In my experience, a working person’s schedule beats to a very different drum and thus housework should be approached in a very different way to meet this need. As a very simple example, a stay-at-home person might assign his or her jobs by the day, such as:
Monday= dust the houseTuesday= clean the bathrooms
Wednesday= clean the kitchen
Thursday= wash the linens
Friday= vacuum the house
This routine is great for a young family or retired persons that thrive on such scheduling.
On the other hand, it is vital for working persons to balance their energy and output to meet the varying demands of their current situation. For this reason, we approach home management numerically. Yes, there will still be some chores that will be need to be “done” on a regular basis, but the rest of the chores can be approached in numerical order depending on the other demands upon the working person’s time.
To alter the simple example above to meet a working person’s needs, we would assign some jobs as “DOs” and other jobs by number, such as:
1= dust the house
2= clean the bathrooms
3= clean the kitchen
4= wash the linens
5= vacuum the house
The working person might get job #1 done one evening and then have to wait two evenings the before opportunity arises to finish jobs #2 and #3. Then more three days may go by before she can finish job #4 and finally Saturday is here before she finishes job #5. She can begin her rotation again with the new week and start with job #1. (And, yes, she might involve as many of her family members as possible to lighten her load and increase their responsibilities to make the home run smoothly.)
If this kind of a working person’s housecleaning plan appeals to you, below are instructions for setting one up for yourself. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me for further clarification.
Supplies
1 index card box (sturdy with closeable lid)
200 lined index cards
20 index card dividers (blank) labeled:
- Daily DO
- Daily Chores
- Weekly DO
- Weekly Chores
- Monthly DO
- Monthly Chores
- Wash Chores
- January
- February
- March
- April
- May
- June
- July
- August
- September
- October
- November
- December
- 20_ _
Purchase the lined index cards, the index card box and dividers. Label the dividers as above and prepare the Daily DO, Daily Chores, Weekly DO, Weekly Chores, Monthly DO, Monthly Chores and Wash Chores as given in the examples below:
Daily DO
Make beds= Daily DO
Start daily wash= Daily DO
Empty dishwasher= Daily DO
Fix breakfast= Daily DO and etc...
Daily Chores
Tidy living room= Daily 1
Tidy family room= Daily 2
Tidy kitchen= Daily 3
Tidy bathrooms= Daily 4
Tidy bedrooms= Daily 5
Tidy master bedroom= Daily 6
Empty trash= Daily 7 and etc.....
Weekly DO
Plan weekly menu= Weekly DO
Prepare grocery list= Weekly DO
Grocery shop= Weekly DO
Run errands= Weekly DO
Do yard maintenance= Weekly DO and etc...
Weekly Chores
Pay bills= Weekly 1
Tackle paperwork= Weekly 2
Balance budget= Weekly 3
Vacuum/sweep living room= Weekly 4
Vacuum/sweep kitchen= Weekly 5
Vacuum/sweep master bedroom= Weekly 6
Clean children’s bedrooms= Weekly 7
Clean bathroom mirror= Weekly 8
Clean bathroom counter and sink= Weekly 9
Clean bathroom tub/shower= Weekly 10
Clean bathroom floor and toilet= Weekly 11 and etc.
(You will notice that the more complex chores are broken down into smaller jobs. This is to facilitate the smaller amounts of precious time a woman (or man) might have to pay attention to cleaning. So the bathroom might be started by cleaning the mirror while waiting for your ride in the morning and then continued by cleaning the counter, sink, tub, floor, and toilet in the evening when you return from work and tackle the rest of the chore.)Wash Dos
Wash whites= Wash DO
Wash mixed clothes= Wash DO
Wash dark clothes= Wash DO and etc....
(Depending upon your circumstances, you might be doing two loads a week for an empty nester couple, while there be one load a day for a small family and up to three loads a day for a larger family.)
Wash Chores
Wash master bedroom sheets= Wash 1
Wash childrens’ bedroom sheets= Wash 2
Wash kitchen and bathroom towels= Wash 3
Wash pajamas= Wash 4 and etc.
Monthly DO
Prepare budget for next month= Monthly DO
Prepare next month’s calendar= Monthly DO and etc.
Monthly Chores
Clean vehicle inside and out= Monthly 1
File paperwork= Monthly 2
Write monthly emails/letters= Monthly 3 and etc.
January-December ChoresThere are also chores specific to the month(s) where they would normally fall. For instance, you would make up cards to remind you to do certain seasonal chores on the appropriate months. For example, store lawn furniture in September, add winterizing fluid to lawnmower in October, and purchase/find Christmas cards in November.
Now that the Working Person’s Housecleaning Plan has been set up, it is useful to establish regular habits to focus on these skills. So let’s go to work and see how it will usually happen...
Every morning, pull out the Daily DO cards, lay them out on your counter top and as you complete each task flip the corresponding card over. When all the cards have been done, put them back behind their divider. You may have to finish some of the jobs when you return from work. Still, try to get all the Daily DO cards done every day.
When you get home at night (and depending on your weariness, pressures, and other commitments), begin doing the Daily Chores cards. You might not get through all of them, but when you have completed one card’s task, put the card behind the others of the same type. Sometimes you will get all the Daily Chores cards done in one day, sometimes it might take two or three days. The point is, you do them numerically so chores and responsibilities are approached and tackled in a semblance of order.Each time you approach your wash, use the Wash DO cards to keep up on regular washing needs. The Wash Chores cards will help you to know which type of specific wash you will be doing next for items that need attention less often. This gets the wash done in an orderly manner even if it takes several weeks to get through the different “specialty” loads.
There are also Weekly DO cards. These would best be done each week, but approach the card’s jobs in order, putting the card in the rear of the appropriate section in the index card box as you finish a job. This keeps these jobs done in a consistent, repetitive order even if it takes several weeks to complete all the cards.
Each week as you approach housework (whether you do it, your family participates, or you pay someone to do it), you will want to use the Weekly Chores cards. As stated before, these jobs have been broken down into simple tasks which can be done here and there, such as just before leaving for work or between fixing dinner and going off to a meeting. Again, you pull the first card, finish the job, put the card in the back of the section of this particular kind of cards. This helps the housework be approached in an orderly manner whether it all gets done each week (as you might like) or you have to take two or three weeks to do it.
Each month you have Monthly DO jobs to do as stated on your new housecleaning cards. Try to schedule these jobs onto your planner or calendar as you will work best if these jobs are approached and finished each month. But again, do them in order and when you have finished a chore, put the card in the back of the appropriate section, and then do the job listed on the next card.
The Monthly Chores cards are less important monthly jobs and are approached after the Monthly DO card jobs are done. Again, finish a job, put the card in the back of the appropriate section of the index card box and when you are able to do another job, pull the next card.
There are also chores which need to be approached according to the seasons of the year. These cards are kept behind the different months according to the listing on each card. Sometimes you will be able to do these jobs in a timely manner, sometimes they will have to wait, sometimes they will be neglected all together, but the system allows you to be aware and connected with seasonal responsibilities.
The concept of a Working Person’s Housecleaning Plan has helped many women and men find increased capacity as they approach housework and other household responsibilities after a long day at the office, on the job, or traveling. May it do the same for you. Take care now and may household responsibilities never seem quiet so overwhelming to you again!
©2009 Marie Calder Ricks/www.houseoforder.com
2 comments:
amazing post. I liked the added things for specific months...great for even the SAHM.
Excellent ideas! Thank you.
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