Homeschooling is a difficult task but having to keep a clean house at the same time can be very daunting. Check out these 5 practical tips to keep a clean house and stick to them in your daily schooling and household activities. Make your homeschool day more efficient and less stressful today!
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1. Involve your kids in the household and cleaning tasks.
One way to make your children more interested in keeping your home clean and tidy is make them take part in your cleaning and housekeeping work. If they learn how to do some simple chores and help you in your household work, you will have less to do. Moreover, your kids will become more responsible for their actions and start to keep clean and tidy their rooms. Involve them in your kitchen work and try to make them more independent. Teach your 6 year old how to sort and start laundry. Have a group folding session and start teaching your children at a young age how to fold clothes and put them away. These are a great way to help them grow and learn some useful habits that will not only help you, but give them skills and independence for their future!
2. Incorporate your cleaning and household work in your school day.
Schedule time for cleaning and household chore between your homeschool classes. Involve them between the studying hours and let your kids take part in cleaning and household chores. If they learn some simple tasks (depending on their age) and practice them, you will find yourself more productive and less stressed! Your children will learn responsibility and become more confident in themselves. For example teach them to fold the clothes, dust the furniture, vacuum the floor. Changing mental with physical activities gives a welcome break from bookwork and gets out a bit of energy at the same time.
3. Designate a special time a few hours in the day for cleaning.
This can be in the morning at lunch time or in the afternoon: decide how much time you will need. Spend a few hours every day to do the cleaning chores. Let your children take part in the work or leave them to do a zone or area if they are old enough. You can spend additionally 5 minutes a day in picking all items from the floor. This is a task which even young children can do. Include the cleaning chores before or after the lunch or between the school subjects.
4. Create a chart with the chores which you need to do every day.
You can create and print such chart for every day of the week or use this free printable chore chart. This will organize your day and make you more focused. Specify time for removing clutter, cleaning, and other household activities. If you make it a family activity that everyone is involved in, attitudes tend to improve. You can find different ways to motivate them: crank the music, be goofy, set a timer, or set up a reward when you have finished.
5. Purge your homeschool area/shelves.
Once in a while get your kids to help you with a deep clean to remove clutter that is building up in your school room. Having an organized school area can change the whole dynamic in your homeschool and clutter builds fast! You can donate the items you don’t need to free space on the shelves. There are many online selling groups where you can sell un-used or gently used curriculum and supplies (think Facebook). Get your kids involved, create a keep and giveaway pile and move systematically through your school area. A good rule of thumb is if you haven’t used it that year, it may be time to give it away. School books, games, and resources can add up fast until your shelves are overflowing and you can’t find what you need. Setting up a regular time (ie. every 2 months) to purge your shelves will make sure you have room for what you DO need and are more efficient in your homeschool.
Do you struggle keeping a clean house while homeschooling? You’re not alone!
You are not alone in your struggles! Any mom who homeschools her children battles the mess that is constantly there. Try making cleaning a part of your family routine, get everyone involved, make it fun! Keeping your home in order will help you be more productive as a homeschool family and help you find more joy in the process.
Guest post written by Kathleen Crane. Visit her website Tenancy Cleaning SW19 or follow her on Google Plus.
Kathleen Crane runs a small cleaning company called Tenancy Cleaning SW19.
