Quick Tricks To Having
A Clean House

I have been able to keep my house clean, even with my large family, most of the time. Other mothers are always asking me how I keep my house clean all the time. I don't! No house is clean all the time, even if you cleaned day and night, had everything extremely organized and shipped your family out. Dirt would still find its way in.

I have tried to have a clean organized house, that people can still live in. There have been, and still are, those women who claim that it is a choice between either being a good mother or having a clean house. This is not a choice I have wanted to make and haven't felt like it was correct anyway. I have always felt that you can really do both. They go hand in hand. I have never wanted my children, or myself for that matter, to get so used to living in an unkempt home that we accept it as "feeling good". Through the years of trial and error, the following are some of the things that I have learned to achieve a clean house and still be a mother.

1. Always put things away when you're through using them0. Even small children can learn to put things away if you are consistent and work with them. The key with small children is to "work" with them. Make it fun and, sort of, part of their play. Teach them good self discipline. Of course the best teacher is example. If you discipline yourself to put things away, you will always know where to find what you need. This saves time and stress too.

2. Even if you put things away after use, there are always some things that get forgotten. At night, I always take one look through the house and pick up anything not in it's place. It also helps me to wake up to a house that looks nice. I don't feel like I have quite so heavy a load at the start of the day.

3. Clean the little messes everyday. That way you will never end up cleaning a big mess. Little messes are much more manageable. This includes bathrooms. You can wipe down the bathroom everyday which takes about 5-10 minutes. I use a homemade Windex type solution. By cleaning the bathrooms every day, it makes them bearable, especially if you have boys in the house. The solution kills the germs and makes your bathroom sparkle until your once-a-week deep clean.

4. Dust where needed, vacuum up any dirt, crumbs, etc., or sweep the floor. Always vacuum in one direction with even symmetrical strokes. This give your floor a professional look.

5. If you have small children, have a defined play room or area. Different houses that we have lived in have given us different kinds of play areas. All have been workable. I like it best when the play area is not in the bedroom. This helps keep the bedroom clean and peaceful. Our house now has no extra rooms for a toy area. However, there is a walk-in closet in a downstairs bedroom that rooms small children. I have converted the closet to a play room, of sorts. When the kids want to play, I send them to the closet. It works pretty well, but there are problems at times because it is also a bedroom.

6. If there are special interests that members of your family have, have a defined area where they can do these things and use those interests, such as sewing, art, music. If your children pull out the art supplies, for instance, in the living room, there is no quiet, clean place for visitors to feel at home. I always have the art activities outside on a table or at least on the kitchen table. Music works well a the living room. Sewing and crafts are my likes. If I have to put them up and take them down after each sewing or craft project, I find that I never do anything. I, again, have always allocated a small space to keep my sewing machine up. That way if I have mending to do, I can do it when I have a few minutes before having to go on to something else. It really does help to keep the rest of the house clean too. My sewing supplies are not strewn all over the place and there is no big clean up job.

   These are a few of the quick tricks. More will come in months a head. I won't give you the whole elephant at one time. If you follow these things you will find a greater degree of

   satisfaction in knowing that you can be 'mom' and have an enjoyable, neat, clean house to live in. You'll have a pleasing environment for your family to live and grow in.