A Balancing Act

So it's not really a secret that I'm a clean freak. I like my house clean. I dislike clutter, and I function best in a clean, somewhat organized home. I use the word "somewhat" because I have kids, and kids are messy. So yes, my house is clean but often has toys scattered end to end.

When I was working, I had a fabulous lady who came every two weeks to clean my house. I cleaned every other week. It helped me keep things balanced when I was busy and didn't have much time at home. But once I stopped working having a cleaning lady seemed like an uneccesary expense. Now that I'm a full time stay at home mom and housewife, I feel like I have two big responsibilities: (1) to keep our home running well and efficiently, and (2) to spend time with my kids and help them learn but not learn to be entertained.

So I've had a few people ask me how I balance it. And here it is. I live and die by my calendar (I'm learning to be more flexible), and I schedule in pretty much everything from cleaning to exercise. I look at what we have going on in the week ahead and work out our schedule accordingly. We are not a go, go, go family, and we spend a lot of time at home. Some of that has to do with my kids' ages, but I'll be the first to admit that I intentionally avoid doing too much because I think it's unhealthy (physically, emotionally, and financially). So below is my loose weekly schedule for housework and cleaning. We try to get outside for at least an hour everyday, and the kids usually end up in the wading pool. I try to get up and get dressed before the kids and get things going while they're still asleep. I take advantage of naptime to get a lot done as well.

Everyday:
Naptime - clean up kitchen; put away laundry; sweep; swiffer if needed; ironing; prep dinner if needed; any and all daily maintenance stuff.
4-5 times/week - cook dinner. After dinner I clean the kitchen again, and Patrick takes care of baths. If Patrick isn't going to be home, I will usually feed the kids leftovers to avoid too much clean up.  We usually eat out once/week. Sometimes twice.

Monday:
Wash sheets and kids towels. I always wash the sheets the day before I change the sheets because I'm lazy and hate folding them.

Tuesday:
Strip beds and put on clean sheets; wash clothes; fold clothes.

Tues. or Wed.:
Bathe dogs and wash their bedding. Anna is fascinated by the dogs getting baths, and I sometimes bathe them outside while the kids play in the little pool.

Wed. or Thurs.;
Grocery shopping - we all hate it, but we also like to eat. I try to do it early so we can play outside before lunch.
Wash and fold more clothes.

Thurs. or Friday:
Clean house - pick up everything, vacuum, mop, dust, scrub bathrooms, wipe down blinds and baseboards ... I try to do this weekly with the thought that it might not get done next week. This is the biggest, most time consuming, and demanding job of the week. The other stuff can usually happen during naptime or after bedtime, but I cannot clean the whole house while Anna is asleep.
Wash and fold more clothes (I'm forever doing laundry).

Saturday and Sunday:
Wash our towels, kitchen towels, beach towels, etc. Try to do as little as possible. We usually try to squeeze in yard work and some fun stuff on the weekends.

Fun and entertainment: we try to go outside every unscheduled morning (usually at least 4 days/week), and we try to do it early because it's HOT! Of course, we always have appts. to work around. I try to run/workout 2-3 evenings a week, and Patrick will do baths and get Anna to bed. This is for my sanity, and the safety of my family (that's a joke ... so chill). When we have stuff going on, we adjust the schedule accordingly.

Come fall, Andrew will start soccer again, and I'm sure we'll tweek the schedule. And it'll continue to be tweeked as my kids get older and have more and different activities, but for today this is how we roll.