FFF: Keeping a Clean House

Keeping a clean house is a tough job!  It's super challenging for me, and in fact, it's probably a challenge for most people.  So I thought I'd post my #1 tip for keeping our house clean: enlist help!

Now husbands are certainly enlist-able, and in my experience they are also pretty reliable, BUT the one disadvantage to enlisting husbands to help with cleaning is that they're never free Mon-Fri 8-5... maybe because they're busy with their real jobs, bringing home the bread.  ;)

So, that's where moms have to get creative.  Here's my creative solution to cleaning house: let the little ones help!  You see, I have a certain little boy following me around everywhere all day, and it never fails that he's almost always cleaning something {unless he's busy playing with his "true" toys}.  I've had a few older, wiser moms advise me to harness that cleaning want-to by continuing to let him help.. even if "helping" isn't incredibly helpful at first.

So that's what we've been doing.  Enoch loves being with me and helping, and I hope that as he gets older he'll enjoy getting to be more involved.  For now though, there are some simple ways that I let him help me clean everyday.  I thought I'd try to capture a few on camera since some of them are pretty cute and hilarious.

Cleaning the floor

Enoch is always finding anything that is left on the floor. Big chunks, microscopic crumbs, dehydrated food, etc.  In fact, I'd say his floor cleaning skills are better than that of any dog I've seen.  

Organizing Cabinets

This is one of Little Man's specialties!  He's been honing his technique for months now, and I'll say that he is quite an accomplished organizer!

Cleaning the Refrigerator

I know, I know... most people clean the inside of their fridge, but Enoch makes sure that the outside of ours stays nice and shiny too!  

Washing the Cabinets

This is also one of his specialties.  He is sure to get the surface nice and wet before polishing it dry... just like he does the fridge.  ;)

Cleaning the Hangers

Enoch is sure to clean the hangers each and every time we fold laundry.  He is so disciplined at this that I never have to worry about dusting them off myself.  

 And, when all of the hard work of cleaning is done, Enoch always has just enough energy for some reading.