Survival Housekeeping for the Mom of Multiple Young Children

1. Clean those things which are necessary to keep your family healthy and safe. Thankfully, these are actually pretty few. Observe good food prep habits, like sanitizing after cutting raw meat. Put away leftovers promptly. Sanitize the high chair tray after foods that spoil are eaten there (you don't have to worry so much about peanut butter and carrots). Change diapers promptly. These sorts of things are the most important.

Note: Chances are good that if you have more than one small child, at least one of them eats things off the floor occasionally. Unless you have a child with a compromised immune system, most likely no harm will come of this. And since it is impossible for you to keep the floor clean enough to eat off of, determine not to worry about it.

What things are important to you for maintaining your family's health? Put them on your list of top priorities.

2. Do those things which are a waste of time or money if left undone.

This is a longer list, and means establishing good habits. Doing these things first means that you have to decide to let even very visible dirt go for now, because you have more important things to do. If you finish all the potential time wasters, then you might have time and energy left to do some heavy cleaning.

By all means if the littles are napping, go take a nap! But throw those pots in some hot water, or they will take twice as long to clean later. And that load of clothes in the washer needs to go into the dryer promptly, or it will start to smell musty and need to be rewashed. Trust me, you don't have time to do work twice.

Laundry should be folded before you start to run out of clean items. If you have to root through the basket for 5 minutes to find a clean dishcloth or onesie, you are wasting time you don't have. Wipe off hands and faces when little ones leave the table. The goop is all in one place right then, if you don't get it now, it will be all over the house later.

Paying bills is a good example of things that waste money if not done promptly. Those late fees are a killer! Make sure your family has a good system in place for dealing with bills before they are due.

What else can you think of that wastes time later if you don't do it right away? Put it on your list of top priorities.

3. Clean and declutter those places which give you and your family the most peace of mind.

If you have time and energy left, you can consider Survival Step #3. Since you won't be able to keep the whole house in "drop in" condition for a while (who knows how long?), think about what things bother you most. Is it clutter on the floor, sticky cabinets, or dust on the piano? You can't tackle everything, so decide to put your effort where you will appreciate it the most. Don't worry about what other people think. This is about keeping you and your family functioning well for this particular time in your life.

You may decide to just try to keep one room clean and uncluttered, so that you have a haven of peace to retire to. A sunroom, master bedroom, or living room might be your choice. Or you might have a list of various things around the house that make you feel more peaceful when they are done. Make sure you talk to your spouse about what he finds most important in the house. What he says might surprise you. You wouldn't be the first wife to find out that you have been driving yourself insane trying to keep the house clean, only to discover that he doesn't care about that as long as his socks are matched and you are happy.

Find out what things bother you and others in the family most, and put those next on the list to do.

Above all, give kisses and laugh a lot.

Ironically, the things that matter the most are not visible. So your most important work, no one will ever see. The hugs and kisses, the books read, jokes laughed at, the prayers made. Even if there is spaghetti sauce on the ceiling and you can't remember what color the carpet in your minivan is under all that trash, is these things make your day as a mama a success.

If you have read this article and know it was written for you, go back through and make a list of priorities personalized for your family. If you are as sleep deprived as I think you are, you will never remember what to do without a list.

Hang in there, mom, you're going to make it.