Ok so her name really wasn’t Alice Brady but would anyone actually know who I was talking about if I said Alice Nelson? I mean we all get that I’m talking about Alice from the Brady Bunch right? What I’m really trying to say is that my housekeeping skills are…less than stellar. To be honest they are actually quite poor.
Way back when, when I had a full time job and no kids, I had a cleaning lady. *pausing for a moment of silence over that loss* She came twice a month and cleaned my house from top to bottom. The only cleaning I did was an occasional wipe of something sticky on the kitchen counters or floors.
I will now make some confessions, just don’t judge me too harshly. Promise? I don’t wash my sheets regularly, I refuse to elaborate more on that. I can’t remember the last time I dusted before it was necessary to see the TV clearly. There is usually a dirt ring in my toilets before I scrub them. I could go ON AND ON like this but I will spare you.
I’m happy to report that I have found a solution to this problem. I am developing a cleaning schedule. I have daily, weekly and monthly tasks that I am actually organizing into a list. The trick for me is to have this list in a place where I can actually check off the tasks as they are completed. There is something so satisfying to my inner nerd about checking off tasks on a to-do list that I almost don’t mind cleaning.
Right now I’m using Remember the Milk (www.rememberthemilk.com) to keep track of my housekeeping schedule. I have a list of daily tasks like cleaning bathrooms on Mondays, living room on Tuesdays, bedrooms on Wednesdays and so on. I’m also scheduling out the more infrequent tasks like washing the bedding (ours, kids and guest), checking the water softener, and changing the air filters. I’m really hoping that putting everything on a set schedule will help me get into a routine. Maybe someday I won’t have to have it all written down but for now it’s kind of fun to be feeling productive and keeping a house clean by myself.
What strategies do you use to keep up with the never-ending chores at your house?
Here’s my confession…even though I currently have $50 to get me to my next paycheque…hope the kid likes frozen veggies…we have a cleaning lady twice a month. I have always loathed cleaning and as my ex would say – i’m TERRIBLE at it. He cleaned things that it never occurred to me needed cleaning. So, I’ve accepted that being a single mom…cleaning is just one of those tasks I need help with….I sacrifice other things but not that. I do like that scheduling idea though…
The only reason I’m trying to take it all on myself is because I am home all day. If I worked outside the home it would be a different story I’m sure.
My husband generally takes care of his own laundry and he cooks and cleans up the kitchen every night so I am very fortunate to have that bit of help.
I’ll definitely keep you updated as to how it’s working out.
Alice was a maid, it was her job to keep the place organized. In many of our cases, we work all day outside of the home, or take care of our kids all day, and then have to organize and clean our own houses, two full time jobs..it’s hard.
I’ve tried to scheduling (and assigning tasks) in the past and it hasn’t worked because we didn’t follow it, too tired in my case, not making it a priority in my husband’s case. That meant trying to get all the cleaning done on the weekends…often didn’t happen because again, too tired, or would rather have fun with my family. When I did do it I would resent everyone else because I did 90%.
Maybe I’ll try again though because I don’t want to resent everybody. I’ll check out that website. Let us know how the scheduling goes. Are you assigning tasks to others?
I need this. OMG. I need a cleaning schedule so badly…because this whole “do laundry when josh runs out of underwear” is not working for me.
I think this is a FANTASTIC idea. I’m kind of incorporating that into my Must-Do Monday on my blog. This week is the bedroom. I do work full time but I have no kids, so I should be able to take care of the housework, but I am HORRID at it. Glad I’m not the only one.
Good luck!!!
HM