This year we tried something new: We stopped using a house cleaner and took on the task ourselves.

🧹 Between running a small business, home schooling, and raising 5 little ones it was something I needed to hire out for a few years (which was a huge gift!), but I wanted my children to learn how to keep a home clean, too. Our kids are 9-1 so they help on various levels (and I often go behind them), but they're practicing and it's getting done!

Here's what worked 👉🏻 Choosing one area of our house to teamwork each day.

M: KITCHEN. Each kid gets a rag to wipe down counters and chairs while I clean trickier areas. (The kitchen gets wiped down after most meals, too).

T: BATHROOMS. Our two oldest have a whole bathroom to clean- mirror, counter, sink, around toilet, trash can. I clean inside the toilet, the tub/shower, and whatever they missed. It's a work in progress for sure.

W: BEDROOMS. They divide and conquer, dusting baseboards/surface areas, vacuuming, and cleaning up misc toys. I pick up behind them and dust high areas.

TH: PLAYROOM/ LIVING ROOM. They dust, vacuum, wipe down the art table, and put toys back in approproate bins (we're fairly lax about this on other days of the week). I dust/vacuum the living room.

F: MUDROOM/ OFFICES. They clean their cubby area and vacuum the mudroom. I do my office. Robert is supposed to his but I actually have no idea if it gets done haha

S: No chore because it's the sabbath! This is a treat for us all.

S: OUTSIDE: Depending on the season, we weed or blow off leaves or wipe pollen off the furniture.

MISC: There are a few areas that aren't included here (like dusting the hallway baseboards). I save things for a consequence as needed. Big tasks (like cleaning windows or dusting fans) get done when I feel grossed out by them.

🧹 As always, take what's helpful (or save it for later) and forget the rest as you steward the space God has given you.