Monday, Monday

My original Monday plan came about as I did the chores I had planned for Monday and then looked at the list and decided I could get a few more things done from the Tuesday or Wednesday list. Eventually I started doing all the cleaning chores on Monday and called it “cleaning day”. By Tuesday I focused on computer and desk-type chores and ran errands on Wednesday. This schedule came about because I liked the feeling of getting things done and having my tasks be grouped together.

One thing to note about my schedule is that it is different than just surface cleaning only. I do not enjoy spring cleaning. I don’t enjoy feeling like I have to take a chunk out of my time and spend it deep cleaning. There’s always the option of not cleaning, but this system has been a nice transition for me from spending my weekends and holidays scrubbing things down and just doing a little, here and there, throughout the year.

So, what does a typical Monday look like for me?

I wake up earlier on Monday than any other day. I do this to get a jump on the week and the busy day I know I have ahead of me. Usually between 5 and 5:30am I get up and throw in a load of laundry. Next, I attend to my personal spiritual needs, which for me includes prayers and scripture reading and pondering. During this time I will sometimes write in my journal. Almost always I a 10 minute strengthening exercise routine and check my tasks and calendar. Around 6:30 it is time to get going on the day’s work. On Monday, this means cleaning day, or having the bulk of my cleaning focus be on this day. 

For the past two years I have been getting the bathrooms cleaned before my youngest kids get up – basically racing to clean the bathroom. Why did I start this race? Because I decided I really don’t like cleaning bathrooms and so having a time to race against has been super helpful in cleaning the bathrooms for me. Most weeks, this is simple to get done because I am not focusing on deep cleaning the bathrooms, but only cleaning the sinks, mirrors, toilets, floors, and a quick scrub in the tub. I clean 3 bathrooms though, so cleaning as fast as I can before little people get up and need food is truly a race.

There are some things that need attention weekly and so those are always on the list, but then there is the deeper cleaning routine: I have split up my cleaning schedule into 5 areas. I rotate through these 5 areas every 5 weeks and take care of what needs done in those areas. Some things need done every 5 weeks and some can be done in 10 weeks or 15. It’s easy to figure out where things fall because they will occur in 5 week increments.

Things I do every day:

·         Dishes, counters, put food away and clean up the kitchen

·         Clear off the desk and file or assign a day to take care of bills and paperwork

·         Sweep as needed

·         General pick up of the house

·         Make beds/pick up rooms

Things I do every week:

·         Clean up kitchen – dishes, wipe out sink, wipe of counters and stove, clean anything that needs attention

·         Vacuum

·         Sweep and Mop (although it’s usually every other week that I mop)

·         Make beds and change sheets that need it

·         Clean rugs and towels

·         Clean bathrooms

·         General pick up of the house

·         Laundry

Rotating Deeper Cleaning Schedule:

·         Entry ways, porches, garage, mud room

·         Kitchen

·         Bathrooms, utility room, food storage

·         Bedrooms, Laundry room, Storage room

·         Living room, family room, guest room, craft room, toy room

A Monday on the week of bedrooms, laundry room and storage room might look like this: 

General pick up (hopefully done night before), clean bathrooms, laundry, change sheets and make beds, vacuum, vacuum the edges in the bedrooms, clean the baseboards in the bedrooms, clean the window sills and the windows in the bedrooms, clean the blinds in the bedrooms, deep clean any drawers or closets in the bedrooms, clean large blankets and comforters, clean doors and walls in bedroom, clean doorknobs and light switches, dust in the bedrooms, clean mirrors in bedrooms, clean the washing machine, vacuum out lent trap, sweep floor in laundry room, clean up laundry room, organize and tidy storage room, vacuum/vacuum edges in storage room, baseboards in storage room, etc.

It looks like a lot, but once you have done 5 weeks of this routine and start all over, there is less to do because you were just in these rooms spending time organizing and cleaning on a deeper level. Also, I don’t do all of this every time – that would take all day and I have other things to get to. Here are some tips:
1) When you set up your areas, clean like areas at the same time. If I’m cleaning baseboards or mirrors in the same types of rooms, I can more easily keep the same cleaners and I am already in the groove of cleaning that particular area.

2) Work on only what you have time for. Sometimes we have things come up, so these are the days you would not get into organizing or cleaning out drawers – you would stick to surface stuff.

3) Rotate tasks. Say that one week I do this routine and I clean my bedroom window, but do not clean any others. The next week I make sure I clean a different bedroom window and maybe clean out one drawer in my nightstand. A third round through this schedule would find me cleaning out a drawer in my son’s room of clothes that he is growing out of and totally skipping cleaning any windows. (*Disclaimer: as my children get older, they spend more time helping to clean out their own drawers and papers. But giving them the chore to “just clean out your sock and underwear drawer” is manageable – for both of you.) The point is not that you spring clean every area every time, but that you spend a little time in each area throughout the year to avoid spring cleaning all together.

4) Always do the surface stuff and then see what you have time for. Always do those things you do to make a room feel clean. Do not get into a big organizing project and decide to drag out all your clothes at once because you have already started on one drawer. One thing at a time. If you truly feel the need to go back when you have a free minute or even in a few days, then do so. But this schedule is meant to be kept to just a few hours.

5) Share the load. Children, even small children, can do a pretty decent job of wiping baseboards, folding certain clothes, dusting, vacuuming edges, and cleaning doorknobs and light switches. Routinely divide chores up with others in the family and teach them about some of the other things that need done in a house. If each of my children just takes one or two of my small tasks, my load is lightened and they have either learned a new chore, or got practice perfecting an old one!

Using this rotating system has freed me not only during the week, but also during the year. I avoid long drawn-out days of begging my children to please help out or trying to cram everything in myself in a day or two. It isn’t quite perfect, but there is a definite difference in attitude between the child who sees no end in sight to cleaning and the child who knows that just a few extra chores on Mondays is the path to playtime and freedom! Bonus: It also means more free time for you!