Wednesday, May 27, 2009

My version of Spring Cleaning

I've tried for 10 years to Spring Clean and I have not accomplished it. So... I came up with a new method. Do all of those Spring Cleaning things, but stretch them out over the whole year. It's part of my Geek Week plan and so far it's been working really well.

Here's what I did-
  • Made a list of things I want to keep clean, but never do (like under the bed)
  • Decided how many times a year I want to clean that item (once for under the bed!)
  • Group it with other like-minded chores and put in on my yearly cleaning rotation (watch out bed- here I come this month)

How I keep up-
  • Each month I do one "yearly item"
  • Sometimes I need lots of time and/or Ian's help, other times I can get it finished during the week.
  • Cut myself some slack- I did not get the windows cleaned before Africa so they will have to wait until the next time they are on the schedule (October) because it's too hot outside now (Oh bummer!)
Here is what my schedule looks like-
  • Jan- Garage (clean-out, organize, purge, sell or donate)
  • Feb- Kitchen + (deep clean kitchen, fridge, oven, sink, microwave, toaster oven and dishwasher)
  • Mar- Steam Clean Floors (I hire this done- easy month!)
  • Apr- Windows inside and out
  • May- Clean fan light covers, under beds, clean out closets and storage system
  • Jun- Clean cupboards (kitchen and bathrooms)
  • Jul- Kitchen + again (see Feb)
  • Aug- Upper kitchen (all that stuff sitting out for display!) pull out fridge and oven
  • Sept- Home Improvement Projects
  • Oct- Windows inside and out
  • Nov- Kitchen +
  • Dec- It's Christmas- let's bake, hang out and celebrate!
Things I'm thinking of changing
  • I want to add "detail both cars" but don't know where- the schedule is full!
  • I might swap Mar and Apr to make sure it doesn't get too hot outside before the windows are washed
  • No outside items at all....
That's the plan, and so for it's been really good for my mental health! I don't feel like my house is a pit and it's getting cleaned a lot more than it used to. What do you do for Spring Cleaning? Any new ideas for me?

2 comments:

"Intentionally Katie" said...

Add the car detailing to your steam clean month! You forfeit your easy month, but add it in somewhere reasonable.

Joanna said...

This just screams Erin to me :). And motivates me a little to make my own list of things to do (at least before the baby comes). But I'm afraid to pull out the fridge and oven and see what's festering behind there...