I'm in the midst of a New Year's organization urge combined with pre-baby nesting instinct. I've been putting away Christmas decorations, organizing our new combination office/guest room (complete with fabulous new built-in cabinets which just need the doors attached), brainstorming ideas for decorating the baby's room, and trying to rearrange our living/dining area to fit in C's (huge) new train table.In short, I've been driving my husband nuts.
But with the organizing, of course, comes the cleaning. Inspired by Sab's post about January organizing, I've decided to try to sticking to a weekly cleaning list. I work part-time around my Hubby's shift work, so I can't stick to a "Monday is laundry day, Tuesday is errands day" kind of schedule, but maybe a checklist will help me keep on track (and keep my house cleaner)! I searched the Internet for various cleaning lists, and found some good additions on Newlywed Home.
I didn't bother with a daily list, but I drafted one for weekly, monthly and seasonal. Of course, some things will need to be done more often (like laundry and the never-ending basket of ironing), but here's what I have:
Weekly Cleaning Tasks: | ||
| □ | Clean downstairs bathroom | |
| □ | Clean upstairs bathroom | |
| □ | Dust downstairs | |
| □ | Dust upstairs | |
| □ | Empty compost bin | |
| □ | Empty garbage bins before garbage day | |
| □ | Empty recycling bin | |
| □ | Ironing | |
| □ | Laundry | |
| □ | Meal planning | |
| □ | Recycle old flyers from magazine basket | |
| □ | Shine kitchen sink | |
| □ | Sort mail | |
| □ | Sweep downstairs (and mop tile when necessary) | |
| □ | Sweep upstairs | |
| □ | Tidy bedroom | |
| □ | Toss old leftovers and wipe fridge shelves | |
| □ | Vacuum downstairs (including stairs) | |
| □ | Vacuum upstairs | |
| □ | Wipe doorknobs and light switches | |
| □ | Wipe microwave | |
| □ | Wipe telephones | |
Monthly Cleaning Tasks: | ||
| □ | Change sheets (twice a month) | |
| □ | Clean windows | |
| □ | Donate Salvation Army bags | |
| □ | Dust air vents | |
| □ | Hand wash delicate laundry | |
| □ | Mop floors | |
| □ | Retire children's clothes and pull out new clothes | |
| □ | Scrub shower | |
| □ | Scrub stovetop | |
| □ | Test smoke alarms | |
| □ | Tidy garage | |
| □ | Tidy storage room | |
| □ | Wash kitchen cabinets | |
| Seasonal Cleaning Tasks: | ||
| □ | Clean air exchanger filter | |
| □ | Dust or wash curtains | |
| □ | Vacuum furniture | |
| □ | Wash screens | |
Do you use lists to keep on top of housework? What are your biggest cleaning/organizing challenges?
