The Stories of our Lives

As promised, here is my advice for managing house cleaning, in case it helps out at your place, too.

A place for every thing, everything in its place
I’m allowing myself to use this cliché expression because it is crucial to overcoming clutter. Take some time to think about storage and the activities and chores happening in your house.

• Store things where you use them, including cleaning products, etc. (Ex. I have two bottles of bathroom cleaning product, one for each bathroom, so I don’t have to carry the same one over two floors; it’s more practical this way, and saves me time in the stairway.)
• Identify zones where clutter usually arises and plan storage accordingly. (Ex. I installed hanging shelves in my foyer wardrobe, to put away mittens, hats and scarves that inevitably found themselves in a heap on the top shelf, out of reach. I also added plastic storage for shoes… especially Xavier’s, which easily got lost through our own footwear!)
• Get rid of knicknacks you don’t feel attached to. It will save you time on dusting (no need to move them around), and will give your room a look that’s more zen. It’s just in our head but, if there’s less stuff in a room, it looks more neat. It’s also less daunting at cleaning time.

A passion for lists
I love lists. (Frank hates them, but oh well… to each his method, like I said earlier.) Noting an item on a list allows me to stop thinking about it as it assures me that I won’t forget it. It’s my preferred method of managing weekly cleaning. Here’s how my list works:

• My sheet lists every chore with, on the right, 5 columns of check boxes. I use one column per week, for a month.
• I don’t do all the chores each week, but I use the list to follow up when I alternate certain chores.
• My list is laminated and magnetized on the fridge. I use an erasable marker to check items. (Hello environment!)
• My list is quite long. I prefer separating certain chores in many items, to get chores that are quicker to finish; that way, even if I don’t have much time available, I am encouraged to get rid of a small chore. Let me explain that: instead of noting “clean up bathroom”, for example, I listed “clean up vanity and toilet”, “clean shower” and “clean bath”. It’s less daunting this way. Here’s my list:
  1. Put away clutter
  2. Clean the counters
  3. Big clean up of high chair and Xavier’s booster seat
  4. Dusting first floor
  5. Dusting basement
  6. Glass and mirrors
  7. Clean shower
  8. Clean bath
  9. Vanity/toilet first floor
  10. Vanity/toilet basement
  11. Vacuum first floor
  12. Vacuum basement
  13. Wash floor first floor
  14. Wash floor basement
  15. Mow the lawn
  16. Get out garbage
  17. Litter box Tuesday (and Thursday, and weekend)
  18. Water the plants
  19. Feed the fish (many times… mostly to remind myself, I tend to forget!)
  20. Laundry

Here was my advice. It focuses mostly on creating a good list (and planning storage). Good luck!

This entry was posted on Friday, August 29th, 2008 at 12:00 and is filed under Kids & family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.