A few years ago I made a super type A cleaning schedule—remember it? I really stuck with it for a while and it worked great, every room of my house stayed consistently clean. As months passed I started to realize something about cleaning a little bit every day. It sucks. Who wants to pull out the vacuum and cleaning supplies daily? On top of that, my house got way too clean. That may not seem like a problem, but I crave the satisfaction of a good before and after. When I cleaned every day there wasn’t a noticeable difference between a dirty room and a freshly cleaned one, so I stopped feeling any sense of accomplishment.
I would like to renounce my original cleaning schedule and present my new strategy. I only clean once a week, which lets things get nice and dirty between cleanings. I allot 2 hours to frantically clean the whole house. I set a timer as I begin each step, which adds a little excitement as I race the clock (I am painfully aware of how lame that sounds). It’s not the most meticulous way to clean, and sometimes I miss a few weeks here or there, but I figure as long as nobody looks under my furniture or up at the cobwebs in the ceiling corners I’m good to go.
You are hilarious! Want some before/after satisfaction? Come to my house! We moved in 5 years ago and there has not yet been one day where I plopped down on the sofa and said, finally! The house is clean! But there was a day not so long ago (ok, actually pretty long ago – about 8.5 years) when I felt just this way. Then I had 2 kids (six years apart – what was I thinking?), decided to homeschool, and started trying to run a full-time business on part-time hours. I figure I’ll finally get my house clean in about 10 more years (fingers crossed!).
Oh my gosh Maya, when do you sleep?! I’m amazed, good for you! :)
There’s an app for that! I use the ufyh (unf*ck your habitat) app. It randomizes tasks, uses a timer and allows you to set specific goals.
I second the UFYH rec. It’s awesome.
Yessss! Totally downloading it, thanks!
GOOD list! Will use that one next weekend for sure! AND divide th tasks between me and my man, he.
I love everything about this post! You rock!
Haha, thanks Marissa!
Yes! I timed myself a lot when we had home showings. it really did cut down on time and helped me focus. Genius.
I am happy to lend you 2 two year olds to mess up your house if you want to make sure to see more of a difference between “before” and “after”!!! Just don’t think you’ll be able to enjoy the “after” part for more than 1 second! :-)