Thursday, June 4, 2015

KIS - Housekeeping


Before we moved back into our house the girls and I had a family meeting to discuss a number of things in relation to that decision.  One of those things was housekeeping and the fact that I am not the main, nor do I want to be the only one who does the majority of the housekeeping.  With that in mind we developed a schedule for a fair division of responsibilities.

Pick Up After Ourselves

We try to clean up after ourselves throughout the day but things do get missed or forgotten about.  Paramount to our success is developing the habit of doing a walk-through of the entire house before we go to bed at night and make sure we have put away everything that belongs to us.

Make Your Bed - Everyday

It is amazing to me how much nicer a bedroom appears simply by making the bed.  I make my bed, honestly, 98% of the time in some form or another.  Sometimes I only have time to give the covers a quick flick to toss them back in place but at least I make the effort.  Mostly though, I make my bed as soon as I get up, complete with shams and throw pillows.  It feels better to walk in the room when the bed is made and I actually think it feels better when I crawl in it at night too.


Clean As You Go

I find this to be very beneficial to tidy up in the bathroom as we get ready to start our day and every time we cook or bake something in the kitchen.

Work Together

It is not one person's responsibility do stuff.  We are a team and we work together, whether it is fixing dinner and cleaning up afterward, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, etc.


Develop a Schedule

A schedule helps us to rotate certain chores so things don't pile up and we consistently stay up on things.  I made ours in Excel so I can modify it as we need to.

This is what our schedule looks like:

Sunday




After School




Change Bedding









Laundry




Feed/Water Cats



Vacuum & Dust Upstairs


Feed/Water Chickens








Empty Lunchboxes - Ice Packs Into Freezer
Monday




Homework




Sweep Front Porch & Sidewalk


Help With Dinner & Chores



Clean Upstairs Bathroom


















Tuesday




Remember:




Sweep/Mop Tile Floors








Vacuum/Dust Downstairs



Put Jackets & Shoes Away








Hang Up Backpacks & Lunchboxes







Clean Up After Yourselves

Wednesday





Don't Answer Phone/Door For Strangers

Empty Trashcans & Litter Box








Trash/Recycle Bin to Curb








Laundry




















Thursday










Clean Downstairs Bathroom








Wipe Down Cupboards & Appliances

















Friday










No Chores




















Saturday










Yardwork










Auto Care











Mounted on the side of the refrigerator with or menu plan we all know what is expected and needs to be done.  We keep it as simple as possible so our chores no longer consume our days and our house is always neat and tidy.

5 comments:

  1. Sounds nice and it's great your girls help you out. Everything in the house is my responsibility, everything outside (yard, vehicles) is the husbands pretty much. The husband has never been good at cleaning anything up, but is supposed to help me with a massive cleaning and from then on, I would be in charge of keeping the house up since I no longer work. Yes, I know some people would find that so sexist, but that is what I desire. I want to be home to raise my child, cook for my family, keep a clean house. I believe I was born in the wrong era :-)

    Anyways, once we get the house completely clean I intend to make a schedule like that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In your situation I'd feel like you do, sexist or not. I'd love to be able to stay home and spend my days gardening and keeping up my house. Guess that's what retirement is for. :)

      Delete
  2. One would think living in a small house (696 sq ft) it would be easy to keep it clean. Ha, physically it's clean but if something is out of place, (toys) it looks like a tornado came thru.
    I have a "mental" chores list that is very flexible. However there are some things I will not budge on such as beds are made as soon as we get up, toys are put away at bedtime and no dirty dishes in the sink when I go to bed.
    Thanks for sharing your housekeeping ideas with us.
    Vanessa B

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our house is small too and I know what you mean. It takes very little for it to look messy. Noting like a good project in the works to wipe the place out.

      Delete
  3. Discussing over whose turn it is to clean what or when is a good household strategy. This way, the house chores will be equally divided among you and the girls. Also, setting up house rules like "clean as you go" and "make your bed everyday" will surely help to maintain the cleanliness of your home, and at the same time, will help you minimize the time you have to spend cleaning the house. Kudos to your parenting! :-)

    Frank George @ Dutch Hollow Supplies

    ReplyDelete

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