Kids around the house

I'm sure I've written about this before... it is something that I keep re-visiting and re-thinking, especially as our kids get older and more capable. It is also an area in which I have been incredibly inconsistent!

The other day, as I observed Miss 16 months wandering around the house with the dustpan and the toilet plunger (don't worry, it hasn't been used since we moved over a year ago, and it was cleaned then!), I realised that I had much higher expectations of Miss almost-4 at the same age (probably my expectations were too high back then). Before 12 months, I had Miss almost-4 cleaning up her toys, with my help. By the time she could walk independently, she was taking rubbish to the bin, taking plastics out of the dishwasher and helping me put them away, handing me the pegs to hang washing, following me around with a cloth when dusting and "holding" the vacuum cleaner for me.

It is interesting how this has changed with 3 small children. It has become easier to just do it all myself! I still require our kids to help clean up the toys and the messes they have specifically made, but, all in all, I do a lot of things that our kids could probably do for themselves... and I don't like it!!!

It is not really about having 'help'. Anyone with small children knows that 'help' is not really all that helpful. It is more about our desire to teach our kids three things:

1. We all work together to make our family happen

2. Everyone is responsible for the messes they make

3. It is a happy privilege to serve other family members (and other people in general)

In the past, I have been discouraged by our kids less-than-enthusiastic response to requests to help. Mr 2 has mastered the "I'm too tired!" and Miss almost-4 has helped very reluctantly. I know this is often my fault:

* They have observed my less-than-enthusiastic response to cleaning (e.g. after another cup of spilt milk at dinner!)

* I have asked them to do things that are beyond their capacity (e.g. clean up a whole room of toys that are all over the place - they are simply overwhelmed)

* I have not spent enough time modelling, explaining and walking them through the task.

* I don't explain the reason/ motivation behind the task (e.g. to look after each other so we don't trip over toys, or so our house is healthy)

I'm still mulling over the specifics... I know I would like the kids to:

1. Continue to clean up their own messes

2. Put away their clean, folded clothes (we do this sporadically at the moment). Miss almost-4 can also help to fold washers and underwear.

3. Make their beds and put PJs away (again, we do this sporadically)

4. Set the table

5. Put breakfast dishes in the sink

6. Miss 16 months - put things in the bin

Do your kids have jobs? What do your kids do around the house? (I'm especially interested if you have kids under 5 like me!)

Linking with Jess for IBOT

Organisation: an ongoing process

You know that saying about life being a journey not a destination? Over the past few years, I've been learning that organisation is a similar process. 

I'm not going to pretend I don't enjoy organising, or re-organising. I can't count how many times I have spent a Friday night re-arranging a cupboard or re-jigging a system. This is relaxation for me! 

But, in the years of being at home more often (e.g. since having kids), I've always had a sort of longing to reach the end point of organisation. You know, the point where I will never have to re-organise again... I have the perfect system, the perfect, balanced daily timetable, the perfect arrangement of clothes in my wardrobe. 

Funnily enough, organisation (just like life) doesn't work like that. An unexpected event can throw out the daily timetable. Children grow out of the perfectly organised clothes in their wardrobes. Weekly activities change. Priorities change (well, not the big ones, but you know what I mean). Before I know it, the old system that was working so perfectly is being stretched, or overloaded. I begin losing things, or forgetting things.

Organisation does not mean rigidity. Organisation means flexibility.

 

Organisation cannot look the same for everyone, and it cannot even look the same for one person from one year (or even week) to the next. What makes me feel organised, might not make you feel organised (and vice versa).  A system that made me feel so organised last year,  may prove stressful to maintain this year.

So, rather than being a case of "find what works for you and stick to it", it is more "find what works for you, review it and mix it up"

Do you need to review some of your systems this year? What is working well for you at the moment?

I'm raving about vinegar (again!)

If you have been reading here for a while, you may recall my love of white vinegar - as a cleaning product (though it goes down pretty well on fish and chips too!). 

My version looks less pretty and more functional than this

To recap, white vinegar can be used to:

• Clean windows and mirrors - using a ratio of 1 part vinegar: 1 part warm water)
• Clean walls, hard floors and furniture (1 part vinegar: 3 parts water)
• Remove toilet stains (add 1 cup to the bowl, undiluted, leave for 30 minutes+, then use the toilet brush)
• Attack mildew and soap scum in the bathroom - mix 2 tablespoons salt with 1 teaspoon vinegar, or just use a vinegar/ water mix as above
• Add 1/4 cup to washing machine to make towels fluffy and soft (I always forget to do this one!)
• Use instead of rinse aid in your dishwasher

 And, when surfing Facebook recently, I came across another use for white vinegar:

• Use as as a soothing lotion on mosquito bites and other itchy areas. I haven't tried it yet, but apparently the vinegar will sting a bit on initial application, but then stop the itching. 

Have you tried white vinegar on itchy areas? Does it work?

Toddler essentials

When you are/ were expecting a new baby (especially your first), you will/ have probably come across one of those "essentials" lists - the things the experts tell us we will need for our new baby. You know - cot, pram, nappy bag...

I have put together my "essential" list for living in a house full of little people (in my case 1 baby, 1 toddler and 1 preschooler). These are the things that have made my life much easier or more pleasant lately. They come highly recommended. 

1. Our coffee machine - not many things better than a real coffee when the kids are in bed, or straight after breakfast.

2. Highchairs that can be wiped down, and attached to regular chairs. Essential in a small house. I used to have a highchair covered in plastic. Though the material could be wiped down, there were just too many hidey holes for food, and too many seams to get grubby.

3. Reflux medication. Okay, don't use this unless your child actually needs it, and it has been prescribed by a paediatrician (just in case I really need to say that!) My 10 month old still needs this. Nice alternative to pain (for her) and listening to screaming (for us).

4.Wipe-down-able bibs. I don't know what I was thinking using cloth bibs - just something else to wash, and usually the mess makes it past the bib onto the shirt anyway. These are a much better alternative (+ they have a "food catcher" at the bottom).

5. Plastic plates. Our 10 month old has a tendency to end up with her plate in her lap or on the floor. Much better a plastic plate than a china one.

6. Face-washers and cloths. These don't have time to just sit in the cupboard. They are on a regular rotation.

7. Wipe-down-able lounges. Do you see a pattern emerging here?

-

8. Let's continue the theme... is there anything a baby wipe cannot clean?

 

9. Both Mr Cheeky and Miss Chilled (2 youngest) get eczema. Our bath is now a soap-free zone. This is a good alternative. Pinetarsol is even better, or using regular rolled oats in a laundry bag. (I haven't tried the oats yet, but a friend recommended this in cases of extreme flare-ups. They produce a foam when left under running water.)

10. Unfortunately we needed this recently. Highly recommended for head lice treatment. Check out www.thelicefairy.com.au for more head lice treatments/ preventative products.

11. A friend who reads here recently told me she doesn't own a dishwasher. Oh no. I seriously don't know what I would do without mine. I would have to re-organise my whole life! How many of you (dishwasher-less) are out there?

12. Washing machine - self explanatory. See face washers and cloths above! I run a load every night, and hang it each morning. It is really nice having our laundry cupboard right next to the kitchen too - easy to throw cloths etc striaght into the machine.

13. The library. Our local library has a fabulous kids' section. Even if we don't get to read the books much while we have them, an outing to the library is nice in itself.

Do you agree with these? What are your toddler essentials?

Making housework less depressing

A couple of weeks ago, I had a depressing dream. Actually, the dream itself was quite nice. The depressing part was how much pleasure the dream gave me. 

In my dream, I was home alone. My husband had taken the 3 children out, and I was cleaning our house from top to bottom. In the dream, I remember the elation of standing back and admiring my hard work - the shiny surfaces, the sparkling kitchen floor, the freshly vacuumed lounge-room rug... and enjoying the cleanliness for a good while.  I woke up with a smile on my face and joy in my heart (or something).

In real life, with preschoolers at home, the enjoyment of the cleanliness is fleeting. Preschoolers have the capacity to undo anything you can achieve in the clean and tidy department in about 1/10 of the time it took to get it to clean and tidy. There are some days this frustrates me no end. Other days I can accept it more readily.

Over the last few years, I have discovered a few little things that help reduce the frustration:

1) Don't bother cleaning

2) Don't clean everything at once. I spend 10 minutes in one room/ area, then clear out of that room - at least for a little while. (Incidentally, why do preschoolers always need to go to the toilet immediately after you have cleaned it?)

3) Don't clean the floors until night-time. Once the kids are happily in bed, I can be confident that the floor will stay relatively clean for at least 10 hours!

4) Use kids to "help". I find that having the kids help is useful to (a) keep them occupied, (b) start teaching them some skills and (c) help me resist my perfectionist tendencies (a table wiped-down by a 3-year-old, or a bed made by a 2-year-old is never going to be perfect)

5) Keep cleaning materials/ products close to where I use them. This helps when a little touch-up is needed. (e.g. I keep a vinegar/water spray bottle in the bathroom vanity cupboard. If things are looking desperate, I can grab a face-washer and wipe down a few surfaces before throwing the washer into the washing machine)

6) I clean it when I see it. If I notice something I don't like the look of (e.g. a pile of food under the table, dust bunnies on the TV cabinet, a dirty hand print on the wall), I try to deal with it straight away. I don't spend time looking at mess waiting for a big clean (which never happens!)

7) Choose a "shiny sink". The shiny sink concept comes from Flylady. The "shiny sink" is basically one place in your home that is kept perfectly clean and tidy. When you are feeling discouraged about the state of the house, the "shiny sink" gives you confidence! I have two "shiny sinks" in our house - our bed is (almost always) made, and I keep the kitchen table clean and free of junk between meals.

8) Let it go/ put up with it. A house that is constantly lived in is never going to look like a show home. I need to remind myself of this!

Do you find housework depressing? How do you make it less depressing?

I *heart*...

Gumption is totally old-school. My mum used it when I was a kid. Until recently, I wasn't even sure if you could buy Gumption anymore.

I have an old tub of Gumption. I think it came from my mum's place or maybe my mother-in-law's place. At our previous house, it found its way to the back of the cupboard under my kitchen sink, then stayed there for about 5 years.

When we were preparing to move house, my Enjo gloves were not cutting it. I had 5-year-old grease (*cough*) on my range hood and the bottom of my kitchen cupboards. I needed something stronger. In desperation I reached into the back of the kitchen cupboard and pulled out Gumption. (There must have been some reason I didn't throw it out). Watching Gumption at work was like watching magic happen. The grease just dissolved before my eyes. (I am receiving no payment to endorse this product).

Somehow Gumption made its way to the bottom of our cleaning box again at our new place. Last week I found myself unable to remove the ring around the bottom of our bath-tub using my conventional methods. I tried hot water and elbow grease. I tried white vinegar and water. I tried straight white vinegar. I tried my Enjo marble paste. I tried some bicarb soda. (The bicarb did make a difference but still not perfect). 

Then I tried my old friend Gumption. Perfection.

The tub of Gumption I have is so old that it gives no indication about its environmental credentials. But it is non-toxic, and you only need to use a small amount on a damp cloth to get almost anything clean. You can use it for stainless steel, bench tops (stone or laminex), painted surfaces (walls), on bonded leather lounges (ask me how I know?), etc etc. You can get it at most major supermarkets.

Have you used Gumption?



I love to hear your opinions. Please click on the title of this blog post if you would like to view comments or add your own comment.

Lazy day housework

Safe to say this WON'T be happening today

Today is a lazy day. 

The two youngest have snuffly noses, which meant quite a few wake-ups last night.We don't have to leave the house for anything today. We are all wearing tracksuit pants. I am wearing ugg boots. If the weather is good, we will play in the backyard most of the day. If the weather turns, I may even allow the kids to watch more than one hour of TV.

So, I am thinking about lazy day housework. 

This is the bare minimum I can do in a day, to have a rest, but also ensure that I won't be spending the next 3 days playing catch-up.

Here is my "lazy day" housework routine:

• Unload dishwasher (ran last night), clean up breakfast dishes and start reloading dishwasher
• Hang load of washing (ran last night), bring in and fold when dry
• Prepare and clean up lunch and snacks
• Prepare dinner

Erin wrote about her sick day routine here, which is pretty similar.

What is your bare minimum? What can you let wait?

(Click on the title of the blog post to view or add your comment)

Cleaning 101: Dusting

Guess what I bought today:

 

A feather duster. Pretty retro huh? 

Feather dusters were out of fashion for a while. I have never had much interest in them personally, but then again, I haven't had much interest in dusting. I sort of feel like dusting is more about moving the dirt around, than actually getting rid of it. As someone prone to dust allergies and asthma, this never really appealed to me. 

But I have now bitten the dust (pardon the pun). I am going to have a dust-free house. With this new acquisition I can whip around here...

(Skirting boards)

 and here...

(Blinds)

and here...

(Bookcases)

  and here...

(Fans and light fittings)

 ... in a jiffy! All I have to do is follow-up with the vacuum cleaner, and voila - a sparkly, dust-free house.

Do you dust? Would a feather-duster make your life easier?


P.S. - a reminder about the new comment system. You need to click on the title of the post to write/ read comments below.

Kids helping at home

When Mr Cheeky "helped" with washing. Note the pegs are all upside-down!

After I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago, Erin replied with a great question about whether I get my kids to help with chores or tend to use the down-times to do chores alone.

The question got me thinking.

It is easy for mums to fall into the trap of doing too much for our kids. It is easy for us to forget how big our kids are and what they are capable of doing. Especially when kids are little, and learning new skills quite quickly, we probably need to keep evaluating our expectations about their contribution to household tasks quite regularly. Expecting kids to help around the home is good for us (in the long run, not really short-term) and good for them.

At the moment, I expect Miss Chatterbox (aged 3) to:

• Bring dirty dishes etc to the sink/ kitchen bench after breakfast, lunch and snacks
• Get out of PJs and help get dressed. She has limited choices about what she will wear (e.g. she chooses one key part of the outfit, then I choose most of the rest of the outfit)
• Pack away toys and books that she uses
• Help make the bed and put PJs away
• Help with brushing teeth (we still need to help too)
• Do simple tasks when I ask (e.g. putting rubbish in the bin, putting dirty clothes in the laundry basket, bringing things to me)
• Go to the toilet by herself at home - not necessarily in unfamiliar toilets (apart from wiping!), washing and drying hands
• Help put clean washing away in her room/ our room/ brother's room
• Set table for dinner (I get things out and put on the kitchen bench first - I don't really like my kids going into the drawers/ fridge/ cupboards on their own)
• Help wiping up messes she makes (e.g. when drinks are spilled)
• Help put things in trolley and load things onto the counter at the supermarket

Mr Cheeky (22 months):

• Brings dishes to sink/ bench
• Helps to undress (pants, socks and shoes only)
• Puts PJs in his cot
• "Helps" with brushing teeth (we need to do it mostly)
• Does simple tasks when asked (rubbish in bin, dirty clothes in clothes-basket, toys away)
• Packs up books and toys he uses (needs very specific instructions and often needs me to give a physical prompt - e.g. put a toy in his hand and lead him to a box!) 
• Puts clean washing in his room
• Helps set table for dinner
• Puts things in trolley at supermarket

 Things my kids don't do at the moment that perhaps they could try:

• Helping hang wet washing on a clothes horse, and un-peg dry washing
• Sort clean washing into piles for different family members
• Help with dusting or wiping surfaces (Miss Chatterbox actually used to help with this, but hasn't for a while)
• Anything else?

There are several sites on the internet that provide lists of age appropriate chores for kids. I think I will have more of a look around these.

I'm interested though. How old are your kids and how do you expect them to help at home?

My 5 favourite cleaners

My five favourites - 

1) White Vinegar 

White vinegar can be used to clean almost anything. Completely non-toxic and inexpensive! Particularly good for:

• Cleaning windows and mirrors (use a ratio of 1 part vinegar: 1 part warm water)
• Walls, hard floors and furniture (1 part vinegar: 3 parts water)
• Removing toilet stains - use undiluted in toilets (add about 1 cup to the bowl, undiluted, leave for 30 minutes+, then use the toilet brush)
• Attacking mildew and soap scum in the bathroom - mix 2 tablespoons salt with 1 teaspoon vinegar
• Add 1/4 cup to washing machine to make towels fluffy and soft
• Use instead of rinse aid in your dishwasher.

2) Bicarb soda

Another wonder cleaning agent, especially on hard surfaces (kitchen and bathroom). For best results, make a paste using 2 tablespoons bicarb, and 1/2 tablespoon water (it is a little like "Gumption" if anyone knows it!). Wipe the surface afterwards with a dry rag to ensure that no streaks are left. Good for:

•  Stainless steel sinks and appliances
• Ceramic sinks, bathtubs and tiles in showers
• Cleaning the inside of coffee mugs and tea cups
• Cleaning the oven - Coat the oven in the paste and leave overnight before washing with hot water
• Cleaning grease from tiled splashbacks in the kitchen and from aluminium stovetops (I think it would work well on glass splashbacks and stovetops too, but I don't have these, so I haven't tried it myself. It does work well on the inside of our oven door which is glass)

3) Hot water with detergent

Use as a general cleaner on benchtops, hard furniture, light fittings etc. Don't add too much detergent (just enough to get some bubbles), otherwise your surfaces will be a bit "filmy".

4) Salt

As mentioned above, salt and white vinegar (2 tablespoons salt: 1 teaspoon vinegar) make a great cleaner for soap scum in the bathroom. Salt can also be used for stains on carpet and clothes. Pour the salt straight onto the stain when the spill occurs. Leave as long as possible, then wipe the salt up with a damp cloth. On carpets, vacuum any residue.

5) Baby wipes

I know this is a very non-environmentally friendly option, so I try not to do it too often. Baby wipes are something some of us always have on hand and they clean almost anything! I have a friend who tells me she got a stain out of a silk garment because she got to it straight away with a baby wipe. I have other friends who continue to keep a packet of baby wipes in the car and one at home although their children are no longer in nappies/ diapers. 

I often grab a baby wipe when I am in a hurry or when my other cleaning materials are out of reach.  It might be when I notice a large grubby handprint on the wall, or some dried weetbix on a piece of furniture! A baby wipe does the job quickly.

What are your most used cleaning products?