happy housekeeping

I have been told that I keep a fairly clean house. I totally don't say that in pride. Truthfully, it's all about me. My personality just can't handle having undone things or messes left around. Having kiddos has definitely placed more challenge on my neatness abilities but in a good way. I've definitely had to let go of some things but in general, I still keep things fairly tidy. I'm a big organizer, list maker, task-y kinda gal. And I like it. :) Recently a few friends have asked me how I do it or what tips I can give so here's a start:

1. Did you know that you can place about a cup of water in a glass measuring cup in your microwave, kick it on for about 4 minutes, and it will steam and clean all the gunk off? I just learned this and am loving it. The messier it is the longer it may take but after a few minutes the gunk just wipes off with a paper towel. So nice.

2. We run our dishwasher basically every single night. Usually it is totally full but as long as it's 70% full I say run it. Then leave it open if you are still up so they dry well overnight. That way you start your day with clean dishes. And if you need, you can just use straight from the dishwasher. :)

3. I don't have school age kiddos so I know this looks differently for everyone but I try to wash, dry, fold, and put away every load of clothes as they fill the dirty basket. We have two dirty clothes baskets in our house. One in my closet and one right by the washer for the kiddos stuff. I get a load going basically every 1-2 days sometime after breakfast, toss in dryer right away, and fold/put away when kids are napping, having play time by themselves, snacking at the table, or in bed that night. It seriously helps to not let several loads build up-either dirty or clean just not folded.

4. Lastly for now, give every toy a place. If it doesn't have a place, you probably have too many and need to purge! We purge toys after every toy receiving life event (birthday, Christmas...). I have about 15 $6 canvas bins from Target and basically all toys belong in a bin in one room or another. A good purging tip: have two rounds. One with your kids so you can let them choose and talk about not needing so much stuff or giving away to a good cause, etc. Second, without them so you can toss all those lovely drive-thru toys and pieces of scrap paper your 4 year old doodles on and desires to cherish. :)

And trust me, my house is not always run like these tips. Last night I folded 5 loads of laundry from the last several days. But I did it while watching a little tv with Andrew so that made it better. Please please share any good tips you have to keep things running smoothly & happy housekeeping!