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Homeschooling & House Cleaning

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Homeschooling and house cleaning, how do you accomplish both?

Homeschooling is a messy business! Sometimes I get frustrated because I spend the bulk of my day teaching and working with my children and not much else gets done. So, today I am going to share some advice from some EXPERT homeschool moms. These are their tips on how to keep their home clean (or at least semi-clean) despite being busy with messy homeschool projects.

Can Homeschooling and House Cleaning both be part of the formula? Let’s see what these ladies have to say.

Homeschooling and House Cleaning- Teach Beside Me

Can You Homeschool and Have a Clean House?

Here are some tips on Homeschooling & House Cleaning from the experts (aka fellow homeschool moms):

For my family, I’ve found that the most effective way to keep our home tidy during the homeschool day is to clean up after each subject. I have each of my three children take out all of their books, put them in a pile, and we’ll tackle one subject at a time, putting everything away after completing a subject. This has proven to be a great way for my need for organization to be satisfied and not overwhelming my children. It’s a win-win for us all!

Carlie @ Today’s Frugal Mom

I try to schedule clean-up time around natural motivators so that I don’t have to nag my kids to help out. The built in motivator propels them to work with willing hearts. For instance, bedrooms need to be cleaned up before breakfast is served. Hungry kids clean very quickly and diligently. 

Jamie @ The Unlikely Homeschool

Get the kids involved. As easy as it would be to just do it yourself, you’ll be teaching your kids valuable lessons by including them in the daily house cleaning routine – responsibility, basic life skills, and that it’s important for families to work together.

Tonia @ The Sunny Patch

When it comes to managing our homes and homeschools I encourage moms to ask themselves, Am I doing my best? Everyone’s best looks different. Homemaking will be a lot different when your kids are school age, than when they are toddlers. Remember your best is just that — YOUR best, not mine, your neighbors, or that mom from playgroups.

Also, give yourself grace.  Sometimes your kids will get sick, you will have to let something slide. That is ok. Remember your priority at that moment is your child. Sometimes your child will be struggling with school, this will take more time, and your housework may be put on the backburner. This is okay, give yourself grace.  Misty also shared a few posts on this topic: Homeschooling and Housework also Homeschooling and Working at Home.

Misty@ Joy in the Journey

There is no one “right” answer to this question! We each are at different stages of our homeschooling journeys and have different-aged children with varied needs. All of these factors play into the “how” of keeping a house clean, and we first need to recognize this. We can’t play the compare game, and also, we must expect that our definition of what is a “clean house” will vary throughout the years. Grace must abound here. However, at the same time, having some sort of order to the home is crucial in keeping your sanity! And in fact, I believe that developing a household routine that works for your family is a vital key to homeschooling success. I wrote more about it in this post:  “Homeschool Sanity Savers (Part 2): Daily and Weekly Household Rout…

Alicia @ VibrantHomeschooling.com

Hire a housekeeper! 🙂  

Dianna @ The Kennedy Adventures

Hire help to clean your home even if it’s just once a month. A professional can do it in far less time than you can and with a much better attitude since she’s getting paid! 

Jimmie Lanley @ Jimmies Collage

Make it fun!  Make it a game  you play with your kids–dust hockey (the one to get the most dust swept into their goal wins), trash can basketball (it always makes picking up trash more fun), or baseboard races (whoever can get their dust rag around the baseboard of the room the fastest wins)!  Pair a game with some fun music and it’s almost as good as recess.

Kathy @ Cornerstone Confessions

I think it’s important to understand your life has seasons and to adjust expectations. My house is not always clean, and dinner is not always hot and ready the second that Chris walks in the door. When you’re stressed about the ten loads of laundry and pile of dishes, look around at the flashcards around the table and the paintings and drawings all over your wall. You will have years to have a perfectly clean house, but you won’t get these years raising and teaching your kids back.

Kaylene @ This Outnumbered Mama

The best way I have found to homeschool and have a clean house is to have lessons outside as much as possible. It’s much easier to clean up outside than all the little toys inside.

Crystal  @Triumphant Learning

I’ve found that homeschooling boys and having a clean house DO NOT go hand in hand.  My house doesn’t look like it belongs in a Better Homes & Gardens magazine… And that’s okay.  There are more important things in life than having a clean house.  With that being said, we do attempt to keep things at least semi tidy.  I’ve recently started having my boys look for at least one way they can help me throughout the day.  If they are unable to come up with anything on their own, then they can ask me to give them a task or two.  This, along with everyone helping out with daily chores, keeps the worst of the mess in check.  🙂

Michelle @ Homeschool-Your-Boys.com

I break cleaning tasks into small, manageable bites.  That way I can keep mostly on top of things, even so-called “bigger” jobs. She shared a great post: Not Your Typical Spring Cleaning Tips.

Ann @ Annie and Everything

In her post Balancing Homeschooling and Housework, Kris says:   So, how do you get it all done?  The simple answer is: You don’t. You are only one person. Granted, depending on your kids’ ages, you may be able to enlist their help with varying degrees of effectiveness, but you’re probably still going to be the one to plan the course of attack and oversee the work.  There are a lot of things that are important in life, but they’re not all equally important and not all important in every season of life.  Determine what is really important to you and to your husband and what is essential to the health and well-being of your family. Those are the things in which you want to invest the most energy.

Kris @ Weird Unsocialized Homeschoolers

I’ve found that homeschooling boys and having a clean house DO NOT go hand in hand.  My house doesn’t look like it belongs in a Better Homes & Gardens magazine… And that’s okay.  There are more important things in life than having a clean house.  With that being said, we do attempt to keep things at least semi tidy.  I’ve recently started having my boys look for at least one way they can help me throughout the day.  If they are unable to come up with anything on their own, then they can ask me to give them a task or two.  This, along with everyone helping out with daily chores, keeps the worst of the mess in check.  🙂

Michelle @ Homeschool-Your-Boys.com

homeschooling and house cleaning

What I loved about most of these tips is how real these women were. Most said that their house really isn’t that clean. That made me feel a LOT better because most of the time my house is not perfectly clean either.

I think it is kind of a trade you make when you choose to homeschool. Your kids are there all day. They are not away from the home for hours at a time. You do not have that chance to get things back in order while they are gone.

While I like clean, and order, we like to do projects, and make messes when we learn. Sometimes the dishes are left for later so we can finish reading our chapter. Sometimes the science lesson we are doing takes over the whole kitchen. Gratefully, my husband understands that. So, on the days he comes home and the house is a bit of a disaster, he knows that I did my best. He also is great to step in and help!

My biggest tip is to enlist your kids. Teach them to work. This may take a bit of extra time at the beginning, but once they learn, it will go smoothly (most of the time). I have a great new chore system that has been working SO well for us.  I have a post coming on that next week. Stay tuned!  🙂

Check out my posts on Chores for Kids:

Picture Room Cleaning Chart for Young Kids

Teaching Kids How to Work:  Printable Chore Chart

Now it’s your turn. What are your best tips for having a clean house while homeschooling?

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One Comment

  1. I really enjoyed reading about other mother’s cleaning tips! I am doing a cleaning checklist for everyday. This is the only way to keep my house organized and clean!

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