Housecleaning is a 13-Letter Word

Housecleaning is one of the necessary evils of being a stay-at-home parent.

Housecleaning isn’t a four letter word. But those three syllables can bring out a lot of groaning and griping from stay-at-home parents.

With all we do – caring for the kids, laundry, shopping, cooking, volunteering, organizing– housecleaning is probably not top on our lists.

But don’t we all love the feeling of a nice, clean house?

I love the smell of Murphy’s Oil Soap in the kitchen and Lysol Basin Tub & Tile Cleaner in the bathroom. I love to look across my bedroom and see the dresser top free of dust. I love to see my kids' beds made and their rooms with carpet showing and not piled with clothes.

I hate when I finally finish and here come the kids, their friends and the dog. And I start it all over again.

It used to be we moved so often I never did spring cleaning. Now I do spring and fall cleaning and I use them as reminders to change the batteries in my smoke detectors, change the furnace filter, clean the humidifier and turn my clocks. When I move the living room couch to put up the Christmas tree, I like to know I'm not going to find a year's worth of dust bunnies breeding under there.

If you’re embarking on a season of fall cleaning, get the kids involved. Make a game of it and you might be surprised at how well your kids can clean.

So grab the whole family, a bucket, a Swiffer, a vacuum and your cleaning supplies, and welcome in Fall.