Dishwasher, open and loaded with dishes

I have been putting my homemaking (among other things) on project status.  I’ve been needing to get into a routine.   Both because it irritates hubby to walk into a dirty kitchen (the first part of the house he sees when he walks in the door) AND because it sets a poor example for my children who learn by watching me.    While *I* know I’m failing miserably, they think it’s normal.  Yikes!

Over the last month or so I’ve finally created a daily cleaning routine that works for me and how I work.  Maybe it will help you, too!

First, I make sure the house is picked up at least once during the day.  We all work together (I have a 4.5 yo and a 23 mo old) and it’s usually done between breakfast and lunch.

Second, I run the dishwasher EVERY DAY at around 3pm whether it’s full or not.

This was a big switch for me because I used to just run it whenever it was full and if there was room for one plate or one bowl, I would wait around until it was FULL.  To save money, I guess? And no one knew whether it was full or dirty so the dishes would pile up on the counter.   And by then I had my one plate and 25 other dishes, too.

The other part that makes it work better is that the dishwasher finishes around 5 pm so I’m in the kitchen making dinner and can empty the dishwasher while I’m cooking and load my dirty dinner prep dishes in it right away.   Then I can add dinner dishes when we are done and my counters are clear of most dishes.   Once I’ve got that done, it’s short work to wash my 3 or 4 pots/pans, a cutting board or two and another piece or two of hand wash only dishes and I’m finished!

Third, I have certain other chores scheduled for each day and I do those in the afternoon.

Other things I do as they get to be annoying and as I find the girls happily occupied as well as myself motivated.   That actually happens more often than I think it will — they are getting to play pretty well now at nearly 5 & 2.

That’s it.  That’s all the formal cleaning I do in a day.   I pick up all throughout the day and never go upstairs or down without putting something where it belongs.

If you are interested in having a set schedule for various tasks, check out the 2012 Confident Mom Weekly Household Planner.  She assigns several tasks each day as well as a couple for the week that take care of little things that might escape your notice for longer than you’d like.   Things like changing out hand towels, changing the bed sheets, cleaning the oven or microwave, emptying the toaster crumbs, etc.   Anything you can think of, she covers in this great planner!   I transfer any tasks she lists for the day that don’t fall automatically in with my weekly tasks to my 2-ppd planner.   You can buy this year’s book for only $5.00 until the end of September and there is even a version that includes a scripture reading plan.

How much time you spend physically cleaning each day and how old are your children?   Do you spend more time cleaning now that your children are older?  I’d love to know!

Jen S.

 

 

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1 Comment on Daily Cleaning Routine

  1. Val@ The Frugal Catholic Home
    25 September 2012 at 1:21 PM (12 years ago)

    I love your ideas for cleaning!

    There are so many little things to clean that can be easy to over-look some things unless it is writen down.

    I find myself picking up multiple times a day, but at least it is better then having a huge overwhelming mess at the end of the day to clean.

    I try to get in the Saint Bridget Prayers and an extra Rosary while cleaning. It is such a great way to set a prayerful tone in the home. On my site I have links to free Catholic Prayers in MP3 format!

    In the Sacred Heart,
    Val
    Val@ The Frugal Catholic Home´s last blog post ..Favorite Saints Tuesdays – Saint Anne!

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