Top Ten Tips for the Lazy Homemaker

I can't believe I've had so much to do this week that I haven't even had time to blog. Horror of all horrors! My sweet sister was so worried about my lack of posts that she called me just to make sure I was still alive. 

We have had a ton of people over for meetings, babysitting, meetings, house church, and meetings.  Subsequently, I've spent a lot more time on my feet cleaning instead of on my butt blogging.  In honor of my week of cleaning (only to have it destroyed in 5 minutes by the kids), here's my contribution to Top Ten Tuesday.

Tips for the Lazy Homemaker

1.  If you encounter kid snacks while vacuuming, rather than exerting the energy to pick it up with your hands, crush it with your big toe so it becomes vacuum-able.  This works great for goldfish, kix and cherrios.

2.  If you don't know where it goes, shove it in the pantry.

3.  If you see something sticking out from under the couch, kick it back under.  One day your slightly OCD husband will decide it is time to clean under the couches, and then he can deal with it.

4.  If you don't know where something goes, but you are pretty sure it shouldn't go in the pantry, chuck it out into the garage.

5.  Find a partner who will clean the toilets.

6.  An empty pack and play doubles as the perfect holding tank for clothes waiting to be folded.  The problem is that eventually you might have to put a baby in there, and then you have to dump it out again. 

7.  While blogging, Facebooking, knitting, etc. repeat this throughout the day: "Snacks stay at the table.  No, the kitchen table.  Not the coffee table.  Snacks stay at the kitchen table."  Then, you can employ tip #1 for quick clean up.

8.  When you get to the end of the toy cleanup, and you're just over it - throw the remaining junk toys in a garbage bag and toss 'em into the garage.  Do you see a theme here?

9. When mopping, alternate the end of the house you start on.  Because when you are tired and lazy at the end you'll do a less thorough job, but it'll even out since last time you mopped that part really, really well. 

10.  While we are on mopping, here's some mopping math.  If the number of guests you are expecting > 15, or if 50% of your guests < 5 years old, don't mop.  Not worth your time. 

Please be warned that if you follow these tips, it's only a matter of time before you end up with a list like this one.