Cleaning 101



Photo by Scott Chan

Welcome to Part 3 of my series on Household Organization. This lesson is on Cleaning. So grab the sponge and vacuum and read out loud to them the plan. If you have your magic wand you can then say bibiti-bobiti-boo and they will be all ready to do the plan for you. However, if you are like me and have no magic wand then it will be time to get off the couch, floor or off the chair and do the cleaning yourself.

Before I start this session I want to say that a few things I may say in here are controversial and I know that. Other things may not work for you or your family, and your house may require more or less cleaning then mine does. I am also by no means a perfect follower of my routine, I'll admit it have been 9 months since I washed the rugs and comforter for our bed (you will see that is 3 months "over-due). But I try and think I do a pretty good job. The biggest thing I can say for my plans and the reason I feel they work is that I NEVER feel overwhelmed and like I don't know where to start. I think that may be the greatest joy I get out my plan is that I can stay on top of things.

First here are my conditions...
- I will let my kids watch half hour of TV so that I can get some of these things checked off my list.
- I believe a clean house is a healthy house, so therefor the TV that gets watched is also beneficial for my kids as they have a clean house to play in.
- No shoes in the house! Even my 4 year old know this and fallows the rule that she can't leave the entry carpet with her shoes on.
- If you help make the mess you help clean the mess. That means if you get toys out you have to pick them up so I can vacuum, if you spill milk you help clean it up (obviously this is not possible for some age groups but as soon as it is possible make it happen). I also don't know any husbands that CAN'T help clean the mess if they make the mess and husbands should be helping.

What I tackle...
Daily
-Laundry (see Laundry 101 for more in depth), dishes
Weekly...
-Vacuuming, sinks, toilets, general pick up of all common areas
Semi-weekly...
-Mopping and dusting
Monthly...
-Shower and tub, shower curtain and rug
Semi-annually...
-Comforter from our bed, washable rugs in the house, windows, radiators, baseboards

Plans! I believe my success in this area is because of my commitment to making lists and plans and sticking to them. I have worked off of two different basic types of plans to accomplish and clean house and will give both of them to you here. I have found that there are different times in my life when one plan works better then another. When I had my 1st baby 4 years ago I needed to utilize Plan 1, but as she got older Plan 2 worked better, and it still seems to work well even as baby 2 is young. I am always willing to adapt my plan but believe that sticking to my plan is what helps me keep up.

These plans are just an outline of what I would do, obviously the days can be moved around or what not but it is a good look at a weekly plan.
So Plan 1: The little by little approach.
Monday- Sinks
Tuesday- Toilets
Wednesday- Vacuum
Thursday- Mopping (or dusting depending on the week as I rotate these)
Friday- Monthly chore or a nother little task you have been meaning to get to (sort the mail or clean off the table)
Saturday- Vacuuming, Family time
Sunday- Gods time (yup we try not to do too much on Sundays and devote that time to Church and relaxing)

During the fall and spring Friday would be the day to add that extra semi-annual task (baseboards, windows of one room, etc...) until they are done.

Plan 2: Marathon Day
Monday- Vacuuming (cause I like to get this in 2 times a week when the kids are so little and play on the floor so much)
Tuesday-
Wednesday-
Thursday- Monthly Task or semi-yearly task
Friday- Morning: Vacuum, Afternoon: Sink, toilet, dusting/mopping (depending on week)

You may notice that with Plan 2 it is a significant chunk of work on Friday, but that is because I have found it is a nice "break" for S (our oldest) to get to watch a movie on Fridays or watch a little extra TV (I told you some of this was controversial), or just play by herself while the littlest one is napping and I just take an hour-hour and a half and get all the cleaning done. I also love it when the house is cleaned every Friday because it makes my weekend when my husband is around all day a much more relaxing and enjoyable time when we don't have to worry about dirty floors or bathrooms.

I also like about Plan 2 that there are days that are "free" days, maybe you work part time outside the house, or like us have play dates or engagements that take up your time a few days a week. This allows you to get out of the house and not get behind on cleaning.

Some other thoughts on the subject of cleaning...
I know some people have the vacuum one room a day or tackle one room a day concept when it comes to cleaning and I think if it works for you great. I found that especially when it comes to vacuuming it didn't make since (in my house) to vacuum only the bed rooms if the common areas didn't get vacuumed because I would just track the dirt from there into the newly cleaned bed room and vice-verse. So I always vacuum the whole house, for me that not very big it took me 20 minutes this morning and that was with using 2 different vacuum (can't wait for my central vac to be functional again).

Dishes- Don't let them pile up till the end of the day, when you use a dish give it a quick rinse and put it in the dishwasher (if you have one). If you don't have a dish washer (like we didn't in our apartment) try to get to the dishes once in the middle of the day for breakfast and lunch dishes and then once after dinner but before you go to bed each night have a clean kitchen. When you wake in the morning the kitchen in typically one of the first rooms you go to (to start your coffee or breakfast) so start your day off right with a clean room to work in. When making dinner try to at least rinse dishes after you use them so loading the dishwasher is easier and you don't get dried on food sitting for a while. I could go on and on but I better just go on...

Flat surfaces! They can collect everything from dust, to mail, toys, books, pens, coupons, receipts etc... My suggestion here is get your house organized, things should have a place to go (need help in this area check back soon for Organization 102 with tips and ideas in this area) and at least once a week, but ideally each day, clean off those surfaces and put things where they go.

Final thoughts....
My biggest tip is get in a routine and stick with it. I know you will have weeks you are sick, out of town, have company, or in some other way fall out of your routine, and that is fine. But just like with dieting, working out or anything else if you "fall off the horse" just get back on. Tomorrow is another day and next week is a new week. And remember this plan isn't an all or nothing plan. If you can add one of these things you don't normally do you will have a cleaner house. If you can do one of these things more often then you normally do you will have a cleaner house. And I could always have a cleaner house.

Laundry 101

Welcome to Part 2 of my series on Household Organization. Today's lesson tackling the never ending stream of laundry.

I actually think this is one of the easiest things to tackle. But that maybe because of 2 reasons, 1. we have a washer and dryer at home, 2. I love to do laundry. Yup call me weird or whatever but I actually like to do it. I in fact even like to go to the laundry mat (though not enough to go all the time).

What we have to tackle. Well in a house with a 4 year old and 6 month old, a husband, and myself to do laundry for on a weekly basis I do just about 1 load a day. Sometimes more. I have found that if I go a day without doing laundry I tend to "pay for it" in the coming days. So I plan for a load a day.

The sorting...
We pre-sort and pre-treat with a stain remover (if needed) as the clothes get put in the hamper. I have not found a big need to sort the kids clothes so I have.... 1 Baby clothes, 1 Kids clothes, 1 Light and 1 Dark. That is how they are sorted now...

What I do each week...
1 load of Baby clothes, including sheet/pad off of crib, blankets, towel and whatever else I find of hers lying around (I scan the whole house).
1 load of Kids clothes (our 4 year old), also including sheet/pad off toddler mattress, blankets towel etc... really the same system as above.
1-2 loads of our Darks, not usually on the same day this is just the load that fills up fastest of our stuff.
1 load of our Lights
1 load of our Sheets and Towels.

Some other tips...
If the above load is too big for washer then I do what fits and then do another small load that same day so that all the things get done on the same day. This most commonly happens with the girls loads since they also contain towels, sheets and blankets, but it is rare.
If guests come I try to do the load of sheets and towels the night they leave so they don't get lost in my regular schedule.
If catastrophe strikes (baby spits up on everything....) then I just have to do more laundry.
I also always fold the load the same day I do it so that it isn't lingering over into the next day. This is however part of how I am wired I love to fold laundry more then wash it (I even fold our socks and underwear).

Last notes...
I also wash the shower curtain and bathmat at least once a month (or when it needs it), and do the comforter off our bed 2 times a year (that is a laundry mat trip).

Please tune in next time for Cleaning 101.

Organization 101

I have had people ask me before and they have started asking again, "You have time to Mop?" or "How do you keep your house so clean?" Well the answer to those questions are Yes and Planning. But I don't feel these answers are enough. I don't want you to think that I have some secret that I'm not sharing so I'm going to give you over these next few blog posts my overall house organization and cleaning routine, schedule and plan. It will cover daily, weekly and monthly chore lists, laundry schedules, and other vital organization/planning topics.

So if you don't like the idea of having a clean, organized house, or a plan for tackling that weekly To Do List then you may want to skip these next few posts. But if you have dreamed of having your house running like a well-oiled machine then read on.

Having said that, I would like to say that this plan is not an all-inclusive or magic wand fix for everything or everyone. I live in a specific world where I have learned to tame the day to day monsters and come out ahead. We have a fairly small house, a strict no shoe policy,  no pets, my kids are allowed to watch some TV while I do a chore, AND a team working to stay on track.

A Team!? You say... No I don't hire in help I recruit those who contribute. My husband said when I told him I thought it was time to write a blog on cleaning and organization, "Make sure you tell them to get their husbands to help." I'll go you one further, while your husband should be helping your kids (depending on their age) should be helping too. I had a 6 month old who obviously does nothing to help but does very little to contribute to the mess. I also have a 4 year old whose job it is to clean up her toys 2 times a day once before Quiet Time, and once before bed time. She also has to put her dirty clothes in her laundry basket each night (or whenever clothes get dirty and taken off), she has to put her shoes in the closet when we come home, and put her dishes in the sink when she is done eating. My husband helps with cooking and taking care of dishes, he is responsible for taking out the trash, putting files in the file cabinet, and keeping his stuff clear of the common areas "flat surfaces." So as you can see that still leaves a lot for me to do but with some planning and spacing it out it doesn't become daunting.

I'm very excited to continue sharing with you how we manage our house and keep it running smoothly. I hope you can take one or two of the ideas presented here and apply them to your life, and I hope that will help you to relax and enjoy your space and family time more.

Laundry 101 Coming Soon....

Only for a Mom

So the shower needed to be cleaned and that's how my chance to get in the shower started. I started cleaning the shower to be interrupted by a child who had to come in and use the potty. Got the shower cleaned and was taking my shower that was cut short by a baby waking up early from a nap she just went down for.

But my hair got washed and I got to use some soap so I guess that is a good shower... but only for a mom.