How Do You Keep Your House Clean?

[spud912]

See, I worry that my parents will be judging me thinking that my house looks too clean. I clean the "exposed" area immediately after each meal/snack/messy activity. Luckfully, my house is very open so I can keep an eye on the kids while I'm cleaning the disaster area. I do deep cleanings and mopping on the weekend or during nap time.

[jojosmommy]

I pick up during the day and do household cleaning as time permits, like when kids are napping. Otherwise all cleaning done weekends/evenings.

I would love to go to my dcf houses to see how clean their places are. I bet if I did I would never think about how clean my place is when their kids are here .


I don't stress about it. I am a tidy individual but life happens in this house and if parents don't like it they are the wrong parents for this place .

[Sprouts]

If parents are going to judge me because my house is a bit messy, then this is not the place for them. Unfortunatley i am not a neat freak by nature (i wish i was, and so does my husband) I have the daycare downstairs and I live upstairs, i try to keep both as clean as I can, but one person with two young kids of her own, come on, lets be realistic. I try to keep the daycare part as clean as I can becuase parents arent usually upstairs unless they drop off early...and my husband just today complains how i put my daycare first :::::::::: I wanted to throw a pie in his face ugh i think this turned into a vent haha anyways...bottom line....dont stress it! do what you can do in the time you have, but were not robots either.

[Breezy]

Someone posted on Facebook not too long ago "Cleaning with children in the house is like brushing your teeth while you're eating a box of oreos"

[MissAnn]

The paranoia I have about parents thinking I am a slob is killing me. I am a neat freak by nature and daycare clean is 10x more clean than my normal deep clean and it has to be maintained at all times in case a parent comes by early etc. I feel a constant looming of, "what if they come by and see the peanut butter thrown on the ground" or "my house is a mess and I am trying to clean it...what if they come by and see me cleaning while the kids are trashing my living room?!"

I don't know how y'all do it. I feel incredible pressure to keep my house clean and I am embarrassed when normal kid mess is all over my house and parents come by the pick up. Sort of like they are judging my ability to take care of kids by the mess that my house is.

And I am not talking filthy floors, stuff splattered on cabinets or dust an inch thick. I'm not talking hoarders filth and my house is relatively clutter free, orderly and most things have a space. I'm mostly talking about kids strewing stuff all over my house, crumbs on the floor from lunch (that I sweep but can't vacuum til kids leave for the day) and just general disarray from playing with kids and not picking up after them 3-4 times a day.

Do I really want to admit this? I don't! It's probably the main area that I need to work on! We have such long days as it is! I clean the kitchen after meals and the kids pick up their messes throughout the day....but they are all 3-5 years old. I tend to have a messy desk and if you look too close...I have dust. I need a little OCD!

[countrymom]

I clean everyday, but more the basic stuff. Like yesterday at nap time, I was talking to my back up provider on the phone and was wiping down the kitchen cabinets at the same time. I will say that my house is way cleaner than most families. but nothing makes me more mad when dcf says "I'm going home to clean" this makes me mad because I have to do my deep cleaning on the weekend, I don't get to take a day off and clean my house. heck I'm doing some major reno in the daycare room and all the kids are still here.

Yesterday we went to dinner at my parents house (I never go anymore because of favortism and my kids can't stand it) my mother has been going over to my sisters house to clean her brand new house, they have no children. so when I said to her, why doesn't she come and give me a hand because I have drywall dust (remember I'm fixing the daycare room) she has the never to say "well you have nothing to do at home so you can clean your own house" I was so mad. hello, I guess watching 9 kids is nothing. Comments like this is the reason I don't go over.

[SunshineMama]

I always wipe down countertops after meals and snacks, and clean the table. I vacuum the eating area after lunch, and have the kids pick up all of their toys after each activity. My house is generally clean and tidy, but I do drive myself a little nuts with it.

But really, there is no way to have your house spick and span 100% of the time without neglecting the kids, unless you have an easy group who can play nicely together every day within ear shot while you tidy your house. My group needs constant supervision. While I do have an open floor plan, which allows me to get things done while watching the kids free-play, I still have to constantly referee them.

Theres still pretzel crumbs on my table from pm snack ...

[Snowmom]

I have no idea how my friend cleans her two-floored house by herself. I use help sometimes, like once a month i call cleaning service and they just scrub my house to shine.
Two vacuum cleaners and wonder-mop is just not enough for me to stuff all this cleaning in one day.

How do you manage to prioritize and separate house cleaning? Can you do that in one day?

Timing.

I keep all my necessities within reach all day (broom/dust pan, rag mop, spray cleaner). When we finish a meal, the kids are responsible for cleaning up their assigned task (one has cups, one has plates, one has silverware, etc). While they do that, I sweep up. Then we wash up and go directly to outdoor time. I put the dishes away while they dress in their outdoor gear. I mop after they come in- while they take off their gear and put it away.

I clean the rest of my house during nap. I also clean the kitchen during afternoon snack time.

All my kids MUST participate in clean up time at 4:00. If they refuse, they will not have their choice of helper duties the next day and may lose privileges for not helping the group.
At 4:00, we have dance time or a game that's minimal work for me to put away.

[daycarediva]

I feel the same way as daycarelady about this forum. It's very real!



I deep clean on Sundays (sanitize all toys, clean out cubbies and prep for the following week.etc) Monday -Friday I tidy up after breakfast, before lunch and after pick up. I also quick spray down toys shelves and tables, clean the bathroom, vacuum and mop. If parents pick up early, they see us in our regular day. Atleast they know that their child us having fun! I had a parent stop by at 10 this morning unannounced and tell me that my house was still cleaner then hers. Lol!

Still the same! ::

Timing.

I keep all my necessities within reach all day (broom/dust pan, rag mop, spray cleaner). When we finish a meal, the kids are responsible for cleaning up their assigned task (one has cups, one has plates, one has silverware, etc). While they do that, I sweep up. Then we wash up and go directly to outdoor time. I put the dishes away while they dress in their outdoor gear. I mop after they come in- while they take off their gear and put it away.

I clean the rest of my house during nap. I also clean the kitchen during afternoon snack time.

All my kids MUST participate in clean up time at 4:00. If they refuse, they will not have their choice of helper duties the next day and may lose privileges for not helping the group.
At 4:00, we have dance time or a game that's minimal work for me to put away.

YEP!

I don't feel ashamed at running the vacuum during the day, or folding DC laundry during rest time.

I think that once it's clean, it's easier to just maintain.

[CityGarden]

I too really struggle with this.... some items that help me:

• All dcks bring their own lunch so no lunch dishes to clean other than spoons/cups.
• AM Snack is homemade and cooked but cleaned up during the day or during nap time PM Snack is quick and premade in batches required no clean up other than the mess at the table.
• I aim to teach the dcks to clean up after they are done in an area but we clean the entire space as a group before outside time and before goodbye time
• Lastly I dismiss from outside during ia reading (not playtime) this benefits in three ways 1) dcks know this cue and parents know their child will notice if they are last so they feel pressure to show up on time 2) if the space is clean the dcks don't mess it up again while waiting on the dcps and 3) so if it is a complete mess inside at the end of day parents do not see.

I have my place professionally cleaned one a month but am hoping to increase that to 2X a month and eventually weekly.

Adding that I also tidy up the night before..... right before I go to bed since my dd is not Miss Neat which I am working on...

[hwichlaz]

I use the Motivated Moms chore planner and minimalism.

[BrynleeJean]

Im right there with you! it would literally give me almost like anxiety problems, thinking about what if a parent wants to walk this far and sees the dishes or the crumbs or the clutter or if licensing or food program came by! so the door bell would just basically send me into panic
So here are some MAJOR things that here I'm my little time out from home daycare and transitioning/moving to our bigger house has made me think about.
1. I've packed up all the stuff i don't need every day and stuck it in the garage, like EVERYTHING and then i did it again and again till I'm living on the minimum and my house looks like a model home so i can do showings and now i don't even remember what in the garage! i recommend this. I'm thinking of having my mom take it all and having a garage sale for me so i don't get tempted to bring it all back in.
2. a morning routine and mid day routine and after noon routine helped a lot with daycare. morning like make beds start a load of laundry and empty dishes and fill with breakfast ones or whatever. mid day before lunch kids tidy for you! joys of daycare while you sweep, load dishwasher and wipe counters. nap time fold that laundry and put away.
end of day fill dishwasher, make dinner take out all those nasty trashes. sweep if you need to and again KIDS TIDY. if i have even one kid over 3 i don't pick up toys. yay me happy face
3. this is a big one ROOMBA. love my robot vacuum i don't know all the types i don't think it matters but i don't sweep or vacuum as much. id run my roomba in the daycare room or just turn her on and let her go where she wants and at the end of the week, one time a week id vacuum the daycare area real good cuz roomba does it everyday for me.
and i also love me rubbermaid reveal spray mop. or just use a swiffer with microfiber clothes pinched in a spray bottle with 99 percent water 1 percent dish soap and spray where you wanna mop and clean your floors in like 5 mins or less when you need to.
4. i take a cloth around my house now and time myself and spot clean, finger prints, dirty counters, spots on mirrors, dirty door knobs, sinks and faucets. toilet seats i do with paper towels. you can also time yourself and declutter an area each day or time yourself and go around your house and pick up the clutter in a hamper and put it all away the timer helps me or i just won't do it. idk why
routines routines routines though as well id say or my house can get bad even without the clutter.

[lovemykidstoo]

I tell my parents when I interview with them that my house will not look like this when you are picking up your child for the most part. I interview in the evenings, so the house is tidy. I tell them for the most part, I am not cleaning my house, I'm spending time with the kids, so it probably will look like a tornado hit it .

I do try to clean up the kitchen though during last snack of the day. They are at the table and I'm wiping down kitchen counters, loading dishwasher etc. It's all in the same room.

My concern is how the state is changing it's audits. They used to do a sampling of people when their license got renewed, but now they are doing surprise audits once a year. I'm afraid what they will think if they come in sometimes when we have stuff spread from 1 part of the house to the other. I hope they don't expect a tidy house. Anyhone have experience with that?

[Play Care]

I tell my parents when I interview with them that my house will not look like this when you are picking up your child for the most part. I interview in the evenings, so the house is tidy. I tell them for the most part, I am not cleaning my house, I'm spending time with the kids, so it probably will look like a tornado hit it .

I do try to clean up the kitchen though during last snack of the day. They are at the table and I'm wiping down kitchen counters, loading dishwasher etc. It's all in the same room.

My concern is how the state is changing it's audits. They used to do a sampling of people when their license got renewed, but now they are doing surprise audits once a year. I'm afraid what they will think if they come in sometimes when we have stuff spread from 1 part of the house to the other. I hope they don't expect a tidy house. Anyhone have experience with that?

My licensor did a pop in on Valentine's Day. I am usually one who picks up as we go, but I hadn't felt great that day, I only had 3 kiddos and one was a almost 4 yo boy who wanted to do games and I was the only one who was able to do them (the other kids were just under 2) and when she came in the afternoon it was as if a tornado had hit. I definitely felt some judgement, but like whatever. ::

[lovemykidstoo]

My licensor did a pop in on Valentine's Day. I am usually one who picks up as we go, but I hadn't felt great that day, I only had 3 kiddos and one was a almost 4 yo boy who wanted to do games and I was the only one who was able to do them (the other kids were just under 2) and when she came in the afternoon it was as if a tornado had hit. I definitely felt some judgement, but like whatever. ::

You did feel judged? See that's what I'm worried about. I mean, I do not do dishes until after the kids leave, alot of the picking up the kids will do as far as toys right before they leave, but during the day they're everywhere. I may have my paperwork sitting on the couch. My daughter may have a school book somewhere. I mean if they want to bop in and do surprise visits, that's fine, but they have to understand that we have alot of kids and the idea isn't to have a spotless house it's to be interacting with the kids.