Cleaning/organizing

[bk1]

Best tips/tricks? Does anyone follow a schedule to help keep things clean?

My house is slowly getting better but it's such an uphill battle. I have so much organizing to do. I know I would have enough space for things if I could dig in and organize first but for now we have piles of clothes on top of the dressers, paperwork piled that needs filing, etc.


I'm trying to do the "don't leave the room empty handed" so I can at least get something put away when I'm walking around the house. Any other tips or motivation to get me going? I'm thinking today will be a put on music and try to get things done kind of day.

[HoneySpider]

I don't have much of a schedule except for some of the laundry - I typically do our sheets & towels on Sunday and I do R's laundry on Friday.

I have a lot of piles too.

So basically, I'm no help, lol.

[luv2rn4fun]

I downloaded the Wunderlist app and scheduled tastes for certain days.

Roughly...

Mon: grocery shop and laundry
Wednesday: dust downstairs
Thursday: clean kitchen
Friday: clean downstairs bathroom, vacuum downstairs, clean our sheets
Sat: vacuum upstairs biweekly

Daily: makes DH's lunch

I clean our towels, dust upstairs, our bathroom whenever I can fit it in. Having the list helps a lot because I like checking things off. I also add the random thing that needs to get done and schedule the due date so it's on the list.

I also use the app to have a "packing list" for when we go places, etc.

ETA: I clean all dishes (we hand wash and place in the dishwasher to dry) and unload every morning and sometimes during the day. We also clean the playroom daily when the boys go to bed (C usually helps DH while I am upstairs nursing L).

[estrellita]

I make a lot of lists. That's all I have to contribute since they usually don't get done, lol.

Mostly following for ideas because we are sooo bad about cleaning. We've considered putting up a daily/weekly chore chart to help remind us what needs to be done. I fully admit I've been slacking more than I should. I'm just exhausted

[bk1]

Other things I'm trying that has helped so far:

- do a load of dishes everyday, even when my dishwasher isn't completely full

- load of laundry every other day at minimum (have to for DH's work clothes anyway)

[wanderingenough]

-We do the dishes/tidy the living room (pick up toys, throw blankets, etc.), run the dishwasher, every night. One person does this while the other bathes R, so we can both relax when he is in bed.

-Towels and laundry all gets washed on the weekend. Occasionally, it doesn't all it get folded until another night during the week. We also got those cheap fold down baskets from Ikea that take up like no space when you aren't using them. It gives you the ability to have everything in a basket/1 space when clean, and all the baskets sit in 1 regular basket when not in use. I fold and put away my clothes and R's. H does his own. It's a good compromise since H always starts all the laundry. On that note, in our room we have three thin baskets for different kinds of laundry so H knows what kinds of loads to run + a inconspicuous one with a lid for towels. In R's room, he has two in his closet. One for clothes and one for sheets/towels/etc.

-I use those $15 Walmart bookshelves from Walmart as shoe racks. Keeps my closet organized , I think it looks better than regular shoe racks (and is usually cheaper), and heels don't fall through.

-I organize my pantry with plastic pantry organizers. Less boxes/clutter because all the goldfish/granola bars/etc. just go from the boxes straight into that. If you'd like a pic, just let me know.

-For R's dressers, I use those IKEA dresser dividers to organize his clothes. "Nicer" clothes are hung.

-I use Dollar Store organizers under bathroom sinks and in bathroom closets. I find that it's much easier to put things away when everything has a defined place

[MrsMB]

wanderingenough I'm stealing your shelf idea for shoes. That is genius. I hate it when my shoes fall through my racks.


Cleaning Schedule - Each night, I give myself about 40 minutes to clean
:
Mon-Wed: Run Dishwasher, wash & Fold one load of laundry, Quick dusting of one room, Quick vacuum of one floor...mop once weekly. One of DH's big things was that he needs laundry done regularly because of his job...so we run it every night. Don't anyone freak out on me regarding water usage though...we have a smart washer that determines the amount of water needed based on how it scans the load. PLus, it's quicker for me to have a quick load to fold verses a giant one once weekly.

Thursday: Kitchen or Bathrooms (I rotate them every other week)

Friday: Grocery List/Meal Planning

Saturday: Groceries

Sunday: Meal Prep

I can only organize or work on special projects (deep cleaning items I can't get to regularly) the week the cleaners come to our house. I usually consider that my "bye week" on the regular cleaning...with the exception of dishes and laundry. Sunday night, I give myself a tiny time to relax. If I want, I could use that to organize something.

[slaycurls]

I do the laundry every Saturday and general cleaning on Sunday.