Ever felt overwhelmed by a mountain of housework that needs
to be done? Me too! After our recent long distance move I have found adjusting
to our new home a tricky transition. Our previous home was much easier to
manage- probably because I had established a workable cleaning routine that
flowed well with our needs and rhythm of life.
However in our present house there always seems to be more
to do! So how to move forward with a
solution to the cleaning battle? Clearly I need a plan!
Here is my strategy to finding a workable cleaning routine
when housework seems to be overwhelming:
Firstly I wrote a list of all the cleaning jobs that needed
to be done. After brain storming my
list, I thought about what needed to be done daily, what needed to be done
weekly and what monthly. I also did a quick Pinterest search for cleaning
routine lists to jog my memory about what needed to be done.
Then the tricky bit! Working out how the tasks were going to
fit in to a manageable daily routine. I
have found that it works best for me to get all the daily chores done first
thing in the morning. This is when I have a bit more energy.
I sometimes find myself zig-zagging from room to room doing
lots of little tasks here and there as I see they need to be done! But I think
it would be better to focus on one room at a time and so I can finish and move
on with a small sense of achievement. If I leave a room with something to do “later”
I have found it is still there at the end of the day!
Putting on some upbeat music sometimes helps with motivation
as does having a time limit. I also found myself avoiding certain unpleasant
tasks – doing them first off certainly helped get rid of procrastinating and
feeling that sense of dread.
As far as weekly tasks go, it is easy to forget them when I
sometimes feel like I am muddling through the week! What I have found useful is
using a template with the days of the week listed on it. It lives on our fridge
where I can check it as I walk through the kitchen. I was using the weekly
template to plan meals for the week but realised it could double as a reminder
to do specific cleaning tasks on a specific day. So the weekly tasks have each been
allocated to days when it is convenient to do them.
When it comes to the monthly tasks I have not yet found a
good solution! I think I might need to put them down in my planner and then add
them on a specific day to my weekly plan.
After some months in our new house I am finding myself
getting into a better rhythm. I still need to start a better evening clean up
routine, but it is getting easier to stay on top of things now. I think having a more defined plan of what to
do and when to do it (as well as delegating some chores) has been helpful in
establishing a workable cleaning routine. It has also helped to try and do a
little bit more often rather than letting tasks mount up.
What are your tips
and tricks for making cleaning and household chores easier? How do you remember
to do monthly and annual cleaning and organizing tasks?
