How Busy People Keep Clean {Enough} Homes

Between working full time for a season, homeschooling my kids, investing in our neighborhood friends, being actively involved in our local church, and carving out time to nurture my marriage, saying that my life is full right now is probably an understatement!

I’m sure your life is very full too, and finding time to clean isn’t always easy.

But since I’d much rather come home to a relaxing haven than a draining disaster, I’ve made it a priority to figure out how to keep a clean(ish) house even with a really busy schedule. My house is definitely not perfect but I do have a few tips to share with you.

Here’s how to keep a clean {enough} house when you’re really busy:

1) Just do something.

We can unload and reload the dishwasher, run a load of laundry, or tidy the living room. Many days, we may be able to do more than one of those and cleaning a little bit at a time will help keep the house in decent condition.

2) Put it away, right away.

As soon as you’re done using an item, put it back where it belongs before moving on to the next thing. Simple to do. Easy to forget 🙂

3) Don’t clean alone!

It would often be easier to clean up myself than to have my kids help. And sometimes I do clean it myself, but as parents it’s our job to train our kids to take care of their own things. After-all, we don’t want our children to struggle with housekeeping when they have their own homes and families to take care of, right?

Plus once they’re trained well, it really does get easier.

{Related: 6 Tear-Free Ways to Get Kids to Clean and How to Get Your Kids to Willingly Pitch in With Chores.}

4) Have a cleaning day(s).

I used to have one big cleaning day each week. Then my friend Crystal said her family does housework on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Light bulb moment – cleaning up 3 days worth of mess is way easier than cleaning a solid week’s worth!

Now we catch up on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This way if we miss one day, it’s no big deal because there’s another cleaning day coming up soon. And when we don’t miss a day, the house looks fantastic(ish)!

5) Buy convenience foods or cook in bulk.

Sometimes it’s worth picking up a rotisserie chicken or a package of hot dogs to pair with a veggie for a quick dinner. It’s also good to cook one or two large meals a week, then use paper plates when eating the leftovers.

This way we can use those precious minutes to focus on other household chores instead of laboring over a hot stove every single night.

6) Pay someone!

For two years, I paid a teenage girl to help in my home one afternoon a week. That was money very well spent! Now that Lily and Grace are older, sometimes I pay them or their neighborhood friends a little cash to help with simple chores on cleaning day.

If it’s in your budget, hiring a regular housekeeper would also be a good thing to consider.

7) Embrace Imperfection

Our houses may not be as clean and organized as we’d like, but we are so blessed to have homes to live in, stuff to enjoy, dishes to eat on, clothes to wear, and people to love. And while we should be good stewards of our possessions, we also need to be okay with just doing our best even when our best is less than perfect.

Do you have any extra tips for maintaining a clean {enough} home during busy seasons of life?