This post was going to be about my Kitchen plan for today, and then i went off on a tangent. Sometimes i have to write what i am guided to write, because there is always a message in there not only for myself but hopefully for everyone who chooses to follow this blog.
Day 3 of my new plan got derailed. I planned to give the kitchen a good wipedown but instead ended up doing 3 dishwasher loads of dishes. At least yesterday i gave the livingroom a good deep clean and got the furniture swept under, and the floors vacuumed, and all the flat surfaces wiped down. yes, i really am looking at the positives of what i did do, rather than focusing on what didn't quite go to plan.
Tomorrow is the entryways. Its a little intimidating, but i think i can handle it. I just need to get into the routine of giving each room a good lick every week. One full week a month sometimes just is not enough, so i rearranged it a bit from Fly Lady so that each room gets a good once over every week. I think that is my new star habit to work on...weekly maintenance. Sometimes i just cannot get to each room in a day, and we use almost every room in this house every day (not a huge house). The idea is to just do what i can in 15-30 minutes depending on the ...direness...of the room, with the goal of adding in daily maintenance to each area as the family SEES how happy our home is with out junk everywhere.
Here is a layout of my room schedule (not including things like dusting and wet-mopping or glass):
Mondays: Living Room. It gets pretty hashed over a weekend and sometimes we just are too worn out from Laundry Day to do much more than pick up the floor and clear a couple hot spots. Monday i give the whole room a good thorough 'blessing' by moving furniture to sweep out toys/crumbs and running the vacuum in the spots the broom doesn't get to well.
Tuesdays: Kitchen. Yet again, thorough wipe down. Moving items to wipe UNDER, wipe down of cabinet fronts, and a quick clean out of the Fridge. I did get the counters wiped down well today, so i will stick a star up just for that feat!
Wednesday: Entryways. Need I say more? Usually by today the front door area needs a thorough tidy and declutter (how many coats do these kids need?) and I won't even go into how the coat closet looks...iz a catch all spot/staging area for thrift store destined items, AKA the mini-hoarding room. The back door area is where we kennel the dogs at night, so it needs a good scrub and vacuum from the dirt/hair/dog food that collects back there. Its also the staging area for my Swiffer/Broom/Aprons and shelf of stuff that won't fit in my kitchen cabinets but i still use too often to store in the basement stuff.
Thursday: Bathroom. Right now we only have one. The main bath is in perma-renovation stage for now with an open-ended finish date (cash/supplies/manpower), so the basement bathroom gets used by all 5 of us plus guests. Even with a daily Swish and Swipe (see
Fly Lady for details), it still seems to need a good scrubdown of the shower which is epic crumbling concrete that doesn't seem to have ever been sealed right. I use non-slip foam shelf liner and a no-slip shower mat for the floor to protect our feet from the concrete floor, so i wash those in the washer weekly.
Friday: Bedrooms. Basically this is just a quick sweep and vacuum of the older kids rooms, a quick run through of my own room, and a good thorough pick up and put away in the littlest's room. A change in everyone's sheets and our rooms are ready for the weekend.
Saturday: FREE DAY!!. I have worked hard all week and deserve a day of rest and relaxation. I focus on me, my kids, the Man, the dogs, friends. Sometimes i schedule a Party to celebrate the week to come with lots of food and the company of family and friends.
Sunday: Laundry. Yup i saved this one for last. Like i posted in the previous blog, its something we all have to deal with and i have decided to commit to dealing with it all in one day. Getting it all done in one day is so freeing for me. Sure i still have tons of clothes to get rid of, but i now can do it all in one day as i go, rather than bit by bit through the week.
Things such as Trash, Dusting/glass, and mopping floors are spread throughout the week as well, but i will save that for another post so i don't overwhelm my readers with a crazy schedule they think may work for them. I don't want anyone to get overwhelmed by what MY goals are. Babysteps, always.
The one thing i have taken away from my last couple years following the Fly Lady and her methods is that i MUST make it my own. She is a great launching point for learning how to build habits and routines, and i still will send anyone to her first. She has great methods and i have learned so much about myself and HOW to build my own habits and weekly plans, HOW to use a calendar, and to finally love ME and embrace my perfectionism with a timer. What it boils down to in the end is that it is my home and my schedule and i must learn to manage my time and home around the ever-changing 'flexible' schedule of a young family. I cannot let perfectionism block my way, even when the routine MUST change because school is out for a couple of days or out for the summer. Move your habits around to fit the current schedule, because sometimes the routine changes and CHAOS tries to toe its way in again. Developing habits is the first step to your 'flexible' routine. This is why i have chosen to schedule specific days for my basic cleaning, kind of an old fashioned idea, but its where my head is right now and where i need to be.
