5 Homemaking Tips for Homeschool Moms
There are some things that I’ve learned over the course of our homeschooling years. I have learned how to maintain my home so that I’m not overwhelmed. Let me just say, that homemaking through the homeschooling years is quite different from other stages of my life.
I’m not one of those, every last surface in my house must be spotless, kind of homemakers. We live here. More than that, we school here and my son and I are here nearly 24/7.
So clutter, happens. That being said, I do prefer having a home that is clean and fairly straightened.
During my working years I had a specific routine for getting things done around the house. During my sons early years I had a different routine for accomplishing tasks and I was much more diligent about trying to have every surface clean.
Helping Your Homeschool Day Go Smoother
Now that I’m a homeschooling mom, my focus is more about the training and education of my child than whether or not there is dust on the side tables beside my bed. By the way, there IS dust on the side tables beside my bed.
But, I know that I can accomplish more in a day if certain things are in place and if I maintain certain areas of my home.
This post contains affiliate advertisement links.
Today I’m sharing some homemaking tips that can help your homeschool day go smoother.
- Make your bed, have kids make their beds every day. Making your bed will help you to feel that your bedrooms look tidy. It gives you a sense of accomplishment and even if no other homemaking task gets done in a day, that one thing will be complete, look good and is so easy to do. I make my bed first thing in the morning, before breakfast and before dressing for the day. I also make sure my son’s bed is made. If it isn’t remind him.
- Laundry, determine how much laundry you can complete, wash/dry/fold/put away, in a day. Then don’t stress over any more. It might be 1 load a day, 2, 3 or 4. If you do more, great, you’ll feel accomplished. But don’t stress over only doing one or three loads a day. It’s better to complete loads all the way through the put away process, than it is to have piles of half finished work.
Bonus Laundry Tip: Let the family help. In my family, my son folds and puts away his own clothes. My husband puts away his after I’ve folded it. This works great for my family and has eased my burden greatly. At the same time, my friend Hope, who has 4 kids, let’s her 3 oldest kids do their own laundry.Each child is responsible for all of their clothes, they wash/dry/fold & put away. Meaning that Hope only does hers and her husbands, her youngest son’s (although I suspect he helps) and the household linens.
Dishes: Do them as you go while making dinner. Your in the kitchen anyway, so while you’re waiting for the water to boil, wash out the mixing bowls, pans etc. Then as soon as dinner is over, wash up the rest of the dishes.It makes for less stress all around, you wake up to a clean kitchen and the daily meals are easier to prep because you have working surfaces. Have the kids put away the dishes once they are washed.
- Choose ONE day to scrub the bathrooms. Once a week deep clean the bathroom. On other days, spot clean before bedtime at night. I keep Method Spearmint Antibacterial Spray in the bathroom closet and spray and wipe the counter and toilet. It just takes a few minutes and I get to wake up to a clean bathroom.
Bonus bathroom tip. Buy a Scotch Scrub Wand fill it half full of dish-washing soap and half white vinegar. Keep it in the shower. Every few days when you step in to take a shower grab the scrub wand and do a quick scrub of the tub. Rinse it off and complete your shower.
- Choose one big project per week. It might be cleaning out a closet or painting a room, or cleaning the oven or fridge. Doing one project a week keeps you from being overwhelmed but also let’s you attack the areas that are often neglected.
If you are a planner, and can work out a more precise cleaning schedule, then just ignore the above tips. This is currently what works for me and maybe you can be inspired by a less stressed cleaning routine.