Chore Lists

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Before I really had a system down, I would overclean in some areas of our house and leave other areas until they were so gross that I HAD to do something about it. That haphazard method annoyed me to no end.

I really wanted to have a cleaning system in place so I looked all over Pinterest and got some ideas. I’ve tried some methods, moved things around, and figured out what works best for me. If I notice something isn’t working, I’ll add or adjust my system.

I decided to divide up the household jobs so that I do a different one each day of the week. For example, wash the sheets on Thursday, clean the bathroom on Friday, etc. That system was working pretty well, but I noticed I was neglecting the jobs that didn’t need to be done that often - like dusting (my nemesis), wiping down cupboard exteriors, and sweeping and mopping the less-traffic areas of the house. If I don’t have a system in place, I probably won’t chose to deep clean when I have an extra half hour.

I tried setting bi-weekly and monthly reminders on my phone for those extra jobs, but that never worked. I just would clear all my reminders since they would stack up annoyingly on my phone.

A couple weeks ago, I was again puzzling over how I could take care of this problem. Then it hit me.

The idea was so foolproof that even I could pull it off. It’s super flexible and ensures that no area is overlooked. And if you find other areas that need to be cleaned, you simple add it to the list. Implementing this isn’t a problem because it’s just in little chunks each day. Super doable!

I first started by writing out each day of the week (Mon-Fri) in big, colorful letters (color is more fun than black in white). Then under each day, I wrote the jobs that I do every single day: Make bed, put clothes away, straighten up house (in the morning), clean kitchen (morning; I don’t wash dishes in the evening), one load of laundry (if needed; I usually wash/fold most days of the week though), and 1 bi-weekly or monthly job (alternate each day). (More on the last one in a minute.)

Then I put down the jobs I’ve chosen for each day of the week. Some are chores that I do twice or three times a week. I put them down on specific days so I don’t forget to do them. Monday: plan week’s menu, pick out week’s outfits, change cat litter, vacuum rugs and back entry. Tuesday: spray down bathroom, etc.

Then I have a long list of jobs that only need to be done every other week or once a month. Things like vacuum basement, vacuum vents, sweep and mop upstairs, vacuum couches, etc. I try to do just one of these jobs each day. I have enough of these that it takes about two weeks to work through the list, then I start back at the top. As I think of new areas that I need to take care of, I just add them to the list.

This has been so helpful in keeping me on top of the house without overwhelming me with everything there is to do. I’m just doing a little bit each day, but I feel good about taking care of our home.

If you all are interested, I can post my complete chore list later this week. I thought about adding it to this post, but it was already getting long as it is.