Cleaning Routine for when it’s all too much
Following first-trimester general fatigue and the never-ending second trimester cold (ok, I’m over it now!), I’m heading into the third trimester “I feel like a blimp and it’s too much effort to move” phase. Surprise, surprise, cleaning hasn’t been a big feature in my life recently, and I doubt it’s going to change for quite a while (except for the whole nesting urge – must clean out fridge…).
I’m still trying to maintain some type of routine though – I do get annoyed at an always messy house. My plan is to do 1 hour of household chores each weekday. That’s it – the entire plan. What chores do I do when? Whatever is annoying me the most. That means I’m sweeping and vacuuming the downstairs living areas fairly regularly, cleaning the bathrooms occassionally, and dusting upstairs when the sneezing gets out of control. My chores list includes grocery shopping, paying bills, updating the budget so trust me, I’m not spending an hour every day scrubbing and sweeping. I’m also still trying keep up the little habits that prevent things from getting out of control, such as cleaning up spills when they happen etc.
It’s not a perfect system, but I feel like I’m at least treading water and am giving myself time to do some of the things I enjoy (blogging, sewing, learning to use my new camera etc) without feeling guilty.
Do you have any tips for surviving “bad patches” when cleaning routines just don’t work out? Let me know in the comments!
My best strategy is to play a little game with myself – I pretend that a friend has just rung and tells me they will be over in 30 minutes for coffee. I give myself that 30 minutes to do the best I can do to make me and the house look presentable – a quick swish around the bathrooms and loo’s, a wet cloth on the worst bits of the kitchen floor and throwing all the dishes in the dishwasher – you get the picture. I even try to end up with a comb through my hair and a bit of makeup. It really works!
I am having a bad patch in my cleaning routine too, but I really like your idea of tackling a task or two for an hour a day. It’s such a good way to get the ball rolling! thanks for the tip =)
i totally know the “I feel like a blimp and it’s too much effort to move” phase. I’d rather sit and not move/clean either.
i set a timer for 15 minutes and see how much I can get done or clean like crazy before company is coming over
I put on some music and make it a fun time to move around.
This might not help but I have a little schedule. Mondays are bathrooms, tuesdays kitchen, wednesday living room, etc. Everyday I do quick clean up, but on those days I really clean, baseboards, etc.
I am visiting from NFF! You have a new follower!