I remember when I was growing up, my mam used to have a cleaning schedule – not because she was a neat freak but because she wanted to make sure that over the course of a month, everything got done.
I used to do something similar but gradually, over the last year or so, I’ve stopped following my schedule which means that rather than doing little and often, I regularly end up having a big blitz which obviously takes up a chunk of time that I’d rather be using to do something other than cleaning.
I’ve decided I’m starting it again though so I’ve written out my two week cleaning plan (yes in a new notebook specifically for to do lists and cleaning lists) and I thought you might like to see it but before you read it, remember to bear in mind that this is on top of the obvious hoovering, washing and quick tidying away that you would usually do.
Also, I’ve just written this to start this week so I may have missed things off that I’ll add to it but you can see the idea – doing things little and often to a plan *should* mean that everything gets done and the kids are old enough to do their fair share so I’ll be getting them involved too which will make things quicker.
Week 1
Monday : Paperwork night.
Tuesday : Put all clean clothes away.
Wednesday : Living room blitz including dusting everything, cleaning the TV cabinet, wiping down the sofa, cleaning doors, washing cushion covers.
Thursday : Tidy out one cupboard or drawer in the house.
Friday: Force Encourage husband to clean his computer desk and get the kids to tidy our their drawers in the living room.
Saturday : Wash the kids bed covers and get them to do a big tidy of their rooms. Move in with the hoover when they’re done.
Sunday : Kitchen Blitz – including cleaning cupboard doors, mopping the floor, wiping under all appliances on the counter rather than just around them, tidying out the fridge, cleaning the front of the fridge and the washing machine.
Week 2
Monday : Paperwork night.
Tuesday : Put all clean clothes away.
Wednesday : Hall, stairs and landing blitz including hoovering and dusting as well as tidying the bookshelf on the upstairs landing and the DVD cupboard downstairs. If I had a cupboard under the stairs, I’d do this today too.
Thursday : Tidy out one cupboard or drawer in the house.
Friday : Mini bedroom’s blitz.
Saturday : Wash our bedroom covers, tidy and hoover our bedroom.
Sunday : Bathrooms blitz.
A couple of things that I stick to from the Flylady plan that I used to follow are that I always make sure that the sink is clear of pots when I go to bed on a night and I regularly grab a carrier bad and walk round the house on a mission to throw away 27 things. I have no idea why it’s 27 things but it’s enough to make a difference but not enough to take more than a few minutes. You’ll be surprised at what you throw away – sweet wrappers, post it notes, a pen that doesn’t work, a sock with a hole in and two tissues were part of my haul this morning!
Do you have a schedule or are you just a when it needs it kind of person?
