Home Management Plan

The new year is the time for new resolutions, and I started one this year that I'll share with you.  Here's a little background:

Even though (and maybe because?) we live in a smallish apartment, I have such a hard time keeping it clean.  As soon as I pick something up, I have three little tornadoes behind me making a mess, trying to spread toys to every room.  Things like doing dishes, cleaning the stove, and scrubbing the bathtub are difficult because I need to help kids and can't complete a task.  Plus when I do a "bigger" job like organizing a drawer or cleaning the fridge, then the other smaller things like picking up toys don't happen because I don't have time.   I  can tolerate some messiness (as you, my former roommates probably know :), but it's immediately overwhelming when you wait to clean the floor until it's covered in food, or wait to dust the blinds until they are completely dusty.  All the while, I have this internal struggle about actually playing with my kids and spending time with them versus spending most of my day cleaning. 

At the start of January, I knew I needed to make some type of change. Nelson was starting a new semester, his hardest one yet, on top of his full-time work where they are facing lay-offs (I think he'll be safe, fingers crossed).  When he finally walks in the door from a crazy day at 9:30 pm and the house is a disaster, it increases his anxiety about not being able to help me and our kids.  Not that I can't be real with him or that he doesn't know how hard it is to keep a tidy house, but that I want to do what I can on my part to help him.  Also, our kids are just about getting to an age where they can entertain themselves for a little while, and our oldest is becoming a good helper.  

So I came up with a Home Management Plan.  

A few things:

-I am still in the "honeymoon stage" with this-- I'm still kind of having fun with it and making it work.  That may change in a few months.

-There is no way I could have done this with a newborn or if my kids didn't play alone for a few minutes.  I would scale it way back and only try to do bigger jobs like cleaning the tub once a month or something.

-I didn't want to start something that, if I didn't complete each job each day, I would feel bad about myself.  I am okay with the fact that I might not get everything done every day, but it gives me motivation and accountability.  I also like that when I'm done with my jobs for the day, it frees my mind to play with my kids.  I know that, even if I didn't clean the toilet, that's a job for another day.

-Now I don't have to write everything down in my planner, but I can still cross it off when I finish-- a little thing I like to do :)

-I've already made changes and will continue to do so (ex: Sundays are very busy and I really don't have time to work on our photo book or journal, so I've got to figure out another regular time to do that; I usually have to do a load of laundry on Fridays; I'm going to add "exercise" to Thursdays)

-I have it printed with a cute picture on top and a scripture on the bottom, and I keep it inside a clear plastic sheet protector with a dry erase marker nearby to mark off the boxes.  I got a laminator for Christmas that I'll break out soon and laminate it, once I've got everything how I like it for sure.

Daily Personal:

☐  Prayers

☐  Scriptures

☐  Shower

Daily:

☐  Clear out dishwasher

☐  Load dishwasher

☐  Bed made

☐  Bathroom counter cleared off

☐  Mail sorted, put away

☐  Autumn’s school papers filed

☐  Autumn homework

☐  Make dinner

☐  Counters & table wiped off

☐  Quick Sweep

☐  Lunch for Nelson

☐  Garbage out- Nelson

Kids Jobs, especially:

☐  Playroom 

☐  Family Room

Monday:        ☐  Exercise

                        ☐  Laundry: clothes

☐  Check Mint.com

☐  Family Home Evening

Tuesday:        ☐  Laundry: towels, rags, bedding

                        ☐  Oven, Stove, Microwave, Sinks

☐  Back steps; break down boxes

Wednesday:   ☐  Exercise

☐  Bathroom

☐  Tub and bath toys

Thursday:      ☐  Dust; Clean doorknobs

☐  Food: fridge, laundry room, cupboards

Friday:           ☐  Counters & papers cleared off

☐  Meal planning

☐  Monthly job(s)*

Saturday:       ☐  Exercise

            ☐  Vacuum

☐  Mop

☐  Sunday meal & church prep

Sunday:          ☐  Photo book or journal

*Monthly Jobs

                ☐  Pics and videos downloaded

                ☐  Sanitize garbage cans

                ☐  Clean baseboards/walls/doors

                ☐  Organize a cupboard/drawer

                ☐  Deep clean highchair

                ☐  Front porch, front door, windows

                ☐  Car washed, inside and out

                ☐  Other home improvement project

This Home Management Plan has been great for me.  Our house is generally clean every day now (like, I could let someone come inside if they knocked on the door at any given time and it wouldn't be a disaster zone).  It has brought a lot of order to our home and peace of mind to Nelson and me.

Have you done a daily checklist like this?  If not, what do you do to keep from getting overwhelmed and have a tidy house?