cleaning schedules

i remember back when i had 2 children. i used to do a deep cleaning of the house once a week. granted it was our first little apartment. then 3, then 4 children and my cleanings moved to once a month. the houses grew bigger and so did the family. and so did the amount of children i was homeschooling. now with 9 children and 5 homeschoolers my deep cleaning has spread out even farther. im not complaining about this. over the years i have relaxed tremendously. if i didnt i would go insane trying to keep up with a schedule like that. we clean and pick up everyday. everyone has their chores and we stick to a pretty tight schedule. so i had to adjust to what i knew we could keep up with. since our days are filled with school and activities i have set apart 3 times a year to deep clean the house. these are times the children are not doing any schoolwork or extra activities. i go through the house one room at a time and tear it apart. trust me it gets much dirtier before it gets cleaned up. i move furniture, take pictures down, scrub baseboards, dust, mop....and even touch up paint. my first time of year to do this is spring break. the children are off for a whole week. the next time i do this is over summer break right before the children start homeschooling again. right before activities start up again. right before the craziness begins!!! and the 3rd time i do it is over christmas break. i have 2 whole weeks!!! i used to do it over thanksgiving but found it was very stressful to squeeze it all in to 4 days. so this is the schedule that works best for our family. my house may not be spotless but this schedule seems to work and doesnt cause too much stress on everyone. i get asked alot how i fit this in and now you know!