Daily/Weekly Chore Schedule.
Entropy: the thermodynamic principle that things naturally decline into disorder and chaos. I have come to realize that this principle can be extended into all areas of life; especially in a house with kids.
I have in my short time of being the keeper of my home found that the best way to keep things orderly and tidy is to break it up into smaller chunks. Sombody told me (today legit) that if you do a little bit of cleaning everyday that it is less overwhelming and your home stays looking cleaner for longer. I can testify that, for right now, this is the only truth of house cleaning. If you read my last post, you will know that I love schedules, planners, calendars, and writing things all down in charts. So here is how my chore schedule works. I do some things on a daily basis and others on a weekly basis.
Everyday I take a few minutes here and there to do the following:
One to two loads of laundry. That's washed, dried, and put away.
Unload and load the dishwasher. Nothing better than waking up to a clean dish free kitchen with clean dishes in the dishwasher.
Sweep the floors. Hardwood floors people, with a toddler that is constantly dripping crumbs. Everyday you gotta control all those crumbs
Clear all the clutter. It will get out of hand if you save this for the weekly.
Wipe down the table and counters. I must be honest though... sometimes I skip the table because we sometimes go whole days without eating on it. (Yes we are those kind of people that eat on the couch while watching TV)
In addition to the daily things here is how I schedule the bigger jobs throughout the week.
Monday- Bathrooms. I wipe down the surfaces, scrub the tubs toilets and sinks, and empty the trashes.
Tuesday- Dust and Windows. My apartment is small enough that I can take 1 rag with Murphy's Oil soap and another with Windex wipe all the wood surfaces and windows. I also take this time to wipe down the washer and dryer.
Wednesday- Free Day. Let's face it. There are some days when we just can't bring ourselves to scrub toilets. The free day is to give us a grace day so we don't have to double up on chores to keep up. I also use it in case I know we are going to spend a long day out doing errands then I'll pick the free day to do the chores of the day we will be out.
Thursday- Mop and Vacuum. I sweep everyday but mopping requires the bucket and the crappy sponge mop that is falling apart. I dislike mopping. I also vacuum the small areas of carpet we have.
Friday- Kitchen. Wipe down the stove and microwave and scrub the sink.
Saturday- Purge the fridge and pantry. I have a problem with cooking too much food. I grew up in a big family of eaters so I am used to cooking a lot of food. I am trying to get better at that but in the mean time, cooking all week leave random Tupperwares in the fridge that nobody wants to eat anymore. We have a leftovers night where we try to eat as much of our leftovers as we can but some things still don't get eaten and will eventually turn into science projects if not thrown out.
This system has worked well for a while now. I imagine it will change with the times as current children get older and take over the jobs. Or as we add more children or change our work schedules.
What types of entropy battlers do you employ in your house? How long have you gone without following any of it? I know that answer for our house.... it's embarrassing.
