themadwhitewoman

Weekly Cleaning Schedule. We are continuing with our cleaning theme this week in preparation for Spring. I always love this time of year because it gives me a chance to purge out the old and in with the new. If something is just worn out or broken, income tax season is upon us and, if you’re lucky enough to get a return, you can recycle or throw away the old items and get new stuff in to help make your life a little easier.

Yesterday we tackled the 4 daily items from the folks at About.com that will help you keep your home in order and keep you from losing your mind. They are:

• Clean Dishes
• Wash Laundry
• Tidy Up
• File Your Paperwork

Doesn’t seem like much, but let them all sit for a week and see what kind of nightmare you have to deal with then!

On a weekly basis here is what you need to add to your schedule. You can do this any day of the week that is convenient for you. I prefer to do my cleaning either on Saturday or Monday. Saturdays when I’ve been working and Mondays when I’m between jobs.

Vacuum. If your house is anything like mine, you need to do this more then once a week. But we’ll leave it on the weekly list for now. Did you know that vacuuming your flooring will add years to its life? Neither did I! I thought it was just taking years from mine! Don’t forget those hardwood floors either. I prefer to use my Swiffer on the tile and hardwood, it keeps the dust and the dirt from just scattering here and there. Furniture needs a good vacuuming now and then as well. You can do this weekly or add it to your Monthly Cleaning Schedule (which we will go over tomorrow).

Dusting. Dust. It collects on every surface, leading to breathing issues, dull looking surfaces and the need to dust weekly. A good weekly dusting staves off the need for more in depth cleaning on a regular basis. Be sure to dust top to bottom (to prevent settling and extra work!). Consider using a vacuum attachment to suck up the dust or a good microfiber cloth to trap dust particles. I use the vacuum on windowsills and in corners to grab the cobwebs but I like my Swiffer Dusters for things like the television screen, computer monitors and equipment, ceiling fans, etc. They totally trap the dust and don’t scatter it around like my feather duster did. For your weekly dusting don’t forget to do your furniture, windowsills, wall coverings, cobwebs and ceiling fans.

Cleaning. Some areas of your home receive such frequent use, they need to be tended to on a weekly basis (or more, depending on the size of your family). Some things to keep in mind for your weekly cleaning schedule are as follows:

• Entry and Patio Doors (zap those fingerprints!)
• Shake Out Door Mats
• Straighten Books and Magazines
• Clean Bathrooms
• Change Linens in All Rooms
• Clean Kitchen Sink
• Clean Out Toaster
• Clean Stovetops
• Wipe Down Kitchen Appliances
• Clean Microwave (inside and out) See This ‘n That Tip #1
• Spot Clean Walls
• Clean Leftovers from Fridge
• Gather and Take Out Trash

Personally, in this house, the trash usually needs to be dumped every night. My kids like to draw and have probably killed a forest all on their own already in their short lives.

My personal weekly cleaning favorites are my Lysol 4 in 1 Disinfectant Cleaner and my Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. The Lysol cleaner leaves everything smelling lemon-y fresh and I love that smell. Lets me know that my house truly is clean! Lysol has over $11.00 in coupons available for you to print right now by clicking HERE and filling out the short registration form.

My personal opinion is, if you have kids in your household, you absolutely positively NEED a Magic Eraser. These are little miracles in a box. They remove crayon, shoe scuffs, nail polish, marker, pen, pencil, boogers wiped on the wall (don’t ask!), grease marks off the white front door from TMT going in and out while working on the truck, I’ve even used them to get ink out of a carpet. You heard me. Ink out of a white carpet. I saturated the stain with some clear nail polish remover and blotted the majority of the ink up. Once that was finished, I took my magic eraser and just erased away the remnants. You’d never know there was an ink spot on my carpet the size of a quarter now!

Weekly cleaning doesn’t have to take all day long or be boring either. Put on your favorite music CD and blast it and get to work. The trick to getting things done without taking all day long is to do one room at a time and then move on when you are finished.

I had problems where I would take one item (say from the kitchen) that belonged in the bedroom and then start working in the bedroom without finishing the kitchen. So I always ended up with half-done rooms and nothing ever completed. Take items that don’t belong in that room and put them in a bag or a bin if you have one. When you move to that room, grab the bag or the bin and take it with you.

One room at a time and you’ll be done in no time!

You can also break up your weekly cleaning schedule so that you are not doing everything on one particular day. Being a mom, you learn that nothing is set in stone and you need to be flexible. You can do the kitchen one day, the living room the next day, the bathrooms the next, the bedrooms the next, and so on. Whatever works for you and your family and doesn’t cut into your computer time! (Wink Wink!!)

Happy Cleaning!

Trackback URI | Comments RSS