Schedules and Routines

When we moved into this house, I was overwhelmed with the add’l time that is needed to keep it clean. (found another thing that I was thankful for…the many different housing situations we have been over the past 3 ½ yrs…smaller means less area to clean! :-)

The nice thing about this schedule is that I have given myself a small task each day that shouldn't take more than 30-45 minutes. And if for some reason something comes up and I can't complete the task that day, I know I'll get to it the next week.

On the days that I have stuck to it, it has been revolutionary! I actually have an allotted time to empty the dishwasher each day. Hooray! I'm sure it will need to be tweaked as we go along, but for now this new routine has been very helpful.

I'm sharing this with you not so much for your benefit as to keep me accountable! If I tell you I'm doing this, well by all means, I better keep it up!

Daily Routine

Before Breakfast:
-Check e-mail—which includes the daily Back to the Bible emails that I subscribe to
-Read the Scripture Passages from Back to the Bible emails
-Drink coffee and watch a few min. of news
(the boys are watching a 30 min show in our bed while I go downstairs to do the things listed above)

While Boys Eat Breakfast:
-Empty the dishwasher/Do any dishes left in the sink from the night before (yes, it’s not beyond me to go to bed w/ dirty dishes in the sink :-)
-Start prep work for dinner (thawing meat or starting crock pot)

After Breakfast:
-Get Dressed
-Make beds
-Daily Cleaning
-“School” (I aim for M, W, F for this )
-Outing/Errands (some days)

Before Lunch:
-Pick up toys

After Lunch:
-Put boys down for naps
-Work for PT job
-Finish Bible Study

Before Dinner:
-Finish dinner prep

After Dinner:
-Run dishwasher (whether it is full or not)*
-Wipe down countertops
-Pick up toys
-Put boys down for bed
-Work for PT job
-Shower


*You might think it is wasteful to run the dishwasher even when it's not empty. It is. However, unloading the dishwasher used to be one of my most loathed tasks. If I have an allotted time to empty it (during the boys' breakfast), this makes it much less of hassle than trying to unload it in the middle of something else.
And if I start the day w/ an empty dishwasher, I don’t end up w/ a “backup”…
I used to always have a sink full of dirty dishes that needed to be loaded into the dishwasher, but the dishwasher had clean dishes in it that needed to be unloaded…an bad habit/cycle to get into.
This has been the single greatest implementation so far! And it is almost ALWAYS full by the end of the evening.


Daily Cleaning


Monday:
Vacuum downstairs
Clean downstairs bathroom
Wash all laundry

Tuesday:
Fold all laundry
Sweep Kitchen

Wednesday:
Vacuum upstairs
Clean the 2 upstairs bathrooms

Thursday:
Dust
Sweep Kitchen

Friday:
Vacuum downstairs
Catch up from any daily cleaning that was skipped
Or Monthly/Semi-annual Cleaning Task (see link below)

Saturday:
Catch up from any daily cleaning that was skipped
Or Monthly/Semi-annual Cleaning Task (see link below
Menu plan and grocery shop

Sunday:
Clip coupons

I then use the cleaning list here (see page 2) for the cleaning items that should be done once a month or a few times a year (washing windows, vacuuming under beds, etc).