Deep Cleaning, and Special Organization Projects
A lot of ladies have a list of special cleaning and organizing they do, during Spring Cleaning. I don't know about you, but I don't want to do spring cleaning at that time, but would rather plan my garden, and work on that, and plan time to just sit outside, and smell spring and enjoy the beauty budding around me.
Therefore, I don't do spring cleaning, and I suggest you don't either. I have a better idea... :-)
Why not make a list of deep cleaning and organizing that would normally be "spring cleaning" tasks, but instead, just work on a little bit of that list through out the year? Do you have tile grout that needs cleaned or bleached once or twice a year? Then put that on your projects list. Do you have soap scum that eventually builds up in the shower, to where you need to do a super hard cleaning a few times a year, other than your usual cleaning of those surfaces? Put that on your projects list.
Other things for your project list may include:
- Taking apart and cleaning light fixtures
- Spot cleaning walls, doors, and light switches
- Cleaning out heating/air conditioning vents
- Cleaning behind and under furniture and large appliances
- Emptying, and super-cleaning the deep freeze/freezer chest
- Organizing the garage/attic
- Going through all your children's clothes and organizing all closets
The list can get pretty long, and that is okay. What I suggest, is that you make a Projects List, then schedule one or two days a week to tackle a project from the list. This doesn't have to be daunting. You can decide to do a whole project once or twice a week, or if it is a big project, you can divide it up into 15 minute increments, and just work on it for 15 minutes a day, once or twice a week.
You have a whole year to do all the projects on your list, instead of just the spring, so there is no hurry.
Are you at a loss as to what to put on your Projects list? If so, follow the below steps:
1) Add some or all of the applicable example projects listed above to your list
2) With paper and pen in hand, walk into each room of your house, and just look around. Anything that is out of order, or obviously needs a deep clean, or something that you don't like and want to change should be added to your list.
3) Now that you have these things scribbled down as a list, decide if you want to leave the list in the order it is already in, or if you want to change around the order. Put it in whatever order you want. There are no rules, here.
You see? It's as easy as 1-2-3. Now, just write, or print out your projects list, and add it to your planner.
Extended Cleaning
Next to your projects list, set up another piece of paper for "Extended Cleaning." This is where you write down things that MUST be deep cleaned or re-organized either monthly, bi-annually, or annually. You may find that many things you would normally put on this list are already on your Projects list. Therefore, just use your Extended Cleaning list to remind you of the most important things.
If you can make it fit, it is handy to have the Projects list on the left facing page, and the Extended Cleaning list on the right facing page, so that you can always view both pages together. If you are typing and printing these lists, this shouldn't be a problem. However, if you choose to write out your lists instead, then don't force it to work this way, as you may need more paper, and more room, and that is fine.
As you may have noticed in the above picture, I have a little, pink, Post-It flag on my Projects List. I like to move this along my list, as I complete each project, so that I can keep my place. When I have completed the projects on the list, I move the flag back up to the top, and I start over on the list. This means my Projects are done one to three times a year.
Alternate Cleaning
Many women experience extreme fatigue when it is their time of the month. Therefore, it is a good idea to have an alternate cleaning plan. This would be a cleaning plan you can follow if you are very fatigued, or perhaps you have a cold, or are recovering from sickness.
This is a type of quick cleaning plan, where you are hitting the major necessities, such as cleaning the toilets, wiping counters, and keeping the house picked up, but you are doing minimal work each day, until you get your strength back.
To make this list, write down the minimum cleaning for each day, and then look at the cleaning tasks you didn't list for each day, and write those in as Children's Chores for alternate cleaning days or weeks. Each child should have no more than one or two of these chores per day.
The Emergency Quick Clean
Sometimes you've had an unexpectedly busy week, or family was visiting, or you were just off your normal routine, and your house has gotten away from you. For times like these, it's good to have an Emergency Quick Clean plan in place, to get your house back in order in just 45 minutes to a few hours time.
I share my Emergency Quick Clean plan here. It is only nine simple steps.
Either create your own Emergency Quick Clean, or copy my nine steps down, and put this page in your planner.
In the next installment in this series, we are going to finish up the homemaking section.