Why You Need To Make Your Kids Clean Often

Growing up my house was always clean. My mom or step father always made sure the household chores were done. I was supposed to keep my room clean, which didn't happen often. I would sit in a cleared circle not knowing where to start - overwhelmed. Then I would throw all my dirty clothes down stairs for my parents to do and it cleared enough of the room for me to find a starting point. I would usually put stuff in places it didn't belong, I wasn't a good organizer nor a good cleaner. My parents would wash and fold my clothes then tell me to come get them and put them away. So I would. But just that small task, I hated.

Fast forward to today and here I am - twenty-two years old with three children (I say three because my fiancé cleans up just as much as my two and one year old.) I have a whole house to clean most of the time by myself. It is the most overwhelming task I have ever had to take on. When we bought this house seven months ago I never thought about how hard it might be to keep my own house clean. I came from a clean family so how hard could it be? Ha! This house is a complete disaster some days. Piles of laundry, dishes, clutter on the kitchen island. Shoes everywhere, folded laundry still on the back of the couch from days before. I had no rhythm or order. It took me months of having a gross disorderly house to realize I needed to figure something out. For someone that wasn't brought up doing this hardly at all, it's been quite a task.

Anyone with toddlers knows that they are walking tornados. Imagine every single thing you touch today ending up in your living room floor. Yeah, that's life with a toddler. 

So far I've taught myself that starting anywhere will make a difference. I have trouble sticking with one thing. I bounce from picking up toys to looking over and seeing the dishes need to be done to going back to picking up toys.

I try to keep things off the floor but usually if I focus on one thing over a long period of time something else gets neglected. I am not great at this! I am a work in progress, as is my house. It's taken my house getting unexeptably dirty to teach me how to take control of it.

I make my children help clean, even if they didn't make the mess. I feel like it will definitely be beneficial for them and their families in the future. Hopefully they will have it figured out by then. It also teaches independence and self worth.

Make your kids clean. They -eventually- will be glad you did.

** I in no way had bad parents. My parents were wonderful and taught me a lot. They did everything they could for me and still do. Which in result may have not been the best thing but I am still grateful because I know they only did it because they love me. **