I Heart Organizing

Recently, I stumbled on the blog: IHeart Organizing. You know those blogs that you just happen upon and then spend all day reading because you just can't stop? This is one of those blogs. I want to implement her ideas everywhere.

For the month of March, she is challenging her readers to create a Household Binder. Now, I have heard of these binders before, and have even tried creating and implementing one, but it just didn't work. I've decided to take the challenge, though, and have taken steps to start my own Household Binder. I have almost the whole month to catch up with, but I'm just going to take it one step at a time and get it started.

The first step was just to get a binder, which I fortunately had. I then decided which categories of things I would like to keep in the binder. There were a lot. What started out as one binder snowballed into FIVE, but it still seems like it will be a great system. I need to purchase four more binders and plenty of cute dividers, but my main goal right now is to prepare the primary household binder.

I decided first to focus on the cleaning aspect of my binder since, unfortunately, we're going to have to let our cleaning lady go in order to save up for Princess Gummi.

It was a lot of work, but I finally came up with the cleaning lists I want to implement. We actually started today and it seems to work really well so far.

DAILY CLEANING CHECKLIST:
-Make beds
-Wash all dishes
-Wipe down kitchen counters
-Vacuum hard floors
-Vacuum carpets (every other day is fine)
-Do at least one load of laundry
-Full house pick-up

WEEKLY CLEANING CHECKLIST:
Monday:
-Dust furniture/electronics
-Dust doors
-Vacuum cabinet door fronts
-Clean glass
Tuesday:
-Clean toilet
-Wipe down shower
-Wash bath rugs
-Wash dog food/water bowls
Wednesday:
-Empty all trash
-Wipe out fridge/microwave
-Mop floors
-Wash sheets
Thursday:
-Vacuum under furniture
-Wash towels
-File paperwork
-Do bills/budget
Sunday:
-Prep food for week
-Clean out fridge

MONTHLY CLEANING CHECKLIST (first Saturday of every month):
-Clean ceiling fixtures
-Vacuum corners,ceilings
-Vacuum A/C vents
-Vacuum inside sofas
-Clean behind appliances
-Clean stovetop burners
-Wipe down switch plates and base boards
-Wash out trash cans
-Sweep carport, sidewalk, and porches
-Wash dog beds

QUARTERLY CLEANING CHECKLIST (second Saturday of January, April, July, and October):
-Clean oven
-Wash bed comforters
-Vacuum mattresses
-Vacuum window coverings
-Clean windows/screens (may be skipped in January if weather is inclement)
-Deep clean fridge/freezer
-Clean shower curtain

YEARLY CLEANING CHECKLIST (done throughout the month of May):
-Clean out all cabinets & drawers; wipe down
-Clean out all closets
-Long-term store financial files
-Clean out storage sheds
-Repair and refurbish yard tools and supplies


Phew! That seems like a whole heck of a lot, but I think it will be great if MM and I get into the groove of it now, so that we're used to cleaning at least a little every day once Princess Gummi comes. I know that things will come up; that we'll have a long day at work, that we'll be out of town or have company on a "cleaning weekend", or etc., but at least we'll have a plan in place to come back to. MM has committed to help every night and we just split the list down the middle and get to it after dinner. It went more quickly than either of us anticipated, so that was great.

The first Saturday of each month, while I'm getting through the Monthly Cleaning Checklist, will be date-day for MM and Princess Gummi. When I told MM this, he was really excited to have a designated time set aside each month for the two of them to spend time together. That made me really happy.

Sorry for the really long post, but I'm just so excited to start getting organized AND getting a cleaning schedule in place. Thanks for your patience, if you read all the way through. If not, I definitely understand!