Speedy Fall Cleaning Family Room

I didn't Fall Clean last year, we had just moved in and nothing really needed deep cleaning. It needed organizing and everything else that comes with moving in.

But this year, oh goodness does it ever need it! 

 I am starting fresh in this smaller house, should take less time! 

I put an experimental recipe, or lack of, in the Instant Pot and some good music and it should only take an afternoon!

 I have always started in the kitchen, switching it up this year and working on the Family Room. 

Anything that gets done with my weekly cleaning won't be on this deep cleaning list.

~Wipe down walls

~Window Tracks, before it turns to mud!

~Vacuum, Wipe and Touch Up Baseboards

~Wipe Down Doors and Touch Up Paint

~Heather Vents.. clean them out and wipe down

~Swap Pictures in frames if I have them

~Wash Curtains

~Fireplace.. put the grate in and take the candles out

~Vacuum behind all of the electronics

~Spot Clean Upholstery and Vacuum out couch

~Quick Clutter Sweep

 Then the rewards for getting that all done!

Put throw blankets and extra pillows out

New Candles or Scentsy

Then it's all ready for Halloween Decorations! 

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

Weekly Cleaning Routine

 Do you tell yourself, something has to give, cleaning is not all there is in life? Feel like you clean all day for nothing? To turn around and it's all a mess again? Do you use the words overwhelmed, stressed, out of control, unorganized to describe your cleaning style?

Did hearing "cleaning routine" instantly make you think I was coocoo?

Yeah, I hear that all the time. But let me tell you, I never really stress about cleaning! Having a routine has pretty much eliminated any stress or anxiety about cleaning or housekeeping in general. There are some good reasons for creating a routine that works for you!

Less Stress

Less Work *
Less Guilt

*Give it 2-3 weeks dedication. You will see that you spend less time each week, giving you more free time and less stress!

 It's been a year since we have been here and multiple years since I've evaluated how well my cleaning routine works for us, it's time to look at it with Fresh eyes!

This is outside of my normal tidying so things like laundry and dishes won't be on here.

Friday~Everything Else
Anything I missed during the week
Get Groceries
Gas in car
Clean Out Purse
Tidy Front Porch and Garage
Tidy Laundry Room


None of these days take too long. Thursday is maybe the most work,
 but the kids can do lots of theirs! 
Keep up the routine and each week gets easier and you get more free time to enjoy your clean home :)

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

15 Minute Tidy

A big part of keeping my sanity is based on 15 minutes, just 15 teeny minutes to work on tidying and making a huge difference in how our day flows.

It's easy to look around and see all the things that need to be done and get overwhelmed. I can just set my timer for 15, or 10 minutes if that's all I have and just DO IT!  It's amazing what you can get done when you have an end in sight and a ticking deadline.

Let's talk kids. I don't like to call them distractions. Everything else is the distraction when it comes to raising babies.  I like to either set our little ones up with some coloring or a snack (which is totally counterproductive). But the truth is, no matter how determined you are to work for just 10-15 minutes, chances are your little loves will need you in that time frame too, and that's ok, this is just about making whatever difference you can in 15 minutes.

Organization, now is not the time to organize anything or pull everything out of a drawer. Nope, this 15 minutes is just for tidying. If that is just picking up a path to the kitchen from the living room, ok. Or if it's the toilet and shower you have put off for weeks. That's a good one too.  Going through kids clothes, not so much. You want to feel like you can SEE some accomplishment when your 15 minutes is up.

Deep Cleaning. Can you think of any deep cleaning you can get done in 15 minutes? No? Me either. I do my best to keep this 15 minutes to whole house tidying. There is a time for deep cleaning, it's not when you are in the middle of overwhelmedville.

Social Media. Now that is a distraction! It absolutely is for me anyway. I try not to look at my phone at all while I am working on getting my 15 minutes done. 15 minutes browsing social media feels like 10 seconds. I will use it as a reward though. If I get all the laundry put away, I am going to browse for a few.


What does my 15 minutes look like? 
Well usually it's the time right before we are walking out the door, going to bed or starting some longer activity or project. Our kids love to bake, we try to do a quick tidy beforehand. And when they ask to play skip-bo, the longest game ever with a 6 year old, we do a quick tidy before we get started. No crumbs on the table bugging us.

We almost always start in the kitchen, move dishes to dishwasher or sink.
Wipe off the kitchen table and counters, quick sweep.
Put all the kids toys away, fluff couch throw pillows and blankets.
Make sure the tables are cleared off.
Tell the kids like 4-7 times to put their dirty clothes away, then just do it myself half the time.
Clean off bathroom counter, just put stuff away.
Hang bath mat up and close shower curtain
push toys from hallway into kids rooms and shut doors.

That's about it. I like it because when we come home, or hubby does, we aren't walking into a disaster. It's obviously lived in but not a mess and didn't take much time.  I try to do the same as soon as the kids leave during the school year, it's a nice starting point for my daily chores. I'm going to share them soon, updated now that we have a better idea of what needs to be done here.

Some days this quick tidy happens 2-3 times, just depends on life. Some days it doesn't happen at all. Ya know, life. Ideally though I do it first thing in the morning before the kids are up, if I didn't get to it the night before. Once before the kids get home from school and once before hubby gets home.

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.