Let's talk truth here, friends. I stink at cleaning. Wait, let me rephrase that. I stink at cleaning on a regular basis. If I know we're hosting friends or family, I know how to get the place to sparkle (after many, many hours), but on a day-to-day (or more like hour-to-hour with three kids) our house can be an absolute mess - sink overflowing with dishes, laundry unfolded all around the actual laundry room, dust bunnies multiplying under every piece of furniture.

I grew up in an Always Clean house. My mom spent a lot of her life energy making our home warm, tasty, and clean enough to always have a hint of bleach smell throughout. Sometimes I wonder how our kids will remember the state of our house. My guess is that it won't really stand out, but nevertheless, I think about it.

And sometimes I wonder, "What would it be like to have an always clean house?" Would we have friends over more often? Would I sleep better at night? Could we avoid more sinus infections/common colds?

I recently came upon this list on Pinterest from the Gaddis Family Adventure, and it got me thinking. What if I tried it? What if for at least one week, I kept to a regular weekday schedule, rather than sporadic weekend and vacation, for cleaning? Would I feel more relaxed at home? Better about the environment I create for my family?

So for the next week, I'm going to follow this (slightly modified) plan, which includes daily morning and evening tasks as well as a handful of weekly tasks. We are a family of five with a three-story house, two children in full-time school/one in preschool, and two full-time working parents. I'm nervous to see how this is going to go, but I want to try it.

Wanna try it with me? You'll make me braver.

Here's what I'm thinking.

**Adapted from the Gaddis Family Adventure.

I'm going to have to set the alarm earlier to accomplish dishes, laundry, and another domestic duty on top of lunch prep, kid prep, and my prep. Follow @parscaeli over on Instagram this week to see how I handle the additional tasks. I'll be keeping it real, sharing the journey, and trying not to take cleaning too seriously.

How do you keep your home mess-free and clean?

xoxo, MJ

PS. In our house, my husband handles a lot of the dishes, vacuuming, and laundry. We'll see how he adapts to this new schedule, too!