HOME ORGANIZER: THE 30 DAY ROUTINE & HOUSEWORK PLANNERS

 

WE HAVE HAD A MOUSE IN OUR HOUSE.

And I use the term 'mouse' very optimistically, because I'm pretty sure one mouse cannot make the amount of mess I've just cleaned up.

Over the last week, I have cleaned out EVERY SINGLE cupboard and room in the house. Trust me, I'm not exaggerating here.

As we live in an old 1950's house, there are heaps of nooks and crannies, and it appears the little creature had access to every room through the walls. I could have cried when I found out just how many places the 'mouse' had been.

But, lets look on the bright side - I now have a beautifully clean house, and am down six big garbage bags of clutter that have been sent to the op shop. And now that it's super clean, the challenge is to keep it that way...




In my last post, I showed you my Perfect Daily Cleaning Schedule  and it was uber organized.

And yes, this is my actual, real list that I do everyday. Yep, on a daily basis I'm an organized wonder lol :)

What you don't know is that I'm really bad at doing all the weekly and monthly stuff. Things like cleaning the oven, the shower, dusting, mopping and de-cobwebbing I loathe doing. They're big, hard, messy and take ages, so I only do them when I can't stand it anymore!

Anyway, now that I've got a pretty spotless house, it's the perfect time to get those jobs sorted out and happening a bit more regularly - and it's also perfect timing to go with my Perfect Daily Cleaning Schedule from the last post.

So there are two ways you can do this, and I've done printables for both - let's start with the classic ones, then get on to my 30 Day Routine!


1. WEEKLY, MONTHLY & SEASONAL PLANNERS:



This is by far the most popular way of organizing all those chores that need doing regularly, but not everyday.

Again, organizing these won't take long - just pop the kettle on, and by the time you've finished your cup of tea, you'll be sorted :)


TO ORGANIZE YOUR HOUSEWORK:

STEP 1: Take a notepad and pen and start walking around your house, listing down all the chores that need to be done at any time in each room (except the daily ones you organized here.)

STEP 2: Go through your list and sort out how often each chore needs to be done. And remember - it's how often they actually need to be done, not how often your inner Stepford Wife says they need to be done - don't clean the bath once a week if no one in your household uses it - wipe it if it's dusty maybe, but don't waste time on things that aren't necessary.

STEP 3: Now, simply write each chore in the appropriate planner! But before you finish, think about when exactly you're going to do this stuff.

It's all very well to have pretty, organized lists, but if you never set aside time to complete them, they'll never get done.

So will you burn through the weekly tasks on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, then do a few monthly ones for the rest of the week, leaving all the seasonal ones for the weekend?

Or will you just do a little here and there of whatever takes your fancy each day? Whatever it is, make sure the process works for you.


2. THE 30 DAY ROUTINE:


I dare say someone else has done something similar to this, but I made this printable because the weekly/monthly method above just doesn't work for me.

The first problem I had was setting aside time to actually do the chores (hence the big warning in Step 3 above lol). It just didn't happen for me. I could never get all that stuff to translate easily into what I should be doing now - at 9am, with cleaning basket in hand...

The second problem I had is that some things, like vacuuming, need to be done two to three times a week - daily is overkill, and once a week is just gross. Other things, like dusting, are ideally done before vacuuming, and others, like mopping, are ideally done afterwards. The weekly list, with three lines saying 'vacuum', one saying 'mop' and two saying 'dust' just got me all tangled up. It was just too hard.

(Lol. I know I over think things sometimes, but, to my mind, if I think it out properly, organize, and write it down once, well, I don't need to waste time thinking about it any more. I just do what's on the list, when it says to do it, and, hey presto - I get the result I was after.)

So, this is my 30 Day Routine and it's a cycle - there's no starting or finishing, it just revolves around and around so the house is always mainly clean.

There is one task each day to complete, so it's easy to make time for, and all the chores are listed in the frequency they need to be done. Most things will take between 30m and an hour to complete too, so it's not that onerous - I just do this after my Daily Housework Routine, and the whole thing takes two hours max.


(And I've just noticed an error in mine - Day 30 should be window washing day - ahh the joys of working with a toddler - pretty sure I was helping sing the Frozen theme song at this point :))

So here's a blank copy for you guys to download and fill in - just use the same steps as above, but instead of putting tasks on different planners in Step 3, just space them out as frequently as needed. There are six tick circles, so this one sheet should last six months.

By the way, I still use the Seasonal list from above for the random, easily forgettable chores - like checking the oil in the car, cleaning out gutters, changing smoke alarm batteries etc., but it's more as a reminder list that I check every so often, and they tend to go on my to-do list if they need doing.



And there you go!


All the best,

Eliza.