Cleaning System

*I orginally published this on my personal blog, but thought it might help someone else out there!

This cleaning system is really helping me keep things under control. I just wish there were LESS cleaning to actually do. At least I don't have to worry about forgetting something this way and my house has stayed much cleaner!

Another bonus to this system is that I'm not angry at my husband nearly as much! Let me explain: I'm at stay at home, homeschooling mom. I feel like it's my job to do all the housework (at least the inside stuff!) But the truth is, there are hardly enough hours in the day to get everything done and when my husband would come home, sigh and start to pick up, it would infuriate me and I'd yell at him to leave it alone. Which would in turn, make him angry at me for yelling, being frustrated and not accepting his help..leaving the house still in a mess! With this system he knows exactly what still needs to be done that day and if there is something I really don't want him to touch, I take it off the hook before he gets here.

Hook you ask? Yes, hook. Here's how hooks play into the system.




Set up:

1. I typed up a list of the chores that I need to do daily and weekly. I printed, laminated and cut them, punching a hole on one end of the strip.

2. I divided the chores into three piles: Daily Morning Chores, Daily Evening Chores and Weekly Chores.

3. I embellished! Daily Morning Chores have a bright yellow star sticker on the end. Daily evening chores have a subdued blue star sticker on the end and the weekly chores don't have anything (except for "take out the trash" which is a Tuesday-MUST chore and "pick out Reagan's clothing for the week" which is a Sunday chore--I simply wrote those days on the ends of those cards).

Using the system:

1. I hung up two hooks in the kitchen (on the fridge) with the labels "To Do" and "Finished". All the items were hung up on the "To Do" hook and as I do them, they (obviously) get hung up on the finished side.

2. At the end of every day the blue and yellow tags get rehung on the "To Do" side. And on Sunday evening, all the evening chores get hung back on the "To Do" side as well.

That's it! So easy. Every day I do my daily chores and a couple of weekly chores. And it's keeping me saner and the house looking ten times better.

***A couple of things I wanted to mention that I do-the playroom/school room does NOT get cleaned everyday. That's a separate entity. I'm working on addressing that issue for us (maybe like a straighten at the end of the school day?). And the quarterly chores (washing windows, cleaning pantries, cycling toys out, etc) are still something I'm working on as well!

If you want a list of what I do, here are my chores!

Daily Morning Chores
-Complete a load of laundry
-Sweep kitchen and laundry rooms
-Vacuum (I look over the house daily. If it needs it, I do it, if not, I move it over to the finished pile and move on!)
-Run a load of dirty dishes and put away (reload any that need to be loaded)
-Pick up and straighten the house (this includes wiping sinks, emptying trash bins, picking up and returning items, hanging up towels, straightening pillow and slipcovers)
-Scoop litter box
-Make beds

Daily Evening Chores
-prep coffee pot
-bedtime routine for me
-pick up/straighten house again
-pack Josh's lunch
-fill work boxes for school

Weekly Chores
-clean fridge
-grocery shop
-meal plans and coupons
-wash bath toys, loofahs, bath mats in/out of tub and shower curtains as needed
-wash bed linens and towels
-clean toilet
-dust hall and bath
-dust family room
-scrub bathtub
-wash cats' bedding and bowls
-refill soap dispensers
-refill cleaners
-charge phone (yes, I consider this a chore!)
-garbage to curb
-clothes out for the week for Reagan
-clean out van
-change out Church bag
-clean coffee pot
-dust kitchen and laundry rooms (includes wiping down cabinets)
-mop laundry, bath, kitchen and entry areas
-wash slipcovers
-dust bedrooms (includes fans, sills in the summer!)

Stay tuned in the next few days for Reagan's chore and getting ready chart! This little thing has made our lives run a lot smoother in the mornings before getting ready to start school!