Here is the mysterious housekeeping post I mentioned. It’s pretty much more of the same!

I have been using a mutated from of Flylady for several years now, and I’m not planning to switch up what’s been working for me. A few of her tenets that are essential to my sanity:

-Prepare as much as you can in the evening for what will be happening the next morning.

-It doesn’t have to be perfect; just better than it was.

-Make a plan ahead of time, review often.

-Declutter.

-Do it now.

Something new I have added to my housekeeping aresenal is help. I have been listing (on our never-used dry erase board) jobs for each child and one list of jobs for everyone. For example, today Shooter’s jobs were to feed the chickens, sweep out the chicken house and clean both toilets. Everyone was expected to pick up their rooms, make their beds and fold any of the clean laundry that was theirs.

I thought it was awesome that he transferred his jobs to the ‘notes’ of his new ipod touch.

It’s remarkable how well a six-year-old can sweep a kitchen floor, people. And man, they love it. I was a bit concerned when I sent the same six-year-old out to clean a window that she was high on windex fumes, but otherwise it’s gone well. Lots of my ‘daily jobs’ (which I consider to be essential weekly housecleaning tasks that I break up into one or two per day) are simply and well done by my children. They include collecting the trash in the house, hauling the trash and recycling bins to and from the road, sweeping, dusting, vacuuming. They may not be done as well as if I’d done them myself, but I’m seeing the trade-off in their pride and confidence as well as the time I’m NOT devoting to crap that makes me cranky. Good trade!

What is essential to keeping order at your house?