March 6, 2015

March Challenge: Implement Cleaning Schedule


First, how did February go?  Well enough.  I've been following this plan but, in my usual planning ahead manner, I'm well into Numbers so I'm working a bit ahead.  Go me.  

Notice that the title isn't "use cleaning schedule" or "master cleaning schedule".  Simply implement.  I'm trying.  You can see now why, with that deployment thing happening, that it wasn't going to work for February.  There's too much frenzied packing, sorting, letting-it-go-ness, etc that goes along with that kind of prep.  It wasn't worth trying then.  My heart wasn't in it.  Granted, my heart still might not be in it, but I'm committed.  And I'm determined to make the most of this deployment by getting things in order...and maybe exercising my inner control freak.  I wouldn't call myself strictly type A or OCD-ish, but I do like control.

Without further ado...



The version I'm using is black and white because I don't own a color printer and I'm just going to be highlighting things anyway.  

The idea behind this schedule is that I'm not held to any particular task on any particular day.  That kind of schedule would cause me to absolutely fall and fail.  I wouldn't be able to commit to it.  This schedule allows me to accomplish what I want, when I can, as long as it's all done by the end of the month.  The green tasks are weekly, so I'm looking to check off 4 boxes by the end of the month.  

The blue tasks just have to happen once a month, so I can check off those individual boxes as I go.  The extras there are mainly for spring and summer but they're minor outdoor tasks that I should be able to handle.  

As for the orange...that's the stuff I'm supposed to do every day.  The pick up clothes one is big for me.  Once-upon-a-deployment-in-2012, the 18 foot x 12 foot master bedroom was a carpeted sea of my clothing.  My closet usually hung empty and I just picked up what I wanted off the floor.  Awful, right?  Well, now we share a semi-walk-in closet and, because the master bedroom is not a million feet from the living quarters (as it was in Alaska), I try to keep things a bit more cleaned up.  And keeping up with dishes is sometimes a struggle during the week.  Vacuuming of the living room/dining room/kitchen usually happens every other day because of the dogs tracking in dust.

Red is just if there are any special tasks ahead...like maybe putting away decorations, getting out the Christmas tree, preparing the guest room, or organizing a certain closet.  

So, cheers to this, right?  (I give it one month.)

10 comments:

  1. This is a great idea! I usually end up trying to fit everything in to Saturday which can be stressful and time consuming. This seems like a manageable way to break everything up.

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  2. It's been on my todo list for a while to implement a cleaning schedule but I wanted to wait to see WHERE we'd be living so I could tailor it to our new space. Luckily, we're moving into a small apartment so I'll have much less space to deal with (which shockingly enough sounds totally appealing to me). My sketch of a schedule looks similar to yours! Good luck!

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  3. Love this, thanks for sharing! I need to have some kind of schedule because I really struggle with keeping it up during the week and usually just have a bigger mess to clean on the weekends!

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  4. This is a really good idea! Can't wait to hear how it goes for you.

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  5. It really does make life easier. For me at least. Good luck!

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  6. this is such a good idea, i really need to do something like this. good luck, and cant wait to hear how you go and what does and doesn't work.

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  7. I've attempted cleaning schedules before with little success. I'm not a great one for planning but I think with cleaning, it really is quite necessary to plan. Especially when you have a husband who doesn't see mess... I like your unstructured yet structured approach, and may renew my efforts with something similar. Good luck!

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  8. I am familiar with this sea of clothing. I try hiding it from my husband, so its not on the floor. Putting clothes away every day seems ambitious. Perhaps I'll join you. Good luck on the deployment and the cleaning schedule! estherdavison@gmail.com

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  9. I love that you came up with something that works for you. I tried to have daily assigned tasks and it just didn't work so now I have weekly chores and normal daily tasks (dishes, wipe down counter, etc) and it's so much more functional. While I think there's a certain comfort that comes with the assigned weekly chores a la Ma Ingalls, it's not practical for me.

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  10. I love this! I'm now thinking of making one for myself.

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