Cleaning Schedule

I've tried a lot of different cleaning schedules through the years. I've changed them based on a lot of things - the season, the age of my kids, whether or not I'm pregnant...and so on. I've found that keeping things simple is the key to sticking with a schedule. I used to have a very detailed schedule that included morning, afternoon and evening routines. I discovered two things while trying this method - 1) It left me feeling very discouraged if I didn't complete the million to do items and 2)The more time I spent on cleaning the less time I had with my kids.

My current list is simple - a room a day. No weekends since, in all honesty, I never get much done then anyway. My husband is home on weekends, and we spend our time as a family, which will always be more important than a spotless house to me.

Here is my current (new) schedule:

Monday: kitchen
Tuesday: bathrooms
Wednesday: living room
Thursday: bedrooms
Friday: special projects

Whichever room(s) is/are listed for the day I clean top to bottom, usually during Chaos' morning nap while Pinky is playing (she sometimes helps too). For example, in the kitchen it means sweeping, mopping, wiping counters, etc. I vacuum on days I clean the living room and as needed (with 3 animals running around, it's needed often).

Friday is my favorite day. It's the day to get done all those little nagging projects that can distract me during the week. I choose ONE project from my list and do as much as I can that day. Right now my list of special projects (which aren't always just cleaning projects) includes organizing cupboards in the kitchen, sorting through old toys, storing outgrown clothes from the kids' rooms, answering emails, and ordering pictures for an upcoming crop.

The most important thing to me is to remember that if I don't get something done on the list, it's okay. Somedays I can accomplish so much, and other days, forget about it. The important part is just to do what I can, when I can. As Erma Bombeck once said, "Cleaning a house while the children are growing is like shoveling the walk while it's still snowing."