I’m one of those people who needs a deadline to get things done. I was the university student pounding at my keyboard and my snacks, racing the clock and getting things done exactly on time.
Some call that procrastination. I call it proper use of a deadline.
I now have a year of official stay-at-home-mom status under my belt, though I enjoyed a rather long introductory period full of mulligans. Triplets, I claimed. No-nap hell, I explained.
I’m totally not admitting this because admitting it would cause the universe to crumble and ruin any semblance of normalcy we’ve established, but we’re now in a nice routine and have been for a few months. I’ve had more time to write, to relax and, yes, to clean.
I’d still fallen short of what I’d tried to do, though. In a fit of frustration, I sat down six weeks ago and laid out a plan to begin the following week. I broke our 1,400 sq. ft. house down by five (weekday) sections and arranged them from most used (most to clean) to least used. Like the rest of the working world, I get a serious case of Weekenditis as Saturday closes in, and getting the hardest part done first would best set me up for success.
click on the image for a larger version you can download
I’ve followed this schedule for five weeks now, and IT WORKS. I sound like an awful infomercial, but keeping up with housework has never been easier for me. It’s on the schedule, so I get it done. Naptime hits, I put away my tech toys, crank the Pandora tunes (the RENT! station is perfect for cleaning), and I power through my chores often with enough time leftover for a quick shower, a meal and a few minutes of rest before my triplets are up and ready to make a mess have fun.
Unscheduled but necessary chores include picking up toys at the start of every nap or when the kiddos go down for the night and just general tidying as the day goes by. Doing a little bit nearly constantly is what makes this schedule work without it becoming too exhausting.
Otherwise, I only focus on the current day’s designated room(s). To make it even easier, I wash each area’s floors and woodwork every other week, rotating by washing on M/W/F one week and T/Th the next. The rotation keeps the floors clean and saves my hands from a solid week in a bucket of hot water.
I’ve had a few busy days that needed some work split between the assigned day and adding a bit extra to the next day’s load, and I admit to not really following the laundry schedule yet. Laundry is tricky to get scheduled, and I just haven’t figured out how to quit doing it whenever it’s necessary, hence why I didn’t include cloth-diaper laundry on the list. Diapers are going to get washed, schedule be damned.
Wow, you go girl!
Awesome!
Dumb question, but what do the “A” and “B” mean on various days?
The rooms scheduled for M/W/F get floors/woodwork washed one week (Week A), then the T/Th rooms get washed the next (Week B). I rotate the A days and the B days so I’m not washing floors every day of the week.
You would LOVE pinterest if you already haven’t gotten sucked into that world:) I have found/ implemented/ discovered so many wonderful crafting, cooking, cleaning & organizing tips
You are a spectacular mother & I am constantly impressed. God bless you & your growing family:)
UGH I have to admit I love your blog but that’s not really the admitting part. The admitting part is that I always forget to check it! Then I’m anoyed at all the catch up reading I have to do. Problem solved, book mark. i love your schedule and i am going to try to implement something “like” that! HA
I’m a total Pinterest slut! I need to get more organized (story of mah life!), but follow me, and I’ll follow you back! I also have a button linking to my Pinterest account at the top right of my blog.
Just found you on Pinterest! yay!
Great schedule sister! I’ve been trying to figure something out because I’m sick of always being behind on cleaning. Between diaper changes, nursing, bottle feeding, pumping and dealing with the 2 year old, I can’t find time to do anything but the daily necessities. But you’re no stranger to that feeling! But with a 2 year old and 5 month old twins, I might have to wait a few more months til I can make sense of all the madness and keep this place clean!
& I’m spent just reading that. Can I hire you or Mr Monica to come up & clean for us? Everyday vacuuming… {instead of when guests are coming vacumming} is that gonna be my new normal?!
I got into a great schedule last winter and in the summer when I was home every day. Then enter the working world (even though it is only 4 hours a day) and umm yeah the cleaning schedule be damned. But now that I have an almost walker (Wtf) I need to do a better job. Child already is eating dust.
This is super smart! I’m embarking on being a SAHM two weeks from now (!!! yikes! Just quit my job!) and have been thinking about how I need to be disciplined about cleaning and not just slack during my Eleanor’s naptimes and watch crappy daytime tv.
You’ve inspired me!