Overwhelmed with clean up

[Unregistered]

I start work at 6 am and close at 6 pm. Even after the daycare leaves I still have to help my kids with homework, make dinner, run errands and find time to clean up. By the time I have wiped down the toys and put them away, vacuumed both rooms, cleaned the bathroom, cleaned the kitchen and mopped the floors, I am falling into bed around 10. I feel like I am missing out on any real family time because my to do list is so long.

Any tips from more seasoned providers who can help me plan a better way of getting done?

[sahm2three]

I hired a cleaning lady. She comes once a week and deep cleans. Then I just wipe bathrooms down daily. I have toys that I rotate so that i don't have to wipe down toys every day. So I only clean toys every few days. I threw a major fit a while back and now my family all has duties. If they like the extra income and the fact that I get to be home, they will help out. You can't do it all alone, because as you can see, it burns you out fast! Hugs to you!

[littlemissmuffet]

Any way that you can cut your hours back?? I was once upon a time a 6am to 6pm dayhome... now I'm 7am to 4:30pm and wayyyyyy happier and more productive for it!

[Blackcat31]

I used to be open that long and what I did was used the early morning or last few hours of the day before closing when I only had 1 or 2 kids to do all my cleaning and my errands. The bulk of my day when all the dck's were present was normal daycare routines but no sense wasting those early and late hours just because I had a few families who needed care during those times.

At the end of the day around 4, I would start closing off rooms and start vacuuming and/or mopping the floors, start sanitizing toys and doing general clean up. In the early morning hours I would take my two early arrivals and load them up and go do all my banking (ATM), grocery shopping and other errands. I'd be back by 7:30 when my next kids arrived.

That way I didn't have to cut into my family time for those things. Now I am only open for 9.5 hours a day so it isn't an issue anymore.

[melskids]

i try to do everything during my work hours. i know some may frown upon that, and think i sit my kiddos in front of the TV all day to get it all done, but that is NOT the case. ( we dont even watch tv!) i still spend alot of time with the kids, doing all of our daily activities/curriculum. i really have to be organized and have a schedule.

that way, 15 minutes after the last one leaves, i'm free to be with my family.

i get up at 5 a.m., shower, get dressed, throw on some makeup, and make my bed (or strip sheets) by 5:30

my kids have to get up at 5:30. while they are getting themselves ready for school, i'm making their lunches, and prepping food for the day. i cook ALOT of food at once, so im not cooking all the time. so usually whatever is for the DC lunch is for my families dinner that night. if i have time, i tidy up any messes now too. a load of laundry gets thrown in the wash. the boys have their own chores too.

my kids bus comes at 6:40. i take them to the bus stop, and when i come back, i throw the load of wash into the dryer and sit on the comp for a few minutes....

my kiddos start coming at 7. (next week, one will start coming at 6. i will continue my morning routine even though he will be here. he can free play or lay back down for that hour)

while kids are being dropped off, they free play while i finish getting breakfast ready and prep the days activities.

breakfast is at 8 and then we carry on with our daily morning routine. (circle time, learning/activities, outdoor play)

we come in around 11. i prep for lunch, we eat, clean up, read a story, and they're all asleep by 12:30.

from 1230 until 2 i clean up lunch, prep pm snack, and get dinner ready for my family. i do dishes (no dishwasher!!!) and fold the laundry, sweep the floors, sanitize toys, and clean up any morning activity mess left over (paintbrushes. etc). each day i pick a room to dust. i remake the bed if ive stripped the sheets that morning. i do any paperwork i have, then i sit on here for a bit

they are all up by 2/2:30. we do diaper changes, and head down to the bus to pick up the afterschool kids by 3:15.

3:30 we have snack, and i tidy up any messes again. they free play the rest of the day, inside or outside. sometimes i have a special activity planned again.

most get picked up at 5, but one family stays until 5:45. if we are outside, we come in at 5, when only the last family is left. they play while i get dinner ready ( i put it on plates so all we have to do is nuke it!!!) and help my younger son with his homework. I also wipe down the bathrooms.

as soon as the last family leaves, i vacuum. sometimes i get one of my boys to do it

since dinner was already made earlier, all i have to do is heat it up! after we eat, usually by 6:15, we do the dishes together. The boys make sure to tidy their rooms if needed, set out clothes, and have their bookbags ready to go.

this gives me the rest of the night to hang with my family...

there is usually a few things to tidy up before bed, and then i hit the sack by 9:00/9:30.

any deep serious cleaning (like the windows or showers/bathtub), yard work, or grocery shopping gets done EARLY saturday morning. (i STILL get up at 5 a.m. on saturdays)

thats also been the biggest help for me...is getting up at 5 on saturdays and doing chores right away. everything i need to do is done before most people even think to wake on weekend morning...

wow...i wrote a novel...sorry LOL

[countrymom]

I do stuff during the day, otherwise I'd be going to bed at midnight. I also use nap time to do things too. Nobody expects you to entertain children all day, heck I have yet to see parents try and do this all day. You need to go about your day, acually I have kids who fight who gets to load my dishwasher, I hid the brooms because they fought over that too.

[dEHmom]

i do it during the day too, and then a quick cleanup before last dck leaves. as soon as last dck leaves i jump on supper.

i don't clean the toys daily unless they need to be. fridays is major clean day, and then saturdays are the rest of the cleaning (more deep cleaning).

i have discovered a big helpful tool- CLEAN AS YOU GO! never let things pile up as it will be harder to stay on top of it. Dont' allow the dck's to make big messes. 1 toy at a time or whatever, and i use naptime for everything else like dishes, mopping etc.

[Sugar Magnolia]

i do it during the day too, and then a quick cleanup before last dck leaves. as soon as last dck leaves i jump on supper.

i don't clean the toys daily unless they need to be. fridays is major clean day, and then saturdays are the rest of the cleaning (more deep cleaning).

i have discovered a big helpful tool- CLEAN AS YOU GO! never let things pile up as it will be harder to stay on top of it. Dont' allow the dck's to make big messes. 1 toy at a time or whatever, and i use naptime for everything else like dishes, mopping etc.

CLEAN AS U GO! Amen!! I also have big kids help clean up. I don't live here, so I do have to come do deep cleaning on the weekends. Its a LOT of work, but if you get organized and have good storage, its less. I also run some plastic stuff through the dishwasher to save time, like the plastic food, dishes, plastic animals, etc.

[iheartkids]

I don't see anything wrong with cleaning during daycare hours. The center I used to work at did not have a cleaning crew so we had to clean while we were open (and were not allowed to stay one minute past close). Parents had no problem seeing their kids helping with the daycare laundry when they walked in!

[renodeb]

I have to agree with littleMsmuffet about trimming back your hours just a little. That can make all the diffrence in the world. I used to be open to 6pm and it was just to much. I trimmed it back to 530 and what a diffrence. Another idea is (if you have any of your own kids who you could get to help). Im so sorry your feeling so over whelmed. Another idea is to maybe mop at nap time and hopefully that would hold you until the next day.
Debbie

[countrymom]

you know what also works, I tell my dck's that the "big kids don't want to come home and clean their mess" they love my big kids and look up to them (they are my kids) so its funny how they make sure everything is always clean so the big kids are happy.

[blessedmess8]

Melskids, you are my hero! SOMEDAY I will get that organized!!!

[mismatchedsocks]

I get up a little early, get ready and throw laundry in. I will unload dishwasher and have coffee while waiting for first child. She gets here at 530, and lays back down. While I wait for next child I will get breakfast table set, art set up, circle time stuff laid out, and books put out in basket. Between 6-8 we eat, free play, and clean up from breakfast. After my own kids have left for school we do circle time, art time, outside time, etc. I get lunch started while the kids are free playing after all that, and feed them. I clean kitchen while they eat, and toss their stuff in dishwasher when they are done to start it.
While they nap ( about 2 hours ) I will do paperwork, homework, and empty dishwasher. I also start on dinner, and fold laundry. between nap time and pick up time I have no real set plans for kids, we eat, go outside, homework( even for my kids) etc. This is the time I will put all toys that need sanatizing ( baby toys that are mouthed or sickness) in dishwasher and run. I vacuum while waiting for last kid to be picked up. ( I have about 30 minutes from group pick up til my last 5-515 pick up) We eat about 530, run dishwasher while we are gone to bowling, gymnastics, etc. I am in bed by 8 everynight and never do "daycare cleaning" on weekend.