Let me just start by saying I hate cleaning. I really get zero enjoyment out of it. Besides seeing the house cleaned, and that doesn’t even last long with a large family (shoot I know it doesn’t even last long with one kid lol), there is nothing I enjoy about it. But cleaning is a part of life. It must be done. And I do LOVE checking things off a list. So, I thought I would make a checklist for you guys with this most helpful cleaning schedule!
It took me a while to find my groove and get a plan that actually worked for me. Here is what my daily routine looks like. Hopefully you can use this (or something similar) to start some new cleaning habits and routines. I know without structure and a list I get distracted and fall off the cleaning wagon. Something is just satisfying to me to know what the plan is for the day and accomplish those tasks. Makes me feel like a better “housewife”.
So, here’s what I came up with for you. Feel free to modify.
Weekends
Saturday and Sunday are reserved for family time, church, and grocery shopping. I recently added grocery shopping to Sunday (used to be on Wednesday) because my husband can watch the kids (instead of me taking any and having distractions) and then the older kids can help me meal prep meals for the week, which they all enjoy doing. Feel free to move this to a different day if you want to do this while the kids are at school.
Modifications
Some people prefer to tackle these by rooms or by tasks. I prefer by task rather than room. If I already have my vacuum out, I’d rather just vacuum everything instead of pulling the vacuum out every day for a different room. Same goes for cleaning bathrooms, I do them all in one day since I already have out all the cleaning supplies I need. But if you like, you can take this list and rearrange it by room.
What I like to do is print this, then laminate it and use a dry erase marker to check off each task as it is complete. Then you can just reuse the same list over and over eliminating paper waste.
Products I Use
I love to use Young Living’s Thieves cleaner for everything in my house. But if I’m out or just want to change things up I will make my own. You can read this post for some of the ways I use Thieves Essential Oil to clean my home, including an all purpose cleaner I make. Here is my recipe for wood furniture polish using Lemon Essential Oil. All of the Essential Oils I use for cleaning came in my Premium Starter Kit. You can learn more about it here or purchase your very own here.
I love my Dyson Vacuum. It’s so easy to maneuver and goes from carpet to my hard floors without having to change any parts. It’s also relatively light (especially compared to my old hunker of a Kirby). And it is great at sucking up all that pet hair and crumbs from kids. It’s great to pull out for spot vacuuming as well. Another thing I love to use is my Roomba. I love to use it at night and wake up to a clean floor or even set it to run while I’m out running errands.
If you need help decluttering, there is a great post on the Simple Made Pretty Website. The website’s author is a former professional organizer so she has so great tips! I’m pretty sure her home comes straight out of a magazine.
Entice Help
We have a large white board in the hallway leading into the garage that we turned into a monthly calendar. On the calendar, we put our meals for the weeks so that the kids can preplan if they are packing or buying lunch (packing for them often consists of leftovers so they like to see what we are eating for dinner the night before), along with daily schedules and activities. On the side bar, I have some optional chores listed. If the children want to earn more money they can pick some chores off the list and once the chore is completed they get compensated the designated $ amount. I love this because it makes one less chore for me and the kids love it because they have some more money.
I hope this post helps and you can start to get things done in a more organized and timely fashion. If you are just starting this rotation of daily tasks, feel free to start on the current day (if you are reading this on a Wednesday, pick up with Wednesdays tasks) and don’t try to make up for the missed days this week. That can be overwhelming. You will get caught up. Happy cleaning!
Still need your essential oils?
I do have to say one more time, I ONLY USE YOUNG LIVING ESSENTIAL OILS. They are 100% pure. No pesticides touch the crops. There are no additives in the oils. No watering down. Distilled at the right time of year for the specific plant. They are distilled at the right temperature, for the right amount of time (no short cuts here). To read more about Young Living and their seed to seal guarantee go to www.seedtoseal.com and you will see why I only use them. PLUS, I cannot speak to the quality of other brands and can’t guarantee they will be any good at all.
I’m giving a $20 Amazon gift card to all new members who purchase any of the Young Living Premium Starter Kits using my link! I’ll also keep in touch with you and share all about how to use essential oils (unless you want me to leave you alone, then I will lol). To order your kit click here. To learn more about the Premium Starter Kit click here.