Using the PROM Principle to Clean My House

Keeping the house clean has always been something that I strive to do well. It has been particularly challenging doing this in the part of West Africa where I live, where 7 months out of the year it is dry season, and the harmattan winds carry dust daily into my house, covering everything with a thin layer every few days. Having four children certainly makes the job all the more challenging. 2 years ago Linda Koenig, a homeschool mom of 10, led a seminar that I attended in which she described the way she keeps her house clean while homeschooling 10 kids - it was amazing. I have always done things sort of like she did, but her ideas motivated me to do it more routinely and in a more organized fashion. Some of her ideas come from the MOTH book ("Manages Of Their Homes" by Teri Maxwell), a celebrated book among large families. These ideas help me keep my sanity in organizing my home.

Another good resource is a book "Totally Together: an Organizational Journal for the Busy Household" by Stephanie O'Dea, whose ideas she shares on her blog http://www.totallytogetherjournal.com. There she describes some cleaning/organizing steps under the acronym she calls "PROM". I thought I would share here some of her ideas with notes on how I adapt it to my situation:

P

Purge. Stephanie: Grab a large plastic garbage bag, and go through quickly and just start tossing. If something is obvious garbage, get it out of your sight, and out of your house. There is no reason to save a random puzzle piece or a Barbie shoe. Just toss it. After your first pass through a room (or drawer, toy box, etc.) go back with another bag or bin for charity. If you have items that are no longer beneficial to your family, pass them along to someone who could truly need your give-aways. Do not give away items that are badly worn, damaged, or missing parts. That’s not fair to anyone.

(Karen's note: I do this by dividing up the house mentally into 6 sections, and I work on each section

one day a week under ideal situations. I take a basket with me for the decluttering part, and throw anything that doesn't belong in the room, including trash, in that basket. Most of the time there is a LOT of trash. When the room is clean, I distribute the items in the basket into their proper "pookah" or container or place in the house where they belong. In our house everything has a place it belongs. We also have a box for things to return to other people, as suggested by Linda Koenig, and a labeled box for library books and videos ready to return, tucked out of the way. Linda Koenig has a little different twist to this: she suggests labelling four boxes while cleaning a room to put those items in that don't belong:

Put Away Give Away Throw Away Store Away

R

Remove. Stephanie: Once you have purged items, seal the bag or box up securely and do NOT look inside. Keep purged items away from children who will gladly rifle through cast-aways to discover lost treasure. Take garbage to the outdoor bin or to the local dump. Give still-useful items to charity. There are numerous organizations who will gladly accept your items. If your family would prefer to hold a garage sale, schedule one right away. Holding on to items for too long is just as bad as never purging in the first place. Craigslist and freecycle are your friends; use them.

(Karen's note: Almost weekly I remove things from our house to give away. I am constantly going through the clothes finding stained ones or torn ones to get rid of, or small ones that go in storage for the next kid to grow into, and sifting through books and toys that the kids never play with, etc. We keep boxes in storage for garage sales. We also have a "recycle bin" for toilet paper rolls, plastic containers, etc that the kids use for crafts. Many of those crafts also get thrown out on a regular basis when I do the "Purge" part, and we have a "pookah" for crafts too. We recycle jars for canning; in Africa we store our overflow of plastic bottles, tin cans and jars in a box till it is full; then we take the full box out to the neighborhood and set it down. Usually before I can even set it down the whole neighborhood converges on it and takes what they need. I love the way the local children recycle tin cans by reshaping them into little cars and trucks.)

O

Stephanie: O is for organize. Take the time to group like items together and put in storage containers that are sturdy, accessible, and attractive. These containers do NOT need to cost a lot of money, nor do they necessarily need to match. Your local dollar store has lots of baskets and containers that will do just fine for storage. When storing children’s items, label clearly on the outside of a solid container what is housed inside. When I ran

preeschool centers, I’d often take a photo of the toys, or cut a picture out of a catalog or magazine to help pre-readers identify what lived inside each box or bin.

(Karen's note: This is the "pookah" part. Our family is really into pookas. I love going to garage sales and buying used containers or "pookahs". Lately though I am steering toward clear sterilite containers that I can see through, and I make labels on everything - I really need to get a label maker!)

M

Stephanie: Maintain. This is the hardest one, I know. We all have good intentions of keeping up with our newly-organized spaces, yet somehow life gets in the way sometimes. It’s okay. If you take the time to think about each and every purchase you make, or item that comes into your home, you will not get overwhelmed. Let well-meaning relatives know that although buying large stuffed animals for gifts can pack a momentary punch, a gift-certificate to the local museum or zoo is a much more useful gift. Take back your home—-when your home feels cluttered, your brain feels cluttered and you’re more apt to anxiety, depression, and a quick-temper.

You can’t expect your house to look like a magazine or design catalog, but you can expect children (and spouses!) to clean up after themselves.

(Karen's note: This is where my family comes in. Everyone has their chore. And everyone must know my system of organization that I have established. I try to train everyone on this on a regular basis, and make adjustments when necessary. We have an older kid teamed up with a younger kid to help keep them accountable to their chore and to keep things put where they belong. Linda Koenig has her kids do this first thing every morning, and they can only get out one "pookah" at a time. She keeps her house "company ready" at all times, something we also strive to do. I also make a schedule for my kids and an activity list so they can clearly see they must finish and clean up after an activity before. We do the cleaning up in the evening, and by bedtime all the toys are put away, floors are swept and mopped, making it easier for me to get started the following day with a clean house, when mornings are already pretty packed full of chores and things to do for everyone. This helps me to not feel so overwhelmed in the mornings. Then I go around the house to my six areas each day of the week and do a super cleaning, de-clutter of that area. This way I do it a little at a time, so if company comes over by surprise there is less of a disaster to deal with.)