Excuse The... Clean

I have seen so many mommy blogger posts about messy houses. Everything is usually accused to mommy wars. Don't judge your friends if their house is messy. Then there is the quote we have all seen everywhere "excuse the mess my children are making memories". I don't judge other mommies- really the thought never crosses my mind. But my house is usually pretty clean and I worry that people may judge me for keeping it that way for superficial reasons. Here is my problem. I have OCD. The not real-self proclaimed kind. The bigger the mess the more frustrated I get, that I can't make up. This happens when I cook dinner too. No one likes to clean a huge mess after they just cooked everything and fed everyone before themselves. So I clean as I go. I keep the garbage open so I can chuck stuff in as needed and I keep the water on so I can rinse dishes as I finish with them. Some might find that more stressful, but for others like me- it keeps me calm. Calm mommy is happy and patient. Keeping my house clean makes me a better mommy and person. So for those of you out there who feel like me but who may struggle with how to accomplish such a feat. Here are my 5 tips- take it or leave it.

1. It's easier to KEEP something clean than to clean it. Example: high chair. If I just wipe it down after every meal- it stays clean rather than scrubbing for an hour once a week-or let's be honest- once a month. This works with dishes- keep the dishwasher empty so you can rinse dishes and stick them in while they are still fresh = no scrubbing. Scrubbing is the enemy. Maybe you already do this, but not everyone does. Example: my husbands family. He acted like this was a new idea.

2. PLAY with your kids and TEACH them with cleaning. My two year old loves the broom. She gets excited to through her wrappers in the garbage. And she loves putting dishes in the sink when we are done with the food. When she spills, she knows to go get the towel and wipe it up. She thinks these things are SO fun. She claps after. So do I. Your babies will think cleaning is fun if they see your enthusiasm. And hopefully good manners will become second nature.

3. Clean your house one room at a time. It's impossible to set one day aside to clean the house like your mom did. Well like mine did. It usually ended up being on Saturday- which is basically the only family day. Not to mention how not motivational it is to force your self to do something that daunting all in one day- while everyone is using the kitchen and lounging on the couch-being all in your way. So take an hour and a half every day to clean a room. You can even tackle two bathrooms or two bedrooms. Chances are you will do a better quality job too, as you won't be so burned out. If your children are old enough- let them help. Turn up the music and dance around- make it a cleaning party.

4. Teach focus- one thing at a time. Example: it's color time. That way you can make clean up part of the activity before moving on to the next. If this seems like an impossible task- keep it to one room at a time. I always tell my daughter that her toys go in her room. So when she drags them all over the house I point at them and tell her to take them to her room. She does. 

5. Clean before sleep. Clean up time happens before nap time (usually) and before bed. We even lay the barbies in their bed and say "night, night" to them. Everyone wakes up better to a clean room. And this teaches good practice. Also how scary are messes to a little kid in the dark? I would lay there imagining what the things I saw could be. Everyone sleeps better in a clean environment. 

I'm not perfect. Neither are my babies. But they are only two and 7 months so maybe all the haters will be laughing at me in a couple years. I just feel like you gotta teach them from the very beginning. Hopefully this helps someone. :)