How Pinterest saved my house

2012 will be the third straight year where my resolution is to be more organized. Actually, I prefer to call it a goal. Not that it really matters because I'm sure you can gather I haven't accomplished any sort or organizing resolution or goal being this is year number 3.

Anyway, this year I might actually accomplish something. Or at least get a little better at this thing called housework. The past 2 years have started off so well. Our house was spic and span. For about a minute. You see, I never had an actual plan. I knew what needed to be done. I knew designating certain chores for each day would help. I just never actually did it.

Enter Pinterest, the problem solver extraordinaire!

Over the kids' Christmas break, I was browsing through the site. I wasn't looking for anything in particular. Usually if a picture grabs my attention, I repin. I had come across other pins about organizing and cleaning your home, but for whatever the reason, this one in particular spoke to me louder than the rest. I clicked away to get to the original site of the pin and scanned the blog post telling me how I should clean my house. By the end I was thinking "Hot damn! I think I can actually do this!"

I've talked about this chart a few times on Facebook and Twitter, which led to others wanting to know more about this chart. Without further adieu, I present

"How to Clean Your House" - or at least make a very good attempt at it.

Monday - Laundry day for the kids. Start in the morning and keep the machines running until all of the kids' stuff is washed and dried. Fold laundry at night while watching TV. Make sure all clothes are put away before you go to bed.

Tidy the house. Go through each room and put everything away. Never leave a room empty handed.

Vacuum the main rooms (not bedrooms or stairs).


Tuesday - Laundry day for adults, towels, sheets, and blankets. Again, keep the machines running until everything is washed and dried. Make sure it is all put away before you go to bed.

Bathrooms. Clean everything: toilet, replace towels/wash cloths, tubs/showers, sink, floor, wipe out drawers/cabinets, mirrors, restock toilet paper. Spray something good in there when you are done for no other reason than it will make you happy.


Wednesday - Surfaces. Anything that can be dusted, mopped, swept, wiped, vacuumed, etc, do it.


Thursday -Organize/clean out something. A closet, a toy box, make-up drawers, the fridge. Pick one thing and don't stop until is is cleaned and organized.


Friday- Tidy the house. Never leave a room empty handed.

Vacuum the whole house (main rooms, stairs, hallways, etc).



I tweaked this list to better suit my schedule. If you want to see the original, you can go here.

I won't lie, the first week was really hard. Especially the laundry. I never knew how many dirty clothes could come from only 2 children. And tidying the house on day 1? Cleaning up from a natural disaster was more like it! In the kids' defense, we were coming off of Christmas break.

Now that I am in week 2 of this cleaning plan, things are going so much better. Because the husband does his own laundry and I won't dare disturb that system, I could do all of the laundry in 1 day. But I won't. I know how I am and I have a better shot at putting the clothes away before I go to bed if I split it up.

Once the first week is out of the way, it becomes more of a "stay on top of it" chore instead of deep cleaning every single day. Even with new things I've added to my life recently, like yet another crochet project and a job, I have yet to feel overwhelmed when it comes to cleaning. I hope it stays that way and I hope my sharing of this can help someone else out as well.



Until next time...



4 comments:

Tracie said...

One of my goals for the year is to become more organized, too. I work though so I don't know how this will work for me. Maybe I just need to get a housekeeper? Or a sister wife?

Oka said...

job? did I miss something?

I would be defeated if I left laundry to two days

Glad you found a routine that helps you though

Kmama said...

That sounds like a good plan. I do all my cleaning and laundry on the weekends though, because weekdays are just too rushed and I need to collapse after the kids go to bed.

Alexandra said...

What a great way to use pinterest.

I don't know how to navigate pinterest but can you put this post up there?

It's a fabulous idea that so many women would relate to.