Secrets to a Clean House!

I was SO tired of spending my whole day cleaning. It was getting to a point where I was starting to fall behind. I wasn't making any headway because I was simply struggling to maintain, so nothing new was getting done.

I started to reread The Parenting Breakthrough by Merrilee Boyack. *FYI For anyone with kids 3 and over I HIGHLY, HIGHLY suggest this book. I got about half way through, found the section of the book I was looking for and put my plan into action. Got everything ready and went to bed anticipating the morning.

Yesterday morning I sat down with the family and had a "Family Home Morning". I told them I was done being their maid, that I was done being the only one who cleans, and from this point onward they were going to help. Then I introduced them to their chore list. On top of their regular maintenance chores (making their beds, brushing teeth, putting clothes away, keeping room clean); each of the 3 older kids has 2 daily chores that MUST be completed before it's time to leave for school, they also have 1 weekly chore that MUST be completed before bed on Saturday night. I also introduced a dishwasher unloading rotation and a table setting/cleaning program. That sounds very complicated, but really it all is very simple.

Our table setting for the next month looks like this:
Savanna: plates/bowls, and condiments as needed.
Cyndel: silverware and hot pads if needed.
Bash: cups

Everyone puts away their own dishes and 3 other items from the table...Dad does the pots if they don't fit in the dishwasher and turns the dishwasher on (which he does every night already so that isn't a stretch). Mom washes the table once it is all clean.

Dishwasher rotation:
Sunday - Sanjay
Monday - Candice
Tuesday - Savanna
Wednesday - Savanna
Thursday - Cyndel (with My help)
Friday - Cyndel (with My help)
Saturday - Sanjay

Dishwasher gets unloaded first thing in the morning so it is ready to go for the days dishes. If it doesn't get unloaded first thing in the morning, you get that added bonus of loading it with all the piled up dishes!

Weekly Chores:
Savanna: wipe down doors and handles
Cyndel: wipe down coffee and end tables.

Daily Chores:

Each chore is designated for an entire month, so that there is no skimping out on it because "Whoever does it next week can pick up the slack".

Savanna: swish and swipe the kids bathroom. This entails cleaning the toilet in and out every morning, and wiping down the sink and counter every morning. She also has to vacuum. I have broken the house down into sections and she has to vacuum a section everyday.

Cyndel: she has to dust and put the recycling out.

Bash: he has to empty both bathroom garbage into the main garbage every morning, he also has to feed the dog every morning.


After one day this has been sensational. Last night at bedtime this is what I heard.

"CYNDEEEEL......you got toothpaste all over the edge of the sink. I just cleaned the sink this morning. MOOOOOM. Cyndel made a mess in my clean sink."

Okay, I didn't even make an attempt not to laugh. When I was done laughing I put my hand on Savanna's shoulder and very straight faced (or as straight faced as I could get) said. "I know how frustrating it is to see a mess when you have just cleaned. However this is no longer my concern. You have to take this up with Cyndel. Kindly talk to her about your frustrations, and show her how to help you keep it clean. Show her how to spit and then rinse the sink out." And with that I walked away!


Now I just have to help foster the habits and literally watch the house get clean before my eyes.

New, everything is New

A new house, new friends, a new Ward Family (Church), New callings at Church, a New school and New day care kids. Brief run down...

We bought a house in Transcona, moved in, cleaned it up, painted it and then spent the better part of a month trying to get the smell of smoke out of it.

Living on the other side of the city means a new Church family. We are LOVING it! They have been so welcoming, so friendly. We feel right at home! With a new Church family also comes new Church callings. I am now the Primary Corrister-which means I teach and conduct the music for the children. Sanjay has been called to teach the 9-10 year olds in Primary, he is also the new Cub leader!

The girls are in school now. We decided to stop homeschooling and see how public school goes. Savanna is in grade 3, and after 3 days, she seems to be enjoying it. I guess we shall see. Cyndel was supposed to start kindie today, but due to the H1N1 pandemic, I am not sending her anywhere near public places when she is slightly under the weather. Especially because Sanjay is just coming off of a week long being sick and quarantined in his room due to unconfirmed H1N1. She wasn't overly distressed at not starting which tells me she is more under the weather then she seems.

There are 2 school age boys that come every day. One is in Savanna's class, the other is is grade 1.

Lots of changes...Most of them good!

Life Lessons

I'm a mean Mom. I say it all the time, and I make no apologies for it. Today I had a mean Mom moment. The kids and I were in SuperStore getting the last of our groceries. We were in the bulk section getting chocolate chips, and as I started walking away I saw Cyndel shove something in her mouth and then look guiltily at me. I asked her what she had eaten and she meekly pointed to the raisin bin. My mini lecture went something like this:
"You ate raisins? You stole them, and then ate them? That makes you a thief. I'm very dissapointed that you stole them."
When I told her she was a thief, she started to cry. I told her I wasn't mad at her, but that she had committed a sin, and that like all sins, she would need to repent for it. I asked her if she knew what that meant, and then explained that repenting meant being sorry for what she had done, saying sorry to the people she had hurt, promising never to do it again, and making ammends for her sin; which in this case meant paying for the eaten raisins. We got to the checkout and I gave her 4 pennies and told her she would have to tell the cashier what she had done, and pay for her raisins. We walked around to stand beside the cashier (a late 20 something woman) and I whispered for her to just play along.
"go ahead and tell her what you did" I prompted Cyndel. My poor little girl just stood their with eyes brimming with tears.
"What did you eat?" I encouraged.
"I ate raisins" came the whispered reply.
At that, the cashier picked up on what was happening, "Oh, did you take raisins with out asking? Did you know that is called stealing?".
Nodding her head silently, she held out her hand. "I'm sorry, here's some monies to pay for them."

The cashier took the money for the raisins, and reminded Cyndel again that she must never take anything from a store without first paying for it. She then slid the pennies back to me as I walked away and smiled at me. I thanked her for being so understanding and so helpful. Standing on the otherside of the conveyor belt and watching raptly was a young, very pregnant, woman. She smiled at me, and told me she was taking note.

After all was said and done I hugged my poor, sweet Cyndel and told her I was proud of her. I have no doubt in my mind that she will never steal again!!

I'm sure I could have let it go, it was just a couple of raisins, but what a great teaching moment. Would you have done it differently?

A new beginning

A new job, a new house, a new blog. The frenzied life of the Fisk's, with our four, fabulous kids!