Deep Cleaning

The Art and Science of Managing the Large Family

Large Family Logistics

� Work on one Focus Area at a time. Write them on your calendar.

� Do all the tasks in an hours time on Friday-Cleaning Day, assigning them to various children and yourself. You will need to cut into Read Aloud Time or any free time you have scheduled.

� Or spread them throughout the week to do during Afternoon Chore Time, either doing them yourself or assigning them to the children.�

� Or do both, do what you can through the week, and finish up on Cleaning Day.

� As the weeks go by and the house becomes better managed, Deep Cleaning will become easier and easier

Monday
Decluttering and cleaning are ongoing processes. The less you have the easier it is.
Take care of all the clutter in the Focus Area, this includes clutter in drawers and cupboards.
Evaluate everything in the area:
Is it,
useful?
needed?
loved?
beautiful?
promote your family values?
do you have more of this item than necessary?
is it taking up needed space?
do other people need this item more than you do?
does it create problems in your house?
Load the clutter up in boxes. Take the boxes to the vehicle to drop off at charity on Town Day.

Tuesday

Catch cobwebs. Kill the spiders!
Dust lights and ceiling fans.
Replace light bulbs or add to the Town Day list if you need bulbs.
Dust base boards.
Assign tasks to the children and race the clock.

Wednesday
Straighten a drawer or cupboard.
If it goes fast do another.
After 15 minutes, stop and Do the Next Thing.

Thursday
Wash windows and curtains as necessary.
Wash area rugs.
Wipe grime from light switches.

Friday
Vacuum in the corners, around the edges, the furniture, and under the furniture.
This counts as an exercise workout for today!

Saturday
Putter and Pretty!
This is the fun day! Look around and think about how to add a little something special to the room. But be sure that you aren't adding clutter that will increase the work load. There's a fine line here.
Does it need a new furniture arrangement?
Should you start shopping for something that will fit a certain wall area? Write it down and put it in you wallet to remind you when you're out.
A simple vase of garden flowers or a bowl of fruit will add a lot.

Week 1

Dining Room/Schoolroom/Bookshelves
Devote some time this week to going on a book hunt throughout the house and returning all books to their proper place.

Week 2

Bathrooms and Mudroom/Back door Entry
It doesn't take long for a large family to make a bathroom gross.
If you keep the bathrooms assigned to certain children and they are taken care of everyday, they don't get too bad.
However, once a month, get into all the corners, cracks, and crevices.
De-clutter the cabinets and drawers, and organize all those ponytails, barrettes, headbands, bows, ribbons...
Teach the children to do one thing to clean the bathroom every time they walk into it. Post a sign to remind them, and yourself.
Clean the bathroom while you keep an eye on the littles in the tub.
While you are in the shower, wipe down one wall on odd days and two walls on even days. Takes 30 seconds. It's easy.

Mudroom/Back door Entry
Any entry areas that are part of the living room or dining room should be cleaned with those rooms by the respective person and on the respective week.
But, the entry that you use most often needs some special focus. It is another area that can get cluttered up and dirty fast!
Assign a kid to do daily maintenance on this area in the Afternoon Chore Time.
If the walls are dirty then use this week once a month to scrub them down. If everyone takes a wet rag and 15 minutes, you'll be done in no time.
If you involve the kids in the cleaning, they will be more apt to notice when themselves and others put their grubby mitts on the wall!

Week 3

Bedrooms
This should be an easy week if you have your children work on areas of it throughout the month.
If you have them spend a few minutes every day picking up as part of their Morning and Evening Routine and one 15 minute period per week working on a Bedroom Management Focus Area it will be a cinch.
Your biggest job will probably be the closets and clothing. Try to make systems with their clothing so it will be easy for them to pick out clothes and put away clothes.

Spend some time focusing on what works and doesn't, why, and how you can fix it.

Week 4

Living Room and Family Room
Vacuum the dust out of the furniture. Don't forget to clean in couches and chairs, under tables, behind furniture and those cobwebs that hide under curtains.

Week 5

Playroom/Toys/Games/Crafts
This week is devoted more to de-cluttering and organizing things into efficient systems.

Do not feel that you have to get every single task done, you will be cleaning in the same area of the house next month. It will slowly become decluttered and more clean as each month goes by.