WEEKLY CLEANING

I have begun implementing ideas from the FlyLady into my life schedule and it is really helping. For instance, yesterday, I spent the entire day in the kitchen and I was completely spent. By the time we had finished eating supper - the last thing I wanted to do was get in there and clean the kitchen (again). But I did. I knew that I would be thankful for it this morning. And I was. Very thankful. Establishing a routine is helping me to weigh the cause and effect of doing now versus doing later and thinking about the future outcome instead of just living in the moment.

I talked about getting on a routine of things that need to be done on a daily basis as far as cleaning goes in this post. Today, I want to talk about things that should be done weekly. Basically, there are 7 things that should be done weekly in the home - give or take. If you break each chore into 10 minute segments and set your timer to finish each one in that amount of time - it will take just over an hour to git 'er done. FlyLady calls this the Home Blessing Hour. You can do this however you like. Some people want to deal with it once a week and be done. That doesn't work for me. I spread my 7 across several days. Also, running the vacuum once a week isn't enough in my house, either. I supplement by sweeping with a broom in addition to the vacuum on another day or two (I don't have carpet).

Here is a breakdown of the 7 chores:
-vacuum or sweep just the middles, not around the walls
-dust
-mop kitchen and bathroom
-clean the glass in the doors and bathroom mirrors
-purge magazines
-empty trash cans (all)
-change bed sheets

It may seem strange to see that you aren't supposed to vacuum around the walls. That is because the house is also broken down into zones where you deep clean (little by little daily) when you are in that zone. I can't not vacuum the edges, though. Like I said earlier, I don't have carpet in my house. Therefore, dust bunnies and dog hair love to migrate to the edges of the room. So, it's all about tweaking and adjusting until you find a system that works for you.

The first time I set my timer for 10 minutes to dust I was very surprised. I had dusted everything from furniture to lamps to pictures on the wall and the dining room chandelier before the timer ever went off. Of course, I have a small house. But, it is really amazing how much you can accomplish in a short amount of time if you just get at it.

I'm still not perfect with system, but I'm getting much better. I'm finding that by simply striving for a goal gets me a whole lot farther than I used to get, even if I don't always make the finish line. I knew that things are getting better in this area when my MIL came over the other day and told me that my house looked pretty. Sadly, I hadn't heard that in a while.

So, if you're feeling like you need a little coaching where getting control over your house is concerned - let me encourage you to set some realistic goals, write them down and start somewhere. FlyLady is a great place to go for more inspiration, too.



Tomorrow I'll share my first experience with making French Baguette and the recipe I used.

Happy Homemaking!