Guest Author - Lisa Pinkus - Judaism Editor for BellaOnline

This is one of my all time favorite organizing books. If you are a Household Manager (a.k.a. mom/dad/in-charger), this book should be on your bookshelf. The Family Manger Takes Charge is a book that has it all. The author, Kathy Peel, addresses all of the responsibilities a Head of Household must handle. It includes everything from decorating to accounting, organizing to menu planning, event planning to chauffeuring and – of course – cleaning.

The chapter covering cleaning contains great tips for shortening your cleaning time and offers an organizational plan for yearly cleaning. Peel offers three basic ideas for keeping a spotless house. The first thing to keep in mind, says Peel, is to remain realistic. With a busy household, you can’t expect to deep clean on a daily or even a weekly basis. Don’t set yourself up to fail by setting unrealistic expectations.

Second, it is easier to keep a clean house when your house is not cluttered. Decluttering is the first step to maintaining a tidy home. Before you can clean, you must clear the spaces that need cleaning. That means getting all the piles off your desk so you can dust it. Or clearing your kitchen counters so you can wipe them down.

Finally, Peel believes in the necessity of efficiency and delegation. She asserts that all family members should be involved in keeping the house clean. And, if you’re not sure what your young children can do to help, don’t worry. Included in her book is a list of age-appropriate tasks from preschoolers to teenagers. Cleaning also takes some preparation. Ensuring that you have all the necessary supplies and setting aside a time when everyone knows it’s “cleaning time” is essential to getting the job done.

The Family Manger Takes Charge breaks tidying tasks down into weekly chores, once a month chores, and three or four times a year chores. Picking up clutter, for example, is something that should be done on a weekly basis. Vacuuming baseboards and cleaning grout should be done on a monthly basis, and cleaning out the junk drawer in your kitchen – several times a year.

Also in this chapter titled “You’re The All-Purpose Maid”, Peel includes a ten-minute cleaning list, a clean-while-you-sleep list, and a preventative cleaning list. The ten-minute cleaning list fits right in with my motto “As long as I’m doing something, I’m getting it done”. It only takes ten minutes, for example, to clean a bunch of switch plates and doorknobs in several rooms of your house.

I love the thought of cleaning while I sleep. Peel suggests pouring vinegar into your toilet bowl and letting it sit overnight. In the morning, you just flush and you have a clean, disinfected toilet bowl. I also learned from reading this book to start a load of laundry before I go to bed. In the morning, it just needs to be moved from the washer to the dryer.

I also recently became more pro-active in my cleaning and am taking steps to ensure my house does not get as dirty. Asking my children to remove their shoes when they come in the door has cut down on sweeping and mopping – something I do not enjoy doing on a daily basis. Kathy Peel suggests spraying the egg compartment in your refrigerator with cooking spray so that eggs do not stick and break when you take them out. And, I love this one – slide a plastic lid from an old coffee can under a jar of honey or other sticky food item to cut down on the mess that’s often left behind.

There is so much more Kathy Peel includes, and this is merely one chapter in her book. The remainder of the book is also packed with innovative and creative ideas for staying on top of your list of “things to do”. Peel has a knack for organization and her ability to share her ideas with us via written word works extremely well. This book is a good read and you will finish it with new ideas on how to keep your household running smoothly.