[lavatea]

I'm a horrible housekeeper, which would be - well, whatever - if it didn't bother me. But since it bothers me that I'm a horrible housekeeper, then obviously I need to work on it.

My question for you is: do you have a chore routine? For instance, do dishes get done every night with the sink polished (a la Flylady)? Do toilets get scrubbed every Saturday? Or do you just do a chore when the mood strikes? If you do have a set routine, do you keep a chart or something to keep you in line/on top of it?

Help me brainstorm ways to get myself on top of my messy place, please! For me, a big part of the messiness is motivation. I see something that needs to get done, but I can't seem to get myself to do it!

[twinzplus3]

I love flylady. Google it and you'll find her. I do a "Magic Minimum" and then I clean a little here and there during the week. Honestly, my house isn't super clean. . .but it's cleanesque and given that I have 5 children that I homeschool--I'm not mortified when people drop in.

My magic minimum. . .the things that HAVE to get done every day is:

laundry. . .I actually have to go to the laundromat so I do laundry one night and spend the rest of the week sorting, folding or putting away. If we had our own washing machine I'd just do two to three loads per day.
dishes--obviously must get done. . .generally after every meal
counter tops--5 to 10 min per day quickly decluttering and cleaning kitchen stuff--generally after breakfast
floors--we sweep under the table after meals but we sweep once per day. . .generally my kids do this after dinner.

That's it--then I usually set a timer for 30 minutes and work my way around the house--dusting and cleaning. On two Saturdays per month our family cleans for one hour. . .then I vaccum, mop and/or do heavier cleaning projects, wipe marks off walls, etc. The other two Saturdays--are free days. Oh--I also check the kids rooms on Saturdays. They're responsible for keeping their rooms clean but I check it and help dust or do other sundries with them.

[MaggiesMommy]

Lavatea, I know the feeling! Same here and I put things off alot! Plus I have 79 yr old mother in law that i have to pick up after like a 2 yr. This frustrates me more than anything!!! I will definately be checking back to see the responses you get!

As for me right now, it is just when the mood strikes or I can't stand it any longer..lol.

[oweirdo]

I am a "Messy" !!!! I made a monthly chore list for myself. Simple things, nothing over planned. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, SMV (sweep mom vacuum) or more as needed. Mondays are dusting day, do before SMV. Tuesday, wash towels and sheets, change sheets. Thursday, our clothes, and Saturday kids clothes, which they help sort, fold and put away.
Dishes every night, and Katlyn puts them away when she gets home from school the next day.
Bathrooms are done Tuesday(kids) Thursday (ours) and Staurday (both)

Anything else that is only a once or twice a month gets penciled in for a day.

[lavatea]

Originally Posted by oweirdo

I made a monthly chore list for myself. Simple things, nothing over planned. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, SMV (sweep mom vacuum) or more as needed. Mondays are dusting day, do before SMV. Tuesday, wash towels and sheets, change sheets. Thursday, our clothes, and Saturday kids clothes, which they help sort, fold and put away.
Dishes every night, and Katlyn puts them away when she gets home from school the next day.
Bathrooms are done Tuesday(kids) Thursday (ours) and Staurday (both)

Ok, since you made a chore list, what happens if something doesn't get done on a given day? Do you do it the next day or just the next time it comes around?

[Samual]

I am quite messy, Frank is an absolute freak when it comes to tidyness, so I have learnt not to leave things laying around or I will be told off.
In our house I'm in charge of upstairs and he is incharge of down stairs. I tidy a bedroom a day, then on monday, tuesday, wednesday and thursday I clean each bedroom on those days but not bedroom specific, then I clean the spare room once a fortnight. The bathroom gets a mini clean each day then a deep clean on a saturday, the toilet upstairs and downstairs is cleaned everyday. The hallway and landing get done whenever really.
The kitchen tops are cleaned before each meal, then afterwards everything is wiped down including the aga and the kettle etc, the floor is swept, the sink is cleaned and the dish cloths are washed. The kitchen has a deep clean once a week. All the down stairs rooms are thoroughly cleaned once a week but tidied everyday.
Sheets are done every thursday but sometimes more during hot weather, clothes are washed when the basket is filling up, the same with ironing. At the moment we are still having our loft converted so the house is constantly dusty, so it's really annoying when you clean and the next day it looks just as dirty.
I think the main reason our housework always happens is that Frank is a neat freak, I hate dirty homes messy I can do, but if I go to a home thats dirty I will never go again, and because we both have our own areas so if we are lazy no one is going to do it for us.

[Tracey with 6]

Man! your all so organised, I just clean as I go, we tried chore charts and it never worked so I do it all , I wash every day , I washup after meals , my dh does 3 nights and my eldest does 1 I do all the others, the kids are supposed to clean their rooms, in practice it gets done when I yell enough and I try to sweep every day. I also de clutter at the beginning of the month , I find that helps , good luck!

[MissyChrissy]

I've been getting into a rut. I'm going to have to check out flylady again myself. I visited her site years ago, and I did find it helpful. Except the thing about shoes...I hate shoes and never wear them. I won't clean my house in them either!!!

[oweirdo]

Originally Posted by lavatea

Ok, since you made a chore list, what happens if something doesn't get done on a given day? Do you do it the next day or just the next time it comes around?

I try not to worry about it. Some things have to get done, Laundry mainly. But since there are only a few things a day, I really try to get it done, if not depending on what it is , I do it the first thing the next morning. after a month it really was nice to know what I needed to do that day, and getting it done became easier. It took about a month of tweaking before I found the right schedule, the one that worked for us
I wanted to get everyone in the habit of this schedule before the baby got here, so they can help afterwards.

[lavatea]

Thanks to everyone that has responded so far! I sat down and made a chart and have stuck to it (for two whole days - yay! ).

I got into Flylady when I was single and living on my own, but it got overwhelming. I couldn't get into the getting up and getting dressed immediately thing, either - especially shoes.