HOUSEHOLD CHORES-ORGANIZED & MADE
EASY:
The advantages of a clean home are numerous. No, I don’t mean spotless, Homes &
Gardens picturesque clean. I am talking
about one where there are not too many crumbs on the kitchen floor for the baby
to eat, where you have clean laundry and bed linens, clean dishes to eat off
of, and can take a bath without fear of touching something gross and contagious. Of course the biggest advantages of a clean
home are comfort and safety. Clean
bathrooms and kitchens are actually very important because you don't want to
spread germs around the house which cause illness. Tidy and clean living rooms can help avoid
accidents. Another advantage of following a list or guide is everything
that is important gets cleaned on a consistent basis therefore you don't forget
something or neglect something too long, generally, to the point where it gets
really out of control.
So, let’s begin with the daily clean-up routine.
Every morning we get up, put on clean clothes, eat
breakfast, dirty a few dishes, etc. You
know the drill. However, what if one
morning we wake up to put on our clean clothes, or eat our bowl of cereal, and
there are no clean clothes or dishes? Our life has been disrupted and we could have
avoided this.
How can we avoid disrupting our life? Simply by making sure that our household
cleaning schedule reflects and complements our daily routines and habits. Actions such as cleaning our dirty dishes or washing laundry as a load appears or
putting things away right immediately, when done as consistently as we use
them, will keep our life going in an easy and organized manner. In other words clean the dishes or rinse and
put them in the dishwasher right after you use them. Don’t wait and let the dirty clothes pile up;
it is easy to knock out one load while watching TV.
When I talk about daily household chores I am not talking
about cleaning your house for hours on end each day. In fact, you will find that using a daily
clean up schedule you will not need to clean that long at all and it certainly
makes the weekly cleaning a great deal easier and quicker.
The following two lists (daily cleanup and weekly chores list)
are only guides, but generally I think these are pretty universal. Using these list should certainly help keep
your home tidy and easier for you to keep clean.
Daily Household Cleanup:
Take out Trash
Make beds
Dirty Clothes Control: Place dirty clothes in laundry baskets, not tossed around the house and wash a load when you can.
Tidy as You Go:
Make sure to put things where they belong, don’t let things pile up in
one spot. It is harder to clean up a huge pile later on. Toss out anything you no longer want rather than
let it pile up for later. In other words, tidy up as you go.
Bathrooms: Daily bathroom cleaning beats weekly
scrubbing of scum and old pee any day.
Bathrooms are one of the dirtiest places in the house. They should be done at the very least once a
week if not more often. Here's an easy
way to keep the bathrooms manageable and always clean. Be sure to keep Clorox wipes under the sink
or next to the toilet on the floor. Once
you and your partner both get into this habit you will see how easy it really
is. It takes all of a few minutes and poof, the only thing left weekly in the
bathrooms will be the floors.
General Bathroom Area: The idea here is that each person in the
home chips in and does this at least once a day so let’s say after a BM. Put those Clorox wipes left in the bathroom
to good use. Wipe down the toilet well
making sure to lift the toilet seat, wipe well around all parts of the seat and
around the base of the toilet too. Wipe
down counter and fixtures with a new wipe.
Shower & Tubs: Use shower to shower or similar item with
each shower. Assuming you sprayed the
shower after your last visit and left the product on all surfaces. Keep a toilet brush in the corner of the
shower and while standing in there scrub the walls and tub well. Use the handheld shower head to rinse all
surfaces then spray with shower to shower on exiting. If all parties do this daily it takes just a
couple minutes and no scum will build up.
Kitchen: Clean up kitchen after meals including using
Clorox wipes on all counter surfaces and cabinets handles. Sweep up crumbs on the floor. Run and empty dishwasher as needed. Every time you go into the refrigerator get in
the habit of looking for outdated items and toss them, keep it tidy and wipe
any spills right away. Every time you go
into the pantry, put things back where they belong and keep it tidy. These quick steps will go a long way to help
avoid huge, hour upon hour cleaning later on. Quick tip to help keep cabinets doors clean--as you stand there waiting for something to boil or bake, wipe down the cabinet doors.
Garage, Patio &
Grill: Between each monthly maintenance
of these areas just keep them tidy and cleaned up with each use.
Brush Pets: This
may need to be done daily with long haired pets and it may suffice to do it
biweekly. Adjust your schedule accordingly.
Keep a Shopping List: Check paper products and cleaning supplies as
you go and keep a list. Each time you go into the pantry or refrigerator note
items you will need. It is much easier
and quicker to keep a list going than to try to see everything you need right
before you want to go shopping. This also helps to keep the spending under
control as you will shop according to what you need rather than impulse shop.
WEEKLY HOUSEHOLD CHORES:
Side Note on Pets:
The number of times each week the floors will need to be done is dependent upon
the number of pets in the home and if they shed a lot or a little. Some homes will need to be vacuumed and
mopped daily while others can easily be done biweekly. It is highly recommended
that floors in homes with pets be swept at least twice a week and mopped at least
weekly.
Monday –
Wash bed sheets.
Dust upstairs. Sweep, vacuum and/or mop upstairs and
steps-Pet hair loves to congregate in the corners of steps so be sure to vacuum
stairs well.
Tuesday –
Laundry as needed (don’t forget
those nice hand towels in the guest bathroom).
Pay bills as needed.
File as needed, etc.
Dust downstairs.
Sweep, vacuum and/or mop downstairs
floors.
Groom pets as needed.
Wednesday –
Clean bathrooms-If you follow the
daily suggestion the bathrooms will be pretty much clean, just wipe up as
needed and mop the floors.
Clean Kitchen- If you follow the
daily suggestions the kitchen will be in order and pretty much clean, just mop
and scrub floor and flush disposal drain with vinegar.
Thursday –
Laundry as needed
Friday-
If you have a pet/s, repeat floor
cleaning in the area the pet/s reside the most.
Saturday –
Sunday –
Grocery shop
Cook and portion meals for the
week
Laundry as needed
Lawn and yard work as needed
