Guest blogger Rosella Gomez

Successful mommy advice welcomes guest blogger Rosella Gomez. Rosella is a full time stay at home mommy to her nine month old daughter. Her expertise will help and guide other mommies through their journey of motherhood. For more from Rosella sign up to the site for more on Guest blogger Tuesdays! 🙂

      I am known for being a little OCD. I like things neat and clean.  So when I had my first baby, became a stay at home mom and suddenly was not able to keep up with my cleaning schedules it made me freak out a little bit.  After trial and error, doing research, reading many parenting books and talking to other moms, I’ve learned ways  to maintain a clean home (well, at least presentable for the occasional guests while keeping my OCD at bay at the same time!) I love having quality time with my baby so I try to do all the housework during nap time or  after her bedtime, but you do what fits you best!  If you work full time and come back to take care of children and house chores, try to do a chore each night and a couple of them on weekends too. If you are a stay at home mom try some or all of the following tips:

 

1.Do one load of laundry a day.
It really helps! I do one load of laundry a day and my laundry never piles up in the hampers. I manage to put in the load when baby is in the high chair playing after eating her breakfast. I transfer it to the dryer when it’s all done, usually around one of her nap times. I fold it in the evening when my husband is home playing with baby or when she is asleep for the night. If you have clothes that wrinkle easily just make sure you get them out of the dyer as soon as is it done. If you do more than 6 or 7 loads a week you might have to do 2 loads a day but it is definitely easier to do 1 or 2 loads per day than to cram 7 loads on the weekend. 

2. Take out trash right away.
It seems so simple, but when baby is fussy or wanting to be held 24/7 or wanting to play with you sometimes taking out the trash is the last thing you remember! What works for me is during one of my bathroom breaks, (you know, one of those breaks when you take less than 5 minutes to use the bathroom and maybe put your hair back in a ponytail? ) After I take care of myself I take 2 extra minutes to grab all the trash bags from the trash cans in the house. I then put them out in the garage, replace new bags in the trash cans and then I take them out to the side yard where our garbage cans are when baby is down for a nap or playing in her exersaucer or playpen. Doesn’t take me more than 2 or 3 minutes. 

3. Sync up nap times.
 If you have multiple babies and/toddlers try to sync up their nap times so it gives you more time to get stuff done around the house- or at least down time for you. This has worked for several of my close friends that have multiple children.  For those moms with one child make a sleep schedule. I’ve  found great advice on how to get my baby on a sleep schedule at The Baby Sleep Site online and on their Facebook page too! If your child doesn’t nap at all, you can try to get some chores done when baby is busy playing in a secure safe area such as a playpen, swing, exersaucer etc. You get the idea! Get creative!  Talking to my mother and several of her friends who raised plenty of babies in their time they’ve advised me that if a child doesn’t nap then have him or her watch you do some chores or even help out! Make it a game. Chores get done but you have a blast doing them. These wise ladies swear that it teaches children that cleaning is good and therefore they will learn slowly to clean up after themselves as they get older. 

4. Straighten out the house every night before getting ready for bed after the kids have gone to bed.
Sweep, clean off counter tops, do the dishes from dinner etc. Get all that little annoying stuff done before you go to sleep so you won’t have to look at the mess in the morning. That helps me feel ready for the day the next morning! Try to clean the bathroom, if you have several bathrooms or one large one break down the tasks throughout the week, or take 30 minutes during the weekend to clean the bathroom(s)

5. Less is more! Don’t hoard on to clutter you don’t need!
If you don’t use something, or don’t wear it, or the kids don’t play with it, sell it, or donate it! This helps to keep your house clutter free and you have less items to clean up at the end of the day, plus you help out others by giving them your unwanted items that they might need!

6. Make a schedule and try to stick to it. 
Make a list of everything that needs to be taken care of according to your personality and lifestyle. Include errands, nap times and social visits! Try to stick to it as much as possible and keep it somewhere visible so you are reminded each day. You can even set reminders on your phone if you are tech savy and prefer to go paperless like I do.  Even if you don’t get everything done that day at least you have some motivation by setting small daily goals for you to achieve every day. Don’t be discouraged if you can’t do it all! It happens to all of us somedays and no one can do it all at once, it takes time to figure out what works best for you and your family.  If one schedule doesn’t work out, change it up and try again!

7. Don’t keep mail on counters or on the table. Process mail right away.
Throw away junk mail, keep the coupons you want in a drawer, have a special place for bills to remind you to pay them or go paperless and go online and select options to pay online so you won’t get all those annoying paper bills that need to be shredded. Shred any credit card offers and important documents that you don’t need but that contain important personal information. 

8. Put toys away after your children are done playing with them. 
Have a designated toy place to keep them, such as a bin or in a closet or special place in the kids rooms. No one likes stepping on blocks or legos in the hallway! If you have older children have them help out, if you have babies/toddlers let them watch you put them away, after all they imitate when we smile at them and learn our mannerisms, one day they will learn how to clean up too!

9. Wash dishes as soon as you use them. 
If you drink coffee in the morning, wash the mug right away, wash your cereal bowl right away after you are done, every little bit helps!  Sweep and mop when everyone is sleeping, that way they don’t step on your clean wet floors! Vacuuming can be tricky, do that when your children are busy playing or watching their favorite show (wait for a commercial and do it quickly hehe)

10. Relax!
 If you did one, two, or more chores per day in addition to playing with your beautiful babies, call it a day when they are asleep for the night and enjoy your time alone! Taking care of yourself is important too! Give yourself a pedicure, shape your eyebrows, do a facial, read a book or watch something relaxing on TV. Even if you didn’t do a single chore that day, unwind at the end of your work day. We all need sanity time and sometimes chores can wait a day. 

 

I hope these tips are helpful to you as they are for me and remember, cleaning can be fun and make you feel better!

 

XOXO

Rosella Gomez

 
 
 

One Response

  1. Rosella,
    I think that these ten tips are amazing! As I was reading this I definitely could relate to some of the things you were talking about. It is so time consuming while cleaning with a toddler and I know that it can get frustrating. These tips you provided are going to allow me to be a more successful mommy at home and keep organized. I look forward to seeing more articles from you, and I’m sure that the audience will as well! 🙂 I began implementing step nine and I woke up in a great mood! 🙂 Thanks again! 🙂

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