Cleaning is probably the most dreaded home activity among my clients - it comes in second only to laundry. Besides time consuming and boring, it’s discouraging to clean a whole house only to have it return to it’s unclean state only weeks later. Years ago, I approached cleaning with an “all or nothing attitude.” I would put off cleaning for a long time, and then one unavoidable day, I’d clean the whole house - an all day event. By the end of the day, I was exhausted and grumpy. To make matters worse, the process was accomplished with children under foot. After many years of operating this way, I decided there must be a better way. For me, it meant time management. Time management is breaking up a task into many parts, making each piece more manageable and less overwhelming. To insure the success of any time management strategy, a system must be created. In this article, I will help you create a system of time management with a weekly cleaning schedule. By creating and following your own custom-made cleaning schedule, you can avoid the long process of cleaning your whole house all in one day. Each week you will take “bite size” pieces, making cleaning less overwhelming.

Begin with a spreadsheet or simply a sheet of paper. Number the lines 1 to 52, representing the weeks in the year. Next, divide your home into different “zones.” For example, on your main floor you might have three zones: the bedrooms, the living & dining room, and the kitchen. Decide how often you would like to clean these areas. Some zones will be cleaned more often than others. The bathroom, for example, usually will need more cleaning than the living room. If you want to complete the zone “dust and vacuum the bedrooms” every five weeks, simply divide 52 weeks by 5 and get 10 times per year. On your spreadsheet, list this task 10 times throughout the year, evenly distributed. Do this for all the zones in your home. Some zones may be listed only once or twice per year, for example: dusting plants, cleaning out a china cabinet, or washing windows. Place these items among the other regular cleaning tasks, each assigned one week in the year, or two weeks depending on the size of the project. For smaller projects list two in one week. Next, label approximately eight of your weeks with “as needed” cleaning. During these weeks, accomplish a task that may not require a regularly scheduled clean. For example these “as needed” items might include: refrigerator, toy boxes, storage room, closets, or cupboards. Once your list is created, you might discover there are too many cleaning tasks for the number of weeks in a year. If this happens, you’ll need to make your zones bigger or reevaluate how often you need to complete each task.  After tweaking your 52 week schedule, with your “as needed” items listed at the bottom, print your list. Post it in a visible location and cross items off as the weeks go by. You may find it necessary to occasionally go out of order. When setting up your system for the following year, make adjustments as needed.

Another additional benefit to the weekly cleaning schedule is that it is easier for others to help. Now that my oldest child is 13, and I am working as a professional organizer, I have less time to do my weekly cleaning. We have implemented a “Family Clean.” With my husband and children we accomplish the weekly clean together. What normally took me two hours is now done in just 30 minutes. Not only does it save me time, but also the children learn a skill, they develop an appreciation what it takes to have a clean home, and they learn good work habits. Sometimes we do two weeks worth, giving us a week off. Implementing a weekly cleaning schedule can help you take the stress out of cleaning your home.

Heidi Preslicka is a professional organizer serving homes and businesses in the Twin Cities metro area. She is the owner of In the Right Place Organizing  and provides hands-on and consulting organizing services. Heidi and her husband live in Savage with their five children. She believes that teaching organizational techniques to children is an invaluable skill with life long benefits. She specializes in working with families and small businesses. For more information, please visit Heidi's website at www.intherightplaceorganizing.com