Clean Routine – Part Two

Back in March I posted about how I keep our home at a reasonable level of cleanliness. While a picked up house does look cleaner, you do still have to clean at some point. Eventually the toilets become a bit nasty and most of your furniture will build up a dust barrier that could protect it from nuclear fallout.

I like a clean house as much as the next guy (or girl) but I do NOT like to spend one whole day cleaning! I really prefer the do-a-little-bit-each-day method. That way the house is always recently cleaned and doesn’t ruin an entire day each week.

I just figured out a schedule of which rooms to clean each day. When we lived in smaller houses or apartments, I had a schedule where all the rooms got cleaned each week. With a bigger place, I decided which rooms needed cleaning every week (bathrooms, kitchen, hallway, family room, etc) and which could be done every other week (laundry room, living room, bedrooms). Then I just divvy them up and make a schedule.Right now we only clean three days a week and do 3-4 rooms each of the days. I also have an emergency schedule of how to clean the whole house in a week (4 days).

When I didn’t have so many helpers (or just weren’t quite as helpful), I did fewer rooms each day and cleaned every weekday.

I mentioned in my last cleaning post that I enlisted the boys to help as soon as they were old enough. There are some chores that they do 365 days a year (making beds, putting laundry away…) But some we do on a rotating schedule. Some chores change every 3 months. These include which parts of the bathrooms and kitchen each of them is responsible for. It is posted right next to the cleaning schedule. (see picture above)

Other chores rotate weekly. These include doing the dishes, helping with cooking & taking out the garbage, or setting the table. Also in the weekly rotation is dusting, glass, and vacuuming. I write these on a chalkboard and write the boys names under the appropriate chore and list what week in the schedule we are in (week 1 or 2).

Now I confess that the boys do not do as thorough of a job as I would but it’s not bad. But every 3-4 months I take a week or two and do heavy duty cleaning.  I only do a room or two a day, but they get really clean! Closets and cupboards are cleaned out, things are put back to where they really belong or to a new place altogether, sometimes windows are cleaned, occasionally the carpets are shampooed. These weeks always result in a very full garbage can and a rather large pile of stuff for the Goodwill.

Wow! When I go back and read this it sounds really complicated. But when I’m doing it in real life it seems really simple and goes smoothly (most of the time).

Happy Cleaning! And remember “cleanliness is NOT next to godliness” it is next to happiness and sanity. ;o) Just kidding!