How I Really Clean House

After reading some of your comments, I had to chuckle a bit.:o)  You are right...what I've shared so far is not a cleaning system at all!  Those tips were tools for cleaning during a crisis.  It seemed appropriate to do that after the holidays.  At least all the stores seem to think so or why do they always sell CONTAINERS in January?!! I was amazed at how popular the wee bit of info I had shared on cleaning was when I checked my stats this week! So I decided to post a bit more about that topic yesterday.

However, as I mentioned in yesterday's post, I do follow FlyLady's cleaning plan pretty regularly, and she has a great system which I have been using and teaching for years. For some people who aren't organizational nuts like me, though, it's just TMI. (Too much info.)

One of my goals with Homemaking Made Easy is to help those who have a harder time than most handling the every day challenges of homemaking.  In fact, we can all hit times in our life when we fall into that category ourselves.

However for those who would like to have the BIG  PICTURE, I would like to share with you, how I "really" clean house!!  If you want to know even more about it, you really must check out FlyLady's website www.flylady.net  For those of you who are cleanies, she will help you get even more efficient than you already are and for those who really need help getting 'organized', she could change your life!  She sure changed mine!

I'm a homemaking nut and have a whole collection of books on house cleaning methods. I've learned so much over the years that it has become subconscious.  Housecleaning and homemaking are really my hobby as much as my profession. But I also LOVE to do art, sew, help others and I need to teach school every day.  I needed a system that used as little time as possible with maximum results!  We pick up a lot!!! Maintenance is the key to keeping things orderly around here. However, cleaning is another thing altogether.

A Cleaning System

Any normal cleaning system usually breaks down into daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly routines. Because I've homeschooled five kids for over 20 years now and am still schooling and raising three busy teenagers with regular visits from adult children and grandkids, I would say that I have never been busier than I am now!!

Grandma cleaned the 'old-fashioned' way--top to bottom cleaning every Saturday. She had a baking day, sewing day, washing day, ironing day etc.  When I first started homemaking, I loved that idea and tried to make it work.  It even worked during the homeschool years from grades 1-5.  But once I hit fifth grade, I started getting buried. School was taking a lot more time! (Not to mention five kids ages 1-6!)  By the time I was 40, I was getting downright depressed! I have to say that I have way too many homeschooling friends who called it quits about the time their oldest got into his teens.  It's called BURNOUT!

That's when FlyLady came on the scene.  Her way, which is VERY EFFICIENT, is to deep clean ONE ROOM PER WEEK instead of the whole house. Revolutionary!!! Every Monday, you lightly clean the rest of the house doing a few basic jobs, but then you really dig in to that one room, decluttering and cleaning for a good hour or so. By the end of the month, you've not only thoroughly cleaned most of the main rooms of the house, but you've also gotten rid of a lot of junk at the same time.

Here is my system....

Daily Routine-   (10-15 min. each)

• Devotions
• Process a load of clothes
• Swish the toilets
• Spray and wipe bathroom mirrors and sinks 
• Start Supper
  
• Declutter for 15 minutes (in room you will be cleaning for the week)
• Take out garbage
• Sweep and vacuum only as needed
• Update finances, throw away junk mail
• Wash, dry, and put away dishes 
• TEACH SCHOOL 8am-3pm 
  
• Pick up the house (or straighten) before bed
• (Blog AFTER everything else is done and only if Hubby or kids don't want my company at the moment.)
  

Weekly - 

•  Errands- Gift shopping- Send packages -Buy misc. fresh groceries (while running kids to their activities)
  
• Home Blessing - 15 min each-mop kitchen and bathrooms, vacuum main traffic areas, garbage, scrub tubs, dust, wipe finger prints with 409, throw away magazines/papers, change sheets, spray & wipe appliances.
• Deep Clean 1 Room (Straighten Fridge- discard leftovers)
• Update Finances- Update Lesson Plans
  
• Wash Car/Yardwork (Date Night)
• Sewing on Saturdays or in the evenings (instead of TV)Also Family night!
  

Monthly - (1st few days of the month)

• Plan Lessons for the month
• Plan Menus for the month - Make Grocery List - Shop at Sam's (Buy all ingredients for dinners)
  
• Do Budget and Pay all the bills for the month
• Deep clean kitchen, bathrooms, living room, and bedrooms- one area per week (entry way and porch on the in-between days) .
  

Our family is very busy with church, speech and debate, cello lessons, square dancing, sewing, guitar, and I work part-time when I can for Tim's boss. (4 hours here and there).  So this schedule works best for us. And remember--  I delegate everything that I can!

Happy Homemaking!

Donna

PS. I must give credit to the wonderful artist , Cobean, who illustrated my favorite homemaking book. It was out of print when I bought it our first year of marriage in 1987 from a rare book company. It's entitled, "How to Keep House by Mary Davies Gillies."