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Monday, April 13, 2020

Not Just A Mom: Cleaning Routine

Good morning everyone! Today we are doing our next installment of "Not Just a Mom" and the theme of the month is our "Cleaning Routine". I'm a little nervous to show you my cleaning routine because my extreme OCD craziness is about to show 😂. Promise not to judge me?? Or maybe it's time for an intervention... I don't know?!

Now, quick caveat, I haven't been the best about keeping up with the cleaning routine while we are quarantined. I originally thought I would have all this extra time on my hands to do _____ (insert a million different things), except it turns out we have less time and energy since we are trying to work from home and be on kid duty 24/7. We also had a cleaning lady come once a month for awhile after Liam was born because doing it on my own just wasn't happening. We are settled in pretty nicely now though and are back to cleaning it ourselves. 

Several years ago I was looking for cleaning checklists on Pinterest (I love a good checklist!) when I stumbled across this Martha Stewart weekly checklist:
I printed it off, slid it into some sheet protectors, and put them in a cute binder I had leftover from grad school. 
The front of the binder
I used to pull this binder out a couple times a week and check things off as I did them, that way it wasn't all left to one day for a "super clean". I also loved that we had a tangible list because I could ask Devin to pick a couple things off the checklist that he could tackle, and it wasn't left all to me.

After several weeks in a row of doing this, I noticed there were still some things that weren't getting cleaned. If it wasn't on the list, I wasn't remembering to do things like wipe down baseboards and dust the ceiling fans. So, I found a few more checklists:
Then, just for fun, I added a few other lists I found helpful too. I don't use the party planning one so much anymore because I pretty much have it memorized
And this one is for Devin but I'm almost positive he rolled his eyes when I tried to show him this. He's more of an "I know what to do, and I'll do it when I need to" kinda person. You know, the complete opposite of me 😁

So I keep this binder in the kitchen next to all of our cookbooks and pull it out at the end of the day when I'm already cleaning the kitchen/sweeping the floor/wiping down the countertops anyway. I'll pick one or two extra things off the weekly list, and glance at the other lists once in awhile too. 

As for laundry, I try to do 1 load every other day and dump everything out on my bed. Then I fold it and put it into piles for each family member/room of the house (kitchen towels, bathroom towels, etc.) and take it to the room it belongs. I usually listen to a podcast while I fold, which makes the time go by faster. I actually don't mind laundry at all! 

Now, I'm dying to know what your least favorite chore is! Please answer the little poll below:

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8 comments :

  1. Love all the lists. I'm awful at cleaning really.

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  2. I love a cleaning list! I found though having it tucked away meant I wouldn't remember to pull it out, so we've just got a small white board with regular daily tasks & then at our weekly family meetings I adjust the board as needed to add any monthly tasks, etc.

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    1. We used to have a white board list too but that didn't work for us because it was in our office and "out of sight, out of mind". Different strokes for different folks, right?! :)

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  3. I actually enjoy doing the laundry too... I ten to either watch TV or prop open a book while I fold. I find it relaxing and love that it gives me an excuse to sit down once in a while. I used to have a few cleaning checklists we referred to but also found that there were chores we did that seemed to be left off of them.

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  4. i love your lists and how organized you are. I want to get more organized too

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  5. Thanks Adrienne! It's the only way I ever get anything done around here.!

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