Need Tips on How to Catch up with Housework & Decluttering

[QM]

It seems never-ending...because it isn't! Everyone has a different method in housecleaning and decluttering, and if yours seems to be working for you or you've heard something that works please share it! I'm always up for new ideas.

A friend of mine came over a week or so ago and told me that I shouldn't have different small piles of papers and stuff (which I already knew but didn't live by very well). Everything should be together with a to-do list on top. Everything in the pile should be listed in the to do list. I'm trying to do it, but it's getting some getting used to.

Are there different days in the week you do different household chores? (Like Monday--Laundry Day, etc?)

Please share so it can motivate me and others to implement new ideas to make our house more stress-free! Thanks!

[oheoh's momma]

I have a large 2 story house
Daily: dishes, kitchen counters, pets, laundry,wipe 2 baths, cook, make bed, 2 patios, and make water in britta filter.

MWF: I clean the down do bath real good, wipe down kitchen doors, fridge stove as needed, sweep, mop, vaccum, dust as needed, declutter as needed

TTHS: do up stairs same as down
I have decorative boxes for my paper clutter 1 for each person clean it out 1x week sometimes I go 2. I also keep my shredder by the the mail station to use as needed.
decorative boxes for meds and Grandmas out of date cassettes. hope this helps.

[Contrary Housewife]

Ok, that was completely bizarre. FV ate my post and shoved me into a different thread when I hit reply.

Anyway...

Things that work for me: Have a place for everything. Do you have papers piled around because there is no specific place for them to be stored? Get a binder, pocket folder or trays to keep them in. Do the same for kid's toys, shoes, magazines, etc.

I have small trash cans in each room. This way I don't have to go more than 4-5 steps to put something into the garbage. No excuses for trash sitting around.

There is a recycle bin next to the front door. Junk mail does not make it past that point. It is easy to dump other papers into it, too.

One thing I am trying to do more of it is Pick it up Right Now. Got bits of carpet lint and scraps of paper or god knows what on your carpet? Don't walk past it and think Oh, I need to Vacuum. Pick it up right now.

You are not solely responsible for keeping the house clean. Every other person who lives in it is responsible too. Small children are capable of putting clothes into a hamper and toys into a box. Men and older kids can clear their places at the table and pick up their personal items.

[Telephus44]

Flylady.net - I swear, if I hadn't found this website years ago my house would be a total disaster by now. It sure isn't awesome (in fact, this morning I went to clean the kitchen floor for the first time in 2 weeks and I can't find my broom) but it's a LOT better than it could be.

Basically break everything down into small chunks and do a little each day. Even if all you do is de-clutter your tupperware drawer or just vacuum one room. Something small every day.

[krbshappy71]

Ditto to fly lady.

Laundry is on Saturdays here. I have two jobs with 2 hrs between each shift. What I have learned is to decide the top priorities and do those daily. For me that's dishes and dogs. All else gets fit in around that.

[tervsforme]

I don't necessarilly do flylady, but I do make sure at least the dishes and kitchen is clean every night before bed. Other than that, I try to do 15-20 minutes of something every day. It's amazing what can get done in 15 minutes when you just focus on that.

[ladykemma2]

Are there different days in the week you do different household chores? (Like Monday--Laundry Day, etc?)

Please share so it can motivate me and others to implement new ideas to make our house more stress-free! Thanks!

when i was a stay at home wife i cleaned one room a day, 7 days a week. laundry everyday.

as a full time,12 hour a day, single, working person I clean the house on Saturday. Laundry everyday. Church, minor gardening, checkbook balancing, pay bills, list making and meal planning on Sunday. Sometimes i need to fit in biweekly grocery shopping in there, usually at the crack of dawn before it gets too hot. (We have 9 month summers here in houston.)

i work in errands on the way to school or on the way home.

edit: i forgot. at one time my house was bad (not as bad as hoarders, though). i did a cubic meter a day, so i could make good decisions. Now when i declutter i do a drawer or a shelf at a time

[nuisance26]

~Here's my absolute essentials list I try to follow:

Every day:
get dressed every morning
homeschool if applicable
make dinner
keep up the dishes
+
Monday: laundry, living room, fridge
Tuesday: bills, paperwork, correspondence, sunroom, menu plan, blogging
Wednesday: fling like crazy day, organizing projects like freezer/closets
Thursday: sewing/baking day, kitchen
Friday: bedsheets, laundry, bedrooms
Saturday:errands, bathroom

I'm on a break from my usual system because of our new homeschooling year but will go back to it when we get in the groove. Right now I'm working on the weekend when DH can take over kid duty and I can work uninterrupted.~

[TigerGirl1226]

I agree with trying Flylady. So many of her ideas work for me! Like the idea that you aren't behind, but just have some work ahead of you. It just sets my mind at ease.

Also, that she "zones" the house and tells you what areas to give full attention to. She also encourages a "Weekly House Blessing"...basically a day where you hit the high spots in each room.

I did sign on for the emails, I've heard some people say it's too much, but I like reading them especially for "Kelly's Missions" which are jobs that she assigns you on a daily basis that might be otherwise forgotten, i.e. clean off the top of your fridge or take a trash bag and fill it with unwanted stuff.

[cheles2kids]

I have my own chore chart for each day of the week, just like I've always done for my kids...well now teenagers.

My 'big' cleaning days are on Tuesdays & Fridays- Laundry, floors, cleaning our bathroom, and any dusting/wiping down that might need to be done.
The other 3 days I just do a quick pick-up each day...obviously the kitchen is cleaned & dinner is cooked as well.

No chores on the weekends except the basics-cooking, cleaning the kitchen & feeding & watering the dogs.

But when it comes to my home...I'm very much a minimilist. I don't like alot of clutter or things sitting around.

I like things that can be easily wiped down or cleaned...I prefer shades to mini-blinds...sooo much easier to 'dust' off when need be.
I enjoy leather furniture or cloth furniture *with* slip covers that are easily thrown in to wash & dried.
I like floor lamps, except for the bedside tables, so there isn't anything to have to move when I'm wiping down things...you get the idea.

As for your conquering of piles...something that I've always done with my kids...the pick-up 10 game.
At least once a day everybody has to stop & pick-up & put away at least 10 items. I don't use that game as much anymore but when they were younger it worked wonders for a quick pick-up.

This might be an easy option to help you get started with your piles? Do the pick-up game twice a day...no matter what it is, if you pick it up you must put it back in it's rightful place, toss it or put it in a donate pile.
You will be surprised how quickly your clutter will begin to dissapear.

The idea of having a housecleaning chart for me helps to keep me accountable & on top of things. Also having set days for certain chores makes me feel like I get more accomplished.

If I had to do a load of laundry a day every day of the week I would never feel like I was finished with it.
At least now with only having to deal with it twice a week at the end of the day when all of the laundry is washed, dried, folded & put away. I feel like I've accomplished something, if that makes sense?

I know some people couldn't imagine not doing a load of laundry every single day but for me, where I am now if my life, this works out wonderfully.

[dancemommy]

I cannot be so regimented as our kids are at a particularly busy age where my flexibility is key to getting them everywhere needed on any given day. So, we do our best and our house is the cleanest, most organized it has ever been, by working together. I do have "hiding places" where things get dumped- a basket under an end table has all of my paperwork- bills, kids papers from school, etc. The laundry room has baskets on shelves of hangers and unmatched socks (I hang items as they come out of the dryer and put on a rack in the laundry room for everyone to grab on their way upstairs and folded items I put on the stairs to grab). In the kitchen everyone has daily jobs- one is in charge of trash, one in charge of unloading dishwasher, and another in charge of cleaning off counters. The kids have to clean their rooms and their bathroom at some point during the week- if we have time on the weekend that is ideal. Since they do it weekly it never gets that bad. We try to get one hour a week where we work together as a family on cleaning the house- we live in a fairly large house, but with 5 people helping it goes quickly. I do the most, but youngest one dusts (its not perfect, but better than it was), eldest vacuums and gets hard wood floors ready to be washed, middle child makes sure everything is picked up. The kids do their bathroom (again, not perfect, but better than it was and I go up and critique until it is good). If my husband is around I have him do things I cannot if not those things just wait until the next week. I work very part time, but we are a very busy family so we do all have to work together. I do have a bin in my room for kids outgrown clothing or items they no longer want or things to go to the basement that I take down once a month of so. Once the kids go back to school I am going to do a cleanout of closets, etc. Good luck!

[Luckybustert]

This is great, I need tips on how to do this too! And a maid. Or a clone.

[Libby]

My cleaning routine is: only the necessities get done. All else gets done when it gets done. Yes I am lazy. And yes I hate cleaning.

I do the necessary daily things routinely: dishes both by hand and using dishwasher along with general kitchen wipe down after dinner & sweep floors if needed. Prep & pack DH's lunch. General 15 minute pick up/tidy up through the whole house - usually after dinner but before bed. Oh and the Roomba gets let out once daily too - HUGE help there!

Trash & recycling are gathered when full and taken to the curb the night before the weekly pick up.

Grocery shopping is done daily - as dad likes to get out to walk so its not really a 'chore' its more of a routine thing for us. If possible ie spring - fall - I hit the farmers market on an as needed basis either Sun, Thurs or Fri.

Laundry is done on one night between Wed-Fri depending on weekend's events. This allows sufficient air drying time - I hang almost everything except undies, socks and towels. This allows clean clothes for the weekend. Our wardrobes have been beefed up to follow this laundry day rule so there's no need to run an extra load b/c somethings 'dirty'. Of course, there's always exceptions and/or special scenarios.

Everything else gets done on the fly - dusting, mopping, banking/bill payments etc. as well as on an 'as needed' basis. Any special projects - organizing, purging, sorting gets put on a list once broken down into little increments and tackled when time permits until they're done and of course according to importance/deadlines.

Remember, if they were urgent things - they'd already be done right?

HTH

[mauimagic]

I think a maid is a great idea myself!!

Daily personally for me - I need the bed made and dishes done at night - just make my days easier. I like to plan food and clothing for a week at a time.

I'm still trying to find a plan for cleaning up that works for me. Am having a great Sunday cleaning up in the LR by timing how long each area takes me - amazing how much I am getting done - and with great satisfaction!!

[Ceashels]

I had out of town visitors a few weeks ago and I worked to clean everything... what an exhausting way to do it.

But now that it is cleaned:

Clutter removal is continual and ever difficult.

Bathrooms get wiped down twice a week including the floor
Tub/showers are done weekly

Vacuuming the main level is now daily (+5 pets, + construction = it needs it)
Vacuum upper level AND steps is weekly
Dusting weekly

Kitchen - I've been trying for continual upkeep so after the dishes are done, I'll wipe down a cabinet or two and the stove. The floor gets vacuumed daily and swiffered or damp mopped as needed.

Laundry - I don't like mixing laundry so when each basket is full, I'll do bath linens, bed linens or kitchen linens. My clothes get done as needed too. Greebo does his own clothes weekly.

Special projects and things that still need chunks of time are on my to do list and they get done ... when they get done.

I'll spend time on organizing, menu planning etc on my mornings off typically later in the week after the store fliers arrive. I have a new toy that allows me to keep my to do lists, grocery lists and pantry lists all in the same system that I can take with me ... yeah I joined the modern world.