10 Home Organization Tips for Homeschoolers {Part 2}

In my recent post I shared my 3 P’s of Organizing Your Home – the first of my 10 home organization tips. Today my home organization tips deal with organizing the cleaning of your home.

4. Get Control of Laundry

Everyone has a different routine for laundry. I have friends who do a little laundry each day. That would make me go crazy. I want to do laundry and get it over; I don’t want to see it all week long. I follow my mom’s system and she did laundry twice a week.

When my kids were home, we all pitched in a variety of ways. Depending on our season of life, the kids did different parts of laundry. When they were young, they matched socks & folded washcloths. They each had a laundry basket that I filled with clean clothes. Each child had to put away their clothes. A similar system is explained in detail in Controlling the Spin Within.

As they got older, we tossed all the laundry in the middle of my bed and folded it together. One of us read aloud as we folded laundry.

When it was time for my kids to learn how to do laundry, they each took turns doing the family laundry for 1-2 months at a time. They were responsible for sorting laundry and putting it in the washer / dryer. Then, we all pitched in to fold. In high school, they asked if they could do their own laundry. We changed and let each person do their own laundry, as long as they had full loads.

5. Family Cleaning

I wanted my kids to know how to clean different areas of a home, so they took turns with different jobs. That’s called “Life Skills 101” in your homeschool.

I had an older mom tell me that you need to let children do a job long enough to actually learn how to do it well. Too often, kids do a job for a week and then change to another job. They never really learn how to clean. So, my kids had a particular job for 2-3 months. These tasks included cleaning a bathroom, doing laundry, vacuuming, dusting, taking out trash, feeding dog and so forth. We kept a simple chart to keep track of who was doing what. You can use one of the cleaning printables & chore cards in Home Planned or Sweet Life Planner to help you organize your kids’ cleaning.

If we are all working around the home, we played upbeat music. You might make a game of cleaning, especially with younger ones. See who can pick up the most toys or clean the bathroom mirrors the fastest.

For meal time, my children each had a job that started when they were three years old. Yep, even a three year old can help you clean. Since we had 3 children, we divided our meal jobs into set the table, clear the table and dishes. A three year old can set the table and carry dishes back to the kitchen. He may have trouble with the dishes, but he can help load the dishwasher or put away the silverware. My kids had these three tasks until they left our home. They all pitched in to help at mealtime.

6. Everyday Cleaning

Another system for cleaning is to clean a little bit each day. I believe flylady suggests this system. When I was visiting Ashley, I saw a chart on her refrigerator that lists one task for her to do each day. It might be laundry (it’s always never-ending), clean a bathroom, vacuum, sweep, dust, etc. Clean one part of your home each day.

If you still have a hard time cleaning each day, then schedule the same time every day to clean. For example, set aside 15 minutes each day after breakfast to clean an area of the home. Let your children make their beds and pick up their own room, while you clean the bathroom or kitchen or floors. As your children get older, assign one day of the week to help you clean. They can learn how to clean by working alongside you. Nina Nelson shares her weekly schedule in Simply Clean Home. Here’s one that might work for you:

Monday – Kitchen counters, cabinets, appliances, tables
Tuesday – Bathroom 1
Wednesday – Bathroom 2
Thursday – Vacuum family areas (living room, dining room, play room)
Friday – Change bedding

7. DeClutter

Like I said at the Facebook Party, my kids and I have all been de-cluttering our home. We are purging and giving lots of “stuff” away. When Gentry came home for Easter, she & her friend brought 5 bags of clothes they want to donate to Shelter the Homeless International.

The easiest tip I can give you is to start with your own closet. If you haven’t worn something in a year, get rid of it. Same for your kids when you purge their closets and toys. Your kids will have an easier time getting rid of clothes, toys & stuff if they see you setting the example.

Once you get rid of “stuff”, it will be much easier to keep your home clean. Elsie Callender, author of Your Simple Home Handbook, gave me great ideas on purging. She even has ideas on simplifying your makeup. I’m impressed with how specific Elsie’s home organization tips are. If you look at my makeup drawer, you can see I need her help!

If any of these home organization tips help you, I encourage you to take a look at The Ultimate Homemaking Bundle. It has more ideas than I can share on this blog post.