simplify summer cleaning

Summertime and the living is easy...

Living gets a lot wilder and dirtier - for kids and our homes - during summer's school-free days.

If your kids are in year-round boarding school, that is.

If not, as moms everywhere know, living gets a lot wilder and dirtier with our little darlings at home all day.

How will you (and your home) survive this constant onslaught of mud, fingerpaints, and toys?

Simple. Set your ground rules for summer now. And stick to them.

Here are the five big ones I enforce in my household to simplify summer cleaning.

1 Keep it (them) outside

When the weather is gorgeous, kids should be outside.

We're not raising moles here. No TV or video games during the day. That rule alone should minimize toys strewn around the house.

2 Create no shoes zones

Stop dirt and sand at the door by having people remove their shoes before entering. If that sounds a bit drastic, invest in a good door mat that's gentle on feet.

This rule will also minimize in and out traffic - especially if the kids are wearing sneakers they have to take time to lace up each time they want to come and go.

Inside, to make summer cleaning easier, place washable indoor rmats in high-traffic areas to prevent sand and dirt from being tracked from room to room.

Even your little stomper can wipe shoes on entryway rugs or front door mats to protect floors and carpets..

3 Enlist the troops to Simplify Summer Cleaning

The major culprits in bedrooms, dining rooms, and living rooms are dust, tracked-in dirt, and clutter.

Easy cleaning tasks for kids who can handle a vacuum and know where things go. Hand out chores for each kid. No weekend fun till chores are done.

4 Tackle cleaning as you go

Forget cleaning day: Instead, try cleaning as you go; and further save time by breaking down big cleaning jobs into small tasks tackled daily.

Trash on Monday; bathrooms on Tuesday; kitchens on Wednesday; laundry on Thursday; floors on Friday.

And you're off for the weekend!

5 Make a month of menus

Figuring out what to cook for dinner occupies too much time and brain power.

At the beginning of each month, ask each family member to write down his or her ten favorite dinners and his/her five favorite lunch and breakfast foods.

Get out your calendar and mark through the days when you're eating out. Then plug in your family's requests for the remaining days.

Now you can shop by the week and make everyone happy - at least for a couple of meals a week.

Practice prevention this summer when it comes to housecleaning and cleaning products. Show kids the safe way to use cleaning products when they go about their chores.

Store your cleaning supplies safely out of reach of curious little hands.

Now that you've managed to simplify summer cleaning, you can enjoy summer, too!