Cleaning a "House"

One of the biggest adjustments for me as a homeowner has been cleaning a whole house.  Prior to moving in, the largest place we had ever lived was 1000 square feet.  Our house is more than double that size.

Back when we lived in small spaces, I didn't have a routine cleaning schedule.  We let things go for awhile, then we would clean, or we would rely on our next entertaining event to do a big clean.  I was also working full-time and would reserve weekends for cleaning.  Besides, how long does it really take to deep clean such small spaces?  I could easily knock it out in less than 2 hours.

Cleaning is not really my thing, either.  Which is funny, because I like to be organized, but I really don't enjoy the "act of cleaning."  I think I hate vacuuming the most, but I'm working on it. 

When Justin and I got back from our vacation in Nags Head, I knew it was time for me to buckle down and come up with a cleaning schedule.  Why?  Because my organizing nature needs structure.  Justin thinks I'm being a little too "Type A," but cleaning house has gotten so much easier now that I have a schedule.  He is also still in the school of thought that we'll just do one big clean when it gets dirty, but I can't handle that being at home most of the time now.  I like living in a clean house!

This is my 4th week into it, and it's still a work in progress.  Some days I don't feel like doing my daily chore and I put it off until the next day.  But ultimately when Friday rolls around, the whole house has been cleaned and we can enjoy our weekend.  (Something that as new homeowners, we haven't been doing because the house is so consuming!)

I started by researching other cleaning schedules on-line.  I started with the mainstays - MarthaStewart.com and RealSimple.com - then moved on to searching for bloggers who had schedules in place.  I took what I could from all of those sources and rolled them into a schedule that works for me.

Here it is:

Every day of the week, I have "Daily chores" that take a total of 30 minutes.
-Make the bed
-Wipe down our bathroom counter
-Empty and load dishwasher
-Clean glass cooktop
-Wipe down kitchen counters and sink
-Declutter living areas
-Water outdoor potted plants if it doesn't rain

It's crazy how much cleaner the house stays when I do these tasks every day.  Instead of ending up with a big mess that takes that much longer to clean up, I'm "maintaining."

Then I have weekly chores that fall on certain days of the week.  This part has been a work in progress because I've tried to make these chores roughly the same amount of time, but some days end up being easier than others.

Monday
-Put out the trash
-Laundry
-Vacuum the whole house

Tuesday
-Clean mirrors, sliders, windows

Wednesday
-Put out recycle
-Scrub toilets
-Wipe down guest bathroom counter
-Water indoor plants

Thursday
-Put out the trash
-Vacuum and mop in the living areas
-Wash microfiber cleaning towels and floor cleaning pads

Friday - Swing Day  (and no, I don't mean Justin and I go to key parties or practice swing dancing - basically it's a chore that only gets done once a month because I rotate them).
1st Friday - Dust furniture and wipe down cabinets
2nd - Clean microwave, fridge, exterior of kitchen appliances, wash quilt, mattress pad, pillow covers and change the sheets
3rd - Wipe down walls, moldings and doors
4th - Dust ceiling fans and blinds, change bed sheets, clean outside of sliders and front door

You may have noticed that I did not mention cleaning showers/bathtubs.  This is my least favorite chore but luckily Justin doesn't mind it.  His job is to clean them twice a month, along with his weekly chores of mowing the lawn and cleaning the pool.  His monthly chores involve cleaning the gutters, cleaning the windows outside, spraying for pests, and trimming the trees/bushes.

I also have a bi-weekly chore of mopping the floors in the master bedroom, bathrooms and kitchen.  So far, the kitchen is really the only one that needs it bi-weekly, so I'm thinking about changing that up.

I wish I was more computer/blogging savvy because I would figure out how to show you a screen shot of my pretty excel document that lays all of this out.  Once I get the schedule down, I'll print a clean copy and laminate it.  I think I'll hang it inside the kitchen pantry door.

Another thing that I did to make my life easier was put some cleaning supplies in each bathroom, along with gloves, microfiber towels and the toilet bowl brush.  I also re-organized our cleaning supplies in the kitchen, got rid of duplicates, and pared it down to only what I need to complete the chores above.  Any extra cleaning supplies I put on a shelf in the garage.

Bathroom cleaning supplies

Organized cleaning supplies in the kitchen!

On a side note - if you have a glass cooktop, you have to buy Bar Keeper's Friend asap!  It does any amazing job!

Now, I'm well aware that after the baby arrives, this schedule may just fall apart.  But I'm hoping that once I get a schedule down with baby, this will help keep our house clean without completely stressing me out! 

And like all things in life, I've found that you can't be too rigid.  Yes, it's nice to have a schedule and when it works out, good for me.  But I'm not going to sweat it if everything doesn't get done when it's supposed to.  I know that it eventually will, and life is too short to get worked up about it!  You can't always live your life by "WWMD?" aka "What would Martha do?"  She has hired help, believe me.