WFMW: The Cleaning Plan

I am not a naturally tidy person. All of my ex-roommates are now laughing at the understatement of the previous sentence. In truth, for much of my life I was a dreadful slob. Really. A disaster. 

And as embarrassing as it is to admit, so was my mother. Mama just never placed much importance on housekeeping. She would much rather have spent her time cooking or crafting or gardening or canning or hanging out with her friends at the lake or doing projects with and for me than cleaning the house. The inside of her refrigerator was a giant petri dish. I remember finding endless little dishes covered with tin foil filled with oddball leftovers that had hardened/molded/solidified/liquefied/metamorphosised into mystery substances. At some point in high school, I actually realized that I had the ability to clean for her. So whenever Mama and Daddy went out of town, I'd spend the first day scrubbing/bleaching/Cometing/Windexing the entire house. Then, of course, I'd invite all my friends over for a rowdy "my parents are out of town" party. But that's another story altogether.

When I was in college, my first roommate, Sharon (one of my bestest friends, and Jude's godmother) actually resorted to taping a line down the center of our dorm room. Her side? Pristine. Sharon's one of those people who alphabetizes their kitchen cabinets and labels everything in their closets. My side? A giant heap of dirty clothes, books, trash, and half-eaten food. Once, a strange smell started eliminating from my side of the room and Sharon insisted that I locate it. The culprit? A half-eaten bowl of tuna salad that had unfortunately been shoved under the bed. Ewwww.

Somehow, over the ensuing years, I have done a complete about face. Not that my house could in any way compete with those of Jimmy's family (we're talking compulsive, whackadoo clean freaks), but it's generally pretty damned clean. Not always tidy...but clean.

And having a child has actually improved the tidiness level, partly because I've sort of evolved into that mom/workhorse/organizer person, but possibly also because I don't want Jude to grow up in a house that he's embarrassed by. Like I was. And in truth, having a chaotic environment just contributes to the chaos inside my brain! An ordered and tidy environment helps me keep things together.

But keeping my head above water with the housework can be difficult. Especially if I get a rash of auditions that keep me out of the house all day. And since it doesn't look like we'll be hiring a full-time maid any time soon, I've finally come up with a "plan" that helps. I used to feel that if I didn't get the entire place scrubbed clean in a day, it wasn't even worth starting. And since I seldom had a full day to commit to cleaning, the place would devolve quickly. Now I realize that it's better to do a little at a time, so as not to get overwhelmed. I recommend coming up with your own "plan" breaking down the house into "jobs" and arranging them through your week as you see fit. For instance, figure out which days allow you the most time for the bigger jobs, and which days you're not going to feel like doing much.

And it's not like I always adhere to this plan. But that's the beauty of it. If I miss a day, I can easily catch up the next day. Or if I get way behind, I can catch up on one of my days off.

So here's the "plan" as it works for me:

I start every day with a general tidy of the entire house. Make the beds, put all the crap away, do dishes, wipe the kitchen counters. Then -

• Monday - Laundry.
• Tuesday - Bathrooms.
• Wednesday - Outdoors (stuff like sweeping the porch and picking up all the circulars/takeout menus/trash that accumulates in our front yard, and the dog poop in the backyard)
• Thursday - Kitchen (includes emptying all the leftovers from the fridge and give everything a good scrubdown).
• Friday - Dust, Windex, Vacuum, Sweep, Mop.
• Saturday and Sunday - Nada. Or I can use them as "makeup" days.

The great thing about having my silly little "plan" is that if everything does breakdown and the house descends into filth and chaos due to business or illness or just general malaise, all I have to do is say "Hmmm. It's Thursday. I can handle just doing the kitchen." Then within a week, everything's back in order. It's strangely freeing.

Okay, I hope this is inspiring in some way. For other excellent ideas that have worked for excellent bloggers, check out Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

Comments

[Nikki]

I like your plan SO much better than mine. I feel like if I can't keep up with my FlyLady routines I usually let the entire thing flop. lol But I love having specific things for each day. I'll give it a whirl!

[jessica]

I thought this work for me Wednesdays meant you will come here and clean for me once a week. Okay, then how about do here on Wednesdays what you would do at your place on say, Thursdays?

[Heather (qtberryhead)]

I don't think your plan is silly at all. I actually started thinking along the same lines Monday when I literally tore my living room apart and washed, dusted, and mopped...everything.
But we're remodeling, and it's never going to end.

[Michele]

I'm the same way. I clean certain places on certain days. That way every place is clean once a week.

[becky]

That is a great plan. Do you have that book Home Comforts? She is a big advocate of certain chores for certain days, and she goes into the history of housework and how people all used to do roughly the same things on the same days. She says it helps avoid the feeling of being in over your head, as you've discovered.

[the mama bird diaries]

Excellent plan! I will try.

[Jan]

You and I have a lot in common - my mother did not clean while we were growing up (she kept a very tidy place once we'd all moved away from home, though - perhaps it was her four rambunctious and slovenly offspring?) and we rarely had friends over because of it. And I'm naturally a slob. I've learned to stay a half a step ahead of it most days, like you, though. But the house? It will NEVER be clutter-free and tidy.

[Antivirus_man]

You write well will be waiting for your new publications.

[Antivirus_man]

Merry Christmas! I wish you a lot of gifts and luck in the new year.

[JOBS_frend]

Merry Christmas! I wish you a lot of gifts and luck in the new year.

[JOBS_frend]

Hi, I congratulate you on Merry Christmas!

[Realestate]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[Rental]

Interesting site, always a new topic .. good luck in the new 2011. Happy New Year!

[Rental]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[Hotjobs]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

[Hotjobs]

Hi Merry Christmas and Happy New Year