AN EASY WEEKLY CLEANING/PLANNING GUIDE

Almost a year ago, I decided that I had ENOUGH struggling to keep my head above the mounds of laundry, stacks of coupons, piles of dust, and cluttered toys around my house!! In an effort to try to tackle these tasks in a manageable way, I set aside specific days for specific tasks, creating a Weekly Chore Schedule for myself. This DOES NOT mean that I cannot (and do not) do these tasks on other days of the week also or skip out on my daily task. This just means that if I don’t have time to fold the freshly clean clothes that I washed on Friday, I don’t get stressed out over it. I leave them in the dryer to fluff for a few minutes on Tuesday and then fold them!

My whole purpose in creating this weekly schedule is so that I can be more organized, less stressed, and to feel like I’m managing my household better. I hate that feeling of being too overwhelmed by ALL that needs to be done, to the point of where I get NOTHING done. Here is my personal solution!

Sunday – Meal Plan Day:
I pull out the recipes and arrange them in my meal plan binder as I plan the meals that I will make for the next week (Monday – Saturday). I also make my shopping list of ingredients needed and organize that list with any coupons I may have. I clip, sort, and organize any coupons that I have acquired over the last week. I put them all in a drawer in my desk until Monday when I can properly deal with them in an orderly fashion. This includes newspaper inserts, printed coupons, mailers, etc. If it is classified as a “coupon”, it finds a home on Monday!

Monday- Bathroom Day:
I own 2 Bathrooms and try to knock out both in a day and touch up throughout the week till next Monday. Clean toilets and vanity, Clean Floors and Baseboards, Trash needs to be taken out if needed-I have to usually do this every 3rd day, wipe down all walls, doors, handles and light switches, Wash Rugs if needed and place clean hand towels up, Finally, clean out medicine chest this helps to make sure I have everything I need and throughout all expire medicine!
Also, this is the day I get all my Groceries, do errands, clothing, etc. If I need to run to the store, I don’t have to stress over the fact that I don’t make it there Tues like I had planned (or Weds, or Thurs) – nope, I have Monday set aside so that I know if nothing else, I will make it out on Friday! Plus, because the kiddos are in School or my husband is home, I can get my errands accomplished in less time, knowing that the kids are happy at home with “tada”!

Tuesday- Kitchen and Mud Room:
My Kitchen is right next to my Mud Room so I try to squeeze both rooms in at once. I start by Sweeping and Mopping Floors, Clean all Baseboards, Walls, Doors, Fixtures, knobs and Ceiling Fans, Clean Cabinets inside and out, note I rotate this every other week because this can be a lengthy project, Clean out Fridge/Freezer, Clean out Pantry-both the Fridge/Freezer and Pantry do help with meal planning when I do this, Clean Oven and Microwave Oven and Clean Toaster Oven.

Wednesday – Bedrooms:
Dust Furniture , molding, and window cells, Wipe down all walls, doors, handles and light fixtures, Vacuum and clean baseboard, Change sheets if needed, Dust Light Fixtures and Ceiling Fans, Organize toys if needed, properly put away items that have been so carefully shoved into any random cabinet, etc. Hang up anything that might need to be hung.

Thursday – Living Room/Family Room:
Dust, sweep, mop or vacuum, Clean Baseboards, walls, doors, Ceiling Fans and Fixtures, Dust Picture Frames and Shelving, Clean out Newspaper, Magazine Baskets and All Media!

Friday –Home Office
Dust Furniture, molding, and window cells, Wipe down all walls, doors, handles and light fixtures, Vacuum and clean baseboard, file and get rid of the catch all things that were collected throughout the week, Dust Light Fixtures and Ceiling Fans, Organize crafts supplies, paper, resource books, etc. if needed, properly put away items that have been so carefully shoved into any random cabinet, etc.

Saturday –Project Day
This is the day I can do pretty much anything such as organization, fix-it, building etc. For Example: this month on I organizing my home office and daughters room.

Along with the above Meal Planning on Sunday – Rest:
As you all know by now, we “save” Sundays for the Lord. We attend church, focus on our Creator, and rest – ’tis the true meaning of the word “Sabbath”. Even if you are not in the habit of setting aside Sundays for God, I want to encourage you to TRY IT!! Trust me – you need a day of rest, even if you don’t know you do! This day of rest is a two-fold gift – you get a day of rest to enjoy, but it also comes with the expectation that the other six days of the week are for working! So, you should aim to complete all of your “chores” in six days, saving the seventh day for no work. We implemented this rule as a strict policy in our household when my oldest daughter was born (over 3 yrs ago) and it has changed our lives!! So, trust me when I tell you that one of the best things we do all week is to rest on Sundays.