New & Improved House Keeping Schedule

My new and improved house keeping schedule. I have never understood how something is new and improved. Wouldn't it be one or the other?!

Anyway.

Recently I have had the opportunity to share my house keeping schedule at the two MOPS groups that I attend. It was fun because I had actually just redone my schedule and it was working really well! It was also fun to have to think about why I run my home the way I do.

There are many, many things that I am not any good at. I fail on a daily basis at one thing or another- that's life. But, what I am good at is time management. I view my house keeping schedule as just that- time management. I manage my day so my home gets clean but I am also still living life with my sweet kiddos!

I change my schedule up because I realized that I was missing some important things. For example, when we put the house on the market for a brief time earlier this year I realized I had never, ever cleaned my oven. Not once. Not once in 5 years did I clean that thing! Phew- it was a big job to finally get it clean! (My dad actually came and finished the job because he didn't want me breathing all the chemicals. I was 8 months pregnant at the time!) I didn't want to have to do that again. I got some great advice from my wonderful mother-in-love to focus on a room a day! What a great idea!! 

Reasons for having a house keeping plan:

ONE
As a mom, I am not only responsible for how I spend my time, but how my children's time is spent. My kids are still so young that I control everything they do and when they do it. I do not want to be cleaning all day long and have no time for my kids. I also do not want to live in a mess. It's overwhelming.

TWO
It helps the day run smoothly. When you live on a schedule, everyone knows what to expect and when to expect it. Kids thrive on a schedule. Young kids need to know what will happen and what they can expect. It's why my 3 year old asks every night, "Mama, what are we going to do tomorrow?"

THREE
You will never have to ask yourself the question, "When was the last time I cleaned that?!" -You will already know, because you have a schedule!

FOUR
Weekly cleaning = less cleaning. When you clean on a weekly basis, there is less time for the dirt and grime of life to settle in. It will take less time to clean once you have your schedule.

What I do every day:

ONE
Wash dished. We do not have a dish washer, so I wash everything by hand. This means I am doing dishes 3 or 4 times a day. I actually try to wash something as soon as I use it so that the sink never gets too piled up. It doesn't always work that way, but I try!

TWO
2-4 loads of laundry. With 3 toddlers, one baby, one mommy who tries to run/work out at least 5 days a week and a daddy who works construction- we go through a lot of cloths! The laundry keeps me busy. I can not get behind. If I miss a day, it's hard to catch back up.

THREE 
Sweep and wash floors (more on that later).

FOUR
Wipe down kitchen counters.

Weekly Schedule:

Monday- Bath Room
     Includes: mirror, sink, toilet, tub, spray shower curtain and straighten up under sink.

Tuesday- Kitchen
     Includes: Counters, microwave, refrigerator, and oven.

Wednesday- Living Room
     Includes: Straitening piles, removing anything that doesn't not belong in this room and replacing it to its rightful home.

Thursday- Sheets and Bed Rooms
     Includes: changing every ones sheets, washing the changing table pad cover, washing kids blankets (when I am able to distract them from missing their lovie), straightening up in every ones rooms, vacuuming bed rooms.

Friday- TV/Play Room
     Includes: going through kids toys and throwing out any broken toys, removing anything that doesn't belong in this room and replacing it to its rightful home.

Saturday- Make Up Day
      There will always be a day you missed or something that you didn't get to during the week. That is life with little ones! Use this day as a built in make up day!

Still reading? Good! 
Overwhelmed? Don't be! 
On paper (or computer screen) it looks like a lot of cleaning. But like I said earlier, it will actually take you less time on a schedule. Decide what is important to you and make your own list. Your list does not need to look like mine. Our lives and homes are different. It only makes since that our schedules would look different too. Do you want a nice clean car every week? Add that in to your schedule. What about gardening? Set a day aside for that too! Do what is important to you and what will help keep your life in order.

Other helpful tips:

Earlier I said I washed my floors every day. I bought the swiffer wet jet. I normally do not like to spend money on things like that, but the cost to reward ratio is just to great with that thing! It makes washing the floors super easy- I can even do it while holding a baby!! If you are going to try it, just be on the look out for coupons and deals on the pads and washing liquid. Having clean floors makes a world of difference in your home. If your floors are clean- your home will look and feel that much cleaner!!

I have found cooking dinner at nap time to be very helpful. Trying to put a meal together while the kids are hungry and melting down, and I am tired and have had enough for the day is not easy! Many nights I would not even get dinner ready in time- my kids were eating a lot of frozen chicken nuggets. I started cooking at nap time so that all I would have to do is later reheat dinner. Now they were getting the healthy well, healthy-er meal I had planned without the hour of melt downs and mommy losing it! Plus, I now have less dishes to was at night because I did all the big pots and pans earlier.
     

I hope that you find this helpful! What is the one best house keeping tip you can share with me? I am always looking for was to improve my day!


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