fantastic routines

i work off of a cleaning schedule. i started it years ago when i found flylady.net. over the years it has been modified to fit my life during each changing season. my favorite part about a schedule is that it is completely forgiving. if i do not get to a chore one day...it's okay there is always tomorrow, next week, next month.

i clean by zones for my deep cleaning. i am not a spring cleaner. i break it up doing it in pieces all year. that way i am never overwhelmed. i take one zone each week and work 15-20 minutes on each zone each day.  if i am too busy to get to a certain zone that week i just wait until it comes around again.

zone 1--entryway and closet
zone 2--kitchen and dining room
zone 3--bathrooms and laundry
zone 4--bedrooms
zone 5--living room and home office
zone 6--garage and car

each time i work a zone in my house i think about improving my organization.  when it is broken down like this it is not so overwhelming to do. each room should never hold more than three purposes for me. like the craft/exercise room.  i try not to make that room storage or a bedroom or anything else. it has its purpose and i do not like to overwhelm that space.  it makes it easy upkeep.

morning schedule
-make beds
-feed dogs
-eat and clean up
-shine sink....classic flylady move
-put out hotspots....places that collect junk....another classic flylady
-look at my menu for the day and schedule
-throw a load in the laundry and fold a load from the dryer
-read scriptures
-15-20 minutes in focus zone....and i set the timer
-exercise
-get dressed and ready for the rest of the day
-check the mail and run errands

afternoon schdule
-20 minutes of my weekly clean schedule

evening schedule
-sweep floor
-empty garbage
-load and unload dishwasher
-spot mop
-wipe down counters
-shine sink
-check tomorrows menu and take out items from the freezer
-vacuum...i try to do this everyday because i have three dogs
-feed dogs

weekly schedule
-deep clean bathrooms
-dust
-vacuum
-clean blinds
-bedding
-bath or spot bath dogs
-pay bills and go through paperwork
-make calls that i hate to make
-send out cards
-plan my menu for the week....i normally have a month semi-planned and then finalize a week or two in advance
-make grocery list
-do nails
-exfoliate face and hands
-clean dog kennels
--go through magazines
--write a list of any supplies needed for next weeks zone

i found the home routine app that makes this so easy to follow and you can adapt it to your schedule. there is a $4.99 fee for the app but it is well worth it.

when i worked this schedule was significantly different. i work from home now so this schedule works for me.

when i did work my morning schedule was short and i had 5-10 minutes to do a few errands. my evenings and weekends took up most of the rest. it is whatever works for you. i started this schedule when my kids were young because things were slipping and i felt my home was out of control. i wanted to take back the control and leave the guilt.  this worked perfectly.