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I'm so pleased with the positive feedback that my house cleaning schedule has received so far.
This week we will be cleaning the dining room.
This is a schedule that I've been devising and tweaking for a while now until it was something that was easy for me to work with, and to stick with...and I think I have it just about right.
First of all...why do I need a list? I am a terrible procrastinator, and will put things off and put things off until they are just not done at all.
What works to motivate me and get me going are lists. I make lists for all kinds of things, but it wasn't until I put together this housecleaning list that I felt I really had a handle on my home and it's organization.
My inspiration for my housecleaning comes from the Flylady website. I followed it for a while, and while some of it worked for me...some of it just didn't. So I took what I learned from it, and tweaked it to fit into my life.
Now before we start, I will explain the basics of it. I have 5 areas/rooms in my home: our main bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, the dining area, and the living room (I don't clean the kid's rooms...they are old enough and responsible for their own spaces)....and each week I work on a different room and do a detailed cleaning which I divide up all through the week. Then there are certain chores that are done every day of the week, and finally there are certain chores that I do once a week on a particular day.
How did I come up with the chores for the detailed cleaning? I stood in each room of my house and asked myself, "If I were to do a thorough cleaning in this room right now, what all would I need to do?" I then sat down, wrote out each chore that would need to be done, then divided the chores throughout the week.
I know...it sounds confusing, but I will list each thing I do every day. It will also look like a LOT of work..but once you get into the routine, it really only takes no more than about an hour.
I go into a little more detail about how to get into this routine and how certain things are done here:
Just a couple other things before we start.
A HOT SPOT is an area in a room that is the most cluttered. I always do the visible hot spots first, like tabletops...and if there isn't any visible clutter, I will work on a hidden hot spot, like a drawer or cabinet. So when it's time to clean a hot spot for 5 minutes...I look around, and just straighten the messiest spot in a room.
DECLUTTERING is done each day in a different area of the house. For this, I set a time for 15 minutes, and straighten a room. Get stuff out of there that doesn't belong, throw out garbage, put things where they go.
CHORES THAT ARE DONE EVERY DAY:
- Dishes (Load dishwasher and run it before bed, empty it in the morning.)
- Fill pet dishes/ check and clean cat litter
- Wash, dry and put away one load of laundry
- Wipe bathroom (spray sink, faucet and toilet...wipe clean (disinfecting wipes work great too). Swish inside toilet with toilet brush)
- Vacuum (don't move furniture, just do around everything. I have 2 cats, a dog, a 12 and 17 year old, a 6 month old and a husband....I HAVE to vacuum every day haha!)
- Straighten surfaces (before bed I make sure the kitchen table, the kitchen counter and living room coffee and end tables are clutter free)
WEEKLY CHORES:
- Monday: Change and/or wash bedding
- Tuesday: Dust surfaces (I feather dust everything in the whole house, shelves, knick knacks, lampshades, etc. When I think it needs it, or I have time...I use furniture polish and do tabletops, etc.)
- Wednesday: Empty all garbage (Bathroom and bedroom cans are emptied, kitchen garbage goes out if full....anything else that has been set aside that needs to go out....gets put in garbage cans in the garage.
- Thursday: Clean mirrors and glass (Spray and wipe all mirrors, spot clean the inside of each window in the house)
- Friday: Purge mail and magazines (go through all the mail is laying around, throw out what is junk. Go through magazines and newspapers and throw out what has been read....straighten what you are keeping)
Oh my....ok....is anyone still with me??? Haha! I PROMISE....this is MUCH easier than it looks.
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To put it simply....the hot spots, decluttering, daily and weekly cleaning are ongoing upkeep, while you are concentrating on doing a thorough cleaning during the week in a particular room.
Easy peasy! ;p
This week....I am cleaning in the DINING ROOM.
Ready? Here we go!
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MONDAY
- Change/wash bedding
- Clean dining room light fixtures (Either dust them, or use a spray cleaner...depending on how dirty they are)
- Straighten desk drawers (Or if you have shelves, or a buffet, etc, clean that. Take everything out, throw out what you don't love or don't use. Wipe inside drawers or shelves, put everything back, organizing things as you go.)
- Declutter living room for 15 minutes
- Wash/put away dishes
- Fill pet dishes/clean litter
- Clean hot spots for 5 minutes each: Bedroom & kitchen
- Wash, dry and put away a load of laundry
- Straighten surfaces (before bed)
- Vacuum all rooms
- Wash dining room windows
TUESDAY
- Clean around pet dishes (I empty and wash the food and water bowls, and vacuum or wipe under them with a damp rag and some cleaner. If you use a mat under the dishes, wipe that clean or wash it in the sink.)
- Declutter bedroom for 15 minutes
- Wash/put away dishes
- Dust all surfaces in house
- Fill pet dishes/clean litter
- Clean hot spots for 5 minutes each: Kitchen & bathroom
- Wash, dry and put away a load of laundry
- Straighten surfaces (before bed)
- Wipe bathroom
- Vacuum all rooms
- Wash dining room curtains (I also dust mini blinds)
WEDNESDAY
- Clean all dining room knick knacks (I dust what can't be wiped off, for all other things I either use a furniture polish or glass cleaner and spray and wipe everything. This is for wall decor, picture frames, any other misc items in the room.)
- Declutter kitchen for 15 minutes
- Wash/put away dishes
- Empty all garbage and put out
- Fill pet dishes/ clean litter
- Clean hot spots for 5 minutes each: Bathroom and living room
- Wash, dry and put away a load of laundry
- Sweep and mop kitchen and bathroom floors
- Straighten surfaces (before bed)
- Wipe bathroom
- Vacuum all rooms
- Wipe floor under dining table (I have tile, so I move all my chairs and either mop under the table, or get on my hands and knees and spray and wipe it. If you have carpeting, move the chairs and do a detailed vacuuming. At this time I also clean along the walls in the dining area and in the corners.)
THURSDAY
- Clean dining table (I take everything off, spray furniture polish and wipe, then clean any decorative items and put them back. If you use a tablecloth or placemats, those can be thrown in the washer, or even just hung outside to air out if they don't need a good cleaning. I give my chairs a spray and a wipe also.)
- Clean all mirrors in the house, spot clean insides of all windows in the house
- Declutter bathroom for 15 minutes
- Wash/put away dishes
- Fill pet dishes/ clean litter
- Clean hot spots for 5 minutes each: Living room and bedroom
- Wash, dry and put away a load of laundry
- Straighten surfaces (before bed)
- Wipe bathroom
- Vacuum all rooms
- Organize dining room corner (I have a corner that I keep an extra chair in, and junk collects there. I organize it and get rid of things that don't belong there. Just pick an area in you room that hasn't been cleaned yet, and clean/organize that.)
FRIDAY
- Clean dining room bench (I have a bench that opens for storage. I sometimes hid junk in there until I find a place for it. I empty that out and organize what stays in there (extra bedding, board games, etc). Then I vacuum the cushion and fluff pillows. If you don't have this sort of area, just pick another area that you haven't cleaned yet this week.)
- Straighten up in the laundry area/room. Take out garbage, organize shelves and cabinets, wipe down washer and dryer.
- Wash/put away dishes
- Fill pet dishes/clean letter
- Clean hot spots for 5 minutes each: Kitchen and bathroom
- Wash, dry and put away a load of laundry
- Purge mail and magazines (throw out junk, organize what you are keeping)
- Straighten surfaces (before bed)
- Wipe bathroom
- Vacuum all rooms
SATURDAY & SUNDAY
- Wash/put away dishes
- Fill pet dishes/check litter
- Wash, dry and put away a load of laundry
- Straighten surfaces (before bed)
- Wipe bathroom
- Vacuum
Every Monday I print out my weekly list, and I mark off each chore as I do it.
At first, if your house was as cluttered and disorganized as mine....this will take you a while to get through, but if you keep at it, eventually you will be able to get all of your cleaning done in an hour or so a day. You will start to notice a difference in your house, and you won't panic when you hear someone knock on the door because your home will be presentable.
If you follow this, you will of course have to tweak it to what will work for you. You will have to add chores, and omit chores, but this gives you a basic idea of how I keep my home clean and organized.
IMPORTANT NOTE: After hiding my cleaning list from The Kids and The Husband for a long time because I was embarrassed for them to know I needed a list to clean the house.....I started leaving it on the counter so that it was easier to see what needed to get done...The Kids started looking at it each day, and asking to HELP! The Husband has not yet caught on though, ha ha!
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Please leave a comment if you have any questions.
For the next 4 weeks, I will detail a different room, so if you want to continue to read further installments of my housecleaning schedule, please make sure you follow me by one of the options in my sidebar.
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Next week we will clean.....The kitchen.
Have a wonderful week everyone!
Linking up to these parties:
Monday
A Diamond in the Stuff ~ Between Naps on the Porch ~ Boogieboard Cottage ~ Brassy Apple ~ Cherished Handmade Treasures ~ Cottage Instincts ~ C.R.A.F.T. ~ CraftOManiac ~ Dittle Dattle ~ DIY Home Sweet Home ~ Everything Under The Moon ~ Home Savvy A to Z ~ Keeping It Simple ~ Lines Across My Face ~ Making The World Cuter ~ Our Delightful Home ~ Polly Want a Crafter ~ Sarahndipities ~ Serendipity and Spice ~ Sew Can Do ~ Sew Chatty ~ Singing Three Little Birds ~ Skip To My Lou ~ Sumo's Sweet Stuff ~ The Girl Creative ~ The Southern Institute
Tuesday
A Bowl Full of Lemons ~ Adventures of a DIY Mom ~ At Home With K ~ Chef in Training ~ Cherished Bliss ~ Coastal Charm ~ Crafty Confessions ~ Debbie Does Creations ~ DIY By Design ~ Elizabeth & Co. ~ Funky Polkadot Giraffe ~ Home Stories A to Z ~ Homework ~ House of Grace ~ How To Nest For Less ~ Kammy's Korner ~ Mommy By Day Crafter By Night ~ My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia ~ Not Just a Housewife ~ Nothing But Country ~ Sassy Sites! ~ Sugar Bee Crafts ~ Sweet Little Gals ~ The Blackberry Vine ~ The Lettered Cottage ~ The Project Queen ~ The REAL Housewives of Riverton ~ Tip Junkie ~ Today's Creative Blog ~ Vintage Wanna Bee
Wednesday
{Primp} ~ A Little Tipsy ~ Blue Cricket Design ~ Cheap Crafty Mama ~ Fabric Bows and More ~ Fireflies and Jellybeans ~ Gingersnap Crafts ~ Handy Man, Crafty Woman ~ Happy Hour Projects ~ Home Happy Home ~ I Gotta Create ~ Ivy and Elephants ~ Lil' Luna ~ My Girlish Whims ~ Night Owl Crafting ~ Oopsey Daisy ~ Polka Dots On Parade ~ Restore Interiors ~ Savvy Southern Style ~ seven thirty three ~ Sew Much Ado ~ Someday Crafts ~ Southern Lovely ~ Sugar and Dots ~ Tea Rose Room ~ The NY Melrose Family ~ The Sasse Life ~ The Trendy Treehouse ~ Vintage Gwen
Thursday
{aka} design ~ A Glimpse Inside ~ Bear Rabbit Bear ~ Brambleberry Cottage ~ Delightful Order ~ Embracing Change ~ House of Hepworths ~ Just Winging It ~ live laugh rowe ~ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ My Repurposed Life ~ No Minimalist Here ~ RadCrafter ~ Saved by Suzy ~ School House Scraps ~ Somewhat Simple ~ The 36th Avenue ~ The CSI Project ~ Thrifty 101
Thursday
{aka} design ~ A Glimpse Inside ~ Bear Rabbit Bear ~ Brambleberry Cottage ~ Delightful Order ~ Embracing Change ~ House of Hepworths ~ Just Winging It ~ live laugh rowe ~ Momnivore's Dilemma ~ My Repurposed Life ~ No Minimalist Here ~ RadCrafter ~ Saved by Suzy ~ School House Scraps ~ Somewhat Simple ~ The 36th Avenue ~ The CSI Project ~ Thrifty 101
