House Keeping made Simple - Thanks to Grandma

It's the oddest thing.

We plan our retirement (hopefully,) our travel, our special events,

our gardens, and so many other things, 

but honestly, when was the last time you heard or read

about a house keeping plan?

I realize I'm a minority, 

but I enjoy reading about house-keeping, cleaning, decluttering and the like.

There is a ton of information that suggests

how often to clean various items

and methods by which to clean them.

My issue has always been. . .when?

Finding the time to stay ahead of the spider webs and dust bunnies

can be challenging.

I've considered an 'Adams Family' style decor,

but it's just not me.

Image Source

That being the case, like many others,

I have struggled at times continually just to keep up

until I found a plan that is finally working.

Is our house spotless?  Hahaha, I should be a comedian.

Is it livable and improving?  Yes.

Credit goes in part to our grandmothers and great-grandmothers.

Do you remember those dish towels with days-of-the-week

chores embroidered on them?

Monday - Laundry

Tuesday - Iron

Wednesday - Sew

Thursday - Market

Friday - Clean

Saturday - Bake

Sunday - Rest

These days and chores were pretty much set, and

few deviated from them.

I've seen them so many times, they have become simply nostalgic.

I still have an elderly friend who does his laundry on Mondays, 

because that's what his mom always did and taught him to do.

If you look into it more,

there were some entertaining reasons behind

why they did certain chores on set days.

But that in itself would make a very long post

so I won't add it here.

However, beyond the nostalgia is really brilliance.

This is what makes it simple.

I had to play around with it a bit until I came up with what works for me.

Monday - Iron (I still do, some folks don't)

Tuesday - Dust & do Floors (upstairs)

Wednesday - Porcelains (tubs, toilets, sinks ~porcelains just sounds nicer)

Thursday - Laundry

Friday - Dust & do Floors (downstairs)

Weekend - Free

To explain my reasoning and why this works for me,

let me start with laundry.

I can't seem to relax having full baskets of dirty laundry hanging around.

Since I am at work all day, I start it Thursday morning

and might not finish until Friday.

I am evidently okay with not having the ironing part of laundry done

until Monday - at least it's clean.

The weekend is when others are most likely to be at our house

so dusting and doing floors downstairs on Friday works well in that aspect.

Then I just filled in the blanks.

I don't have set chores for the weekends on purpose.

Part of what makes this so simple is that there are 6 days of the week

that I don't even think about laundry, or which ever one.

It's like knowing your paycheck is direct-deposited on the 1st of the month.

You don't have to worry about getting the check,

trying to make it to the bank before it closes,

or thinking about banking holidays & when/if you can get there on time.

It's a plan.

It just happens.

It creates that guidance we need so we are not just going at it helter-skelter. 

Examples:

By the time you decide to look at the floors,

they are so sticky they pull your socks off.

Or the pile of laundry is so massive in order to move it,

it would take one of those strong men who can pull buses full of bricks.

Often times, we set ourselves up for failure.  

I would rather set myself up for success.

The days of the week are pretty reliable.

They haven't changed much in the last couple hundred years.

If I don't get the dusting done upstairs, not to worry.

I will have another Tuesday in just 6 more days.

Identify what needs to be done regularly and give it a day.

That's it.

Then allow yourself some grace.

It's okay to be human once in a while.

There will still be daily chores like dishes, and every so often chores

like cleaning out the fridge, but those are a lot less daunting if

they are not in addition to a long list of other chores.

So go ahead and embroider your dish towels.

You'll know it's laundry day when you are on your last towel.

Until next time,

Nimble Fingers and Even Stitches