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We serve our families in meaningful ways every day—through teaching, training, shepherding hearts, and managing the home God has entrusted to us. It’s a role that often stretches us, but it also sanctifies us. The kitchen table might double as a classroom. The living room is often full of books, abandoned snacks, and half-finished art projects. Sometimes, the combination of homemaking and homeschooling makes the to-do list feel longer than the day allows.
In the past, I’m privileged to say we were able to pay for help with housekeeping. A family friend would come every other week to clean bathrooms and do deeper cleaning jobs that got lost frequently. It was a huge blessing in a season with three small children, a new business, and a husband who worked outside the home. Recently, though, due to a combination of our helper moving on and the need to save a little money, the housekeeping has been fully done by me or my husband (and a little by the kids). Since The Man and I both work from home now, we split tasks pretty evenly. I load the dishwasher, and he does any handwashing. One of us might start a load of laundry, and the other will finish it. We even share cooking tasks. I am blessed with a very involved husband.
Even with both of us doing the homemaking together, the tasks add up. We do still have jobs, and homeschool our kids. Both are very time-consuming on their own. But in the middle of this beautiful, busy life, we’re doing kingdom work.
Homemaking and homeschooling aren’t two separate callings.
They work together, side by side, shaping the atmosphere of our home and the hearts within it. When we view both through a biblical lens, we begin to see how our Father uses ordinary tasks to cultivate extraordinary fruit in our families.
One way to steward this calling well is to create simple systems that bring peace instead of pressure. We’ve created good rhythms within our homeschool and the same concepts can bless our home as well! That’s why I created a printable Editable Cleaning Schedule—a practical, customizable tool designed to help homemakers stay organized while focusing on what truly matters. It’s not only a tool that will help my family as we grow and teach our children to be more helpful, but I believe it will bless your family as well!
This set includes:
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Editable daily, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, and yearly cleaning checklists
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Chore lists for kids organized by age range to encourage responsibility and teamwork
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Encouragement cards with Bible verses and quotes to keep your focus on God’s purpose in the daily routine
These checklists offer gentle guidance without adding burden. They help you manage what God has given you with gratitude and intention. Each task—no matter how small—is a chance to serve the Lord by serving our families.
As Colossians 3:23–24 reminds us:
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
So when you scrub a sink or sweep up cracker crumbs after read-aloud time, know that your effort isn’t wasted.
It’s part of a bigger picture of faithfulness.
One of the challenges we often face as homeschool parents is the constant overlap between home life and school life. There’s no “off” switch at 3 p.m.—the house still needs to be cleaned, meals still need to be made, and little hearts still need guidance. The lines between school time, chore time, and family time blur, and that can feel overwhelming if we’re trying to juggle everything without structure.
That’s why building flexible rhythms can be such a gift. By using editable schedules and dividing chores into manageable categories—like daily, weekly, and monthly—you can begin to feel more equipped, not just reactive. And involving your children in the upkeep of the home isn’t just helpful—it’s discipleship. Training them to take responsibility, contribute joyfully, and care for the spaces they live and learn in is part of raising them in wisdom.
The chore lists for kids are organized by age range to match their developmental abilities. Whether your toddler is learning to put toys in a bin or your teen is taking over laundry duty, they’re learning to be faithful stewards, too.
Including Kids in the Cleaning Routine
One of the most practical ways to lighten the load—and disciple your children in the process—is to include them in the regular upkeep of the home. Chores are more than just tasks to check off. They’re opportunities to teach responsibility, build work ethic, and encourage a heart of service in everyday life.
Including your kids in the work won’t make everything perfect—or fast—but it will help them grow in maturity and learn to take ownership of their space. And when we take the time to teach them patiently, we’re laying the groundwork for habits that will bless them—and their future families—for years to come.
Here are a few simple ways to include your children in the cleaning routine:
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Assign age-appropriate chores using the included chore lists. Younger children can help pick up toys, dust with a sock, or sort laundry by color. Older kids can learn to vacuum, wipe counters, or even do their own laundry. Implement a Responsibilities Chart for a little visual motivation.
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Make it a part of your homeschool rhythm. Add a “morning reset” or “afternoon tidy” block to your daily schedule. Keeping it consistent helps kids know what’s expected.
From 3-4:00pm every day, we have a “being helpful” hour.
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Work alongside them. Little ones especially love to mimic what you’re doing. Use those moments to teach them not just how to clean, but why we serve our family with joyful hearts (Philippians 2:14).
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Use chore time as connection time. Turn on worship music, talk about your day, or use it as a chance to review memory verses. It doesn’t have to feel like a chore—even if it is one!
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Celebrate progress, not perfection. Praise effort and consistency. Small acts of faithfulness add up over time.
Training your children to care for their home is a vital part of homeschooling, because it’s real-life learning.
It’s preparation for adulthood, and it’s also a way to help them see that every act of service—even picking up socks—is a way to honor the Lord.
And on days when everything feels a little too messy—whether in your home or in your heart—the encouragement cards in this set will help lift your eyes back to what matters most. We can place them around our home (maybe near our less favorite tasks) to keep us focused on our goal of faithfulness. Each card features a Bible verse or quote to remind you why this work matters. Here’s one of my favorites:
“The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down.” — Proverbs 14:1
This work of homemaking and homeschooling aren’t about checking off boxes.
It’s about building—day by day, with wisdom, grace, and the help of the Holy Spirit.
You can find the full Cleaning Schedule & Encouragement Printable Set in the shop. Edit and print the pages that best fit your family, tuck the Scripture cards in your planner or post them above the sink. Let the routines you build be rooted in purpose, not pressure.
May the Lord bless the work of your hands as you create a home where truth is taught, love fills each day, and Christ remains at the center.
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