When the kids are home for the holidays your home can feel like it never is clean. What with them tracking in dirt after playing outside or making lunch and using all the utensils and cutlery available. It can feel like you’ll never get on top of things again. Just remember you aren’t the only parent going through this and that every other parent has the same issue when it comes to having the kids home for an extended period of time.
Here are some tips to survive the school holidays without completely losing your mind.
1. Delegate
Delegate chores to the kids while you aren’t home. Give each of them something to do during the day, otherwise, you’ll change the Wifi’s password until they get their duties done. It’s an easy way to get the little things done like the dishes, folding laundry and sweeping out the kitchen. You won’t come home to an entirely clean house but you will have fewer things to worry about.
2. Summer Camp
If you know you’re kids are going to be at home for a while why not enrol them into a summer camp where they can at least learn something and stay out of trouble. It’s also a weight off your shoulder of wondering what they are getting up to while you are not there.
3. Certain cleaning on certain days
You can also designate certain days for certain cleaning. Like dusting every Monday, sweeping every Tuesday and doing laundry on Wednesday so it can be folded by Friday and in their respective closets. Planning your week of cleaning will help you relax because you know you won’t be doing everything on Saturday when you want to relax and spend time with your family.
4. No-play zones
Another thing you can do is close the doors to areas you don’t want your kids playing in. Like the guest bedroom, living room and dining area. Make sure to tell them that they can only play outside or in the bedrooms. This way they won’t be making everything dirty and messy while you are out working.
5. Play Dates
A sure-fire way of surviving the school holidays is organising play-dates for your kids. So you know that one day in the week they are out having fun with their friends and that you’ll be coming home to a neat house. Bonus is the kids will be exhausted from all the fun they had that they’ll probably spend the evening on the couch with you enjoying a movie.
6. Take Time Off
You can always take off when the kids have holidays. This is another way to survive the school holidays because you will also be getting the necessary rest that you need and you can keep an eye on the kids while you’re lounging around at home. Then you can have the kids help keep the house clean every day by making fun activities out of it. And reward them with an ice cream or a trip to the park, or pizza, pizza always works.
7. Let It Go
There is one way you can get through the school holidays and that is by just letting it go. The kids are going to mess up your home, not every day but the day or days will inevitably come and you’ll just have to take it into your stride. Remember that even if you’ve had a tough day at work that you might walk into a very messy home. And that’s okay, it’s not something that can be avoided and you can always clean and tidy sections. You don’t have to do everything at once.
8. Cleaning Services
Finally, the best advice that will be given today. Just before the school holidays roll around to make sure to hire a professional cleaning service. They will keep your home in tip-top shape and you won’t have to stress about coming home to a war zone. They are there to make your life easier and they also know how to deep-clean things, which face it, most of us just don’t have the time for. By the time the school holidays end your house will be cleaner than when it started and you might just be tempted to hire them full time.