We all dream of that Pinterest ready home. You know the one…
Where you don’t have to run around throwing stuff into the closet when a friend says she’s stopping by…
So you don’t have to clear the junk out of the background before taking a picture of your kids…
Shoot, one where you can actually find what you’re looking for in a reasonable amount of time!
It seems so unattainable but I promise you with this easy AND realistic cleaning schedule you’ll have the clean home you’ve dreamed about in no time! Read More
Creating a Cleaning Schedule
Y’all. I’m going to be honest with you. Creating this cleaning schedule did NOT come easily to me. It took me YEARS to test and refine a cleaning schedule that worked for me and probably another year or so to actually find an effective way to utilize it.
For instance, I tried a “laundry day”. I would wash and fold clothes all day on “laundry day”. However, when it came to putting them away the train came completely off the tracks.
Baskets of clean clothes were strewn everywhere. Which eventually meant clean clothes were strewn everywhere. Far too often they wound up getting thrown back into the laundry.
Not only is this a horrible waste of environmental resources (and money) but it also led to another full day of washing and folding clothes!!
And it didn’t stop there. Common advice like cleaning the kitchen every night meant dishes would fill my evenings instead of family time. Entire weekends were spent cleaning.
More than once I found myself avoiding playdates or anything that would involve in-home entertaining. I wanted that clean, Pinterest ready home and I was working my heinie off! Yet, somehow my home was always on the verge of exploding.
On the whole, I was miserable.
I hated being surrounded by the clutter, feeling overwhelmed in my own home, and feeling like I had to choose between a clean home or my kids!
Overall the existing cleaning schedules made me think I hated cleaning. Turns out I was just doing it the wrong way for me.
The good news is YOU don’t have to go through all that!! I want you to skip all the grief and get straight to the realistic cleaning schedule! But first I’ve got a couple honest truths I have to share.
Fundamentals Truths of a Pinterest Ready Home
Truth 1: You need to Declutter
First things first, let’s be logical about this for a minute. This has nothing directly do with cleaning schedules. However, the less stuff you have, the less stuff you will find yourself having to put away.
That being said, the ugly truth is that getting rid of stuff is hard! Maybe not for everyone – but I know it’s hard for me!
Not only do I hate wasting money but I also really like being prepared and well-stocked. I always feel like as soon as I get rid of something I just KNOW I’ll need it or find a use for it. In essence, I’m just a well-intentioned hoarder.
The key to being able to get rid of things for me has been getting organized. I’ve organized our stuff almost to the neurotic level. Everything has a “home” inside our home and in the garage.
For instance, in the garage, I limit myself to 1 bin each for all the “random” stuff that comes in handy: outdoor sports equipment, gardening stuff, party supplies, and my craft supplies. Christmas has 8 bins. Halloween has 2, most of the other holidays have 1 bin or a smaller container.
All in all, if I can’t find a home for something or it doesn’t fit into the bin it either gets donated immediately or sold online. If I’m just sure I’ll find a use for it, it goes into a box in the garage. At the end of the year, if I haven’t needed it, it gets donated. Don’t try to sell it at this point!
JUST. GET. RID. OF. IT!!
Sure there have been things that I’ve gotten rid of that I later wish I hadn’t. Generally speaking, they’ve been inexpensive items so replacing them hasn’t been a big deal.
Furthermore, we have a great charity to donate to. Knowing the item went to a good home eases a lot of the aggravation of re-purchasing items, if the need arises. We personally donate to the Airman’s Attic, a volunteer-run organization at our local Air Force Base that provides a no-charge thrift shop for lower income military members.
Altogether it’s a win/win, you get rid of clutter and help the local community.
Truth 2: Start Low Key Cleaning
I can’t take credit for this tip. Moreover, I can’t even remember where I read it. In any event, lowkey cleaning is the key to proactive cleaning. In essence, tidy people are quietly cleaning (aka low key cleaning)…. All. The. Time.
Of course, I was intrigued because this was new information to me! I’d always heard nightly tidy-upping was key to clutter control. So I observed my tidy friends and sure enough, y’all, they are always freaking cleaning! It’s like watching someone with some sort of cleaning hyperactivity disorder!
The concept is easy enough; clean as you go! Wash the dishes as you cook, wipe down the sink every time you use the restroom, put away things when you are done with them. Basically, if you see a small mess or something that needs to be put away and it will only take a few moments, do it immediately. It reminds me of something my old boss used to say, “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean!” (Ugh!! Who else had that boss?!?)
Truth 3: Master Proactive Cleaning
Once I knew the secret of low key cleaning I had the realization that my problem was that I was reactive cleaning rather than proactive cleaning. I was waiting for messes to be noticeable before handling them rather than taking the needed steps to avoid the mess altogether. In short, reactive cleaning meant I was constantly cleaning- but I couldn’t see my progress.
Reactive cleaning is a super easy downward spiral to fall into, especially with small kids at home. In the long run, proactive cleaning is quicker than waiting until they tornado into big messes! It does keep you busy but let’s face it, we’re moms. We’re busy anyway, this is the same amount of busy, just with more intention. And at the end of a busy day, I would rather sit down in a tidy home rather than in the middle of a disaster scene, amiright!
Daily Cleaning Schedule
Once I figured out these fundamentals I prioritized what cleaning made the most impact in my home and the rest of the cleaning schedule just fell in place! I honestly love my cleaning schedule and all the failure was totally worth it because now I have a system that really works! And you can, too! But you don’t have to do all the time and research to develop a plan because I already did that and I can give you the Cheat Sheet for FREE!
Don’t feel like you can commit to a full cleaning schedule right now? Similarly, do you just know that if you try to jump in headfirst to implement a huge schedule change overnight you will completely overwhelm yourself?!? I feel ya on both those things. But no worries, I’ve included a “Baby Steps” guide in the download!
I kow moms don’t have tons of “spare time”. Even when do we shure as heck don’t want to spend it cleaning! So I’ve ensured each task can be quickly completed, with practice of course. I can do my cleaning schedule tasks all at one time (while my kids are napping) or sprinkled throughout my day.
Making It Work
Fantastic, you have a well researched, practiced and refined cleaning schedule! Doing it is a whole ‘nother issue.
After putting all that work into creating my cleaning schedule, I was able to quit all the trial and error.
I had my list, right?! I would read it and know exactly what I needed to do, right?!
Of course, all too easily, life took over and nothing got done.
I hate to tell y’all it took me
Pin Away
As you can see having your Pinterest ready home is possible!
Start with de-cluttering and organizing your home.
Practicing proactive cleaning.
Implement your cleaning schedule.
Before you know it, you’ll have the tidy Pinterest home you’ve dreamed of!
I would love to hear your successes and challenges with cleaning schedules as you get your house Pinterest ready! Comment below!