Someone please tell me I’m not the only one who needs some housekeeping assistance.
Or assistants. Either way, really.
Every time I watch Downton Abbey, I find myself daydreaming about having some household help. Nothing major, you know. I don’t need an entire staff. But a scullery maid for the cleaning and a lady’s maid for the laundry might be nice.
And maybe a butler. Buzzing in the UPS guy every few weeks gets tiring, you know?
In any case, I need some way to keep myself organized and motivated when it comes to cleaning.
Truthfully, I enjoy cleaning. I know that’s crazy and may make you stop reading a blog written by such an obvious lunatic, but it’s the honest–to–goodness truth. But even though I enjoy it, I don’t necessarily keep it up as I would like.
It’s usually a feast or famine situation around here: I’m either too busy to do much more than run a dust cloth and half–heartedly vacuum or I get in the zone and scrub every square inch of the place.
Upkeep, self. How about a system of upkeep?
So I created a little something I call Housekeeping for My Sanity:
It’s a four–week rotation, covering one room every week. Each room should take 2 hours tops to clean. I know that I’ll have weeks when I can’t spend 2 hours cleaning, so this system involves a lot of grace (like, a whole lot). If I have to skip a week, I’ll just pick right back up where I left off.
And if I don’t achieve every task on the list, so be it. I’ll still count it as a win.*
* I accidentally typed that as “wine.” So yes, I will have some wine and count it as a win.
This is going to sound much fancier than it is, but our building is considered historical (it’s part of a walking tour and everything). Ha! As far as I can tell, all that means is that it generates more dust than Poe’s House of Usher.
No doubt dusting and vacuuming once a week sounds like crazy talk, but let’s all remember our apartment is teensy–tiny and I can do this in about 10 minutes.
(And if I don’t, every time I get dressed, my pants legs will be covered in dust from that quick second they hit the floor while I’m putting them on. Not even exaggerating, folks. It’s like living in an abandoned attic.)
I also included big tasks, like cleaning the chandelier and dusting the insides of closets. I hope to do one “big task” per month, but I know that’s an ideal and probably won’t really happen.
Grace, folks. Grace. Give it to yourself.
I’m hoping this will help me feel a little bit more organized, like I have an actual plan in place. I’m also hoping it will keep me from the vicious cycle of letting things ride for way too long, then feeling guilty and stressed that the place is a disaster, then spending three straight days cleaning to make up for it, then giving the death glare to anyone who dares put down a glass without a coaster because I just cleaned the entire house, for crying out loud, then letting everything go again because I just lost three straight days to cleaning…
Whew.
Fingers and toes crossed this helps.
And for you, gentle reader, a printable! Here’s a blank version of the schedule I made so that you can customize it to fit your needs. The only rule is that you give yourself grace. This is supposed to help you, not stress you out.
(The font is adorable, by the way. It’s Pea Nani’s Notebook from Kevin and Amanda. )
What’s your secret to housekeeping sanity?