I got asked about my house cleaning schedule so thought I would share it with everyone!
Homeschooling takes up a good majority of our time. Not necessarily the sit down work book part of it, but the running to various field trips, the library, and so on. Then there is the boring stuff that has to be done, like grocery shopping and other errands. I am mostly a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal, but I did find out that with out at least a basic outline of what I needed to get done and when, my house quickly suffered. Here is our basic schedule and a few tips I have for preventing burn out:
My House Work Schedule:
Monday: This is a preschool day so I keep this day light.
Throw in a load of laundry. I used to do all of it on Monday but it just overwhelmed me! I would end up with a mountain to fold and it was so depressing. Doing one load a day keeps it at bay and is much easier to manage.
Menu Plan. I stay one week ahead on this most of the time so this plan will be for next week. If you are just starting with menu planning then I suggest doing two weeks the first time. Trust me that this is one of the single most important things in my home management. Without a menu plan I am all over the place while I grocery shop and at meal times!
Bathrooms. Scrub 'em down.
Tuesday: This looks heavy but the family room and the formal dining are actually two of our cleanest rooms in the house.
One load of laundry
Kitchen/Breakfast room including moping floors
Downstairs family room
Formal Dining
Wednesday: Preschool and church day so another light day
One load of laundry
Master Bedroom
Vacuum all downstairs carpets
Thursday:
One load of laundry
Kitchen/Breakfast including floors
Dining room
Bathrooms
Friday:
One load of laundry
Upstairs floors and general cleaning
Weekend: I quick tidy, grocery store and relax!
I do maintain certain things such as the dishes daily and the kids are required to keep upstairs clean since that is their "domain". Of course they are also required to clean any messes they make downstairs.
That is my basic schedule. Now here are a few tips:
1. Don't try to do it all at once. I find I get more done and don't lose momentum if I clean in short 30 minute sessions with 15 minute breaks in between.
2. Engage the kids! Even my 2 year old helps with the cleaning. He loves to take a wet rag and wipe down base boards. Is it perfect? No, but it teaches him that we work together as a family to keep our house clean. The girls have gained more responsibility as they have gotten older. If they do all that they are asked without procrastinating they may spend a total of an hour each day helping to maintain the house.
3. Don't fret if it doesn't all get done. I have a priority list I work off of. I asked my husband what the most important things to him were and I focus on those first thing. If nothing else gets done those few things do. For us it is the dishes and the tile floors being swept. It may be different in your house.
My house isn't always perfect and sometimes it feels like a never ending battle that I am just not going to win. When that starts to happen, I stop, say a quick prayer and remember how blessed I am to have a home and a family to take care of. Sometimes, the flesh wins and I am lazy or I do it begrudgingly, but the Lord is always there to remind me how blessed I am and to re-energize me when I need it or sometimes just to give me a swift kick in the tail!
2 comments:
Awesome...I have never done my cleaning on the "same" days every week. I just take care of it when it needs it. But sounds really organized and less overwhelming this way. I think I might try a house cleaning plan. Thanks.
Keri- This last year really changed for us. With Keira starting school and Brianna's work load picking up I just had to get more organized. It still isnt 100% perfect but it at least keeps me from falling too far behind!
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