Friday, May 06, 2016

Things I Have Learned Since... I Started Cleaning on a Schedule

I recently started following this cleaning schedule and made it through my first 30 days. I don't follow it exactly, but it gives me a framework.

1. | I used to find myself doing heavy duty cleaning on the weekends or when I knew someone was coming over, now I do a little bit every day and feel more relaxed when we have company or on the weekends.

2. | The writer of this list cannot have pets. If I only vacuum when the list tells me to, the house would look like fur city. I vacuum my main rooms almost everyday and my vacuum container is ALWAYS full. Especially right now with spring and shedding...

3. | It does not matter if you give me a schedule or not, the one task I still avoid is the bathroom. Do I clean my bathroom? Of course. Do I sometimes push it to the next day and do something else instead? Of course!

4. | I suppose since we have no little kids running around, I honestly do not have to surface clean as much as the list tells me to. On those days I usually just dust and vacuum and maybe put a couple things away. In the morning I always surface clean my living room if it needs to be done and my kitchen is accomplished mostly by just doing the dishes... The bedrooms a couple pieces of clothing may need to be hung up, but that is usually it...

5. | The closet day was my favourite. I rearranged to make it for a Sunday and, ladies and gents, I finally found space in a closet for the guys speakers! This house only has two closets and he has a lot of music gear... But, I was determined and now very happy that stuff is not out in the open any more. Two of the speakers were still in boxes and the cats were destroying the boxes. They are now in cases his sister made and the cats have moved on to other forms of destruction... That day made me really happy!

6. | I have been turning this into a bit of spring cleaning, so it often took more than 20 mins. But, as I write this on my desktop, my desk has a lot less stuff on it! 

7. | My windows probably need to be done more than once a month... There are cat and dog nose prints on several of them regularly... And, because I don't do them more regularly, let me tell you how much that stuff sticks to the window! I will have to work them in more especially with birds in the backyard soon to become a thing...

8. | I always did the dishes daily but laundry I would do all on one day... Other than this week when other stuff was happening, all April I did laundry whatever day there was enough clothes and it worked. I am disappointed I failed this week and will actually have to have a laundry day.

9. | I think the best part of this all is that if I miss a day because life is busy, I don't feel guilty like I used to... Most of the projects are simple enough that I can do two in one day if I have to and still be done in a reasonable amount of time. And, I find the more I thin things out and organize, the less I actually have to do when that day comes around again. 

10. | I am hoping that because I managed to do this longer than 30 days, that I will be able to keep it up! Every evening I look to see what the next days task is and scribble it down in my bullet journal. It has made my life easier and I definitely am glad I decided to try it!

10 comments:

  1. I just started following this same schedule the beginning of this week - so far I really like it and cleaning doesn't feel so overwhelming. Hope all has been well :)

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  2. I know this is the best way to approach cleaning, and I try, but I'm easily persuaded to skip a daily chore. My eternal joy is the Roomba my husband gave me (at my request)! It is a blessing when you have three cats. :)

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  3. Thanks for the link. I may have to give the schedule a shot. I tried another one a while ago, but didn't stick with it very well.

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  4. I tried doing this but I felt the opposite. I felt like if I only did one thing a day it felt like the house was always dirty. As much as a day of cleaning sucks it feels so good having the whole house clean at once. I do do things like laundry and dishes every other day or so and only dust once or twice a month. So I guess I do sort of do something like this. Oh, and I never wash Windows. :( And yes, pet hair is not something that can go to long without attention.

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  5. I agree with Jenny. Also, some things bother people more than others. For example, my mom goes nuts if there are dirty dishes on the counter. Whereas I can't handle dirty windows at all. There's also the tolerance one has to certain chores to take into account. No way am I dusting more than absolutely necessary.

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  6. Wow, this must be such a commitment!! It sounds like a great idea, but it's to start it. *look around my room* it'll probably take me a week to have my room pristine to start ^_^;;;

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  7. Wow, this must be such a commitment!! It sounds like a great idea, but it's to start it. *look around my room* it'll probably take me a week to have my room pristine to start ^_^;;;

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  8. Oo, this is very timely. Just yesterday I was thinking that I needed some kind of cleaning schedule that would make me do a few basic cleaning tasks each day. Maybe I'll try this! I can start today -- the task for the 9th day of the month is super basic anyway, so that would be an easy on-ramp.

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  9. Anonymous12:59 AM

    What's this about surface cleaning when there are young children around??? Is this something I'm supposed to do? Why did I now find it out!! :P

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  10. I keep telling myself I am going to set up a schedule like this. I am glad it showed some positive benefits! I hate spending my one free day all week on just cleaning. Ugh.

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