(This post follows a 2 week series. You can read about it here.)

I HAD to figure out a way for my house to help me out with some of the work that was taking me so much of my time!!

I wanted to manage my time, and not have time manage me!  I wanted to spend more time on relationships, and NOT my house.

Here are some tips that helped me:

De-clutter, de-clutter, de-clutter, and get rid of, get rid of, get rid of. Too much stuff ROBS us of time. I needed help from a dear friend to de-clutter my house.

I then learned how to manage my stuff, and haven’t needed help to de-clutter again. I am continually getting rid of things. It DOES NOT COME NATURALLY FOR ME. If I can do it, you can! (I’ll post more about this tomorrow!)

I made only simple meals from Monday-Friday. Not lots of pans or pots to wash. I just didn’t want the prep or clean up time. I made a list of 20 easy meals to make, and I made them every weeknight!

I removed some furniture from each room, including some bureaus. The rooms were  easier to vacuum and open spaces make rooms look brighter and cleaner! Bureaus become breeding grounds for stuff!

All of my children and I took a few minutes before each meal, and at 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM to clean up the kitchen, living room and bathroom. I taught the children how to do ALL of the tasks from a very early age!

I bought Pledge wipes and other cleaning wipes, (although they are expensive), and put containers in each room. It made little clean- ups easy , which made our weekly clean-ups easier.

I purposely invited company over at least every 3-4 weeks. It forced me to keep a neater house.

I’ll share more ideas tomorrow, but I’d LOVE to hear some of yours!

Photo of hubby and me at our daughter’s high school graduation party this summer!