Cleaning Schedules

[DixieChick]

Since my antidepressants have kicked in and I'm back to my busy self, I'm also back on my cleaning schedule. I was thinking this morning about this, and wondered if any other ladies have a similar way of doing things. Here is mine;

Every day:
Straighten up, make beds, dishes, laundry, garbage

Monday - vacuum rugs, sweep, mop
Tuesday - dust, including knick knacks and pictures
Wednesday - windows, tv screens, monitors, mirrors, glass over pictures, all glass
Thursday - scrub bathrooms, including tub/shower walls
Friday - change and wash sheets and blankets on all beds
Saturday - yards and porches
Sunday - mending and making sure drawers and closets are organized. Any weekly shopping.

This has worked for me for a while now. It cuts down on work and also helps me keep everything clean. Anybody else have a schedule or routine?

Dixie

[JustGrateful]

Whatever you're taking that gives you the energy to do all that.....I want me some!!!!

Good looking list! When we still had all the kids home, I did something very similar. Now that they're gone (except the 20 year old college student....she's pretty self-sufficient), I'm more flexible and relaxed about things than I used to be.

[DixieChick]

It's Welbutrin and Lexapro. It works great and takes about two weeks to kick in, but when it does, it's great. It's made me almost quit smoking too. I'll be quit completely here in a few more days.

Dixie

[CircleSlide]

I have a schedule too, but mine involve my kids.

Kid #1 cleans guest bathroom and kitchen, vacuums upstairs
Kid #2 Takes out trash, vacuums downstairs, mow the grass, keeps garage picked up
Kid #3 Keeps their bathroom clean, vacuums stairs, dusts, and windows

We are each responsible for our own rooms and our own laundry. And if we make a mess we clean it up.

Man I wish I had more kids!

[JustGrateful]

I'll be quit completely here in a few more days.

Good for you!!!

My schedule, when the kids were all home, was more like CircleSlide's. The lower level was all the kid's bedrooms (five), the one bathroom they shared and a common area. They were responsible for the "floor where they lived." They also all did their own laundry when they were old enough....and they only had the weekend to do it. Unless something out of the ordinary happened, the washer/dryer were mine on weekdays.

The only other thing we required of them, on a regular basis, was after dinner clean-up.

We let them work out their own cleaning routines. We told them, "As long as it gets done, and gets done correctly, we don't care when you do it or which one does it."

I took care of the "main floor"....sweeping, moping, vacuming, dusting, two bathrooms, etc. I usually did the "dry" work on one day and the "wet" work on another.

[icebear]

i want to have a schedule. but i have not been able to do so. one small change throws in a wrench for me and i cannot seem to recover from it.

i also do not have very cooperative family

i vacuum every day, dishes get done every day. the bottom of my two-bay sink is visible at least once a day for a few hours.
kitchen gets wiped down with sanitizing solution daily
bathrooms get spot cleaned as often as i can and surfaces are hit with Lysol

laundry is a constant struggle. we have a weird situation. when we bought this house a washer was left in the first floor bathroom, its stuck between the sink and shower stall. my laundry room is in the basement- another washer and the dryer- which before my accident i could get to them without too much trouble though the basement stairs are awkward.
i can wash clothes, but i have to rely on hubby or the oldest child t get them to the dryer (except for summer when i can makeshift a clothes line). getting them to the dryer is a hassle and getting them back up is another hassle. they tend to dress straight out of the clean baskets or the dryer. even if i can get the clothes dried, returned and then folded/on hangers i can't convince them to take them upstairs and put them away...so the little one tears into them if i manage to keep the little one out, the cat sleeps in them, so we get fuzzy clothes.

so anyway, i try but its an uphill climb literally

[nanny]

When my kids were little we used to call the kitchen sink "the lagoon".

[openmyeyes]

I have a schedule too. I have also included correspondence every Friday - Any cards or letters that need to be mailed.

My schedule has a quarterly list as well. Tidying certain closets, drapes, deep clean appliances.. etcetera.

[AJHIHS]

Wow you women are awesome! I try to make a schedule for myself, but I get so burned out and discouraged. I used to be in the Navy so my house was nearly spotless most of the time. Now I have five kids and a wonderful husband who literally make a mess right behind me as I clean. I do make the kids help ( I made them all individual spreadsheets and everyting) but it almost ends up being more work for me.

Glad to see its working for you though, maybe I will try again.

[DixieChick]

I can get the straightening up and all done in about an hour in the morning. That gives me the rest of the day to wait on the laundry to dry and to do the dishes as I dirty them. Any of the weekly chores I've listed can be done in under an hour, except for shopping and mending.

For me it's mainly a matter of motivation. Also frustration. Nobody else seems to care about the house, other than me, so without my mess I just think "why bother?". The only time anybody mentions anything is when I don't do something and they get mad.

They sure have a lot of gall!

Dixie

[nicolep]

I've tried making up a scheduling on cleaning. Seems like everytime I do, my data entry at home job picks up. Then I get way behind again. I do get dishes every other day or whenever we have enough to run the dishwasher. Then laundry I have been doing every Tuesday evening and if there's any left Wednesday morning. All my other cleaning depends on when I have time and how fast our house gets dirty again. Going to be doing a lot of cleaing the next few weeks since I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year.

[millky]

At our place whoever is home to do it, does it. So no real schedule. I'm usually the first person up and the last person to go to bed but I'm out of the house most of the day so I do all the beginning/end of day stuff e.g. feeding the animals, taking out the garbage, washing dinner dishes. On weekends or days off I help with the other stuff so Mum can have a break from doing it since she's usually the one person actually in the house for most of the day so she does the most.

We have a kind of agreement based on what people can/like to do as well e.g. my sister really hates cleaning the bathroom but likes gardening, whereas I am not a big fan of outdoor work but find bathroom cleaning kind of fun for some reason so we just agreed to split things that way.

[Robinbobbin]

There is a schedule that also involves the deep cleaning most houses need. It's called the Motivated Moms planner. From what I understand, its awesome. It also contains Bible readings for the day.

FOr me, right now, its more triage than scheduled. Whatever needs to get done gets done, and whatever can slide for a day or two slides for a day or two depending on the baby's feeding schedule.

For the most part, though, daily it's laundry, dishes, spruce bathrooms and pick up toys.

Weekly, sweep a few times, mop the kitchen floor, vaccum, change sheets.

[3jsmom]

My friend told me of a website, I don't know if I can name it or not (per rules), but she gives cleaning tips, schedules, etc. I don't follow it by the book but take what I like from it. I like her idea of setting a timer to complete a task before starting on your next one. That helps me stay on track, guess I have adult A.D.D.! I like to 'shine my sink" too. One load of laundry per day, etc..

[icebear]

i tried flylady- i love the idea, but i can't live up to it. i tried the timer, and promptly lost it... bought a few more and kept losing those

but i do the 'get dressed in the morning and shine the sink' part as much as i can (plus vacuuming- the rest of the house can be a mess but it feels so much more bearable with the floor cleared and vacced), i get to feel that i got those two things under control considering my personal daily obstacles

[3jsmom]

Icebear, that's the one I am referring to. I also like the advice of getting dressed with make up even while staying home with kids. Wish someone would of suggested that when I started staying home with the kids! I'm with you too on the floors, if they are clean, the whole house feels better. But, with a house full of guys, it never lasts very long.

[Acts5:41]

I have a lot of trouble planning and organizing.

Laundry when the washer is full; we use it as a hamper.

Dishes when we dirty them.

I change the sheets on Tuesday.

I need to sweep the floors. Haven't figured out a routine on that yet.

[jackie009]

One of the nice things about being an empty nester is that I don't have to clean as often now that the kids and their friends are not in and out the door every five minutes. But I did have a daily list that I tried to follow, and it did help. It did take a certain amount of will power to stick with it and self control to not freak out when things went wrong and I couldn't stick with it. But that's life, sometimes things happen and mess up your plans. One thing that did help was I absolutely did not let my kids leave messes for me to clean up - that part was actually easier when they were younger and wanted to be mommy's little helper. It was when they got to be teens that it became a hassle, but I refused to let them treat me like a maid. And I taught them how to clean and made them do it.

[Lucy]

When you get done over there maybe you can come over here?

[Accepted]

When you get done over there maybe you can come over here?

I'm next!