One of the things homeschool families often discuss is how to keep the house clean. This is a natural concern. What with school going on all the time and families being home during much of it, the homeschooling household takes much more of a beating than those in which families head out and don’t return again until dinner. Fact is, homeschooling can be messy, children like to spread out, plus projects multiply very quickly. Over time, just about every corner of the house seems to be impacted in some way or another.
While this may be frustrating at first, particularly for families that have never homeschooled before, rest assured, it is a shared concern among countless families nationwide. In reality, your home is no different from anybody else’s.
You can, however, handle the chaos a bit differently than other families consumed by maintaining a picture-perfect home. Knowing the secret that other homeschooling moms and dads have discovered may help you, too.
Silly as it may sound, the answer lies in changing ones view of clean. I am not trying to play a sneaky trick on you — this is the real deal. The secret to functioning well in your home, and enjoying it too, is changing your perception of clean (or tidy, or uncluttered, or your design standpoint) during the homeschooling years. Really!
Think of it this way. Because homeschooling is an all-encompassing activity — a ‘lifestyle choice’ if you will – the status of your home is likely to change for a while — maybe even a really long time. When there is so much activity swirling around your home each and every day, no amount of wishing the house clean will make it so . So, changing your definition of clean is the only way to handle the differences between the clean home you had prior to homeschooling, and the clean home you have now. Is your home still the same as it looked before you had children? It’s the same exact thing.
I have talked over and over about streamlining household operations using binder systems, chore systems, and other organizational tools that make the home a more pleasant and productive place to be. I highly recommend that every family put these kinds of systems in place because they really do help. But the reality is, even using the most sophisticated organizational tools money can buy, kids are still kids and homes are still lived in. Changing your perception of what your home should look like is the only thing that you can do!
If you like a clean house, accepting a slightly-less-than-perfect job from a child assigned to clean a kitchen or allowing the laundry to pile up a little bit higher than you’re comfortable with may not be easy to do. But, over time, it will become easier to accept that your home is “clean enough”.
Remember, too, that the days of homeschooling will be over before you know it. Learning to enjoy your home the way it is will allow the entire family to make the most of these wonderful years while they last. And what could be more important than a joyous family and a happy home anyway?
[Image: Free Digital]
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