FlyLady Tips: Getting That "Finished" Feeling: Weekly Schedule and Favorite Cleaners

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There are as many ways to schedule your home management chores as there are women to manage their homes! We all have such different lives.  But the important thing is to HAVE a weekly schedule.  Whether you use the FlyLady system and only clean 1 hour per week  (Home Blessing) on Monday and declutter and thoroughly clean one room per week or you do top to bottom house cleaning every Saturday, we all need a schedule.

My schedule is to clean on Mondays, do paperwork on Tuesdays, do to do list on Wednesdays, catch up the laundry and sew on Thursdays, and grocery shop and run errands on Fridays.  Saturday, we do yard work, and I may work on a really big project then. 

The main reason to have a schedule is so you feel like you are FINISHED. The old saying that a "Woman's work is never done.", I'm sure came from the fact that our work is so incredibly repetitive.  I really love the FlyLady system, but the one down side, is that in many ways I never feel finished. The upside is that you can spend less time per day cleaning. You may not have everything done every day...but Monday's work or Tuesday's work CAN be finished etc.

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My problem though, is that when I quit cleaning the old fashioned way--top to bottom on one day during the week, I quit giving my cleaning methods and results the focus they needed. In some ways, it felt like the house was always less than clean.

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I do so love the feeling of having the whole house sparkling clean! We had that feeling this week since we spent a good solid two days cleaning to get ready for hosting five boys overnight. We keep things picked up pretty good most of the time, but it seemed like I never quite got to the deep cleaning the way I needed to. There is nothing that says "I love you" to your hubby and kids like clean bathrooms, sheets, clothes, refrigerator, and furniture. Now that the kids are older, I think with all of us working, we can get the job done quicker.

The nice thing about cleaning once a week, is that once you get started, you tend to want to keep going. And you tend to do a better job, when you know that CLEANING is what you are doing that day.  To help me not end up spending the whole day at it though, I plan to focus on doing one job at a time in all the rooms of the house.

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My Weekly Homemaking Schedule

• Vacuum and Sweep: Dust using a vacuum cleaner. Dust high, low, and include couches. Use an extension cord! Work from high to low. We have wood laminate floors and the dust collects all over everything! It doesn't have carpet to catch in so it gathers in dust balls. I use the vacuum wand a lot!
• Clean Glass: Using windex or alcohol and water, spray and wipe all glass and mirrors. Use papertowels to dry.

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• Wash Wood and Cabinets: Start a bucket full of warm water with Murphy's Wood Oil Soap. I can use it on my laminate floors too. Give the table and chairs a good scrubbing. Mop floors, wipe down wood cabinets and doors. Polish afterwards. My favorite furniture polish is called Wood to Wood. 

It's expensive but worth every penny! It actually WORKS which is why I LOVE Don Aslett's products! My first bottle lasted YEARS!  I also bought their floor cleaner. I've never used it before, but everything else he sells is awesome so I'm sure this will be too.

• Clean Bathrooms and mop tile.  I use Don Aslett's products here too. He has two great products, Safety Foam for the toilet and Showers-n-stuff for the shower and sinks. I mop with Murphy's Wood Oil Soap because I hate the harsh smell of Pine Sol.

• Clean Fingerprints, appliances, doors and door knobs with 409 or Thieves ( I love this stuff!) and paper towels. Use alcohol to clean telephones, and  hair appliances.

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• Want to clean your windows? Do you know that Don Aslett, the King of Clean, suggests just using a teaspoon of Dawn liquid detergent to a gallon of hot water and a squeegee?  For those of you who like homemade cleaners..this is good news!

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I plan to wait until Laundry/Sewing day to change the sheets.  The fridge gets a good once over when I do my monthly shopping.  While I'm cleaning, I can set my stove to self clean.  If you have to do it the old fashioned way, be sure to use paper towels to wipe out the yuk rather than cleaning rags as you can just throw the mess away when you are done.

Well, I'm off to find my apron and roll up my sleeves...how about you? How could you plan your week so you could  have that 'finished' feeling?  


Happy Homemaking!