Homemaking Tip: Instructions for kids on how to clean your kitchen after dinner. (For real this time.)

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I have finally tackled coming up with a step-by-step instruction set for my kids to use when they clean the kitchen. This prevents me from having to say..."Did you clean out the sink? Did you sweep the floor? Did you wipe off the stove?" They can simply go to this post and follow it step-by-step. This may or may now work for your family as we are all different, but you could certainly devise a plan like this that works for you. If you have any suggestions for improving the routine, by all means, please post a comment! Also, I would like to give a special thanks to Claire, age 6, for being the model in our photo shoots. Not only did she cheerfully cooperate, she cleaned the entire kitchen as she went! (less one half bottle of Dawn dish soap). Thanks, Little Lady of mine!

Step 1: Put away any dishes that might have been left out to dry in the dishrack on the counter.

Step 2: If there are any dishes in the sink, put them on the counter by the sink, but opposite the dishwasher.

Step 3: Fill both sides of the sink with warm, soapy water. (Remember that just two or three drops of dish soap will do the trick!)



Step 4: Clear off a space large enough for a hand towel on the counter above the dishwasher. Place a dry, clean hand towel in this space because you will later be placing the dishes you've handwashed here.



Step 5: Clear off the table, making sure to put the food in plastic containers or ziploc bags. Scrape the food left on the dishes into the trashcan, then place them carefully in the sink filled with soapy water on the side furthest from the dishwasher.



Step 6: With a clean rag, wipe down the table, using your hand, a dish or the trashcan to catch crumbs and food particles.



Step 7: Clear off the counter, following the same details as in Step 6.



Step 8: Spritz the counters and stove with water so that any stuck-on food can begin to soften for easier cleaning.



Step 9: Begin rinsing the dishes by grabbing a dish, rinsing it with a rag or scrubby sponge in the side of the sink closest to the dishwasher, and placing the dishes neatly in the dishwasher. It's best if you can focus on putting all the plates and other items that go on the the bottom in first, then you are not having to open and close the top rack so many times. Next, load the glasses and other top-rack items, then the silverware.




Step 10: Hand wash any dishes that won't fit in the dishwasher and leave them upside down on the hand towel or dish rack. If the food is too stuck-on, you may fill the dish with water and leave it to soak for a while.

Step 11: Wipe down the counters and the stove with a rag, or, if necessary, a scrubby sponge.



Step 12: Quickly wipe down the outside of the fridge, dishwasher, microwave and oven with a damp rag.



Step 13: Clean the sink, making sure to get behind the sink next to the wall, the faucet and around the rim of the sink, where it touches the countertops.



Step 14: Sweep the floor, making sure to get under the trashcan and under the kitchen chairs.



Step 15: Put dishwasher soap in the dishwasher and turn it on.

Step 16: Mop the floor, again making sure to get under the trashcan and under the chairs. Start from the corner furthest away from the kitchen's exit and back out as you mop. This way, you don't have to walk over the newly-mopped floor.



Step 17: Stand at the entrance, admire your work, come tell me you are done and be happy, like Claire, because you did a great job!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP! :)

I love it when...

...my babies get old enough to play with my face, like this...


...or this...,


...to pray in their own words using the thoughts that come from their own heads, like this...,


...to pack their own suitcase for a trip, like this...,


...to make Ghirardelli brownies, like this...,


...to babysit, even if I step away for just an hour, like this...,


...to play the piano, like this...,



...to drive the 15-passenger van, like this...,


...to fix their own car, in a land far away, like this...


Raising all these kids is expensive, so I love it that my husband got old enough to join this...

First Piano Practice

I am a mother...
...and I am a piano teacher...
...and this is the record of six-month-old Joseph's first piano practice.



Now, how am I going to get the twelve-year-old to practice?

Wordless Wednesday (Perhaps the Fun is Done)

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