{"id":62022,"date":"2020-10-13T10:05:57","date_gmt":"2020-10-13T14:05:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/?p=62022"},"modified":"2026-01-28T16:09:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T21:09:18","slug":"cleaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/cleaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Why cleaning is different when you homeschool"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Written by Kara S. Anderson<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

It was June.<\/span><\/p>\n

A hot June, and I had committed myself to a 40-day cleaning program.<\/strong><\/p>\n

And so I lugged the vacuum cleaner up and down the stairs, sweating profusely, swearing almost as profusely, wondering why I had decided to deep clean my house during one of the warmest months of the year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of course, I knew the answer. We had just finished a school year, and so I had \u201cextra time.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The cleaning plan had promised I would be able to reset my home in just 15 minutes a day, but I had already been vacuuming for 45.<\/span><\/p>\n

I assumed that spoke to the condition of my house, and dutifully vacuumed on.<\/span><\/p>\n

And the challenge worked. After 40 days, we had less clutter, and our cabinets were more organized.<\/span><\/p>\n

Still, sometimes I would notice things, like how our kitchen garbage always seemed to be overflowing; or how our dining room table ALWAYS had \u201cclutter,\u201d i.e. incomplete homeschool and hobby projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

Would I ever find a cleaning plan that actually worked for me, a busy, work-at-home, homeschooling mom?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/h2>\n

Homeschool homes are a little different<\/h2>\n

The answer is no. Although I\u2019ve tried. Believe me.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve bought books, subscribed to YouTube channels, followed Pinterest accounts, created Pinterest boards, and downloaded approximately 87 million different cleaning routines.<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve tried them all, and it\u2019s a little like when you\u2019re trying to figure out how to homeschool – many methods, philosophies and plans have good parts. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

But no cleaning plan has really ever worked for me.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

It took me a while to figure out why, and then recently I was reading through yet another cleaning plan and I noticed something \u2026 <\/span>the assumption was that you could reset your house late in the day, and then again in the morning, but that during the hours between 9 and 4, 5 or 6, no one was making messes.<\/b><\/p>\n

And I know you know this already, but homeschooling can be pretty messy<\/em>. On a daily basis we confront lots of paper, art supplies, craft projects, toy messes, perhaps even science experiments gone wrong \u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Some days we add in even more – paper mach\u00e9, tiny chefs cooking or baking, a toddler who found a Sharpie …. GLITTER.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCleaning house while kids are home is like shoveling while it\u2019s still snowing.\u201d – possibly Phyllis Diller, (the etymology is dubious)<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And so as homeschoolers, who are with our kids all day, we simply have to have different expectations and a different strategy<\/strong> for keeping our homes clean\u2026ish.<\/span><\/p>\n

A new homeschool cleaning routine<\/span><\/h2>\n

So I decided to create a new plan, based on real life<\/a> – a plan that makes time for handling daily messes, because those are just a reality of homeschooling.<\/span><\/p>\n

As homeschoolers, we also need to prioritize dishes, because we eat at home a lot<\/strong>. Back in my office days, I would grab breakfast as I left for the day, and either eat a packed lunch or grab food on the go.<\/span><\/p>\n

But now, it isn\u2019t unusual for us to eat three meals a day (plus 81 snacks) at home. And cleaning up after that takes time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But we also have an advantage – those of us with older kids have built in help, as long as we\u2019re willing to invest a little time teaching our kids how to clean<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I want to assure you – if you struggle a bit with housekeeping – it\u2019s not just you. <\/span><\/p>\n

And if all those cleaning plans out there haven\u2019t worked – it isn\u2019t you, it\u2019s just that those plans aren\u2019t meant for families like ours.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

How to start over with a new cleaning routine<\/h2>\n

The good news is, you can start to build a new routine right now<\/a>.\"\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

As you do so, just keep in mind:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Many of us are not naturally organized or natural cleaners. <\/span><\/li>\n
  2. As homeschoolers, our situation is different than a lot of families, so \u201cregular\u201d cleaning routines might not work for us.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. This is a place where expectations can really drag us down. But if we can shift our mindset from Instagram and Pinterest images to wanting a cozy, warm environment for learning and more, it can alleviate a lot of pressure.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I\u2019ve created a cleaning plan if you need help getting started – you can read all about it here<\/a>. It includes a FREE printable that makes it quick and easy to jump right in. (Pssst … the free printable includes a coupon for a discount off the full ebook!<\/em>)<\/span><\/p>\n

    I hope you\u2019ll head over and grab it, and feel a little more peace starting now.<\/span><\/p>\n

    What’s your favorite homeschool-friendly cleaning tip? Please share!<\/i><\/p>\n

    What’s Your Homeschool Mom Personality? Take Jamie’s quiz now<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0and receive a free personality report to help you organize your homeschool based on what your personality type needs most!<\/em><\/p>\n

    <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Written by Kara S. Anderson It was June. A hot June, and I had committed myself to a 40-day cleaning program. And so I lugged the vacuum cleaner up and down the stairs, sweating profusely, swearing almost as profusely, wondering why I had decided to deep clean my house during one of the warmest months…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":62025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[342,6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-home-relationships","category-home-management"],"yoast_head":"\nA different homeschool cleaning routine - Simple Homeschool<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Could you use a different homeschool cleaning routine? 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