I think one of the biggest issues that I face here at home
is getting the family to pitch in and help out.  There are days when I
feel like all I do is cook, clean, and act as a referee between kids.  I
get so stressed out and overwhelmed because I am the one doing everything all
the time. This gets so frustrating because it seems like as soon as I clean one
room, the kids turn around and trash another one. It’s an endless battle that
never seems to end.  My daughter has autism but she actually will help out
as much as she can with guidance, but my other two boys and my partner, they
only help out when I start complaining, and then they gripe and moan about it
the entire time.  So, as I was looking through the tips under the wellness
tree, I came across something that I thought was a really neat idea; the 10
minute clean-up. A light bulb suddenly went off in my head and I said to
myself, hey, why can’t I implement this into our daily schedule? So here is my
plan. I am going to have everyone choose a room (minus my daughter because she
and I clean together) and then I will set an alarm on my phone and for ten
minutes we each clean the room that we’ve chosen.  This way, I give
everyone a choice as to which room they want and I will choose whatever is
left. I set the alarm so that we have a clear time limit set for the activity
and there are no excuses as to how much or how long we clean. This is something
my youngest has a really hard time with. He will pick up three things and claim
he’s done.  I don’t expect a lot out of him because he’s only eight, but
he knows to pick up toys, dishes, trash etc…  He did clean his room and
make his bed this morning without being told so that’s a plus! Finally he’s
starting to get into the routine. So I am starting the timer now and in ten
minutes I will come back and post the results to this activity and hopefully
the results will be what I anticipate, but time will tell.
After the ten minute clean up-
Things started out pretty good. Jay chose the kitchen, my 8 year old the
bathroom, my oldest the dining room and I did the living room. I set up all the
cleaners that my son would need to clean the bathroom and then I set the timer
and we all started cleaning.  I picked up the rugs and swept the floor,
then picked up toys, took out dishes, and picked up trash along with emptying
the trash can in the living room. The ten minute timer went off before we were
all done but my 8 year old said he wanted to finish regardless. He was having
some trouble figuring out how to clean the shower so I went in and showed him
what to do.  Around that time Jay (my partner) complained that he didn’t
want our son in the water and getting dirty so I said ok, I’ll clean the shower
and I set my son on another task. A couple minutes later Jay then announced
that he didn’t want our son using chemicals to clean with, being the scrubbing
bubbles, window cleaner, and toilet bowl cleaner. So I told my 8 year old to
just forget about cleaning and I would finish for him. He started crying
because he really wanted to finish.  I think he felt like a big boy being
allowed to clean something that I normally cleaned. I told Jay that if our son
wore gloves to clean then he should be safe from the chemicals and Jay agreed
with the stipulation that he not clean the shower or the toilet. So I agreed
and I let my son clean the sink, wipe the counters down, and sweep the floor.
He wanted to mop as well but I said no, I’ve seen the flood that follows his
mopping lol. Jay managed to get a load of dishes in the dish washer during our
ten minute clean and my oldest cleaned the dining room really well. The only
thing I have left to do now in the dining room is mop the floors.  It
wasn’t that bad to begin with, he just had to clear the table, wipe the table
down, take a basket of clothes upstairs, sweep the floor, and do some
straightening up. The kitchen and the living room were the worst rooms I think.
I still have a lot of work to do in the kitchen but at least now the dishes are
taken care of.
I really think the ten minute clean up is a great idea and as long as the
others don’t complain, I would like to do this once a day. That way I am not
left with everything and with them helping out, even for ten minutes a day, it
takes a lot of the load off of me. One thing I would like to see happen is Jay,
my partner, learn to clean a little faster. I think he just needs to get used
to it. He used to live with his mother before she passed away and for most of
his life she did all of the cleaning.  He never had to pick up after
himself or do his own laundry or anything so this is an area we need to work
on.  If he is going to be living with me he needs to learn to chip in a
bit more.  My goal is that by doing these ten minute clean ups daily,
along with my kids following their normal daily chore charts, the messes that I
am faced with everyday will, over time, become less of a disaster and more of
just a small mess that is easily straightened up.