When I was a homeschooling mom with four little kids, I learned—and taught my children—to clear the table immediately after each meal, rinse the dishes and put them into the dishwasher, clean the crumbs and clutter off the countertops and table, and prepare for the next meal by setting the table. After a busy morning of lessons, we would stop and put away the morning clutter in the house before lunch. Then each afternoon at around five or six o’clock, I would gather all the family members still living at home, and we would take fifteen minutes to straighten the house.
