Here is what I came up with.
I typed up a list of all the things I need to do daily, weekly in order to keep the house clean, take care of myself and focus on quality time with Melody each day. I printed it out on white card stock then cut the words out. Then I used 2 pieces of coral card stock one to put on all the tasks I want "to do" in my house and left the other one blank. Then I hung them in my kitchen where I can see them. (I just made the tape double sided to put the words on the first piece of card stock.) As I do each task, I move it from the "To Do" Piece of card stock to the "Accomplished" one. My goal is to do as many as I can each day.
This doesn't necessarily solve my issue of getting ready for company on Monday, but it does help with daily maintenance (and seeing how much I do v. how much I don't).
I did manage to tackle a lot of dishes last night after the bean went to bed, but after re-reading yesterday's post I definitely need to keep on going with finishing it up. Besides, it will only make my life easier! :) I also managed to clear a major clutter spot (I sort of tackled it before I even realized what I was doing!) while cleaning my living room. Even though the kitchen didn't get totally cleaned, my living room and dining room got very close!
I'm actually excited about my new plan of action for tackling what needs to be done each day. Moving a task to the accomplished page is a lot like giving yourself a gold star. And I am one who is very encouraged by getting a little star. :)
See pics below...
Love, Rachel
My new system! On the top is the list of things to do each day (remember that some of those are tasks to be done weekly, so not every one needs to be every day). The bottom is blank at the beginning of the day ready for me to move things I've accomplished down...
... Like so!
Here is my clutter clearing spot for the week... I know it still looks like a mess under there, but you should have seen it before! There were papers, bible study books, foster care info.. all kinds of things under that TV stand! Now all that lives there is a video camera, a breast pump (for lack of better place to store it), and a nintendo game system with its parts and games.
And as a bonus- here is a fun picture of Melody... notice how many sock monkeys she's holding?
Great work Rachel! I hope your lovely clean kitchen has inspired you!
ReplyDeleteYou may find that having a clear list of what needs to be done also helps when your dear DH asks (as all good husbands do!), 'what can I do to help, honey?'.
The system that works for me is to pace myself. On my weekly schedule, I have allocated myself daily, weekly, and fortnightly housecleaning chores. So example, dishes get done every day, and so does laundry, but floors get vacuumed once or twice a week. You get the picture.
It helps me to feel like the workload is under control - to know that it will get on day X. Daily tasks are allocated to certain periods of the day - so if I have a build-up of dishes during the afternoon, I know they will get cleaned up after dinner.
One quick suggestion for the nintendo/under tv stand area - I hope you don't mind! - have you thought of a basket, box, or slimline container for the bits?
Hi Penny!
ReplyDeleteYou are too funny, I do not think my husband has ever asked "what can I do to help?" since I was pregnant... haha! He definitely helps out here and there though. He is usually the one who wants to make a list for me!
I think I love the idea of getting things done at specific times but I am a free spirit at heart. I love the freedom of choosing one thing at a time on my list and then the feeling of accomplishment when it gets done. I do have the items color coded to represent daily tasks, weekly tasks, etc.
I don't mind your suggestion at all... you are one step ahead of me! I have definitely thought about using a basket for the area under the TV stand, I have just never measured the space, then gone to look for a basket! The first step was clearing it out though- so I proud to have gotten that far :)
In all my decluttering adventures I am seeing a theme of needing an initial clearing out of things and then needing to take a second look at how things are (or are not) organized.
Thanks for your thoughts!