Around the home: cleaning

 How do you clean your house?

Do you  do it all in one day or do you allocate (schedule) chores to each day e.g. washing on Monday, ironing on Tuesday etc.. 

or do you do what I do.

I start making the beds and notice some dust, this leads to dusting (bed almost complete), I walk past the bathroom and decide the sink needs a scrub and so on.  In the end everything is done, just not in any order or planning. I don’t think it takes me any longer this way, however it is full of surprises as I am never quite sure what I will do next!!!  There is some cleaning I do daily — vacuuming the living areas of the house (cat hair is bad at the moment), washing dishes (I don’t own a dishwasher) and keeping the kitchen clean and tidy.  However, even daily I will get side-tracked and go from washing dishes to cleaning window seals.  

It might surprise you, but I am not fond of schedules, rosters or lists (if you are, here are one that looks quite good - it contains a schedule for everything) — if I know I have scheduled in washing on Monday I am likely to find a reason not to do it (I use to do this with homework when at school which got me into all sorts of problems), I like to wake up and not necessarily know what I might do — all a bit random I know!!   However as an adult, I do have to schedule some things in e.g. going to work, buying the groceries, washing clothes, cooking meals so in fact my life is not completely random!!


Housework is something you do that nobody notices until you don't do it.  ~Author Unknown

~oOo~

Comments

  1. I like to think I'm an organised person, and I often think it would be nice to have a schedule, and I LOVE making lists and checking things off the list, but the truth is that I don't live by schedules for cleaning very well. I have tried it a few times, and it just doesn't work because other things always come up, OR like you, if something is on the list to do, sometimes it will put me off wanting to do it. If I make a to-do list (NOT a schedule, just a list of things I'd like to get done that day or even a weekly to-do list), I'm more likely to get it done because it's not as mentally "binding" as a schedule! Maybe that sounds weird, but that's just what works best for me!! :)
    I do like the idea of the pages on that website you posted a link to, but I'm not sure if it would work so well for me... :P

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  2. Schedules don't work - there is always something better to do. Of course, I can often think of something better than cleaning to do. Fortunately hubby is quick to lend a hand, or do jobs that don't even feature on my priority list.
    Eventually it all gets done, though not with much regularity, and we both are happy - most of the time with the condition of the house, and if we are not - we work on that immediately! =)

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  3. I like that quote at the bottom of your post. It reminds me of a little one-frame cartoon I saw years ago where a man comes home from work to find the house a mess and his wife sitting on the armchair watching TV. The wife's words were "You know how you always ask me what I do all day long? Well, today I didn't do it."

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  4. This post gave me a good chuckle. I'm definitely with you when it comes to getting sidetracked when I finally get around to tackling my neglected chores.

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  5. Clara - isn't it funny that as soon as we put something on a list or schedule we often try and avoid doing it (some sort of silent pressure) - however if the list is in our head it doesn't matter - I agree its the "binding" nature of schedules, which is odd as you are your own boss really!!

    Betsy - I couldn't agree more - there is often something far better to do - I often put off defrosting freezers because I can do something more exciting.

    Mum-me - I just love that quote - very funny indeed:)

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  6. Love that quote, Jo.
    I'm more relaxed about it too. I don't have a 'schedule' as such because I seem to have a natural routine that eventally gets everything done anyway.
    blessings..Trish

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  7. Jo, you did surprise me with not having a schedule for your cleaning:) You are very organised so I assumed you might have had one, lol. For me, I have a weekly list I work off but that doesn't include cleaning! Like some others said if it's on the list I won't do it because of the 'pressure':) I tend to do cleaning in short bursts as and when I can except the vacumming which takes much longer I tend to fit that in on days I am not so busy.

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