Does anyone have a cleaning schedule that they follow?

[Dr.Girlfriend]

First off...the Flylady page used to drive me COMPLETELY bonkers with the constant emails, so I stopped using her.

Looking to see if anyone follows a cleaning schedule. I try to keep the house picked up during the week, but it always seems like I spend 75% of my weekend doing laundry, grocery shopping, cleaning the bathroom, etc. I'd rather try and space it out during the week.

Suggestions?

 

[Zandy595]

FlyLady emails drove me crazy too. I don't have a cleaning schedule, but I would really like to have one because I'm so unorganized. I'm a SAHM and have a bad habit of putting things off til later because I know I can.

 

[hrh_disney_queen]

FlyLady emails drove me crazy too. I don't have a cleaning schedule, but I would really like to have one because I'm so unorganized. I'm a SAHM and have a bad habit of putting things off til later because I know I can.

Glad to hear I'm not the only one. I keep putting stuff off "because I can" then I look at what I have done during the day and all I can remember is Dissing..

Although I did manage to get my boys room cleaned really well this week. But....now the spare bedroom is full of the stuff I pulled out so I could clean. Seems like I spend my days moving stuff from one room, to another, to another, so on, so on.. I keep thinking if I could put myself on a schedule-do one room a day- I would be happy!

I wish I was more motivated. Even though "clean freaks" that clean from dawn til dusk drive me crazy, part of me envies that mindset.

So, I guess I will get off my behind and go clean the spare bedroom.

 

[WDWisOurHappyPlace]

I'm a SAHM, have 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen/dining room, and utility room.

At some point over the weekend I clean my 2 fiberglass bathtub/showers. I hate the tubs the most, so I do them separately.

On Monday or Tuesday I do the rest of the weekly cleaning.
-Clean rest of bathrooms
-Dust furniture, window seals
-Vacuum carpets
-Kitchen (Clean sink, stove, wipe down countertops, clean appliances, clean microwave, wipe down refrigerator shelves, etc.)
-Clean utility room-sink, counter top, wipe down washer, dryer, freezer, hot water heater
-Mop floors
-Change sheets
-Order from Pizza Hut for dinner

When a new month starts: (I don't always do this on the same day, but at some point at the beginning of the month)
-vaccum refrigerator coils
-clean a/c filters
-vacuum under beds, under furniture
-vacuum closet floors
-dust window blinds
-wash bed blankets
-pass bed comforters through dryer with wet towel
-whatever else I come up with

This is all habit now.

 

[pooh4evr]

WDWis our laughing place-- can you come to my house!??? I wish I had one like that!! I try to get a load or 2 of laundry done a day, try to get sheets once a week, vacuum (depends on the room) living, family and kitchen daily, bedrooms not so much that vac is heavy to carry upstairs! I try to get the bathrooms every week and scrub the kitchen floor but with a 2 yr old home sometimes it just doesn't happen!

 

[ChrizJen]

Pooh4ever, I hear ya!!! We both work full time jobs, 2 yr old DD, DPartner in school part time...I usually end up spending all day Saturday just scrambling to catch up on house work. UGH!
I really just need to sit down and write a list of the chores I can get done in the evenings before bed...I know it would save me a lot of work on the weekends. And we might actually get to spend some quality time as a family on Saturdays!
It sounds nice in theory to set up a schedule, like clean upstairs bathroom on Tuesday night while I brush my teeth, mop kitchen floor on Wednesday night while cooking dinner, etc. But usually things are so crazy on weeknights that it feels like we get home, make dinner, DD gets a bath, spend a little quality time together before bed, then we go to bed so we can get up and do it all over the next day...

 

[WDWisOurHappyPlace]

WDWis our laughing place-- can you come to my house!??? I wish I had one like that!! I try to get a load or 2 of laundry done a day, try to get sheets once a week, vacuum (depends on the room) living, family and kitchen daily, bedrooms not so much that vac is heavy to carry upstairs! I try to get the bathrooms every week and scrub the kitchen floor but with a 2 yr old home sometimes it just doesn't happen!

I should have added that my "kids" are 16 yrs old and 23 years old, makes a difference! Being self motivated, making it a priority, and ordering out dinner on housework days helps. (And don't - do not DIS while doing housework.)

 

[lovemygoofy]

Don't hate me but I have a schedule. Even though it's just the two of us, it can be crazy hectic and the house can go to shambles in the blink of an eye lol

Somethings I've done to help at least keep things put in it's almost place. A basket in the living room for throw blankets and a smaller bakset for reading materials like the newspaper and magazines. I also have a cleaning kit in each bathroom. I have 4 bathrooms and I'm not sclepping stuff from one bathroom to another.

We have a catchall when you come in the house for car keys, wallets and everyday things we grab on the way out of the house. In our hall closet, I keep a large plastic tub for shoes so I can grab my purse/coat and shoes on the way out the door.

Sunday and Wednesday nights I mop my kitchen floor just because it's white and the devil lol if I don't sweep and mop it. I also keep a dust buster in the kitchen for quick spot "sweep."

Every morning while waiting on my coffee, I unload the dishwasher that was loaded after dinner the night before.

Sundays I do underwear and socks and all essentials and then try to do two loads during the week. Saturday mornings we throw the sheets in the wash with the all the towels in the house.

I don't have much carpet to clean anymore so now I have to sweep all the hardwood floors which get done about once a week. I only grocery shop twice a month so no help for that. I just grit my teeth and go late Friday evening and then have dinner out or vice versa. Who thought that date night would be dinner and grocery shopping?

It helps that we have alot more room now and threw out so much stuff when we moved that we have more space than stuff. I know alot of people have good luck with the setting the time for 10 minutes and everyone in the family has to help clean one room. I've done this with just us two but we split up and he takes one room and I take another.

One thing that helped was me getting up one hour earlier. I know get up at 5am but I have to be at the office at 0730. I try to get at least one chore done in that time.

I think it's easier if a list is made and can divide up even just a bit of it.

 

[MIGrandma]

What is this "cleaning schedule" you speak of???

With the Dis Boards, and several other boards I go to almost daily, and my addiction to SIMS3 cleaning takes a back seat to all of that!!

No, seriously I do not have a schedule. It's funny because when the kids were little I did have a cleaning schedule, but as they got older and more involved in school activities it was harder to stick to that.

Now it's just DH and I and I know things don't "have to" be done, so I am a good one for putting off until tomorrow what I should be doing today.

I keep up pretty well with the main part of the house (family room, office, 2 bathrooms, kitchen and dining room) as that is what company sees. So I like things picked up, vacuumed, dusted, etc. But the upstairs? Oh my. I could be the subject of one of those clean-sweep type shows! Nobody but us goes up there so I don't keep up that well with it, and instead of just one "junk/storage" room...there are 3! I keep telling myself "one of these days" I'll get up there and do some serious cleaning...yeah, that's it...one of these days...

 

[LynnTH]

I don't have a schedule, but my house is pretty much always picked up and clean. I also work full time out of the house. I decided long ago that I did not want to spend my weekends doing housework (like we did every Saturday growing up). My kids are 8 and 10 and I have them trained pretty well (with a lot of reminding). Anything they take out they must put back when they are done. All clothes gets picked up ASAP or put in the hamper. I keep those lysol wipes in every bathroom and in the kitchen. So, real easy to just wipe down the sinks/counter tops every day. I also vacuum everyday ( I am a compulsive vacummer). But, this does not take long. I do it when I get home from work. When dinner is cooking I will unload the dishwasher. My DH is good about putting laundrey in every morning. ( He is bad about folding it though). Our new house has tons of wood floors and I just got with the program and got a Swiffer Wet Jet - that thing is awesome.

So, basically I just make sure to keep up the clutter and cleaning on a daily basis and it doesn't get out of hand. I am one of those that feels totally disorganized if my house is a mess. We just moved into a new house in August. I had all the boxes unpacked within 3-4 days. Couldn't stand to live out of boxes and having stuff everywhere. I am compulsive that way but it keeps the house clean. The kids also know they can't play unless their room is picked up and all toys/homework is put away.

 

[DMickey28]

We are closing on our first house on Friday and moving in next week. I am trying to come up with a schedule too.

I need to get my MIL's schedule from her. She raised three boys as a single mom, worked two jobs and always had dinner in the oven or on the table for the boys at night. Her house is immaculate and DH said it's always been like that. When you take a shirt off it has barely hit the floor before it's washed, dried and folded.

She has promised to sit down with me and a calender and write out a schedule!

 

[We_love_WDW]

I'm a stay at home mom and I have a cleaning schedule. I have 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and basement/playroom/tv room. I start on Wed and clean the kitchen first (my least favorite) and then the dining room, living room and basement/bathroom. On Thursday I clean the upstairs - the bedrooms and bathroom. Friday I vacuum...and I leave the floors and the toliets to my husband. I try and put everything away each night so it does not get too crazy around here. My laundry I do as I need... I do everyone's once a week - like I did the kid's clothes yesterday. I hate having to clean on the weekend. Ok I must finish my cleaning AHHHH! I'll have to finish looking on disboards later!

 

[mtemm]

this covers the basics for me:

monday: dust the house and wash/change sheets. eta I also tend to grocery shop
tuesday: vaccum
wedn: bathrooms
thurs: kitchen
friday: floors

laundry is an every day occurance for the most part (family of 5). if I do that, it stops being much of a chore. if I miss a few days, well, yikes. builds up fast!

I do tend to spot clean the bathrooms a few times a week on top of the big wedn clean. overall I find that concentrating on one chore, as opposed to cleaing rooms, a day to be quicker/easier. and we keep on top of making sure things are picked up/orderly at the end of the day. nothing gets too out of hand.

 

[bigbabyblues]

I used to have one, and I stuck to it for awhile....I'm another Flylady dropout due to all of the emails. Plus I went back to work full time.

I had a room or two for each day, I did laundry on Monday and Thursday, ran the sweeper in each room downstairs 3 days a week, and got the "hot spots" each day (coffee table, dining room table, and kitchen counter....still the same, lol). Our house was never perfect, but I wasn't embarrassed to open the front door.

I'm thinking of starting it up again, it looks like I'm going to be without a full time job and I'm currently looking for something part time.

 

[yoopermom]

I think you have to prioritze what's important to *you*. I also grew up spending all day cleaning with my mom, and swore that would never be me someday. Bathroom sink/kitchen sink/main room floors bother me, so they get done everyday. Otherwise every room gets a day,basically. A load of wash a day (mostly due to the small size of our hot water heater). Dishes as they're created.
DGM taught me "a place for everything and everything in its place", which is something I've tried to instill in everyone who lives in my house.

Terri

 

[C.Ann]

This may not be doable if you have children, but a former co-worker of mine had an interesting cleaning schedule.. (It was just her and her DH - both working full-time - as well as her having 2 hours of travel time tacked on to her 8-hour work day..)

Light "pick up" was done daily - eliminating clutter..

Laundry was done in the morning while they were getting ready for work.. (Twice a week..)

Thursday nights she would pull out the "big guns" as soon as she got home from work and do all of the heavy, deep cleaning - no matter how long it took..

That gave her the freedom to spend from Friday night until Sunday night just relaxing; going out and having fun; visiting family; etc..

I think the easiest way to stay on top of things is to never, ever let things "pile up" - not even your mail.. If you pick up "as you go" - do your dishes right after eating - sweep the floor - make your bed as soon as you get out of it in the morning - multi-task your laundry with something else - and never let things get out of hand, you can pretty much spend just one day or one evening doing all the "heavy duty" stuff..

 

[bas71873]

My problem is that I don't consider my house clean unless I clean the WHOLE house in one swoop. I don't feel that "oh so fresh & clean" feeling if I do downstairs one day and upstairs another. Therefore, I spend an entire day cleaning, folding laundry (cause I hate laundry so I wash & wash & wash and just pile clean clothes in a basket until I can't take it anymore and have to fold them), etc. That day used to be Saturday but now that I'm a SAHM, I try to do it during the week while DD is in school, BUT, for some reason my house is 10x the wreck it was when I worked. I was WAY more organized and better at just about everything when I worked full time!

 

[ilovejack02]

I am a sahm and dont have a schedule really. I clean the kitchen as I go .. after dinner every night it is wiped down and picked up. Bathrooms.. I ignore my DH's .. that is his problem not mine lol. The front bath gets a good cleaning once a week, but not a particular day. I do sheets on Sundays usually and sweep every cpl of days.
I pick up clutter as it pops up and I try really hard to clean closets once a year as far as outgrown clothes, toys etc all to good will .
My house will never be a neat show place, but it is always clean and comfortable.
Hubby is a big help, even though I dont work I am not at home much. I spend alot of time at school and volunteering.
He appreciates how much time I spend with our kiddo and so he is happy to help some. Most I ask him to do is unload dishwasher so I can load and he will change out the clothes in the washer and dryer etc. I never ask him to fold. He does mop because he cant stand the way I do it.. LOL ok that military training has come in handy. I use the wet swiffer prob once a week and as need on spots.
I do love Fly Lady and used her alot at first but got tired of all the emails too.

 

[ilovejack02]

OH I will say my biggest trick for keeping up with cleaning is... I have friends over all the time LOL. I host girls night out, play group, holiday parties, barbqs etc. I love entertaining and there is usually something scheduled here once a month at least. Keeps me on my toes lol!!!

 

[Aisling]

I don't have a cleaning schedule, even though my house would be cleaner/more picked-up if I did. I have a phobia of being "tied" into anything, even things as simple as laundry on Wednesdays and Saturdays. If makes me feel not free, if you know what I mean. I know, I'm strange, but there's always hope.