Friday, July 22, 2011

Making a Routine That Works

I meant to post this yesterday, but here it is today. Let's talk about actually creating and implementing your cleaning routine.


I recommend the Flylady because she tackles what the major issue is first. CLUTTER. Without addressing the clutter issues in your home you will have a hard time maintaining any semblance of order and it makes every task take 30 minutes longer.

Now I'll admit her website is REALLY overwhelming so let's just break it down a bit. I recommend taking some "Mommy Time" at your local coffee shop or happy place to sit down and figure all this out.


As overwheming as it may be print out the following from the Flylady website:

Zone Cleaning Lists 
Weekly Checklist
Before Bed/Morning Routines


With these things, start a Housekeeping Binder. I actually keep mine in my coupon binder. You can put your grocery list or to do list in it and any other useful household information. It sounds a tad ridiculous, but if you have these in a special place that you can get to easily, you will check it often, I keep mine on top of the microwave, or by my wall calendar in the kitchen.


Start asking yourself:


"What areas give me the most trouble?"
"What do I hate/love cleaning?"
"What doesn't apply to me?"
"What do I need to add?"
"What can I get rid of?"


Go through each list and modify as needed. Reprint with your changes and make sure you are being REALISTIC! Then get started!

What I love about the Flylady is that you can jump in wherever you are. We are in Zone 4 right now, the master bedroom. You can start today by just doing your 15 minute decluttering sessions a few days this week. Learn to declutter here.

Once you get a few rooms decluttered (this will take a few weeks) you will start to notice that rooms stay cleaner longer and it's easier to get the rooms in order.
 
There are definitely weeks where I fall behind, but it almost always ends in a Crisis Cleaning session to get me back on track. My life is SO MUCH easier, when I just stick to my plan. I have more time with my children and more time to do the things I enjoy.

I hope these past two days haven't been too boring, and I hope that everyone can get on board with this :)

1 comment:

Kim said...

Whenever I read your blog it inspires me to clean my house more, and I'm ALREADY a neat freak, so you're doing a great job!