Making a Cleaning Schedule - One that works for you and not someone else!In our Making It Home Yahoo Group we have been looking at different cleaning styles and our families schedules. We are in the process of putting all of this down on paper and giving it a good look at all that we do in our month. We are some pretty busy Ladies! I try to emphasize finding a schedule that works for your family and your family alone. Looking at other's schedules are great and very helpful but I find that when I try to follow "their plan" it doesn't work for me. Why? It does not fit the needs of my family and their schedule. Here is what I posted today in our group and I hope it gives you an idea about planning out your schedules in your homes.
Last week we looked at different cleaning styles and our family's schedule. This week we are going to break down our homes into cleanable areas that we can do and that will not be overwhelming to us.
Using the Mount Vernon Method (starting from the front entry way and following the wall to your right or left until you return back to the same spot) list the rooms of your home until you return back to the same spot. If you have more than one story...list out the floors separately.
This is from my list...
First Floor:
Foyer
Hallway
Family Room
Music Room
Laundry Room
Bathroom
Kitchen
Dining Room
------------> This puts me right back where I started (Foyer)
Second Floor:
Stairway
Sitting area
Hallway
Office/Guest Room
Master Bedroom
Bathroom
Child's Room
Child's Room
--------------> and back to the top of the stairs
TOTAL AREAS: 16
Using a weekly calendar (Monday ~ Friday) and in placing these areas on our week we need to figure out how many areas we need to space out through the week...
16 Areas divided by 5 Days = 3.2 Areas a day
This means I will need to list at least 3 areas a day on my list. But before I do that I need to go back to the list I made (last week) regarding my family's schedule before placing these areas down. For instance...
If your shopping day is on Thursday...you may to plan on detailing the kitchen before you go shopping...so Kitchen Detailing would be placed on Wednesday.
If your husband's work schedule is one that he requires sleep at certain times of the day...you don't want to be detailing the room while he is sleeping.
Consider the area you have and if it is a large room or requires more time...this may be considered more than one area.
Group smaller areas or ones that won't take up time by themselves and place with other small areas.
If breaking these areas down in 5 days is too much work(due to schedules or health)...try spreading them out over a two week period instead. Tweaking as you go along and making a system that works for you and you alone.
Think of your detailing as a flowing pattern. For me skipping here and there does not work for me. I like to do things in an orderly fashion.
Mondays are a busy day for me. This is the day I Bless My Home. Taking this into account I don't want to add more to my plate than I can handle. So here is my list of to do's that work for me...checking off from my list above as I place them in my week...
Monday:
Bless My Home
Detailing: Master Bedroom
Tuesday:
Child's Bedroom (Sarah does her own detailing)
Foyer
Hallway (downstairs)
Family Room
Wednesday:
Child's Bedroom (David does his bedroom and laundry today)
Spritzing (kitchen sinks, bathroom areas and a quick run through the house with the vacuum)
Bathrooms (I just did some tweaking here...since I'm spritzing these areas to begin with on this day...I can detail this area very easily while I'm in there!)
Music Room
Dining Room
Thursday:
Kitchen (This for me is a bigger task than the other rooms. Refrigerator needs cleaning, stove top and oven (inside oven only when needed)...all these things require more time and focus. So taking this into account I know I will be in there longer.)
Friday:
Spritzing
Leftover Laundry (I collect any extra laundry from all the rooms and wash. This is also a great day to wash blankets, afghans, rugs that are on my monthly to do list. Again...these things are done on a "as needed" basis. If it doesn't need it...I don't do it! I will also detail this room while I'm in there.)
Stairway
Sitting Area
Hallway
Office/Guest Bedroom
Did I check everything off from my list above? Yep!
Now time to put this into action! Try this for a week or two and see how it works and flows for you. If you need to tweak then tweak! But the very important thing is now you have something to work off of and use. This is a tool that so many of us fight...I know I've done the same thing. It is human nature I suppose not wanting a schedule of any kind but when I look at it as a tool to help me...it makes a difference. Would you try driving a car without a steering wheel? No...so why would you try to clean your home without a "steering wheel" so to speak? No! When we don't have a plan we soon find we get tired and lose interest or feel overwhelmed at all that must be done.
I don't want keeping my home to be drudgery! I want to be able to enjoy it and my precious family within it! Having my list lets me do both!
Donna Young has free printable calenders along with many other wonderful and helpful lists...
Go over your list/week with your husband and ask him what he thinks. Maybe you have not considered a few things that he will be able to quickly spot and help you spread out the work load more evenly. I think Ladies this helps our guys see that we are really trying and seeing this he may step up and help where he can. I'm not saying this will happen overnight but when everyone in your house sees you are making an effort...they will follow suit too! Try it! You might be surprised how this works! Don't forget that when they do...thank them for helping you out!
If you wish to share your list with the rest of us...be sure to include your name to the subject line...
Subject: Cleaning: Making Schedules ~ Name Here~
Sometimes sharing this list with others helps keep us a little more accountable to our days!
xoxo Cat
The Ladies in our group are just wonderful and all have shared tips and ideas that have worked for them. Knowing that we are all trying to accomplish the same thing in our homes helps encourage us all and motiviates us to keep on keeping on in our days - especially when we just don't plain feel like it! <winking>
I pray that God Bless you all in your efforts in your homes today!
Catherine | 
) The bread pans are actually my mom's, along with everything else I use, as I'm still living at home. I think we just picked them up from good will or a rummage sale or something. I'm sure they could be found somewhere online if you looked hard enough. BUT I should mention the fact that I have used teflon ones for bread, and the bread turned out fine, so I'm not sure that is it. What I usually do to help the rising process is heat the oven to 100 degrees or so, turn it off and throw the bread in with a -very- slightly damp towel over the top. Hope that helps a bit! You have a lovely blog, I hope to have a chance to read it all soon. 
