Every fall I look forward to getting things organized and cleaned up around our home as the holidays are just around the corner. I like to set aside one full weekend in early October just for our fall cleaning.

As a housewife, I don’t tackle this job myself. There is no reason why your spouse and children can’t do their fair share of the work… after all, they live in the house too.

Here are a few important tips to help things go smoothly.

1. If you can afford it, do a few takeout meals during the weekend. This will save you time plus it acts as a family reward for your cleaning participants.

2. Make the weekend fun. Play music, joke around with the family and keep it light-hearted. Don’t run around barking orders and rushing to get things done.

3. As a family, sit down before your cleaning starts and decide what the family reward will be. We always picked things like a new television, stereo, comfy chair, trampoline for the backyard, etc. Your family reward can be something inexpensive or expensive… but it should be something that the entire family can enjoy.

4. Have a prepared list of chores that you want to get done. Have each family member select a few of those items that he/she can complete. Try to equally split up the tasks. Smaller children can assist the older children or parents. Cross off each task on the list as it is completed.

5. If you need cleaning or home repair supplies, purchase them ahead of time. You don’t want to waste time during your weekend running around shopping for supplies, when your time should be spent on completing your tasks.

If you start when your children are young and make this a family event, over the years this will become a regular fall routine. Our daughter knew that the weekend was approaching and would keep her schedule free. This ‘routine’ saved us a lot of stress as every family member knew what was expected from them ahead of time.

The most important thing to remember is… be prepared and be organized. If you preplan your family cleaning weekend, you will find that things will be a lot less stressful for everyone involved
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