cleaning schedule

I've had some new-stay-at-home friends ask me about establishing a routine. I remember the first little while, when I finally didn't feel like I needed to sleep while Blythe did, and after everything returned to "normal" and we had to figure out what exactly that meant for us now. I remember feeling overwhelmed with my time at first: I had all this "free time" but felt guilty if I spent it reading a book or working on a project I wanted to work on. I felt like I needed to be productive all the time since this was my new job.

But then I realized that this was the beauty of being home: I DID have more time on my hands and I COULD accomplish more, but I could ALSO do some things I wanted to do, or take Blythe for a walk, or WHATEVER. My schedule was flexible. This was still overwhelming to me though, and I felt like there was always something that needed to be done. Though this is essentially always true, I figured if I created a little schedule of tasks it would help me organize my time best.

I thought about everything around the house that needs to be done on a fairly consistent basis and created my list from there. I tried to keep the daily tasks realistic, most of which can be accomplished in half an hour or less. I adjust it from time to time, but here is what I work from right now:

Everyday:

Pick up

Clean Kitchen

*I try and keep things picked up everyday, so when Blythe goes down for nap I do a quick swoop through the house and put things where they belong be it toys, sunglasses, cups, shoes etc. 

*I can't stand a gross kitchen. So usually while B is eating breakfast, or after she goes to bed at night, I load/unload dishwasher, wash dishes on counter, and wipe up all the counters and table. 

Monday: 

Bathrooms

Meal planning 

*A lot of times I touch up bathrooms throughout week, but every Monday I try and deep clean them. 

*I usually meal plan for two or three weeks in advance, so usually this is an every other week item. 

Tuesday:

Laundry

*I TRYtryTRY to wash AND FOLD on this day, but I loathe folding laundry so much that this often gets pushed back. If I keep up with it though, I don't have as much to fold and getting it out of the way in one day is nice. But this week, I failed so there is a large basket waiting to be folded today.

Wednesday:

Floors

*I sweep the kitchen and mudroom [mop every other week], and vacuum other rooms. Quite often I only vacuum the bedrooms every other week. I know some people vacuum a lot more frequently, but this works for us usually. Sometimes I have to vacuum over the weekend too, but I actually enjoy vacuuming [remember THIS] so that's okay. Also now that B is eating more "real" food, there tend to be more crumbs, so I sweep around her area daily. 

Thursday:

Dusting

*Let's just say that today was the first day I actually dusted in a few weeks. I hate dusting. That is why I leave it as the only thing for this day, thinking I'll actually get it done. It doesn't really work. :) 

Friday: 

Bedrooms

Budget/Balance Checkbook

*I pick up and clean in the bedrooms this day. Hang up clothes that have found their way to the floor, straighten shoes in closet, straighten up Blythe's toys etc. 

*I try and look at our finances once a week, as this helps us stay on track. Often times this is flip flopped with meal planning, as I'm going to go grocery shopping over the weekend so I meal plan on Friday and then budget things on Mondays. It's FLEXIBLE, see?

Saturday & Sunday:

What needs it

Projects

*I try to leave the weekends open to spend time with Brent or work on bigger projects I don't get to during the week

And that is it! Like I said I try to keep it pretty simple so that it is realistic. My general rule for myself is that I do the chore first, and if I get it done then I'm "allowed" to blog or read or work on something else. Obviously I stray from it from time to time, but it has helped me tremendously and I don't feel overwhelmed with what needs to be done all the time, because nothing ever has the chance to get too out of hand [except the dusting…that's typically out of hand ;)]. I don't feel guilty for taking a break either, because I've accomplished something [besides taking care of Blythe…but thats another post entirely!]. 

Hope this helps some of you that have asked!