02/02/10

Snow/ice on the bush outside our garage that right at this moment I forgot the name. I think my brain may be in a deep freeze, too. ha! :)
Here is the second question "G" asked me last week:

What is your cleaning schedule?

Well.... are you ready for OCD???

I like to do certain things on certain days because that way I know it has been done. I used to clean all on Fridays but with us being so tired by Friday it was hard to do that and then just relax as a family. I don't like to do it on Saturdays at all if I can help it because that is our only day to do whatever without that hanging over our heads.

SO, we clean on Thursdays.

I begin in our bathroom. Every time.

The kids have to clean their bathroom while I am doing mine.... and sometimes they have to re-clean their bathroom when I check it. One will do the sink area and the other gets the toilet and such. They both work together on the tub. Whoever cleans the sink has to vacuum the den and his/her room and also mop the kitchen floor. The one who cleans the toilet has to vacuum the office and his/her room and also mop their bathroom floor. Sometimes because of time and logistics of the day I (or Steve) will mop the kitchen, but we are trying to teach them both to do it.

Back to my bathroom.

I always start with the mirror and work my way down. I have a system with my paper towels I use to clean and it is all in how you fold 'em. Kind of like the old Kenny Rogers song "You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away, know when to run"..... except, when cleaning I cannot walk away or run from it or it doesn't get clean.

OK, back on track now. Sorry for the song outburst.

After I clean the mirror I then proceed down to the sink areas and clean them like crazy. I cannot move on to the toilet until I use a new paper towel to shine up the sink faucets. I cannot stand to see wipe marks on them.

The toilet also has its sequence.... top of toilet, handle, etc... etc.....

After that I vacuum the floor and mop.

Vacuuming our room comes next. I LOVE TO VACUUM and I know I am *sick* for loving it. I just enjoy seeing and hearing all of that stuff go into the lovely pit of my vacuum to be thrown out later. (We have a Rainbow vacuum and I LOVE THAT THING.)

I vacuum our room, then go to the laundry room to clean underneath the cat litter box/food and get underneath the washer and dryer with my handy-dandy Rainbow attachment that is thin and can get into the smallest of places.

I continue the vacuuming spree into our dining room and foyer then return back to the kitchen to finish vacuuming in there. I vacuum the rug under the table and then the seat cushions.

Mopping of the kitchen comes after that. Usually by whichever child or sometimes Steve and me.

I move into the den to vacuum everything seen. During the winter I really have to hit it hard around the fireplace. I vacuum the chairs and couches for cat hair and then keep going over the same areas because I am OCD that I may have missed something.

Next is the office where I vacuum again.

After that, I turn it over to the kids to finish the vacuuming. Now, I am sure you are thinking "She already vacuumed the den and office, why make her kids do it again?"

Good question.

I figure they need to learn a lot of vacuuming skills and if I left it up to them the first time all of those little particles of trash and whatnot would not make it into the vacuum because they can be done in 2 minutes with a room whereas it may take me 10 minutes depending on the day. Make sense?

We clean intermittently throughout the week, too. The kids have other chores.

I have a schedule for laundry, too....

Sunday - kids clothes
Monday - towels
Tuesday - darks (Steve and me)
Thursday - towels and whites (Steve and me)
Friday/Saturday - anything extra that hasn't been done like sheets and such

Aren't you thrilled now to know my schedule? I don't get as stressed out as I used to if the schedule isn't followed, but I will say I am LESS stressed when everything falls into place. ha!