Friday, September 30, 2011

Cleaning Schedule Pages

So my house just got too messy and I couldn't take it anymore.  Clutter drives me crazy, but somehow it hasn't been enough to make me do anything about it.  In fact it has this weird opposite effect on me, instead of making me want to FIX the problem, it almost paralyzes me.

I remember back in psychology class years ago the teacher was talking about how there are two kids of people; people who can look at a picture and process the whole thing at once, and people who have to look at the picture one segment at a time and then put it together in their minds.  I remember looking at the example picture in my textbook and seeing quite obviously that I am the later type of person.  Its interesting to me to see that it very much translates into other areas of my life as well.  Those of you who follow this blog can probably see that by the way I set up my weekly lesson plans.  It's not that I follow them to a tee, but without them, I would probably be curled up in the fetal position in a corner somewhere not getting anything done. 

This is the case with cleaning as well.  Surveying the entire house overwhelms me and stresses me out, so I do nothing (or well, not much).  I need a list...something to physically check off each day.  I've tried things on the computer, but somehow that just doesn't do it for me.  I've tried a generic weekly/monthly list posted on the fridge, but that is too easy to cover up, and really it's giving me too much freedom, which obviously I can't handle =)  I've tried flylady, which I think is a fantastic system, but the emails get overwhelming and still, nothing to check off.  I've tried writing out my own list of things to do in a planner, but it gets monotonous writing the same things out every day.  So, I came up with a solution that hopefully will work for me!  If you are a big picture type of person, or someone who actually likes cleaning, this probably won't be your cup of tea, but I wanted to share this in case you are like me and might be able to benefit from it!

What I did was make a page for each day of the month and on each page is a list of things that need to be done in the morning, at nap time, and before bed.  There is also a separate list of what needs to be cleaned for the day, complete with how long I can set my timer for each task (flylady style!), so I have the freedom to quit when it goes off.  Then there is a list of what chores I have for Trevor to do.  At the bottom there are extra lines for anything I might have forgotten or any extra things that need to be done that day.  I made this document available to be edited by anyone who downloads it because I know that everyone's house is different, and everyone's schedule is different, and everyone's kid situation is different.  You are free to change it up to fit your needs!

What I did was print out pages for a month, write the date on the top, and cross items off as I go.  In the future I might try getting plastic sleeves to put the pages in that I can use dry erase markers on so I don't have to print new pages each month.  So far it really is working very well.  Like everything else, I don't beat myself up if something (or many things!) doesn't get done, I just look happily at what I did do that day.  I'm hoping to one day expand this folder into a binder that also includes my meal plan, recipes, calendar, etc...but right now I'm super satisfied with the progress I've made so far.



I believe you just download them to your computer (from GoogleDocs) and then you can edit them to your liking from there.  You will notice that some items are on every page (doing a load of laundry for example), some items are repeated weekly, and others are only on one page (to be done monthly).  There are pages for the times there are a 5th Monday or Tuesday, etc. in the month and those pages have an extra item that might only need to be done a couple of times a year.  If you have any questions about anything on the pages, please ask!  If you think of any improvements or any items I forgot to put on my list, I'd love to hear them!

Do you use a homemaking binder?  How do you keep yourself organized and motivated?

Do you need a little extra inspiration?  Check out these books from the FlyLady herself...



Happy Cleaning!



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11 comments:

  1. "So my house just got too messy and I couldn't take it anymore. Clutter drives me crazy, but somehow it hasn't been enough to make me do anything about it. In fact it has this weird opposite effect on me, instead of making me want to FIX the problem, it almost paralyzes me."

    OH MY GOODNESS... That sounds so MUCH like me! I took a "personality type" quiz years ago and came up as a "perfectionist". I thought to myself, 'have you seen my house?' Later in the article it stated that if a perfectionist can't start a project and complete it to their own standards, they simply will not do it... oh yeah, I can relate to that!

    Thanks for the download! I need all the help and encouragement I can get!

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  2. Debbie, thanks for stopping by! We must be just the same =) Let's hope that we can both get to be better keepers of our homes (even if it's a slow journey!)

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  3. That is so useful! Having the number of minutes each step should take makes it feel so much less overwhelming! Thank you!

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  4. Brittany you're right, how can you be overwhelmed when you just have to work for ten minutes. Anyone can do that =) (Just don't tell yourself about the next 15 minute job until you absolutely have to lol) Thanks so much for the comment!

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  5. So funny, I was just thinking about you and if you use flylady. I'm getting worried about not completing important jobs since I kind of forget if it's not obvious (dishes and laundry). Thanks for the idea to get on top of things... I love lists!

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  6. Tracie, I'm exactly that way too. I can (usually) keep on top of the laundry and dishes since they pile up, but definitely need big reminders for the rest of the stuff! =)

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  7. I have done Flylady, adapting it to work for our family as each season in our life happens. Doing the program 100% was difficult so I took certain things from it and made it work for our family. I believe you got to do what works for you, however that looks. I love your cleaning schedule and glad you shared it at What Joy Is Mine. Thank you.

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    1. I completely agree! I have adopted the mindset and then use it how it best suits our family (and like you said what works for each season of life!). Thanks for the comment!

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  8. I just found this post and it is exactly how I feel! I always hope for better and still end up with clutter!

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    1. Ha, that's me too =) I feel like I'm always changing things up, hoping that one time I'll find just the right solution for me...still tweaking! lol

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