Checklists

Since I have moved my cleaning routine has gone out the window. I had created a FABULOUS checklist that meant that I had something to refer to everyday. Having said this, it is about to be relaunched in this household. My house is not unclean by any stretch of the imagination but I spend time fluffing around trying to remember what I need to do next, when I had my checklist I didn't have this issue.

Creating a checklist

When you create a checklist you need to think of the things that you want to do around the house. The one that I created was fairly comprehensive and covered all the things that I needed to do to ensure that if I had an inspection there wasn't any last minute panic over trying to get the house in order (bear in mind that in one of my previous posts I talked about the real estate agent that had it in for me). There are lots of checklists on the internet and I know that there were a lot of things on their lists that we just not feasible for me. 

Why create a checklist

When I moved to the SC I wanted things to be orderly again. I had missed my belongings and having my own stuff and I just wanted to feel settled. Mum and dad's place will always be home but I wanted to feel the same way about the four walls my family lived in. I soon realised that there wasn't enough time in a day to clean all the things that I wanted to clean and fix and doing it in one hit with two little ones nearly sent me loopy. I would get one space tidy, walk away to clean another space, turn around and the original space looked like I had never been there. I was getting sick of dishes in the sink, clothes on the laundry floor and then the maintenance jobs I needed to do weren't getting done because I was chasing my tail constantly. I read somewhere that doing alititle but everyday reduces the BIG clean that you might do once a week. PLUS I found that I actually had more time through the day AND I had a clean house... Crazy right?!

I was getting the morning jobs done first thing which left me time to spend with the girls and then I would do the afternoon jobs when the girls went to sleep. This also meant that I had a clean house when I went to bed (I had my first introduction to GIANT cockroaches when I moved to Qld).

My Checklist

Above is my checklist. You can see that I have my AM and PM list (it was in a table on the original). Underneath the AM and PM are some other jobs grouped together. Each group represented a day in the month. As you can see I have five weeks because I wanted to cover a whole month...plus not every month starts on a Monday. So what I used to do (and WILL be doing) is printing this list out. Placing it on the fridge and writing the dates in (as if it was a blank calendar) and voila... Off I go.

Having moved into another place and it being a little different (ie vertical blinds not curtains) I will tweak this list a little and depending on how clever I am I will even attempt to make it prettier :-o

Things To Consider

I understand that some of you are working professionals, some of you are students and some of you are stay at home parents... We all have varying lifestyles right... Think about the space that you live in. Do you rent or own? What are the primary things that you want to achieve? For me, at the worst I want the beds made, the kitchen and bathrooms clean and the washing done. So for me they were vital to do. For you, it might be vital that the toys are packed away, that the lounge is tidy and the bathroom is clean. 

I always remember a saying I read on my favourite blog The Organised Housewife.

It only takes a minute.

Out your whole day doing something only takes a minute (Ok in some cases ten) BUT doing lots of little things over a week saves you spending a huge amount of time on your Sat or Sun (or whatever your cleaning day).

Good luck. If you have any questions or want help creating your own cleaning list send me an email at ruffled.lace@live.com.au (I might even be able to make it all pretty for you).

Keep smiling!

Lauren

xxx