We've been in our new house for almost 6 months now. Already.
Cleaning has never made it very high on my list of to-dos, and it is my belief that there are plenty more important and enjoyable ways to spend my time and energy. Still, in a house as small (and old) as the one we currently live in, the messes just seem messier and lately we've been feeling that we'll never be able to keep ahead of the floor crumbs, and piles of dishes. The wood floors in the dining room see the most abuse (thanks to two fickle eaters) and the daily sweeping and scrubbing required is unreal at times.
I have a higher tolerance than Andy for general messes but even I have a limit. We had a cleaning plan in place at our old house, and I had written an updated one a few months ago for our new place but never committed to implementing it. Feeling a little overwhelmed and in need of a restart, I hired a cleaning service to usher our home into Spring.
It was well worth the money and if I cared more, I might hire someone to come on a regular basis.
Instead I printed off the cleaning schedule that I made a while back and put a copy in my kitchen folio for easy reference.
I learned this system from Tsh at Steady Mom, who has blogged about the two different methods of cleaning just once a month, and cleaning rotations (completing one chore a day so that over the course of a month everything gets clean).
When it comes to chores, I favor taking one small step every day. To begin, I considered every room in the house and made a list of the essential elements to be cleaned on a regular basis. Then I figured out how frequently each chore needed to be completed in order to keep the house in a "clean-enough-for-me" state.
Next, I divvied up all the items so that the heavy stuff was well distributed across the four weeks (I don't want to clean the stove, the microwave, and the fridge in the same week!), and so that the schedule made sense (if a chore needs to be done twice a month, I schedule it in complimentary weeks 1 and 3, not 3 and 4).
There are some chores that we do on an as needed basis, like sweeping the wood floors, which we left off the list altogether. We usually sweep more than once a day, and I can't wait for the chore list to tell me it's time. When there are crumbs and table food underfoot, it's time to sweep!
Also, I think it's nice if each week's list can be kept to 5 items so that the weekend is chore-less, but for now our chore rotation looks like this:
Week One:
Wash floors in dining room
Vacuum living room area rug and kid's carpet
Bathroom mirrors and glass in front and back doors
Stove top
Kid laundry
Kitchen countertops and appliances
Bed sheets
Week Two:
Wash floors in dining room
Vacuum living room area rug and kid's carpet
Bathroom sinks and floors
Stove top
Kid laundry
Microwave
Organize the kid's rooms
Week Three:
Wash floors in dining room
Vacuum living room area rug and kid's carpet
Bathroom mirrors and glass in front and back doors
Stove top
Kid laundry
Fridge surfaces
Bed sheets
Week Four:
Wash floors in dining room
Vacuum living room area rug and kid's carpet
Bathroom sinks and floors
Stove top
Kid laundry
Microwave
Wipe down furniture surfaces
Andy's responsible for changing the cat litter every week, and for washing the dishes every night. Once a month he scrubs the tubs--or at least that is how this whole rotation thing is supposed to work!
I really need to be better about cleaning as I go, but that's a goal for another day!
How do you keep your house clean? Do you have a routine that works?
I have one: When you do that 15 minute blitz clean (mentioned by Tsh) restrict yourself to one room. If I find something that belongs in another room, I place it in a pile. I don't leave the room I'm in until I'm done with that room. Then at then end of my 15 minutes I may even have 2 rooms done, instead of a tiny bit in every room.
ReplyDeleteYou are so organized! I have no routine, things basically get cleaned when they are too disgusting for one of us to stand any longer, and even then it gets put off too long. I've been meaning to put a routine in place, but uhhhmmm.... haven't gotten around to it. Thanks for the inspiration.
ReplyDeleteLast week I sat down and completed my cleaning schedule. You know my place is teeny and clutter control and cleanliness has to be a priority to me because its on my shoulders to do it. Maintaining a cleaning schedule is vital to me because otherwise I can seriously cycle into depression from feeling overwhelmed at the monumental tasks. Because I spend so much time on housework my schedule with Lillian runs parallel to it and I now refuse to go anywhere in the afternoons except on special occassions or eating out. I am embracing afternoon neighborhood play and social chatter...that's another story. My cleaning schedule-
ReplyDeleteDaily: Maintain clean kitchen (counter/oven/dishes/table/sweep floor)
Daily cut clutter from main level (where we spend most of our time) things like mail, lots of misplaced items etc.
Monday: Vaccum carpets in entire house, mop hardwood floors
Tuesday: Wash ALL laundry, fold and put away
Wed: clean bathrooms and mop tile floors
Thurs: Organize clutter in basement level/ dust/ cat litter
Fri: Organize clutter in bedroom level/ dust
Sat/Sun free time relagated to paperwork/online time/ reading. (Or deep cleaning projects which I need to schedule like deep cleaning kitchen)
G does outdoor projects and some of his laundry if he needs it and sometimes his own food or plunging the toilet...lol. He does the bulk of gardening because that is his passion so I stick to the easy container herbs otherwise I wouldn't have time.
Love to hear how your schedule progresses and any tips you may have. You should do a blog post on cleaning products or dyi cleaning products :-) I love me some natual grain vingegar, baking soda, castille soap, bon ami, pumice stones, rubbing alcohol, and when I can buying expensive natural products that smell really good because I have yet to pick up essential oils. Maybe I should start with tea tree, lavendar and rosemary? :-)
Very impressed! This look like a great plan. I just cannot stay on top of keeping our house clean. I'm the kind of person who would need to do the whole house in one day, rather than one task a day, because I would feel like my house is never truly clean. But our house is pretty large and I am very particular about the level of cleanliness in our home,especially with a one year old who puts everything in her mouth! I do have cleaners come every other week, but despite this, I still vacuum the entire first floor and mop our kitchen floors every night. And obviously there is the picking up that happens all day, every day, but I do one big cleanup each night after the kids are in bed.
ReplyDeleteI'd be interested to hear what kind of products you use as well. I tend to stick with plain old distilled vinegar and water as a surface cleaner.
Heidi and Mama Tully: I'll do a post on cleaning products. Not sure I have tons to offer but I did venture into making my own. It lasted for a little while, until we moved here! I can at least review what we tried and maybe others can chime in with what works for them.
ReplyDeleteHeidi: It is really hard for me to get anything done (much less cleaning) when the kids are underfoot (if I turn my back to refocus my attention elsewhere, they seriously fall apart...I keep telling myself this is just a phase(!)). Hence the one quick chore a day schedule! I am enjoying quieter afternoons here as well. Last week (or maybe it was the week before) I only got in the car one time with the kids, on a friday to get cupcakes. We rode our bike otherwise, and walked more. It was out of necessity at the beginning of the week because Andy had to take my car because he locked himself out of his, but it actually was a lot more relaxing and I was able to get more done around the house, without stressing everyone out. I love that G is dependable for toilet plunging...but gardening is commendable! Maybe he has some tips for me!? Maybe you should do a guest post for me on your cleaning endeavors!! Want to?
Mama Tully: I think this is a great plan for keeping things liveable, but you are right that more is required to enjoy a truly clean house. Combining this schedule with a once a month (or twice monthly, if you can swing it) deep clean would be ideal. Of course, there are additional things like tidying up that happen on a daily basis that didn't make the list. I'm happy to hear that I'm not the only one who needs to vacuum (or in our case sweep) and mop every day! I was checking out your easter photos yesterday before you commented and I really did think to myself that your house looks so clean! Does the twice monthly cleaning service work well for you? Do you stay home or leave? I guess they probably don't have to stay as long since they come on a regular basis. Our spring clean was around 3 hours.
I had a several paragraph response that my phone just deleted....:-( I did say something along the lines of I see how our cleaning schedules like any disciplined habit are personal and they evolve as our schedules/ priorities change. I never start a task without a million interruptions and I rely on Lillian's help, free play time or naps! Anyhow, I will continue my later but I will gladly jot down my thoughts as I develop a rythm and get some material to you for a guest post :-)
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