Ok, normally I am a fan of the comments. I like em. They make me feel loved. But today ... today I am just flat out, shamelessly BEGGING for comments!
Cause, today ... today I need help!
I am just gonna come on out and confess y'all here and now.
Organization? It is sooooooooooo not my thang.
Oh, and really, neither is (please don't hate me) housework.
Yep. That's right. I am a Stay At Home Mom (SAHM) and I am not a good housekeeper.
(I am so ashamed)
However, I am trying to get better. I really am. I read something recently that has spurred me on to want to improve even more. She said something like "my husband feels loved when he comes home to a clean house" ... well, I want MY husband to feel loved too!!!!!
Now, realistically, I understand that my house is not gonna look like a magazine spread in this season of life. I have young children and I babysit even younger children, so the house is pretty much a very large toy box right now. But, I KNOW there is something I can do to make the whole thing easier.
Then I discovered Home Sanctuary and her Small Things game. And I was hooked. It was totally EASY!
Until this week.
(kidding ... kinda)
This week we have been looking at, tweaking and perfecting our housework schedules. (I did mention that I don't the organization thing, right?) But, I am determined and so I forged on. I did come up with a plan of action that seems do-able, but I am looking for input. (HERE IS WHERE YOUR COMMENTS (please, for the love of all things great and wonderful, please comment) COME IN!!!) And, so I ask you....
How do YOU break up your chores? Do you divide by room - Kitchen on Mon., Bedrooms on Tues. ...? Or by task - Dusting on Mon., Vacuuming on Tues. ...? An all out clean it top to bottom on Saturday? Or do you wait til someone is coming over and stuff everything in a closet
Right now I have it divided by one room and one load of laundry per day, but that means the vacuum is out every day, along with whatever else is needed for that room... Is that the most efficient way? Is there a BETTER way? What am I missing? Help me out y'all.
OK ... lemme see your comments ... GO!
13 of ya left some love:
Don't you just love Rachel Anne? I have been following her blog for several years. It was the very first blog I really started reading every day!!
Here's what I do. And I'm not perfect and my house is a complete disaster right now. So take it for what it is worth.
1. Turn the TV and computer off. Crank up the praise music and turn it up! Or listen to some good teaching. I am listening to Louie Giglio's talks on James at Passion City Church right now while I work around the house. This 1st step is CRUCIAL to me!!
2. Go around your entire house - room by room - and pick each one up. Set a timer and spend no more than 5-7 minutes per room. Unless a tornado has come through, most rooms can usually be picked up (not cleaned) in this time. Once the timer dings, move on!
3. After that, pick ONE ROOM -- ONE ROOM -- to thoroughly clean and actually do it. Dust, vacuum, polish, shine, scrub, whatever needs to be done. But also set a timer. Set a reasonable amount of time and vow to not get sidetracked with cleaning out drawers, closets, etc. instead of cleaning the room. This is my usual downfall...I get distracted.
4. Change your mindset (if it is your mindset - it is mine) that you HAVE TO DO THE ENTIRE HOUSE IN ONE DAY! I don't care how small or how large your house is, it can't be done in a single day by you alone. That kind of cleaning takes an army of more than 1!! :) That kind of cleaning is what my whole family does on a Saturday afternoon when company is coming!
5. The next day, start over again and when it comes time to clean a room, PICK ANOTHER ROOM and do it.
6. Finally and probably the most important thing I have to say is this: LET YOURSELF OFF THE HOOK! You are not perfect. You are not June Cleaver or Martha Stewart. The only standard you should strive to attain is the one that God has called you to. Do everything, including cleaning your house, for His glory!!
I don't know gal...this is just what I have found to work for me.
Love you...you can do this!!!
Love,
Dori
Daily I clean the kitchen, do one load of laundry and try to keep the house up. I deep clean on Saturdays. It's hard to clean during the week with work, kids homework, dinner, etc. When my kids were little, it was a constant battle trying to keep the house clean.
Ha. You don't want to hear from me on this subject, I promise. But, since you asked:
1. My housework schedule is non-existent. It is hit or miss or I'm-done-with-tripping-over-stuff and have a major (MAJOR) tantrum. Actually, that is when I get my best cleaning done! And EVERYONE gets involved :)
2. I, too, have this on my To Do List: make a housework schedule and Stick To It.
3. And then there is the organizing...a whole 'nother post!
Love you!
Hey Becky Jo!
I'm Cassandra from Renaissance Women visiting from Company Girls! Believe me, I feel your pain because I am SO not into housework AT ALL! I do it because it has to be done and mostly because the kids have all moved out so I can't make them do it anymore. Rachel Anne and the Company Girls help me to feel that I am not alone and the tips help to get things done in a more focused manner. I tend to take it task by task and concentrate on how wonderful it is when I get that one thing done. I don't try to get everything done and I also set time limits for myself. I am an early bird so I will set a time of doing all the house work I can between say six and ten in the morning then I have the rest of the day to do what I want.
Have a great weekend!
Well, my house is no sparkling specimen and I am not a great housekeeper--partly due to schedule, partly due to expectations (I think we as a family should be involved, my husband doesn't), and probably a good dose of laziness, and Rachel Anne's statement of "relaxing at home mindset". . .when I've been gone all day, I feel like I've earned the right to relax at home-- that's all of my excuses;-)
My schedule for 2013, thanks to Rachel Anne's guidance and a little bit of FlyLady thrown in is:
daily tasks--dishes & wipe down kitchen, 2 loads of laundry, dinner, Small Thing, practice piano, deep cleaning project, Minimum Maintenance before bed time (livingroom, kid's bedroom, entryway--kids doing most of work!)
weekly tasks--Mon. dust & vacuum, Tue. sweep and mop kitchen, Thurs. bathroom, Sat. breakfast, menu planning & shopping list, Sun. breakfast, church, NAP
deep cleaning projects--I pick one a week and divide the tasks to get the job done into daily projects
kitchen
bathroom
livingroom
laundryroom
screened in porch area
entry way
bedroom
extra room
I have 8 areas which means they rotate every two months. Thus my house is not always deep cleaned but areas are and other areas are at least fairly clean.
This works for me with 2 little ones, a college student, being gone from home till 7:30 pm twice a week, working full-time one day and part-time another, and travels back and forth for kung fu.
Hope you find some helpful ideas & suggestions, but know that none of us have your exact situation. Pick and choose and change it up and find what works for you. . . and if a day's chores don't get done. . .eat ice cream and snuggle with your kids;-) My philosophy anyway;-)
Hi, my name is Carolanne and I'm visiting from Home Sanctuary also.
I'm not one to follow a schedule, but without one, I just do whatever sounds interesting or fun, so I don't get the housework done. My biggest challenge is a health condition that severely limits my energy.
Cleaning the whole house or even an entire room in one day is out of the question for me. I've chosen to do one major task per day. Clean the bathrooms one day, vacuum the carpets another day, errands another day, sweep and mop another day, and desk work another day (I'd rather clean a toilet than pay bills!).
Also, I've spread out the deep cleaning of the house over a month, to do one thing each day, like the Flylady system.
There are so many ways to divide up the work, and each book or blog gives a different suggestion. Hope you find an idea that works for you!
Hey BeckyJo, I had the same problem and still struggle at times but these two blogs really helped me A LOT.
Tsh at http://simplemom.net/ and Darlene Schatt @ timewarp wife have some great FREE printables and organizing tips. It helped me a great deal. Good Luck!
Hey Sweet Becky Jo! Thank you for the kind words...I am only too happy to help, since I totally identify with you! I hate schedules and am STILL overwhelmed at times. When my kids were little, I had baskets or drawers in every room (literally) so that we could do a quick clean up by tossing the toys in before Daddy got home or before lunch, etc. Just being able to SEE the floor is a big mood booster :). The years with little kids really ARE tough, and if you realize that this is not the final season in your life...someday you will be able to live like Martha Stewart....it will help you enjoy this time (and mess) a bit more.
I rely on Minimum Maintenance. Period. Have you found that on my website yet? I break up the laundry into sheets/towels on their own separate day. That's part of what makes the mountain so huge and horrible...but done separately, it's a piece of cake. I hate to vacuum every day, so I break that up, too. Does every room need a serious scrubbing each week? Naah. Not IMO. Vacuum, dust, straighten, boom. Move on.
I probably won't bog down in talking about housekeeping schedules on my blog for a few months. Keep playing along, do a little at a time and you'll get there. Stay off Pinterest and anything else that makes you feel "less than." You are building little people and loving your husband and family...cleaning and organizing is just ONE way of communicating love...there are a million other ways and no one can do it exactly like you. You are God's gift to your family, Becky Jo, never forget that.
I appreciate you...thanks so much for linking up today and for participating in the Small Things!
Hi there! I've come over for coffee from Home Sanctuary. I've been following along with the Small Things for quite a while so I've done this exercise of setting up a "real world housekeeping schedule" several times now. First of all, let me stop you at the word "perfecting." I can tell you from experience that your housekeeping schedule will NEVER be perfect. Life is full of surprises and changes. I have had to adjust my schedule several times over the years. There were times when Minimum Maintenance was all I could handle. With five kids I have had to learn to manage what I can and also to deligate to what is reasonable and age appropriate. That being said, I am currently assigning some tasks to be done daily and some weekly by room.
One of my favorite Small Things has been creating a "housekeeping mission." The last time I re-wrote mine was 2011. You can read about it at http://sevenmatters.blogspot.com/2011/05/housekeeping-matters.html if you'd like.
Hang in there! You will find something that works for you with trial and error. And just when you think you've got it down, something will happen and you will have to change it! (i.e. all of my kids are in school this year so I went back to work!)
Thanks for sharing over coffee! Have a great weekend!
-Melissa
Oh goodness girl! I love your honest heart! I barely manage to keep the house cleaned and decent, so I am not the one to ask for advice. I'm minimally organized and can function well with surface clutter kept to a minimum too. I get very anxious when my house is a mess, yet it's a constant fight to keep it mediocre (and me sane!) I'd ask Jennifer D...she is organized and disciplined and I'm sure has many tricks up her sleeve! Good luck! And bless you for wanting to improve. A clean house is awesome, but a happy household filled with love, learning, Jesus, and the things that truly matter is more important. And I know you are fabulous at the latter!
And my advice for you is: Don't try to be something you are not. God has wired us all with different gifts and abilities. Some are resourceful and organized and disciplined beyond belief! You don't have to be all these things and you'll beat yourself up trying! Desiring to improve and striking balance in your life is important, but find a way to do it that best fits YOU and the way God has designed you. You'll drive yourself nuts trying to be something that God hasn't wired you to be. Getting organized and keeping a clean house will be do-able and should be sought after...but make sure you keep standards that align with YOU.
To kind of piggy back onto Amanda's post... my first thought was is a clean house how YOUR husband feels loved? I ask for a couple of reasons 1.) my husband couldn't care less about how clean our house is. I'm the one who freaks out about it. He doesn't notice if it's clean or messy, he just likes to be home. And 2.) not discounting helpful blogs, tips, articles (I love them all!), I think we as wives/moms sometimes fall into a trap with facebook, pinterest, books, etc... of comparing ourselves to each other to see if we measure up to someone else's standards or ideals on how to be a better ____________. I'm not speaking specifically to the blog you mention or the author. Just a tendency I've noticed (especially in myself!) of looking to others instead of asking my husband what I can do for him specifically to feel loved. Advice and wisdom from others is wonderful, but is ultimately useless if it doesn't really matter to him.
All that to say, I love plans. It's sticking with them that I'm not so great at!
Oh Girl... seriously, Twins!!
It was like reading my own words. I have been struggling with houskeeping since the day I said "I Do". It was like the ability to do housework vanished with those two little words. Luckily for me, my hubby has some serious patience and grace when it comes to this and has the 'relax when home mentality' like I do. Which makes for a cluttered 'we'll get to it later, or until company comes over, stash in another room', House. **sigh**
So needless to say, I feel ya on this. I've got your back. I'm in the same shoes you are.... moving one... and I'll be stalking your comments for any ideas/tips/tricks that I can get my hands on. :)
LOVE YA, ~Me
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