Don’t you just love watching the television shows where busy moms seem to be able to do it all – keep the house clean, tend to their children, and still have time to whip up meals to have by candlelight with their spouse?  Unfortunately television isn’t real life.  Moms are busier than ever – working and taking care of children and the home are two full time jobs.  In order to take care of both your jobs some creativity is necessary.

Some people will tell you to forget about the house, that your children are the most important.  I agree – to a point.  You can’t neglect your house to the point where it becomes a health or safety hazard.  If you don’t clean up the juice from the kitchen floor you might be blessed with some unwelcome guests in the summer - ants!  Now I’m not telling you that in order to be a good mother and spouse your home needs to be perfectly clean.  There is a difference between being untidy and being dirty.  I’m just saying that keeping the house clean shouldn’t be your primary concern.

So how can a busy mom keep a clean house?  You need to look for opportunities to do some housecleaning in the course of the day.  My boys love to vacuum, but I don’t like to run it when they are sleeping.  I pick up the living room when they take a nap, and once they wake up they help me clean.  If I’m giving them a bath and after they’re finished they are content in their play yard I run and throw a quick load of laundry in the washer.

Don’t try to do everything at once or in one day.  Take a few minutes on Sunday evening to see what is scheduled for the week (doctors visits play groups, etc.) and plan out what you’ll do when the children are napping.  Maybe on Monday you clean the bathroom, while on Tuesday you dust the house.  Take advantage of the time when your children are sleeping and charge ahead getting your work done.  Use the early evening when they go to bed to do larger tasks like mopping the kitchen floor.

Also, it’s ok to ask your spouse for help.  If your spouse doesn’t like to clean ask him to take the children out for a walk or for a visit for a few hours on a Saturday so you can clean.  Get your older children involved in cleaning.  Ask them to put away the laundry or pick up your toddler’s toys.  And it is never too early to get your children started helping out (but don’t push them).  My oldest son is 20 months old and he loves to help mommy around the house.  He will put away diaper supplies if I ask.  If you give him a dish cloth he thinks it’s hilarious to clean his own high chair tray.

Your home doesn’t need to be perfect, so don’t think you need to do it all.  If you are tired from your life as a mom, it’s ok to let the kitchen floor go for a day or not to put away that load of laundry so you can rest.  Plus, don’t clean the house at the expense of your children.  Your children are not going to remember if your living room was dusted when they grow up, but they will remember how much time you spent with them.