My least favorite chore is general housekeeping especially in my retirement years. Now I could make a long list of least favorites but really I don't enjoy cleaning up after myself or all the people that come through my house at all. However, a neat and tidy environment puts me at ease and keeps my outlook open and fresh and really is important during flu and Covid quarantine. The real plus is making a good impression when unexpected visitors pop in. My house keeping system has evolved over the years to make the job simpler. Back when I first started keeping house as a young bride and was working full time I spent the weekends scrubbing and organizing along with doing all the shopping before I came upon a book (no longer published) written by two sisters that introduced me to a better way. I took their plan and adapted it to me.
The sisters included a long list of daily, weekly, monthly, seasonally and even annual chores. I marked out the chores that didn't apply to me and set up a system I knew I could follow. I published a blog about it many years ago and have updated it in my retirement years. There is a printed list hanging on my fridge but really I like having it on my mobile phone calendar best. It took a little time to post each activity on my calendar but once there it's done and I don't have to fret about it. 😋
The things I do every day are not on my mobile calendar because they have become routine and don't require planning other than knowing what time I do them. Those things are:
Daily: each of these things take only minutes daily
- Make bed as soon as I get out of it. I'm still amazed at friends and visitors that will sneak a peek!
- Bathroom: wipe down bathroom surfaces, squirt cleaner into toilet , spray down shower walls before getting out. This habit has been an especially good one since the introduction to Covid.
- Kitchen: wipe down counters and stove after each use. Place dishes in dishwasher or wash out cups and plates as used, dry and put away.
- Floors: push dust mop over all the floors. Now that I have hardwood floor surfaces throughout this went from weekly to daily because I live in the windy/dusty west Texas area. This is a nice way to get my walking steps in too. If you have young children it is an easy chore for them to do.
- Put away anything left sitting out that doesn't belong there.
The rest of my household chores ping my phone on the day I scheduled them. If I don't get to one of the chores because I have an event or an appointment that conflicts with it I open my mobile phone calendar and move that chore to a better day and save it as - just this one time. Next week, month or next year it will be on the originally schedule day. Inserted below is a photo of my hard copy list you can use for your own plan or click on it and you can get a printable copy. You can see just how long I've been using this method by how aged the paper is! Remember to schedule the chores as repeating on your mobile calendar. I won't go into how to do that here because there are plenty of instructions you can google online.
You don't need a lot of tools to get all the jobs done. A few basics will work just fine. Of course we all get tempted by advertisements and there's no harm in trying out different products to make life easier, I'm just saying keeping house doesn't have to break the budget.
- Broom or dust mop
- Mop or WetJet
- Vacuum if you have carpet
- Dust rags (old t-shirts work great)
- Disinfectant spray and/or liquid
- Floor cleaning solution
- Dish soap
- Scrubbies (I love these really cute ones!)
