Home Binder--Weekly Home Schedule

First of all, let me confess I have almost always been a 'neat-nik', except for a brief sojourn into sloppiness as a teenager. But even that didn't last long...the picture to the right is me as a very young-soon-to-be mom. Already our first trailer house was quite clean.  I tend to lean more on the obsessively tidy side, so my problems in home-keeping were--and are--much more about keeping things manageable without working myself to a frazzle.

Oak Tree Beauty, Cory Jaeger-Kenat

My system has evolved from many sources, beginning with Emily Barnes book, "More Hours in My Day", and culminating with the famous Flylady system detailed in her book "Sink Reflections". I've done a great deal of tweeking over the years to get things just right to fit my current life, and my system works quite well.

On the third page of my home binder, is an overview of the scheduled tasks that happen every week.

is nothing fancy, just a piece of paper put in a plastic sleeve of the binder.  It incorporates for me not only my housework, but also my schedule as an artist in the studio.


I do these every day:
  Every day includes a 'daily tidying time'. Here's how it breaks down, following the Flylady system. I wish I could say that I follow this every day to the letter, but I try to get close. It's amazing how much time is saved and how much my well-being goes up when these things are done in this order. It really bothers me to still be in my pajamas at ten a.m.!

1.) I get up and make our bed.
2.) I get dressed, made up, breakfast eaten, medicines taken.
3.) I then finish daily tidying, when means I sweep the floors, put away the clean dishes from the previous night, do a load of laundry, and put away the clean laundry from the previous day. This is usually about an hour.
4.) I spend 10 minutes wiping down our bathroom, the sink, making sure the toilet is clean, as well as the mirrors.
4.) I also give myself what I call a 'studio hour' in order to get my painting time in.


But here's how my week breaks down:
Monday is Desk Day
I like to ease into the week by facing paperwork. On this day, I work on my website projects, organize files on the computer (including getting rid of pesky old emails!), work on menus and grocery lists, balance checkbooks, and work on any correspondence I might have. This is the day to write out thank you notes and cards, a vanishing art that I hope to keep alive.


Tuesday is a Project and Zone Cleaning Day
I like to keep this day open for things that randomly come up. So, I might spend an entire morning working in the studio, or I might concentrate on yard work. This is the day that I do any of those tasks that are easy to procrastinate on, and sometimes I even try to exercise or get in some yoga. Sometimes this is the day I might do a large baking of bread and cookies or put together some freezer meals, or even do some canning. It might be purging files, de-cluttering, cleaning the vehicles, or whatever else needs doing. I also work in the particular room in the house scheduled for detailed, deep cleaning; this is called Zone Cleaning, and I will get into it in the next post.

Ode to a Stove, Cory JaegerKenat

Wednesday is Errand Day
I try to fit all of my errands into this day.
This is the day to stock up on groceries for the next two weeks and go to the bank. It's also the day to eat out for dinner with hubby. :)

Thursday is another Project and Zone Cleaning Day

It is so helpful to have two flexible days per week. That way, I don't feel tied to an iron-clad schedule. I do things mentioned above, or I might schedule other appointments, or I might work heavily in my studio. Again, I will also work on the scheduled room for detailed cleaning.

Friday is Home Blessing Day
This is the day that I dig deep into house-cleaning. Here are the things I do, and I do each task for between 15 minutes to a half hour tops. I love a clean home, but even this domestic geek doesn't want to spend the whole day cleaning.

I damp-mop all our floors for about 15 minutes.
I put clean sheets on the bed--this takes about 15 minutes.
I vacuum for about 15 minutes.
I take out all the trash, which takes less than 15 minutes.
I spend 15 minutes cleaning a particular area of the kitchen, like wiping out my oven or a cabinet.
I run a Swiffer/feather-duster on all the flat surfaces of the house, nothing elaborate just where dust is noticeable, and again time myself for 15 minutes. 
The Home Blessing Day and the Home Cleaning Zone ideas come from the book 'Sink Reflections' by Marla Cilley, otherwise known as the Flylady. I have been doing this system for nearly a decade and it really helps me to get things done. Check our her channel on youtube or catch her site on the web-- not only does she have great ideas, but she really is like a housecleaning fairy godmother, with a sweet Southern drawl. More to come on Cleaning Zones, and how they can keep us from never having to a massive Spring Clean overhaul ever again!