The Cleaning Routine that Changed My Life

How’s that for an overly dramatic title? No, this cleaning routine did not save me from a horrible addiction and the brink of destruction, but it did give me some structure.  No longer do I have to spend my weekends cleaning like crazy (or feeling guilty because I didn’t); my weekends are free to work on other projects or just have fun with my family.  So in that sense, starting this routine almost three weeks ago did change a small aspect of my life.

I am not one to use my blog to give tips or advice–more often than not I write about what I do wrong–and I especially do not count myself qualified to discuss cleaning.  However, after writing my previous post in which I cited having a new cleaning routine as a benefit of trying to move, I received a request to share.  If you are looking for a detailed plan which provides days for sewing and ironing curtains, I have no idea why you thought you would find that plan here.  The legless dolly sitting on my nightstand attests to the fact that sewing rarely makes my ‘to-do’ list.  You can find those plans on the internet, though, so search away.

Click on the following link to find the fabulously simple plan courtesy of Courtney at Raising Homemakers.

The best tool I have found to getting all of my housework done each week is a:

SCHEDULE

My 2010 Weekly Schedule looks like this:

Mondays – Menu and Market Day
Tuesdays: Toilets, Tubs and Towels Day
Wednesdays: Wash (laundry day)
Thursdays: Dust
Fridays: Floors

This schedule has been so easy to follow since the task matches the first letter of the day.

Doesn’t that plan sound easy?  I try to knock out my tasks during ‘Quiet Rest Time’ when my children are rarely resting and only sometimes quiet.  I am one who likes structure and tends to show discipline if I have a plan.  Previously, I would tell myself that I was going to clean one room a day, and sometimes it happened, but other times it didn’t.  Typically, the kids’ bathroom and other rooms they touched got attention, whereas Matt and my bathroom was neglected. Now I have a specific goal in mind for each day.

The plan is flexible.  I am not completely insane, yet, so I try to avoid shopping with all three little ones if I can help it; Friday night/Saturday morning is when Matt and I accomplish grocery shopping.  Market Monday has become Mopping Monday, instead.  I vacuum all the rooms on Friday, but I save the kitchen floor for its own special day.  Reserving only one day for laundry would never work since Chloe wears cloth diapers, and we signed up for the energy savings plan this summer that doesn’t allow me to use much electricity from 3-8 p.m. every day.  I wash at least one load every day, and Wednesday can serve as a catch-up day for any tasks I didn’t complete on the previous days.

If you come over to my house Tuesday morning, the floor will not look mopped as someone will have already spilled milk all over the floor, the dog will have tracked in dirt, and the baby will have thrown on the floor whatever food she hadn’t finished.  By Tuesday night, I will need to scrub the walls and floor of whatever bathroom my son has used.  This plan does not eliminate the messes that kids make, but it does ensure that I’ve cleaned every room at least once during the week.

Cleaning is not the most important thing in life, but right now, my job is raising my children and taking care of the house.  I want to work hard at what I do.  However, in my quest to avoid idleness, I do not want to make an idol out of my home.  The plan is not the law, just a guideline.  If it can help you, wonderful!  If not, don’t worry; I have no plans to start evangelizing the benefits of cleaning or this plan.

Join me tomorrow for Focus on It Friday!  Start thinking about something from this week for which you are thankful, and come back and share.