** Clean-ISH. NOT like really truly clean

Jensen and I really like to entertain. I’m pretty sure we had company for two weekends in May and every weekend in June. When our freezer got switched off (thanks, David!!) we had guests come over to help us eat ten pounds of chicken and three pounds of tri tip, all on short notice. I do NOT spend the the day before we have guests like this:

This used to be my mom, for real, though.

I don’t like feeling so frantic, and I get anxious when the house is dirty, so I figured out a few ways I can keep my house kinda ready for guests- like, I’ll be ready for company within thirty to forty-five minutes or so. Also, please bear in mind, this works for my family- adjust to make it work for yours.

Another aside- we used to have a housekeeper who came twice a month- this is my ideal situation! But we currently don’t have the budget for that, so we do our cleaning ourselves now. When I get a job, you best believe I’m going to find a housekeeper again. I’ll do the same things listed below, but it won’t be as… intense.

1. Jensen and I tackle one major household tasks four nights a week. 

On Monday we clean bathrooms, Tuesday we dust, Wednesday we clean floors, and Thursday we clean the kitchen. The house is never completely clean all at the same time (sigh), but it is always pretty clean-ish.

Of course, this is flexible, but I try to get to all of these things at least once a week. Sometimes I stack them and do multiple tasks on one day, most of the time I don’t.

I can see the argument that its a drag to do this stuff every night- and yes, it is. It really, really sucks. I’d rather read or scroll through Instagram or write- I mean, I’d rather do almost anything than clean. But I also don’t want to spend an entire day doing it either. It’s easier to break it up, spend 30 minutes getting the house clean-ish, and it’s not as overwhelming.

2.  I fold laundry and put it away.

I do laundry nearly every other day. I get it- my kids go through a lot of clothing, and after the vomit fest we had this week, I did even more laundry, if that’s possible… But I try <<really really>> hard to fold and put laundry away as soon as its done. Is there anything more intimidating than a mountain of laundry to deal with? Well, maybe when your kid pukes all over the floor and your husband at work and both kids are crying and you know the baby wants to walk through it and you have to clean it up even though you want to puke too – but that’s a whole different ball of wax. (And that was literally Wednesday for me. Gross.)

3. Toys get put away before nap time and bed time.

Yup. Every time. It corrals the mess and keeps the house from looking like Santa’s workshop vomited in my family room.

4. If something is out of place, I put it away, and “a place for everything, and everything in it’s place.”

Just put the stuff away. Some recommend getting a laundry basket and putting all the things that get strewn around the house into it, then putting things away when the basket gets full. Same idea, different way of accomplishing the end goal.

5. Give yourself a break.

Your house is never going to look as clean and perfect as those homes in Architecture Digest, House Beautiful, or Better Home & Garden. Your home is LIVED in. Life, and children in particular, are messy. Some weeks are better than others. I feel like I’m about two days away from living in filth. It’s a never ending battle! So if a mess piles up, it’s ok. Your guest(s) should get it, and if they don’t, you don’t need that energy in your life.

How do you keep your house looking semi-decent? Comment below or on my Instagram post!

XO,

Lindsay