Meet Amy Mercer, owner of A Mother's Touch Cleaning Co and a local mom. Each month, Amy will offer Plymouth Macaroni KID readers cleaning tips, hacks, and advice. For more information about her business or to book a cleaning, follow on Facebook and Instagram or stop by her website, here!
Keeping a clean, organized home is the key to a successful BACK TO SCHOOL home routine. Time to get those ducks in a row!
Start with organization. Everyone has their suggestions, you could Pinterest for hours on end of these cute little cubbies and bins. It’s time to get real honest with yourself. Does it work for you? Your kiddos? Your family? Can you see that cute little display being used or just more background clutter that you most likely will want to toss in the trash. Be smart about putting processes in place, don't make them too complicated or have too many steps to complete. I have several kiddos myself so my organization has to be simple to follow but have enough room for multiple kiddos in multiple grade levels.
A few organization suggestions that I love are to have:
A clear area for Bookbags/Jackets/Shoes etc: Make sure there is no question where these things go. All of these items need a permanent home during the school year.
White boards: They are life!! I don’t know what I did without them. Putting one in your kiddo's own room helps with the accountability of homework, routines, cleaning up, etc. Put them in charge of what they need to get done!
Command center: Some people need them, all in your preference. Put one up on the side of the refrigerator with your kiddos schedules, dinner menu etc...the more you plan to do, the more likely you will be to follow through (we as adults need to be held accountable too!!) Plus this restricts the amount of “what’s for dinner?” questions.
Hang a magazine organizer or get an office file organizer to hold important school documents and keepsakes. Have one for each kiddo.
Get a homework caddy! It can be a lazy Susan, shoe organizer, bins - you get the picture. Have those crayons, markers, colored pencils, scissors, glue/glue sticks, pens, pencils, and highlighters all ready to go. This keeps it easy to clean up so they aren’t laying all around the house. You can even use travel soap containers for the smaller craft pieces.
Snacks: Life saving stuff here! Have snacks easily accessible that are acceptable for after school snacks. Having an organized area helps out and they can help themselves!
Don’t forget about your car! Use a plastic cereal box container for a trash barrel and keep bins in the car for snacks or sports events etc.
Food, part of our every day!
- Having a weekly VISIBLE dinner menu for your kiddos helps with the dinner chaos.
- Here comes the keeping yourself accountable part again...make sure you have all the ingredients you need to follow through on that menu so you aren’t doing last minute changes or store runs. No one has time for that during the week!
- Pack school lunches/snack bags the night prior so all you have to do is grab it out of the refrigerator in the morning. (my husband's idea, I guess I will keep him around haha). This helps with the morning routine and gives you more time for other morning responsibilities!
I saved the best for last….my favorite subject….CLEANING!!!
Everyone’s idea of “clean” is up for interpretation. What does that look like for you? Is your home cluttered free? Cleaned of all those germs the kiddos are coming home with? This is so vital to your BACK TO SCHOOL routine. Not only for the mental aspect but you don’t want to be getting sick causing missed school, and missing work! Plus, who wants to be sick?! Keeping your home clean and organized is an absolute must! Maintaining a clean house is therapeutic, life-changing and essential for you and your kiddos mental health.
Studies have shown that a clean and organized home leads to less distractions and ultimately less stress. It can help with depression and breakdowns for adults and children. It leads to more positive social experiences because you won’t think twice about having your kiddos’ friends over or their parents popping in!
A few tips to stay ahead of the clutter and dirt:
Keep up with the laundry (I know, it’s easier said than done) but even if you do small loads daily (actually put it away too!), you won’t have that Mount Everest piling up that looks impossible to deal with
Clean out your refrigerator/freezer weekly, I normally do right before I leave to go grocery shopping. This will prevent you from dealing with molding, rotting food in there.
Keep up with the cleaning: I repeat...Keep up with the cleaning!! This is probably the number one suggestion that I can possibly give. If you don’t keep up, you find yourself getting right back into those bad habits, and then your kiddos follow suit!
I know this sounds so overwhelming! We are coming back from a crazy pandemic school year last year. Routines were blown out of the water from kiddos being home, parents trying to work from home. Trust me, I get it because I lived it! You can always outsource to help keep up!
We at a Mother’s Touch Cleaning Co. know how hard it is and love to help out! Let us be part of your Back To School routine! We offer weekly, biweekly, and monthly maintenance cleaning services to help keep up with your cleaning needs! If you find yourself really behind with cleaning, we can always do a deep clean to catch you up to speed, rendering it much easier to keep up! Reach out today! We at a Mother’s Touch Cleaning Co. are here and ready to help!
Meet Amy Mercer owner of A Mother's Touch Cleaning Co and a local mom. Each month, Amy will offer Plymouth Macaroni Kid readers cleaning tips, hacks, and advice. For more information about her business or to book a cleaning, follow on Facebook and Instagram or stop by her website, here!
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