Editor’s note: Trudy Peck is a longtime columnist who, in recent times, has been revisiting her old advice columns with an updated version of what she would say now.
From Nov 2010:
The leaf rake tucked between the stove and fridge has drawn many questioning looks and sometimes I explain (why it’s there). In a home with seven children, an exchange student, a cat and some fish, there is bound to be a fair amount of disarray. Being the lazy (read: ‘energy efficient’) mom that I am, I am always looking for ways to get the house clean and get on to the important stuff—like napping. Or playing Hungry Hungry Hippos with the children. Many of the tricks I have learned to free up nap time have come from friends and family and some are pretty obvious, causing me to think, ‘Why didn’t I think of that before’?
Here are some of my favorites:
When vacuuming, worry about the edges and the middle will take care of itself. (Why does this work? It is a mystery to us all!)
Where is it written that Mom has to do all the housework? Is that in the contract? Utilize the kid-power you have at your disposal. Your children will thank you. Later. Much, much later. Probably.
Muriatic acid and a razor blade are great tools for cleaning the mineral deposits from around the bathroom sink.
A pumice stone was a great discovery to make cleaning of porcelain toilets, sinks and tubs so much more successful! Just scrub and rinse. It’s awesome!
Tired of the ring around your tub? Hard to get time to clean it out? Put bathroom cleaner or a “magic sponge” in your tub and each time you are finishing up your shower or bath, wipe away a bit of the residue. You could also use the washcloth you just dirtied and wipe down the shower walls. You don’t even have to get it all today. Leave a little for tomorrow. Eventually it will all get wiped away. Maybe not all at the same time, but who says the whole house has to be clean at once anyway.
A mountain of laundry? Simplify. Take one laundry basket for girls, one for boys, one for Mom and Dad. Do a quick sort without folding. Everybody takes care of the rest of the job by folding and hanging their own clothes in their closets. When they get old enough to care about wrinkles, they’ll iron or fold or hang their clothes appropriately. (This tip might need some adjusting for toddlers and pre-toddlers.) Keep unmated socks in a central place for easy access. Kids can find the mate on their own until someone gets around to doing the sorting. Wahoo!
My ultimate favorite cleaning tip of the day originally came from my mother-in-law (Thanks, Mom!) When the mess on the floor seemed out of control, Mom would take her leaf rake and begin raking it all toward the fireplace. She would let the children know that once she got to the fireplace, whatever was left on the floor was going in it. They would scurry to get their special things put away to save them from the inferno. When my children were small I used the rake every day in my house and kept it in the kitchen snugly tucked between the fridge and the stove. Nifty trick? You bet!
A revisit to today…
Now that I’m a grandma, I have learned some fun new ideas from my children:
Give kids ‘energy spoons’. Recognizing that each person has a limited amount of energy to respond well, place a self-determined number of spoons in name-labeled cups easily accessible in your home. Each time your energy stores are depleted or you feel stress mounting, remove one from your cup to show that you are trying, but need some slack. Teach children by example to ask, “How can I build up your spoon supply today?” Then do something to help them feel better.
The laundry basket trick we used at home has been expanded. Do away with dressers and keep the clothes in baskets, on shelves or in closets. It makes for easy sorting and simple storing.
Post a goals “Bingo” chart on the wall with activities each family member wants to accomplish. Use them as rewards for when the work is done, or as goals to work toward together.
Remember that children need to be expected to contribute to the order of the home. It may take energy now to teach them to clean right, but as they get older, it will make life much easier for you as parents and for them as future adults. I assure you, the effort taken to overcome reluctance to help out WILL pay off.
