Great House Cleanup 2013

What you see here is literally and figuratively a clean slate.

Except it’s not a slate, but more of a dry erase board. And its’ on my pantry door in a terrible purple colored kitchen that still hasn’t been painted after 3 years of residency. I’ve become so immune to it that I colored my cookie icing that color this week. But I digress (as I’m wont to do.)

This clean slate moment is brought to you by a house that is overrun by clutter and a woman who has no house cleaning schedule so to speak. It’s all, mess, mess, mess, mess, mess (that’s Monday through Friday) CLEAN ALL THE THINGS, (Saturday) sit in a daze due to exhaustion with half-folded baskets of laundry surrounding me (Sunday, naturally.) That’s not much of a house cleaning schedule if you ask me.

During December, I tried to keep the living room picked up because the Christmas decoration was taking up way too much space for there to also be clutter. It was….house cleaning schedule light: pick up the mess soon after it’s made. I moved on to the kitchen after an infestation with fruit flies (nasty) and my counters and sink stayed clean for approximately 36 hours, which is a new record in our home. I realized that washing dishes after they are used and unloading the dishwasher when it’s clean ….are you ready for this? cuts down on clutter in the kitchen. GASP! SHOCK! House cleaning schedule? Hmmm….

This brings me around to the clean slate you see above. It used to have random things on it: reminders, to-do lists, grocery lists and the like. I took some inspiration from Pinterest (here’s my Great Home Organization board if you’re interested in cleaning tips and tricks I’ve picked up.) I based my own house cleaning schedule on the one found here that boasts 15 minutes a day to totally clean a home.

House Cleaning Schedule

Daily tasks will including basic pick up and put away. Trash goes in the trash, dishes in the kitchen. Nothing will be left in the sink overnight, and if the dishwasher is clean, I WILL EMPTY IT (oh yes I will!) Toys will be put away after Luke goes to bed because anyone with a toddler in her life knows that putting toys away while a kid is awake impossible. I can’t imagine any single task daily will take more than 5-7 minutes, especially if I keep up with it. The more mess, the longer it will take.

Weekly, I have 7 tasks on the list. There are 7 days in a week. How’s that for a house cleaning schedule? In reality, I’ll probably do the vacuum and mopping on the same day. My house is not big and I have hardwood floors, so the mopping is probably more important than the vacuuming. If I save that for Saturday when I have more time, that cuts the list down to 6 tasks — one each day with one day of rest, and all God’s people said “Amen, sister, put your darn feet up, you deserve it!” I’m not putting days of the week on this schedule yet because I never really know what my schedule will be like and the last thing I want is to feel guilty for not completing something on a list.

I have a few monthly tasks on the dry erase board, too, including steam cleaning the microwave, washing rugs, washing windows, etc. I can tackle all those tasks either on a “rest” day or on a day where I’m super motivated.

With this house cleaning schedule, I feel like I’ll be more organized and on top of things. Let’s face it, after being at work all day, the last thing I want to do is spend hours cleaning. It’s the same old story that y’all already know. I know I’ll never have an immaculate house, but that’s not my goal. I want to know where things are….I want to see my tables without clutter….I want there to not be fruit flies, ya know? I believe that having an organized home opens your mind to other things; for instance, I can’t enjoy pushing cars around on the floor if I’m worried about how dirty they are.

The house cleaning schedule will be posted on my dry erase board so I can see it daily. So far, so good, but it’s only 3 days into the new year, so I’ll report back later. I’m supporting my friend Miranda in her 2013 Operation Organization over at Our Nesting Place. She has lots of great ideas and plans for the new year, so if you’re in the organization state of mind, stop by and show her some love.