source
Any family with children knows that keeping a house tidy and up kept is sometimes just impossible. (or at least it feels that way) It can be challenging at times depending on what season of life your are in.
If you have small children or babies a lot of the cleaning and picking up depends on you to get it done. If you have some what older children that is the time to start training them to help with chores or picking up after themselves. Here’s a side note…..it’s so much easier to train them when they are younger!
Around here, the 10 minute tidy has been a life saver! Since we home school we are home a lot more than we are out. That means the more time spent around the house….the more mess that is being made. Our house is cleaning is times 10 people (well technically 9 while my daughter is away at college) That is a lot of pick up!
Here’s how we do a 10 minute tidy:
- Assign each child a room
- Turn on a timer (sometimes it can be 2 minutes, sometimes it can be 5 minutes)
- Have children (and yourself) put away as many things as you can.
- Point out items that are being overlooked
- Play music to make it fun
- Do this 3 times a day (after breakfast, after lunch, and before you go to bed)
Keep in mind this is not in place of your normal mopping, scrubbing, dusting, cleaning of the bathrooms, etc. This is just to gain control of some of the chaos that happens in a home with children.
Why I love the 10 minute tidy:
- It keeps a routine for my kids
- It helps everyone be responsible for picking up after themselves
- Your house looks more inviting
- Helps me think clearer and stay more focused
- I’m not afraid to have unexpected visitors pop over
- Helps all of us take pride in our home
- It’s easy and quick!
When we are short on time, I will gather everyone together and depending on the amount of stuff out, I’ll call our a number and have them all go around and pick up say 10 things! Times that by 6 or 7 kids and it makes a HUGE difference! We’ve even adopted the 10 items when we are done eating and they will all take 8 to 10 items off the dinner table when we are finished eating.
In all reality a home is suppose to be lived in. A home is not a museum or a picture out of a catalog it’a a place to feel comfortable and be yourself in! But I believe your home is a reflection of your family and keeping it tidy when you can helps! Trust me when I say, our house is a constant battle to conqueror but I feel better when it’s more put together. How about you?
What I want my children to understand is that mom is not responsible for picking up after everyone. It promotes family team work to keep the house somewhat under control and everyone is more happier because of it!
Remember the saying……”Many hands make light work”. ~John Heywood So true!
Why not try the 10 minute tidy at our house and let me know if you love it too! Do you have a routine that works for your family? If so…..please share I would love to hear!
A Heart for the Home 
We do this at my house too! My husband suggested it when I was utterly frustrated with the state of our house and the constant picking up after our children. Wonderful post!
LikeLike
This is such a fabulous idea! Totally trying this tomorrow!!
LikeLike
Some people seem to believe that it is impossible to have a clean house if you have children. I know one gal who has eight kids and says that it’s impossible, and another gal with TEN kids whose home is immaculate. We need to stop blaming the kids and start blaming our methods, lol! 😉
When our kids were little we had three toy pickups a day: before lunch, before dinner, before bed. We also had a “whole house pickup” at 7:00 p.m. every night, this was pretty much the same as your TMT, only it was 15 minutes. Everyone ran around picking up and putting things away.
It was much easier due to the toy pickups, the 4 p.m. room check (just checking to make sure their rooms were straightened and beds made) and just putting things away when done with them throughout the day.
One boy was assigned the playroom and the other was assigned the toy closet (a closet under the stairs, with shelves, where we kept their toys, so that their rooms remained clean). Their job was to make sure that their area got picked up and straightened every day. I checked that these areas were tidy when I checked their rooms in the afternoon.
I also limited the rooms in which they were allowed to play with toys. Some rooms were off limits (such as daddy’s study, the kitchen, our bedroom, and the living room). They could play in their bedrooms, the family room, the playroom, or the dining room.
Plus, I taught them to play with only one toy at a time (unless the toys were grouped together like blocks or a train set). When they were done with one toy they put it back before taking out another toy. This helped keep things under control so that their weren’t toys scattered everywhere.
Also, I built a chore-training time into our homeschool schedule, so I trained them on how to do certain chores, which really helped.
Once the kids became teenagers and young adults it became harder due to their work and college schedules so we dropped the 7 p.m. pickup (and I no longer do a room check, of course). I still expect them to pick up after themselves, though. But they’d picked up some bad habits such as leaving chip bags out and shoes lying around for a day or two……college, lol!
I forgot you were a pastor’s wife. My hubby is a pastor too! Thanks for linking up to “Making Your Home Sing Monday!”
LikeLike
I got a timer and have been trying this method with my kids. Thanks for linking up for family fun friday and we hope you will join us again this week!
LikeLike
The timer is a great idea! What kid doesn’t love a race and some friendly competition on who can get finished cleaning up first!! Stopping by from Family Fun Friday!
LikeLike