Cleaning Up

Cleaning...
I don’t know about you but it is necessary evil. I know that some may enjoy cleaning but for me it is not on the top of my “fun things to do” list.  Certainly it’s necessary, and I love a clean house.  But I can’t say that it brings me great joy to clean and scrub a toilet, wash floors, dust, etc.  But enough already with my open and honest assessment…

I recently decided I needed to keep up with the house cleaning on a daily basis and not just have this one major cleaning day only once a week.  On an everyday basis I clean up small things and keep the kitchen tidy and wipe down the bathrooms several times a week.  But that is not what I am talking about here.  I want to keep a generally clean house so that if an unexpected visitor pops in I am not completely embarrassed with how our house looks!  Not to mention that a clean home is a happy home (on many levels).  So where did I turn to try and help me figure out this dilemma?  Pinterest of course!

I explored all types of cleaning schedules; tips, articles you name it.  I read about a dozen blogs but nothing quite fit me exactly so I tweaked a few ideas and created a cleaning schedule that will work for me so that I don’t feel too overwhelmed.  Now, my husband really is super sweet and has never put any pressure on me to keep up with the house, but I know that he appreciates it and I must admit, I do too!  

For some this might not work, but for me I am on week three of a clean house and I am loving it!  My husband has even commented (unsolicited, I promise) on how clean the house has been and how he has appreciated all the work.  Yay!!  And an added bonus of this schedule is that I am not spending a ton of time each day cleaning.  Because let’s face it…I have little ones and spending extended periods of time cleaning is not always feasible.  A great quote that I found (and love) by Phyllis Diller:

“ Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.”

I laugh and give an “Amen” every time I read that quote!  Raising small children and allowing them to play does leave a mess that is continuous.  It’s natural to have that feeling of frustration when you just cleaned up one thing and turn around to find that Jr. has completely dumped out all his cars in one big pile and then moves on to Mr. Potato Head to shake out all the pieces, dumping his little cup of Goldfish on the floor in the process.  I don’t know, maybe that’s just my kids.  We are working on the whole, “once you are done playing with one thing put it away and then take out the next,” but that’s a continual work in progress and worthy of a whole other blog post at a later date!

What I want to share with you is that this Cleaning Schedule offers me a chance to keep up my house and not feel overwhelmed with having to do one mass-cleaning day.  Been there, done that…and I was not loving it.  Below is the schedule. If you would like it use it please do, or if it is a great starting point and you need to tweak it for you, I have attached it below in as a Publisher doc that you can tweak.  I love to share and hope that this can be helpful to you as well.
Cleaning Schedule







Happy Cleaning!!
 Click to Download Schedule


Pinterest Board: Ideas for Cleaning
   
Products I like:
Walmart offers:  
This is great on Hardwood floors and Tile. I use this most days instead of a broom. It is plug-in so it doesn't lose its juice.















I use Swiffer for Dusting and the
Wet Mop for daily touch ups!







Invisible Glass. I found that this streaks less than other brands.










Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are great for the marks on the wall and TIP: Removes Soap scum on shower glass doors!!!

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The Taylor House