It's a Hard Knock Life

It's no secret that I keep a clean house. It's one of the few consistent aspects of my personality. I go through phases and crazes like a mad woman. But through it all, I keep my room/home clean and orderly. When I was first married, Ryan thought I was crazy for cleaning everyday. Well, how else are you supposed to clean? According to him, once a week. Well, needless to say, we have adopted my style in our household.

But here's the question I get from everyone - how do you do it? How? I tell them the truth - child labor. I am a firm believer in the kids helping to keep the house tidy. If they make the mess, they clean it up. I have been teaching my kids since they were one-year-old. They started with picking up their toys and putting them in the box. I add more responsibilities the older they get. It takes more work initially to teach them how to clean, but in the end, it is so worth it.

We do not assign chores, nor do my kids get paid an allowance to clean. The rule of the Christensen household is, everyone start with taking care of yourself. Clean up your messes, make your bed, take care of your things. That takes most of the work off me, but the next part is crucial - in a family, everyone works together to get the job done quickly. No one person is stuck in the kitchen washing dishes while everyone else gets to watch TV. EVERYONE stays in the kitchen working until it's cleaned. Also, as things need to be done, I ask people to do them. When the kids get older and I get busier, I'm sure I'll leave notes of things they need to do.

Because the kids are still little, I do most of the work (laundry, dishes, deep cleaning, etc). But they can do a lot. Here are our rules:

Clean as you go (no marathon cleaning sessions here)
Be responsible for your stuff
Everyone works together
If you can't get along or are "bored" you will be put to work
The older you get, the more you are responsible for
When you're done playing, put everything away
You may be called to help at any time
If you don't take care of your things/space, it will be taken away

Harsh? I don't think so. It's real life lessons. We are crammed in this little house, we have to work together or we're going to drive ourselves out.

Here are some pics of the kids cleaning

Towels they folded - ready for me to put them away. I continually teach them how to fold properly. We're still working on it.

"Mopping" the dining/kitchen area. They use rags and then dry it afterwards.

Gathering trash and putting in new liners

William loves to vacuum

Dusting, with the help of a little ghost

Claire cleaning her sister's room

Showing off the shiny sink

Putting away dishes

Here's a list of things my kids can do (except Rose of course):
Vacuum the house and the car
Dust
Clean glass
Wash/dry/put away dishes
Gather trash
Sort and wash clothes (with a little help with the machines)
Fold clothes/towels
Make beds
Sweep
Wipe down bathroom sinks
Put away clothes and toys
Wash the car

As an example - if my kids put their hands all over the glass door, they're going to have to clean it off - so they tend not to. They don't wipe their hands on the wall, or take food on the carpet. If I ever find a dirty hand print on the wall or food in the living room, it is addressed and they have to clean it up. That is part of taking care of our things we have been blessed with.

The key here is that with help on the daily maintenance, I have more time to do the deep cleaning on a regular basis.

I instruct and inspect as they clean. If I find it done wrong, they have to fix it. You would think my kids hate me for all of this, but they love it. They feel such pride in our house and love how clean and nice it is. They are beaming when they finish a job. It's fun to watch Claire instruct William on how to do various things - I even have my own little teaching assistant.

So that's it folks. Oh and one more thing - we are not afraid to get rid of things and do so frequently. It's hard to keep a house clean with stuff everywhere. It's all about daily maintenance and NOT BEING A SLAVE TO MY KIDS!!