"I hate housework. You make the beds, you wash the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again."
--Joan Rivers.


Over the years, I’ve worked on perfecting my house cleaning routine. Early in my parenting, I *thought* I was somewhat relaxed, focusing only on the most important things. I probably was. What I do know is that I had clean children and a clean home back when I was a new mom. As our family grew, I wanted to keep it that way!!

However, I’m just one person. So, some things had to change. With tongue in cheek, here are some of my finer tips for house cleaning. Tongue in cheek, but yes, I actually do use all of these ideas, along with some more “traditional” practices also, of course. With each idea, there’s a time and a place. Yet, it isn’t always necessary to attend to every detail every time. Life is short; have fun with it!

1) Place a vacuum in the middle of the living room. Plug it in. Leave it there. If anyone comes over, they will think you were just about to clean up all that mess!

2) Place a cup of bleach in a well used but very child-safe area. The smell of bleach is associated with clean – when someone comes over, they will automatically think “clean”. OR, place the open bleach in your laundry area and help it waft through the house. A guest (or social worker in a pinch!) can assume your house is cluttered because you’ve spent all day doing laundry (which is likely not far from the truth, anyway!).

3) Buy and use a high quality orange or citrus candle. Same theory as the bleach. So many cleaners now use the citrus smells. Just the smell of a good orange scented candle makes you think of clean.

4) Clean only the centers of the rooms. When time or desire is short, focus on the centers of the rooms. It’s a great way to maximize use of minimal efforts. Your house will look the most clean with the shortest amount of time.

To be continued.......