Monday, January 17, 2011

Monday = A Fresh Start

Someone's gotta do the cleaning around here!
I know everyone bemoans Mondays.

But personally, I kind of like them. A new week, an unspoiled beginning.

Well, except for those last few dishes lingering the the sink. But we'll get to those in a minute.

This weekend, I spent some time drafting some pre-made to-do lists, mainly focusing on chores that need to be done daily. While I was at it, I revamped my cleaning schedule to make it (hopefully!) more efficient and all-encompassing.

Because last week, I cleaned my microwave for the first time in....a loooooong time. It was bad. Let's just leave it at that.

But more about master cleaning schedules later this week (with a giveaway!).

For my daily chores, I used this awesome customizable daily "To-Do" sheet from Money Saving Mom.


My personal list looks something like this:


Before Breakfast:
  • Quiet/Planning
  • Breakfast Prep
After Breakfast:
  • Minimum Maintenance--Kitchen (15-20 minutes)
  • Min. Maint.--Bathroom (5 minutes)
  • Min. Maint.--Bedroom (5 min.)
  • Min. Maint.--Squishy's Room (5 min.)
  • Min. Maint.--Living Room (5 min.--approximately 40 minutes of cleaning total)
After Lunch:
  • 5-10 Minute Kitchen Clean Up
  • Sweep House
  • Water Plants
Before Dinner:
  • Dinner Prep
After Dinner:
  • Kitchen Clean Up
  • Breakfast Prep
  • 5 Minute Pick Up
____________________________

While we're on the subject, I've been loving minimum maintenance lately. Five minutes can do a lot of good:

MinMaint
Before.......................................................................and after!

MinMaint2
Before                                                                                               After!
When it comes to cleaning house, I have to be realistic. Life is full of important things people. To give them the time they need, I can't obsess about my baseboards. That's why I love the results a quick 5 minute sweep-through can bring.

Try it! Set a timer and you're off!



Linked to Make It Happen Monday over at Ammie's place! This girl gets some serious stuff done on Mondays.

P.S. I totally forgot that this Monday is a holiday. So perhaps you're not bemoaning it after all. ;)

P.S. Again: Just wanted to say thank you for all the awesome interaction in the comments lately. Such fun...I enjoy getting to know you all more and hearing your take on different subjects. :)
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9 comments:

  1. Alicia! i am LOVING the before and after pics! So awesome! I've also become a bit of a fan of the minimum maintainance club--not sure of the exact science behind it, but I call it a quick clean around here. Fluff the pillows, put the crap away, and DONE! The linky is up, so go ahead and do it, lady! You rock! I love your daily tasks!

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  2. You microwave comment reminds me of mine...I really just need to clean the nasty thing!!

    And I think your minimum maintenance is a great idea, I'm working on implementing that in my household!

    Also, I know you are living in campus housing...my husband and I lived in school apartments for the first 2 years of our marriage! It was far from glamorous but I have such fond memories of that little apartment and sometimes miss our 572 square feet!! Here's a link to an old post about our apartment http://frugalandsimple.com/2008/02/26/our-little-apartment/ (I always was curious what other student housing apartments were like!!)

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  3. Love the minimum maintenance idea. I set the timer this morning during our homeschool break for snacktime for 15 minutes and swept the wood floors in all the living space, wiped down the counters and put away dishes. It felt so good! I'm going to try the 5 min thing you suggested for each of the other rooms. Lovely idea! Thanks for sharing!

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  4. Rachel, I loved the "tour" of your student housing apartment! You did such a great job with it.

    I wish we could do SHELVES at our place, but it's against the rules. Loved your pots/pans rack.

    I'm done with all my Min Maint. today, and it's so nice. *sigh*

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  5. Uh oh. You just reminded me I need to clean my microwave. Haven't done it since we moved in. How do you clean yours? Do you use the hot water method? I've always done that and the spray it down once for good measure.

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  6. You are young. So much ahead. But you are so grown up too. The more I read the more I just know that you will have great kids, and your marriage will last forever.

    And I do everything in little snippets – you are right about 5 minutes – so right.

    God Bless and Keep you and all of yours

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  7. I love Mondays!! The weekends are so busy, and for some reason the house is even more crazy when we're not home. Love min main, but we call them "Quick Clean"s around here...and it's fun/ny when you keep repeating 'quick clean' as you're cleaning. =p

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  8. What a neat idea. :) I always dread cleaning because it seems to take up so much time. If I did short burst of cleaning, it would seem much more doable. I cant wait to try it today.

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  9. I love Mondays too. :) I'll have to try out the five minute method. I could use an idea like that.

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