Cleaning.

I frequently have friends who tell me that they feel like they can never get on top of the cleaning in their house and that they are constantly overwhelmed by all of the cleaning that needs to be done. They are constantly asking me how I manage to keep the house clean. I have two secrets.

1) Help! I am a housewife, but I am not the only person who lives in this house, the girls each have chores, yes, the three year old does chores. If they make the mess they will help clean it up. Also I am blessed to have a husband who likes to clean, in fact he deals with stress by cleaning. I don't think that it is right for any family to expect one person to clean up after the entire group. I do the majority of the cleaning because it is a part of my job as a housewife and Mom but help isn't too much to ask for. We all have days when work and life just get to be too much.

2) Lists! Until I discovered the beauty of lists I was lost with my cleaning. I have a horrible memory, so knowing how long it has been since I did something and when I need to do it again is a huge blessing. That way I know no matter how bad my memory is at the moment when I last cleaned something and when I need to do it again. My lists are in a three ring binder slipped into plastic sheet covers, that way I can check things off with a dry erase marker and then re-start at the end of the day, week or month.

Here are the lists that I work from, feel free to steal them, share them, and change them all that you want to.

Daily

Make Beds
Empty Dishwasher
Breakfast
Clean kitchen
Quick clean bathrooms
Gather and Sort Laundry
One load laundry washed, dried, folded and put away
Check phone and e-mail messages. Return when needed.

Prep Dinner

School time with P-nut
Lunch
Clean Kitchen
Exercise
Quick de-clutter house
Vacuum
Spot Mop
Water Garden, and Grass
Make Dinner
Clean Kitchen
Exercise
Refill Water Purifiers
Bath time, Story, Bed for kids
Last pick up of cups and dishes

Start dishwasher
Bed!

Weekly

Wash Windows
Dust Furniture
Scrub Floors
Wash Towels
Wash Sheets
Clean out Fridge
Re-Organize/sort girls toys, they clean daily I just check for lost or broken things once a week.

Check Home business to make sure it's on track.

Meal Plans (usually bi-weekly)
Grocery List (also bi-weekly)
Clean out a closed area (closet, drawer, pantry)
Clean Appliances (wipe front of fridge, washer and dryer, etc)
Mow, weed.
File mail and paperwork

Monthly

Scrub Bathrooms (since I do a quick clean daily I only need to break out the strong stuff once a month)
Sweep Front and Back Porches
Re-evaluate Lists
Prep cards for birthdays/holidays
Re-do Family Wall calender
Find 3 new meals to try

Make a special dessert.

Lamp shades and light fixtures dusted

High shelves and surfaces dusted

Filing Cabinet/fire safe clean if needed

Clean inside Fridge (wash)

Replace house and water filters as needed.

I hope that this helps you just a little. I'll go into the rest of the things that I keep in my three ring binder later. Let me tell you it's a life saver.

~DD