This is not your Mama’s house cleaning! We are not going to spend all day on Saturday doing laundry, cleaning toilets and scrubbing floors. Ain’t nobody got time for that!
Routine is going to become your new best friend! Routine is going to free you from house “cleaning”. Instead, we will be house “keeping”. By implementing these simple routines every single day you will find the freedom to do the things that are truly important and you will find that you enjoy your own home so much more.
I know you’re thinking “I don’t have the time to clean house once a week, much less clean it every day!!” You are right! No one has time to spend hours cleaning the house. That is just not even right. These simple routines literally take only minutes each day.
Routines are what make your house seem to be self-cleaning. Things you do on autopilot. They become so much part of your day that you don’t even have to think about them. They are no different than brushing your teeth.
Routines are the solid foundation of a clean and tidy home.
If you are just starting out, it would be best to implement one task every single day for a week to ten days before adding in another one. I want to set you up for success!
Here are the “Daily Do’s” for morning and evening.
Morning~
- Make the Beds
If your bed is made the moment you get out of it, you have already accomplished something today and you haven’t even brushed your teeth yet! Go you!
Teach your children to make their beds. It is one of the most important things you can do every day. You are giving them tools for success.
This is an amazing and inspiring video that will have you making your bed on the daily!
Making your bed should take less than one minute.
2. Clean the Bathrooms
Keep your bathroom counter as clear as possible. Having decor or even the Qtips sitting out might be cute or handy but a clear counter is much easier to clean!
As soon you are finished in the bathroom in the morning, put away your makeup, hairbrush, curling iron etc. Take out your multisurface cleaner and microfiber cloth. Here is a great microfiber cloth! Starting from top to bottom, clean the mirror, the counter, faucet, and sink. Moving to the toilet, wipe down the back, the handle and the lid. Lift the lid, clean the seat, lift the seat and clean the rim, down the sides and the bottom.
Put your cleaner away. Your bathroom is clean in less than one minute!
Repeat with other bathrooms.
3. Empty the Dishwasher
Do not start cooking or eating until the dishwasher is empty! It will only lead to sadness frustration and a full sink. Start the coffee pot or tea kettle and see if you can beat it. If the dishwasher is empty there are no excuses to not put dirty dishes in it!
This should take 3-5 minutes.
4. Check Your Calendar
Check your calendar for today. What is going on? Is it Uncle George’s birthday? Do you need to fill out the book order and send a check to school with Johnny? Do you have plans after work?
Less than 30 seconds to refresh your memory on today’s plans!
5. What’s for Dinner?
Putting your weeks’ menu on your calendar makes it super easy for you to have things ready at 6 pm! When you checked your calendar you took note of what was for dinner. Get meat from the freezer if necessary or put it in the crock pot. Just be prepared for what you will be making. Having dinner planned and meat thawed will save so much time and money and make for a very peaceful evening.
Taking something from the freezer might take less than 30 seconds. Putting something in the crock pot might take longer, 10 minutes or so. Totally worth it at dinner time!
6. Start a load of laundry
Doing a small load of laundry every day is much more manageable than doing huge loads on the weekend and then getting overwhelmed and not getting it folded and put away!
Evening~
Every good day starts the night before.
1. Dishes
Do dishes immediately after dinner! Do not sit down, do not pass go, do not collect two hundred dollars. No matter how tempting it might be to sit and watch just one TV show or just put your feet up for only a few minutes… don’t do it!! You will not be able to fully enjoy that break anyway with a dirty kitchen hanging over you and it will make it so much harder and far less likely to actually get back up and clean it. So, just DO IT!
Put the dishes in the dishwasher, or handwash depending on your situation, wipe off the table and the counters, put leftovers away. While you are at it, make lunches for tomorrow. Clean your sink, and sweep the floor
This task has quite a few things involved. If you can get your family to help, that’s great, but if that is not possible, do not wait or put it off. Remember this is your home and your corner of the world that you choose to make clean and inviting to bring you and your family peace and joy. So jump right in there and get it done! Reward yourself with a cup of tea or a glass of wine when you are done.
2. Finish that load of laundry
That kid of laundry you started this morning … put it in the dryer and then while you’re watching TV later, you can fold it and put it away!
3. Take Out the Trash and/or Recycling
Check to see if the trash or recycling needs to go out.
3 minutes to take the trash out and replace the bag…tops.
4. Room Reset
Do a quick “Room Reset” checking kitchen, dining room, living room and entry for dislocated items.
Tidy up the living room, straighten pillows and blankets and magazines. Put stray items back where they belong. Put things that you need for tomorrow by the door. Throw away any trash and gather up any cups or glasses that need to go to the kitchen. Gather them all together. If possible, have the owners of these items return them to their homes. If that is not possible, it is better to return them to their room of origin, lest they multiply when you are not looking!
I know many people insist that if it’s not mine I am not putting it away, that is their responsibility. Yes, it probably IS their responsibility. I decided long ago that I wanted a clean and peaceful house. I will put those items back in the room they belong in because I choose to have a clean home. Pick your battles. I like to bless my family by doing those little things that really only take minutes and provides all of us a home that is a refuge and not a battleground.
Take a moment to look around at your beautiful tidy home!
A room reset should only take about 5 minutes.
5. Check the Calendar
Check your calendar for tomorrow. Do you need to get anything ready for tomorrow? What time do you need to get up? What is for dinner tomorrow, do you need to get anything out to thaw now? What is the weather going to be like? Do everything you can to be kind to your future self. She will be grateful!
A thirty-second task.
6. Set Out Clothes for the Morning
You just checked your calendar so you have an idea of the weather and what you have going on tomorrow. Pick out an appropriate outfit, complete with shoes and accessories so that you don’t even have to think tomorrow morning! It will make for a much smoother, less stressful morning!
This should only take a couple minutes and will save you so much more time in the morning!
7. Wash & Moisturize
You are taking care of your house but be sure to take care of you too. Wash your face every evening before going to bed and then use a good moisturizer. Good skin care doesn’t have to take long. Trust me when I say that your future self will REALLY thank you for this! Each time you go to bed without washing and moisturizing, you age your face fourteen days!!! Maybe that doesn’t sound like a big deal if you are in your twenties, but at my age, in my fifties, it sounds like a lot! I am so grateful that I learned very young to take care of my skin.
Two minutes to beautiful skin!
8. Go to Bed
Go to bed at a decent hour. It is one of the most important things you can do for your body. I can’t stress this enough. Pay attention to your body. If you are tired, go to bed! There is no need to stay up to watch the news. The world will go on. You need to sleep to be health You really need to be getting your Zzzz’s! Please take care of you as you take care of your family and your home.
It takes LESS than an hour a day, in little tiny increments to have a clean, tidy, organized home. You deserve it!
The Self Cleaning House 