Housework during daycare hours

[jazmic]

Does anyone try to do housework while dcks are around? I mean things not related to running the daycare. I'm finding it hard staying on top of the housework (like laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, etc.) Then again, I'm not the neatest person to begin with. I'm just wondering how you ladies do it. I'm seeking ideas and inspiration so to speak. How do you guys do it? :)

[Dreamalittledream]

Unless it's nap time; I cannot accomplish anything other than throwing a load of laundry in. I'm blessed to have a wonderful hubby and kids that realize that my job at home all day is just as (more so, often!) demanding as theirs at school and work....so we share the household tasks. We've started assigning a 1/2 hour each week night to chores (with the music blasting and everyone singing or dancing) so our Saturdays are no longer bogged down by cleaning. More importantly, don't stress yourself over your house having to be immaculate...our children will never remember how clean our floors are, but they sure will treasure that we took time in our busy day and built forts with them!

[jazmic]

I hear you. It's just my dh is a bit of a clean freak. I really don't know how we ended up together sometimes! LOL. Anyways, he does help around the house but I'm just trying to do better in terms of housekeeping so I can alleviate some of the tension that arises when he comes home to a disaster. I just find it tough to do when dcks are here and the last thing I want to do on the weekends is clean! ;)

[BlueRose]

I can sometimes get some washing folded. I can get dishes washed and even wash the kitchen floor. I can change all the garbage's and put the bags by the door. I can sweep the playroom , sometimes I have little ones helping me. but that's about it.

My husband does the washing at night. we live in a building and have to go down the hall. We do the rest of the cleaning on either sat or sun.

[Crayola kiddies]

My daycare is separate from my house so the kids are not making a mess but my house still gets to be a mess because in the evenings I'm tired and the last thing I feel like doing is house work. I do the bulk of my laundry in the evenings during the week and then do the last two loads on Sunday. I usually do the bulk of my grocery shopping on Thursday nights ad then just getting fresh fruit and bread on Sundays ... The only thing I do during nap time is food laundry or prep dinner.... I have a cleaning service come every other Friday that cleans my house and I just do a quick vacuum of my kitchen every other day ..... I am not a neat freak and it is what it is

[mlle.coccinelle]

this is one awesome perks of the ''job''
Since I have a condo, I get to do most of my cleaning while the kiddos are here! I do my dusting, cloth folding, sweeping and mopping during nap time or on weekends ( and i usually manage to do all of it during the week) and I do the dishes, food preparation for the next meal and manage to keep our place relatively clean while they are having free play or sometimes when they draw!

[mlle.coccinelle]

I mom once told me, your house is always so clean and smell so good.... How do you manage it? :laugh:
I answered : This is what I do when your child is sleeping! I usually don't watch tv... or don't sit down or I know I wont get up until the children wakes up! :laugh:
She thought it was hilarious!

[gcj]

I do what I can during daycare....folding laundry, vacumming, whatever I can. My daycare is all about real life! Cleaning can be educational....help find pairs of socks, etc....and of course free play nearby. I see nothing wrong with it.
Bigger jobs like bathrooms I do during naps. I find it hard to motivate myself, but I break it up over the week. So, cleaning one bathroom while their sleeping doesn't take long, then I get my break after....I do a little everyday. Mostly I feel like I just pick things up and redo the same things over and over and over and over....

[Dreamalittledream]

I mom once told me, your house is always so clean and smell so good.... How do you manage it? :laugh:
I answered : This is what I do when your child is sleeping! I usually don't watch tv... or don't sit down or I know I wont get up until the children wakes up! :laugh:
She thought it was hilarious!
Wow! I so tried that for the first couple of months and was exhausted! Now during naptime, other than a load of laundry and supper prep...I rest!

[jazmic]

You ladies rock! I normally rest during naptime too. Now I feel lazy.:unsure:

[gcj]

oh , it's mostly rest for me...or yoga. But I can get a lot done in the first 20 minutes...then I get an hour 40 for ME!

[Inspired by Reggio]

Life is about balance for sure over here ~ I have a very bad back so trying to do ALL my cleaning at once is risky ~ so I have a list of things broken up into 15 minute max chores that I do each day during nap time to stay on top of cleaning ... so I will do a chore like clean a bathroom and than sit for a bit and rest my back, do a chore like clean the other bathroom and than sit for a bit ... all those things that are 'quiet' to clean while they are resting. One of the perks of the Enjo cleaning is that there are no 'chemicals' so I do not feel bad cleaning while the children are here and floor system is awesome as it makes no noise ~ I can sweep and mop during nap time even right under a sleep child's cot and they are clueless.

Stuff that is WORK related ... cleaning or laundry that is directly childcare related, meal prep work, program prep work and so forth I do within daycare hours as much as possible and get the children to HELP were developmentally appropriate so they can learn respect of their environment and importance of team work and well cooking/baking has lots of science/math ~ we already work a long day so I prefer to minimize how much work I do once the kids go home!

[sunnydays]

I keep telling myself I will do one chorse per day at naptime to minimize the weekend cleaning...but I rarely get to it! At naptime, I just want to relax and enjoy the only quiet time I get in a day because after daycare hours are not quiet...I have my own kids and husband then who are anything but quiet ;)

[jazmic]

Thanks for the tips! gcj, I just tried the doing some chores for about 20mins thing, and I feel really good about it! I still have some rest time, and the house is looking better. It's not perfect, but at least my evening when dh comes home should be more enjoyable. I really appreciate that tip. I had always felt like if I did cleaning during nap time, I would lose out on my rest time, but I now see that doesn't have to be the case! :) Thank you! Now we'll see if he notices anything different or not when he gets home! LOL.

[monkeymama]

I throw a load of laundry in before kids get here, then fold during snack. Second load goes in during nap and gets folded during afternoon snack. I do dishes and wash the floor during nap. Bathrooms usually after everyone leaves for the day. I sweep 3x a day after every meal. I just do my best to stay on top of it. Im lucky right now dck dont arrive until 8:15 and 2x week Im only open until 4 so I try and use that time wisely to get things done.

[Inspired by Reggio]

.... Now we'll see if he notices anything different or not when he gets home! LOL.

The cure to my spouses 'noticing' if I missed picking up a toy or crumb under the snack table is to have him COVER for me and see how well he can manage keeping the house tip top while chasing after 5 children all day long feeding them, changing them and keeping them safe ... in fact my spouse just did this yesterday for me for a couple hours while I ran to the lab for some blood work and I returned home to find morning snack mess and clothes just abandoned still on the table when it was almost lunch time and the toys had blown up all over the playroom and he was doing some art with them without having 'cleaned up' the toys first ~ so I took the kids outside for fresh air while HE cleaned up the mess from when he was on duty and last night I got a nice long back massage and a thank you for all the hard work I do ;)

Every time he starts to 'forget' and dares to comment on something I arrange to need his help covering for something to remind him that while I may make it LOOK easy in his opinion it is not REALLY easy so he should be helping out more around the house ;)

[jazmic]

Every time he starts to 'forget' and dares to comment on something I arrange to need his help covering for something to remind him that while I may make it LOOK easy in his opinion it is not REALLY easy so he should be helping out more around the house ;)

LOL! The problem with my dh is that he probably WOULD do a better job than I do. He loves organizing, cleaning, etc. It's almost like he gets a high off of it. Me, on the other hand... not so much! lol. Plus when he cleans, he does it better in like a quarter of the time it takes me. The last thing I need is he looking at me like 'See? It's not so hard to clean as you go."

[Sandbox Sally]

I suspect others' daycares are more structured than mine.

I do circle and story, and outside time in the mornings, but other than that, it's free play. I don't do lessons as part of our day. Afternoons are nap, outside time or craft time, and other than that, free play. I have plenty of time to play and clean and prep food on the main level, where my daycare is.

The upstairs is always a mess though.

[Inspired by Reggio]

:laugh: well that trick would back fire on you for sure ... I am the anal organized multi tasker in our house ~ my other half is a neat freak too he is just much slower at it!

[kidlove]

I do a TON during nap, and manage to get dishes done and run to basement for laundry throughout the day. That is a perk of staying home to work, you can throw all your household duties in the mix, sure beat waiting until after hours to catch up on the mess. My house is always clean by the end of the day and I try to have supper on the table by the time the last child pulls out of the driveway! THIS is why things like nap time are so important in this job, not so we can sit on our tushies...but so we can get all the extra work from the day care and other done during that brief time or quiet. ;)

[jazmic]

But kidlove, I LOVE sitting on my tushy! LOL.

[Spixie33]

I don't get much done. I am lucky if I can load the dishwasher as I go along and wipe the table down after meals and put the occasional load of laundry in.

During nap I can sometimes cook ahead.

I read the best quote the other day about cleaning - this is why it doesn't work...... -->


CLEANING WHILE THERE ARE CHILDREN IN THE HOUSE IS LIKE BRUSHING YOUR TEETH WHILE EATING OREO COOKIES :laugh:

[kidlove]

i am a spazz! I can get my entire house picked up laundry done, dishes washed, floors swept, wipe the tables with disinfect and once a week clean (deep clean) the bathroom during nap (a regular nap day) (sometimes the kids are cranky or dont sleep all together :() but during a regular day, I can get it all done and finally sit for a little before they wake.

[kidlove]

I love sitting on my tushy too! thats why I enjoy this forum so much, and I dont feel guilty either, cuz its like going to therapy, I'm a better provider because of it! :laugh::laugh:

[Momof4]

I can't do anything during naptime because the children sleep in my living room and dining room and my daycare is on my main floor. So I have to go to my room and read. I vacuum in the morning before the children arrive and I do the dishes and laundry in the evening. I have swept the rooms that I don't vacuum while the children eat afternoon snack before, but that's about it during daycare hours. I do make sure the children help me clean up the entire toyroom before they leave so that my house is all put back in order when they leave.

[Calgarymom]

Jazmic I would say that if your dh will and does clean the house quicker and better than you - let him.:laugh: my dh thinks cos he put his own pants in the laundry basket he has done his bit!! So what if he has a smug look, all you have to think is you cleaned the house and I didn't who should be the smug one!!! Lol. I hate housework!!:mad: I often let my dh know that if he is unhappy with the mess in our home he is more than welcome to clean it himself! If only I could be as assertive with my dcp lol.

[gcj]

In all honesty I try to do as much as possible during working hours! That being said, I have a light load and and easy/independent group this year! So, I'm enjoying the benefits...I paid my dues when my 2 kids were here. :D

[cfred]

I do pretty much nothing during nap time. Maybe watch a movie or look through this forum :) I even do the lunch dishes whilst the kids play for a few mins before nap. I tend to do most of my housework on Friday nights. All my kids, but one or two are gone by 4:45 Friday nights, so I start the weekly disinfect with them. They hang out in the kitchen with me while I soak the toys in disinfectant, rinse, air dry, put away. By the time they leave at 6pm, that's about 2/3 done, then I clean the bathrooms, dust, sweep and mop main floor.....I make my kids vacuum. Laundry, oddly, is a bit of a treat as I watch a movie while I fold it all....an ongoing process over the weekend. I don't mind doing housework so much, but I think, for now, it's just a novelty. This is my first home that I've owned, so I'm still a bit into taking care of it. I think that'll fade in a few months :)

[jazmic]

So as rotten luck would have it, I was in bed with a killer migraine all last night and dh had to cover for me with the daycare this morning. Not only did he enjoy it, he was cleaning as well. Then he comes to me (in my nice dark quiet room) and he says "pssst! It actually pays to clean as you go. I found $20 under dd's dresser!"

What are the chances of that????? I mean come on!!!!! I never find any money when *I* clean! LOL!!!!

[mlle.coccinelle]

Wow! I so tried that for the first couple of months and was exhausted! Now during naptime, other than a load of laundry and supper prep...I rest!

ahah! Well I don't do that Everyday! :laugh: I sweep and swifferize the kitchen/ eating area every day... but I try to do 1 chore a day so that I don't spend the entire day cleaning on saturdays! I also try to do 1 load of laundry a day so that I don't get overwhelm by it :yes:

I found this awesome chart on Pintrest ( I loooooooove Pintrest :wub:) that tells me what to do on what day! It helps tons!

[Dreamalittledream]

I found this awesome chart on Pintrest ( I loooooooove Pintrest :wub:) that tells me what to do on what day! It helps tons! Ooooh love Pinterest too! Mind posting the link to the chart?

[Inspired by Reggio]

Agreed ~ Dreamalittledream I would love a link to that as well for comparison ~ their chart might be more efficient than mine and find me some more free time for fun!

[mimi]

So as rotten luck would have it, I was in bed with a killer migraine all last night and dh had to cover for me with the daycare this morning. Not only did he enjoy it, he was cleaning as well. Then he comes to me (in my nice dark quiet room) and he says "pssst! It actually pays to clean as you go. I found $20 under dd's dresser!"

What are the chances of that????? I mean come on!!!!! I never find any money when *I* clean! LOL!!!!

He sounds like a sweetheart:laugh: I hope you feel better!

[jazmic]

I do feel better now. Thanks! :)

[gcj]

speaking of housework during daycare hours.....I only have 2 boys today, who play AMAZINGLY on their own and so I 'm hoping to have the whole house cleaned by the end of the day! And it's too cold to go outside. :D

They're having a play day! And free craft time right now. Everything is out and it's build what you want!

[gramma]

in the morning, i plan all the things i am going to do during naptime and it never seems to get done. i have sleeping issues right now so that may be why. i'm hoping to be able to use my quiet time more productively soon because once they all wake up, i regret not having done some of the household chores.

[playfelt]

When I first started daycare I just assumed I was supposed to be with the kids all day, etc. It wasn't until one of my daycare moms (single parent) started lamenting how her son complained especially all day Saturday about how he wanted to come back to my house because all I did all day was play with him. The mom of course was busy doing laundry, dusting, batch cooking for the coming week etc.

After that conversation I came to the realization that I was a family home daycare and as such I needed to act like one. That meant that each day I did an item of housework while the kids "played" as in I was not available to them during that time. They learned to entertain themselves and other times they were all given tasks such as dusting cloths or a basket of socks to sort or washcloths to fold and we all did our work so that we would have time to play. What I was teaching them was the reality of life. Life is not all just play for anyone - work, school comes first.

Now the process I use is that during free play periods I am free to take a few minutes and do what I want to do too - well have to do so it might include putting in a tub of laundry or emtying the dishwasher or sorting a shelf. I like to get something done in the morning and then I don't feel so bad about not getting everything done in the afternoon.Also when I am busy instead of just hanging around them while they play they are more inclined to be self-sufficient and creative. I am close enough they know they can't get away with anything but busy enough they know I am not at their beck and call to be their source of entertainment. They also know if I get interrupted many times my work takes too long and if they let me get it done that we have a lot more time to do things together later.

[Mamma_Mia]

I suspect others' daycares are more structured than mine.

I do circle and story, and outside time in the mornings, but other than that, it's free play. I don't do lessons as part of our day. Afternoons are nap, outside time or craft time, and other than that, free play. I have plenty of time to play and clean and prep food on the main level, where my daycare is.

The upstairs is always a mess though.

With the exception that my daycare is in the basement...it's pretty much the same here. The top floor (bedrooms....mine mostly) is a war zone. Main floor I can tidy while the kids free play or have snack. I do laundry during nap time as I watch a online episode of something or am on a forum. Then I can vacuum during evening free play. I have 2 siblings here until 6pm, I can't NOT do anything house related or it would be a disaster. Snacks or lunch time I load/unload the dishwasher. etc.

[sunnydays]

Playfelt, I have to agree with you. Kids need to learn how to entertain themselves while adults do the chores they have to do. I do my daycare kitchen cleaning while the kids play and I find that they play much better when they know I am busy ;) If I sit down, they suddenly expect me to do something...read a book, do a felt story, etc. If I am busy, they could play happily for hours :)



When I first started daycare I just assumed I was supposed to be with the kids all day, etc. It wasn't until one of my daycare moms (single parent) started lamenting how her son complained especially all day Saturday about how he wanted to come back to my house because all I did all day was play with him. The mom of course was busy doing laundry, dusting, batch cooking for the coming week etc.

After that conversation I came to the realization that I was a family home daycare and as such I needed to act like one. That meant that each day I did an item of housework while the kids "played" as in I was not available to them during that time. They learned to entertain themselves and other times they were all given tasks such as dusting cloths or a basket of socks to sort or washcloths to fold and we all did our work so that we would have time to play. What I was teaching them was the reality of life. Life is not all just play for anyone - work, school comes first.

Now the process I use is that during free play periods I am free to take a few minutes and do what I want to do too - well have to do so it might include putting in a tub of laundry or emtying the dishwasher or sorting a shelf. I like to get something done in the morning and then I don't feel so bad about not getting everything done in the afternoon.Also when I am busy instead of just hanging around them while they play they are more inclined to be self-sufficient and creative. I am close enough they know they can't get away with anything but busy enough they know I am not at their beck and call to be their source of entertainment. They also know if I get interrupted many times my work takes too long and if they let me get it done that we have a lot more time to do things together later.