Once upon a time I was a younger self, unmarried and living at my parent’s house. I didn’t own a home, didn’t have a full time job and definitely didn’t have major financial responsibilities.
Times have changed now. I do own a home, have a full time job and have way more bills than I guessed I would while living rent free at the parent’s house.
At times these three things can be pretty stressful. Owning a home takes up a lot of time, even when you just think about keeping up with repairs and making it presentable. Cleaning tends to take the backseat when time is tight for me. However, keeping the house at least semi-clean keeps me and the hubby happier and less stressed. Here’s a plan I put together to make cleaning a bit less overwhelming for me.
Each day I plan to tackle two small tasks that tend to not happen as often as I want. Some days it takes 10-15 minutes, others about 20 – 30. Doing this means I don’t have to spend hours over the weekend cleaning when I’d rather be having fun!
Here is what I came up with:
Sunday: Clean the shower/put away stacked up papers
Monday: Clean bathroom toilet-sink/organize a drawer or messy area
Tuesday: Vacuum upstairs/clean the litter box
Wednesday: Vacuum downstairs and stairs/sweep kitchen and bathrooms
Thursday: Clean up closet and put away clothes/wipe down 1-2 shelves in the fridge
Friday: Dust 1 room/clean litter box
I chose to not include Saturdays because sometimes we’re away on that day, plus I just want to have 1 day each week when I don’t clean.
Obviously you can fill in items that are important for you to get done, or that you don’t really get to.
I printed my list out and stuck it on my fridge so that I see it every day. If it’s out of sight then it’s out of my mind for sure.
I hope my idea can help you maintain better balance with your house.
In the future I will talk about my strategies for keeping up with balancing a full time job and financial responsibilities.
Let me know if you put together a weekly cleaning keep up list!
Get Healthy With Heather 
Wow, I need to start doing this!!! I am definitely the person who doesn’t clean at all during the week and then has to spend way too much time doing it on the weekends. This plan sounds a lot better!!! Thanks for sharing! 🙂
Making a schedule is such a good idea!!:-)cc
I had to do this during exam week
I really like your idea here and each task is short enough to do in a little bit of time (plus you posted it on cute paper)
That is a great idea. I try to do schedules like that but never stick to them. So I usually end up having one big clean sweep each week. Although I just realized I haven’t done a good cleaning of our house in two weeks. Eww!
It is SO true! Its great to get married, get a house, a pet , etc etc but BOY is it hard work. I divide up my tasks in a very similar manner. Its the only way I stay sane 😉
OMG, I love your idea of putting together a cleaning schedule. I woke up this morning so overwhelmed by my dirty apartment. I’m definitely stealing your idea 🙂
The roomie and I have a very loose cleaning schedule (she takes care of the bathroom, I tackle the kitchen), but I feel like we could benefit from more structure. I like your list!
This is such a good idea! Our house is a PIG STY by the end of the week! I suggested a “chore jar” this weekend, and I think we’re going to implement it. Other than cooking/kitchen (that’s me) and laundry (that’s him) we need to divide the chores and I think drawing them out of a jar each month is fair. Like there’s NO WAY we’d vacuum every week (I know, most people think that’s gross…whatever!) but once every 2-3 weeks is acceptable! I need to implement this, we argue about chores too much!