Tuesday, April 30, 2013

New Cleaning Schedule


Since I began homeschooling my daughter a couple of months ago, I haven't had that free day of the week to devote to uninterrupted housework. I really hadn't let the fact that my house wasn't perfect bother me, because my mission had been focused on the kids, particularly my new role as Haley's teacher. When I came across this article, I felt like that might be just what I need to be able to accomplish the clean nest I always enjoy.

The basis of this new system is consistent morning and evening chores with one added rotating daily chore just for weekdays. This way your house will essentially always be clean and you won't be devoting an entire day just to cleaning. 


Here is the schedule that I've been using, but you can certainly modify this to work for you:


Cleaning Schedule

Daily

Morning
Make beds
Wipe bathroom counters and sinks
Empty dishwasher
One load of laundry
Chore of the day

Evening
Load and run dishwasher
Wipe kitchen counters
Sweep
Pick up basket


Rotating Daily Chore

Monday: Vacuum
Tuesday:  Clean mirrors, windows and other glass
Wednesday: Scrub toilettes, tubs and showers
Thursday:  Mop floors
Friday: Swing day (see below)
Saturday: Catch-up day

Swing Day

Week one: Wipe furniture and cabinets
Week two: Scrub oven, fridge and microwave
Week three: Wipe furniture, blinds and 
window seals
Week four: Wipe down walls, doors, vents and baseboards

I (almost) always make my beds in the morning, so this was nothing new for me. Although, wiping the bathrooms everyday is a new one, but I am finding it so nice to have the counter always sparkling! It really only takes a minute. Just throw some old rags or a sponge under the counter to make this job super easy.


I'm running the dishwasher every night even if it's not completely full. My least favorite chore is unloading the dishwasher, but now I know that is just one chore that I will do in the morning and I won't have to do it again until the next morning. Somehow, that seems to work better for me.


I've devoted an old laundry basket to nightly pick up which has certainly sped up that process. Everything that is out of place goes into the basket and the kids help get it back to its rightful home. This has stopped the 18 trips back and forth through the house getting things back to their home.

The other biggie is doing one load of laundry a day. This way the laundry won't pile up and become such a daunting task. If I go three days without doing laundry, then I'm doing several loads and it's taking a good part of the day. It's less to fold and put away as well. I just throw the laundry in first thing in the morning even if I'm barely awake. On the days that you really don't want to deal with clothes, like a Saturday or Sunday, consider washing towels or something that won't wrinkle if it sits in the washer or drying a little longer.

I'm finding that I am much more thorough on the one rotating chore of the day instead of trying to cram a whole bunch of cleaning into one day. In other words, I could devote a lot more time to scrubbing those lovely toilettes! Fun fun!

Thanks for stopping by!
Jenn

8 comments:

  1. Intriguing plan. Glad it is working for you. Found you through Edie's link up.

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  2. Thank you, Alana! It's working, I've just gotta stick with it now!

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  3. You can assign daily chores to your kids, like returning their toys to their respective containers after playing. You can also teach them how to make their beds. After that, make it as one of their daily chores and then reward them after so they have something to look forward after doing their household chores. Not only did you teach them household chores, you also taught them the value of responsibility. Guy Houchins

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    Replies
    1. Thank you for your comment, Guy. That is great advice and something that I need to implement more into our house.

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  4. It really takes a lot of dedication to keep your home in proper order. That’s why preparing a daily cleaning activity is a great idea. Though some of the tasks seem routine, you might still forget to do some of them. It works best if you post them somewhere visible as a reminder whenever you pass by.

    Ronald Lowry

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