the professionals for help.
Gina Reeves is the owner of Maid to Perfection in Champaign, and she has some easy tips that can help the busiest household CEO keep order.
Reeves knows of what she speaks — she’s been in the cleaning business for the past 13 years and oversees 22 employees who help make Chambana homes sparkle (full disclosure: I’ve been a customer of Maid for Perfection).
One of the first things you can do, she says, is make sure you take your shoes off when you come in the door. “We all have things on the bottom of our shoes that get the floors dirty,” she points out.
It’s tempting to throw your diaper bag, briefcase and coat on the couch when you come home from a long day out, but Reeves says taking the time to put those items away immediately will help decrease the clutter you have to deal with after dinner.
Speaking of dinner, washing and tidying as you go prevents a dish pile-up just as your energy is starting to wane. Tempted to leave that pile of pots and pans until morning? Don’t do it, says Reeves.
“Once you leave it, it will just pile up,” she warns. “The same thing happens with laundry.”
Ah, the laundry. My personal nemesis. Washing it is no problem, but putting it away? Fughettaboudit, as they say on the East Coast. Reeves advice to me: “Fold it right out of the dryer, and put it in color-coded baskets for each member of the family.”
And get this—she says kids can put their own laundry away! Who knew? Reeves told me that even my 4-year-old could help get my house under control by putting her own clothes in her drawers. And get this: The same rule applies to husbands!
I know, right? Genius!
Reeves says big chores like vacuuming and cleaning the floors can be divided up among family members and assigned for specific times and days: “Tell your teenager that from 6 to 6:30 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, he or she will be vacuuming.”
Of course, tidying up is the tip of the iceberg, but if you find the time to do a big spring or fall cleaning, get rid of distractions like the TV, the phone and (gasp!) the Internet and start from the top of the house if you have a two-story home, or the back if you have a ranch.
“Turn on the stereo and go room-by-room,” says Reeves, “and work your way down or to the front. Work all day by yourself.”
All by myself? Without the phone on? Hmmm, cleaning is suddenly much more appealing.
No related posts.
What great tips. We dole out certain chores to the kids, like putting clothes away and vacuuming. Even a 4 year old with a swiffer can make a difference (child labor laws notwithstanding…)
Other jobs a child can do? Setting the table or clearing it. Removing bedsheets on sheet-changing day. Even sorting the socks as you fold the laundry.
I like involving the kids in the housekeeping, not just because it helps me out, but because it gives them a sense of responsibility for our home. (They’re neater when they realize they may have to clean up the mess.)