a clean house

Some people might call me a clean freak. 

OK, even I call myself a clean freak.  I will admit it.  I like things clean.  I like things tidy.  I hate clutter.  I have been that way for as long as I can remember.  I even had a clean room as a teenager.  (Are you reading this Kara?!)

And it just so happened that I married a fellow clean freak. 

(He was the recipient of the "Neat Pete" award multiple times as a child, no wonder I fell in love with him.)

My poor children. 

 They never stood a chance.

 Every Saturday we deep clean our house.  Every one of us working.  It took years to train them, but now, they are pretty proficient,well most of them are anyways.

One Saturday, as all my kiddos were cleaning I grabbed the camera.  Mostly, because I thought to myself who actually has pictures of their kids cleaning.  I didn't and I wanted some.  I wanted them to be able to show their kids.  I wanted to be able to look back and remember their little hands doing important work.
  My kids can clean, they really can.
 And here is the proof. 
  

Ethan and Alyssa take out all the rugs, dust the stairs, wipe down all the bar stools and chairs and then move them into the family room so Trevor can wash the floor, they sanitize the banisters, and wipe down the doorknobs and cupboard handles.

They are a good little team.

I wish Alyssa's face always looked this pleasant while she was doing chores. 

 I think this was a little staged for the photo shoot.

Each of the kids have to deep clean their rooms each Saturday.  This means they tidy, dust, clean out under their beds and tidy their closets.  I have tried to teach them that if they keep it clean during the week it makes the deep cleaning much easier.  I wish some of them would listen to that advice more closely.

  In addition Bryson takes out all of the trash and tidies the mudroom.

The three older kids each have to clean a bathroom.  Trevor is the bathroom guy.  He trained them.  And I am serious when I say it took him 3 weeks to teach them all his tips.  They were dying.  He showed them how it was to be done.  He then did it with them and then the final test was to have them do it with him watching over their shoulders.  I think they all passed after 3 weeks. 

 I think. 

Every once in a while Trev will give them a refresher coarse.

The four older kids each rotate and deep clean a different main room of the house each week.  They will each do either the family room, the kitchen, the basement or the living room.  This way I know they all know how to clean all the rooms in a house, including bathrooms.  At least I hope they do.

Kara decided to entertain me while cleaning with a back kick.  And it was actually pretty entertaining.  I have a quote above the cleaning charts in the hall.  It says, "With every job that must be done there is an element of fun."  (Mary Poppins)  Kara takes this advice to heart.

And this wee one, well, she is a really good helper to everyone.  But the one chore that she owns is rag folding.  You won't find a better rag folder around. 

 She is meticulous and takes her job very seriously.

And after all of the cleaning that goes on around here, she has got herself a lot of rags to fold.

It takes us a couple of hours all working together to get our house in shape.  It feels so good to have it all clean, even though it doesn't last very long. 

And I hope my kids are learning.  I hope that they will remember the teamwork and the music and the pinesol.

I hope they will thank me someday.

And if they don't, I'm pretty sure their spouses will.