Currently, I more or less clean my entire home with baby wipes. Huggies Natural Care wipes are the best for cleaning most everything, because they don’t leave a greasy film behind like others, and they are fairly thick. They just make wiping everything down that much easier and quicker. If they aren’t used for poop, they can even be composted. With a baby in the house, I have wipes everywhere so it’s easy just to grab one and give something a wipe down in the 30 seconds between the baby playing with his toy and then tipping over the dog’s bowl. I also vacuum daily because the handheld Dyson is easy to grab. It might not be as powerful as my Miele, but it’s easy and gets the job done without adding the extra steps of getting out the vacuum, plugging it in, tripping over the cord, and then putting it away.
Use a command center
With all four kids, my husband, and myself having crazy busy schedules, we keep a giant white board in the kitchen where each week I jot down the calendar of when and where each person needs to be. It makes it easier for everyone to see what is going on and where they need to be. We also use a google calendar, but I often forget to add my own things which drives my husband nuts. Also on the board are grocery lists which now that the big kids add to when they are out of their favorite snacks plus reminders, notes, and to do lists. We have found it invaluable in life organization.
Recently I read the book How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing by KC Davis, LPC and it really gave me some great clues, ideas and action items to help make my home function for me. First item on my list: find a good house cleaner!