Housekeeping Schedule

My good friend and mentor, Ida, has a printed schedule of her housekeeping chores hanging in her den. It is a daily list of chores which include a rotation of weekly and monthly tasks. Recently, in my frustration with trying to keep this big house clean, I thought I'd give her method a try. Here is the calendar I've developed for myself:

To some of you it may seem bothersome to have such a rigid schedule, but for me this has been a lifesaver. I need a good to-do list like this to be able to keep up. This message I wrote to Ida says it all:

"So, it's been a month since I've been following my house cleaning schedule and I LOVE IT!!! It has changed how I feel about chores. I LOVE getting to check stuff off, like you said. Another thing that makes this so much more rewarding is that before I used to look at this big impossible house and think "I'll never ever be able to tackle this" and cleaning it always felt like I was only ever getting the tip of the iceberg. But now, with this chart, all I have to think about is what is on the schedule for the day and everything else will be taken care of in it's own time. It is so refreshing to feel DONE at the end of the day rather than bogged down with everything that still needs attention. I feel liberated!"

Black: Daily Chores

Purple: Weekly Chores

Green: Monthly and Every-Other-Week Chores
"Clean Sweep" = clear away all the clutter that has accumulated on tables, counters, etc.