{Day 18} Balancing Housework with Homeschool

{For an overview of the 31 Days of Homeschooling, click HERE}

One of the things that concern some families is keeping the home in order. In particular, since homeschooling is a full-time job — one that usually requires more time at home – how will anything else ever get done?

This is a common concern. Common, but not unsolvable.

For those who like a clean house and an orderly environment, there are many techniques that can help. These range from easy to much more complex. Choose one that fits your lifestyle:

Confine homeschooling activities to one or two places — not all over the house. Assign a space or an entire room for classroom items and leave everything there. Then, close the door if you’d prefer not to look at it all day. If space in a room is not possible, use a closet, several cabinets or an armoire instead.
Keep everything neatly organized by using totes, bins, boxes, drawers or whatever is needed to fit daily homeschool supplies. Make sure that children know where everything goes when the day is done. Dedicate a time each day to putting everything away. This gives the feeling of neatness — at least for a little while each day.
Schedule periodic breaks throughout the day to replace items, do quick cleanups, put things away and perform household tasks. Don’t save everything until the end of the day. Put in a load of laundry before morning activities begin. After the first activity, transfer it to the dryer. In between classes, run a vacuum or clean a toilet. Children should do this, too. Have a cleanup period every 2 hours — involve the children. After lunch, assign cleanup duties to someone. Set a timer to start dinner at 4:00 pm, to be sure it’s ready by 6:00 pm. The possibilities are endless. {For more suggestions, search on BLOCK SCHEDULE.}
Assign chores to specific children every day, and enforce that chores are completed to your satisfaction. Post chores in a place where everyone can see. Children as young as 2 or 3 can help. {For more suggestions, search on CHORES.}
Choose less “messy” and less “big” activities. For example, instead of a finger-painting activity, choose one using washable crayons or colored pencils instead. Instead of measuring the proportional distance between the Sun and the planets using a tape measure and a very long driveway, use a computer program instead.
Homeschool on a porch, in the back yard, in a tree house, on a boat, in the garage, in a vehicle while waiting for someone, or somewhere else from time to time. This method keeps the house clean for a period and gives relief for a short time.
Take a few classes outside the home, especially the ones that require spreading out (e.g., cooking), creating strong odors (e.g., chemistry), involve messy supplies (e.g., sculpture), generate loud noises (e.g., percussion), and so on.

…and, to remove the pressure of worrying that someone may drop by while the house is a mess…

Tell family, friends and neighbors that you will be homeschooling.
Explain that school takes place between 9:00 am – 3:00 pm (or whatever times you prefer) and that you are unable to receive guests during those hours.
Make it a habit of visiting friends and neighbors during “after school” hours. Do this before they have the chance to come to you.
Hang a flag or a sign on the door saying, “School is in session” or a similar message.
Or, do as some moms do, and keep a bathrobe or house coat by the front door. When visitors stop by, explain you aren’t feeling well, and it isn’t a convenient time to drop by!

One of my favorite seminars to deliver (and one of my most popular) is called, Make Block Scheduling Work For You! See a description of this talk, along with some of the other topics I talk about, by clicking HERE.

Further reading:

Tips for keeping chore systems running optimally

Recognize time-wasters and reclaim the day!

Drop everything and clean!

Clean enough