I’m a reactive cleaner. If I notice something’s dirty, I clean it. I do make an effort to “clean as I go,” but I don’t have any sort of regular housecleaning schedule (and that probably shows).
I’ve seen a lot of plans (clean one room a day, do this on Monday, do that on Tuesday, etc.), but a giant list of recurring chores always looks so daunting. And perhaps a little crazier than I need. (Clean behind the stove? Really?) Plus I’m not liable to have the same amount of time available on a certain day from week to week.
Anyway, I’m good with to-do lists, so I decided to make myself a recurring weekly to-do list. A realistic cleaning to-do list. Some of these chores might be more like every two weeks rather than weekly, but we will see how things go. I added a couple of reminders about paying bills and watering plants so I do them regularly. I also left some space at the bottom to write in odd or special chores like washing windows or the shower curtain.
I printed it on some patterned paper and popped it into a cheapie frame to make a pretty dry erase board. (I’ve seen this general idea a bunch of places and I’m not really sure where it originates from.) We can cross the chores off as we complete them. I love crossing things off, so it’s a subtle incentive.
We don’t really need reminders for things like the dishes, the laundry or the trash/recycling. Those things get done routinely without any trouble.
This pace is what works for us. I kept this list simple and minimal. Obviously you might clean more or less frequently, but this list is just to get myself on some type of system. This is probably well past due, but better late than never, right?
