From www.allposters.com.
I am working on tweeking our cleaning schedules again. One schedule never works for me indefinitely. There are always seasons that come and go and merit a change.
I really cannot function around the chaos that clutter brings. Now I have heard al the arguments that my children are young for along a short time and we ought to put down the broom and play with the children. Well I have never been accused of being a neat freak! But at the same time, I can't concentrate and enjoy much when things are a mess.
My method used to be to try to stay up with dishes, laundry, having everything put back in its place, and one room deep cleaned a day. In that way even if you had to miss a day of deep cleaning things never got too out of hand. But as it turned out it is just as easy to dust the whole downstairs once you have everything out or to vacuum the whole floor all at once.
So now we will:
Monday: Catch up with general tidying from the busy weekend.
Tuesday: Deep clean the downstairs.
Wednesday: Deep clean the upstairs and both bathrooms.
Thursday: Make sure nothing is missed. Do things like the frig. and other things that fell through the cracks.
Friday: Tidy for the weekend and declutter.
Deep clean to me is: Windex, dust, vacuum all surfaces and trim work and anything that stays still! This includes under furniture and in cushions. Inside, outside, up and down is all cleaned. I rotate the kids on chores so they all get trained. Plus the child who has mastered that chore will be doing it every couple of weeks to bring the quality back! :) I do teach during the time and point things out that need another swipe!
With three kids ages, 14, 11, and 9 almost 10, it really doesn't take long each day. I can't say enough what a blessing it has been to have trained the kids to help. With a very bad back I just can't do it alone! But it is good for them too because they are being trained to care for the house. (At least that's what I tell them...haha!!)
Our schedule looks like this:
High Schooler is up and showered and ready for school by 7:30 a.m. High School is from 7:30 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Going over that is rare and usually only to study for a test. Chores are 3:30, or sometimes 4:00 p.m. if laundry needs to be folded too.
Elementary School for the other two is 8 a.m.-2 p.m. with chores from 2-2:30 or 3:00 depending on need.
This doesn't count laundry being put in and switched through the day or dishes which are done at lunch time and supper time. We also do what we call "room by room and up the stairs" at lunch time and after supper dishes. This is when everyone puts away what was not put away when they were done using it and the bedrooms get a quick tidy.
When we are faithful to this we can have the house company ready in 10 minutes, anytime. It's a beautiful thing!
I love to look at other's schedules for ideas so if you want to share you have a listening ear in me!
4 comments:
I like your schedule AND your training! Once this baby is born we'll be working out a new housework schedule here. Right now it's all about maintaining....
I agree a schedule needs tweaking every now and then. Things change. I think whoever made up the saying about "It won't say on my tombstone I kept a clean house" was a messy person looking for an excuse to be messy. Children thrive in a tidy environment.
I have my entire schedule in a post you will find on my side bar under "MY World" then "Home Management Binder". I could not survive without it...ok maybe that is a little strong, but it sure does help!!!
Your schedule looks great.
I joined the T2CHK forum. It looks great but very complicated...so much to look at. I am browsing though.
Hi Karen,
I'm trying to get my days and clutter under control here at our house, too. So I pulled our "Service Opportunities Chart" (that I bought from Doorposts.net) That I had put together sometime early last year, but for some reason, that I totally can't remember, I put it away. :-( And, old-fashioned thought is may be, I really love the days of the week dishtowels - you know, Monday Washing, Tuesday Ironing, Wednesday Cleaning, etc. And I'd like to get things under control enough to be able to just devote a day to a certain task/area instead of looking around and seeing which spot is the worst and needs the most attention. Regular keeping up instead of desperation cleaning, you know? I had to smile when I looked at your days -- we too spend Friday getting ready for the weekend and Monday cleaning up after it! LOL!
I know and enjoy the poem you mentioned, but yes, it is just as important to train our children to be neat and that everything has a place as it is to sit and cuddle/read to them. I've been against setting times and such for schoolwork, but I think the season is here where we would really benefit from having more structure and purpose to our school time with plenty of time left for chores and persuing personal interests.
We're off for piano lessons now, but I will try and take a picture of our Chart and post it so you can see what we're doing over here. BTW, I spent the morning doing laundry and ironing in between helping with schoolwork and organizing my books and binders that seem to congregate around my chair at the table -- and I'll spend our piano time making up our menu plan for this weeks' breakfasts, lunches and dinners!
Thank you for sharing what is happening at your house - it's always a learning experience to see how others manage their time and work.
I actually print out a cleaning list that is for my weekly, monthly, and seasonal cleaning. This way I am not forgetting to do something. In addition, I tidy toys each night and the kitchen. I do a "quicky" with the floors each non-cleaning day. Glad you are enjoying the KAL
Post a Comment