Welcome to Week 3 of our Organize your Life series!
To read the 1st week’s post, on Organizing your Mind, click HERE!
To read the 2nd week’s post, on Organizing your Schedule, click HERE!
If you are just joining in, please link up your blog here so we can all help motivate each other…PLUS, there is still time to win the book, Organize Now!.
I am reading and using the book called Organize Now! by Jennifer Ford Berry to help me organize my life.
This week is…
Why Make A Cleaning Schedule?
- No More Crazy Cleaning – You will not have to worry about cleaning or run around cleaning it before someone comes over.
- Less Stress – When my house isn’t clean, I always feel relaxed. I know what day I am going to do each chore so I can relax and know there is time in the schedule to get it done. This allows me not to be thinking of cleaning while I am playing with my kids!! This is the greatest feeling EVER!!! :)
- Better Time Management – You can manage your time because you are on a schedule. With this being said, I call fall off or jump ahead of my cleaning schedule and not worry. Remember, it is only cleaning! (Oh, did I just say that?) If I miss a week at something, life goes on. Please don’t obsess over your schedule.
- Control Procrastination – It is easy to put off cleaning but a schedule can keep you motivated and on track.
How to Make a Cleaning Schedule
- List your tasks. Make a list of everything that you can possibly think of that needs cleaning.
- Determine frequency of tasks. To determine the frequency that you need to do a certain task, think about what makes sense and what is reasonable for you. Do what makes the most sense to you. I love having sparkling floor to start my week, so I do them on Monday. Then, I like to clean my bathrooms next, so I do those on Tuesday. Then I make my week a little easier and dust on Wednesday (which is also my shopping day) and vacuum on Thursday.
- Gather your cleaning supplies. Not having your cleaning supplies ready is a big waste of time and distraction. So before you get started make sure you have what you need. This is what my cleaning bucket looks like.
My kit includes…
Basic H spray bottles filled with Basic H and water
- Use an all-purpose cleaner. I use Organic Basic H for almost everything in my house! I don’t need to carry a different bottles around for each surface. You can use Basic H on all washable surfaces plus it will save you time because I believe it gets the job done quicker and it will also save you money because it is concentrated.
- Control your Clutter. There is nothing worse than a bunch of clutter. Get rid of ALL clutter!!! Do don’t need STUFF!!!
- Assign people to tasks. Give each family member a chore if they are old enough. I even have my kids do little chores. You cannot start them too young, right? :)
- Put it in writing. You can document your schedule however you like. You can make your own, buy one or get a free printable online. (Below, I will show you Martha Stewart’s printout. I love Martha!) Use whatever works for you.
- Stick with it. Feel free to reward yourself for staying on track! This is not an easy thing to do so please do something for yourself!!!
Below are great checklists for things that you should do everyday, weekly and monthly around the house!
CLEANING 6 THINGS TO DO EVERYDAYCLEANING WEEKLY CLEANING
CLEANING MONTHLY CLEANING CHECKLIST
Here is my My Cleaning Schedule
Daily
- Wash/Disinfect the counters
- Sweep/Vacuum the hardwood
- Vacuum the family Room (most days)
- Laundry (I try to do at least one load a day)
- Pick up the family Room toys
- Wipe down appliances
- Dishes/Dishwasher
- Stovetop
- Pay bills (I try to pay them, the same day we get them)
- Make the beds
Weekly
- Wash the hardwood floors- Monday
- Bathrooms- Tuesday
- Dust house - Wednesday
- Vacuum – Thursday
- Organize the kids rooms- Friday
- Organize the fridge- Wednesday (when I shop)
- Garbages- Tuesday
When Needed
- Shampoo the carpet (about 4 times a year)
- Dust fans
- Wash walls/doors
- Dust baseboards
- Wash the couch
- Wash the Windows
- Wash the mirrors the house
- Wipe down furniture
- Vacuum lamp shapes
- wipe down lamps
- Wipe down cabinets
- Dust/Wash vents
- Dust blinds
- Deep clean appliances
How I Clean
I named this post A Different Way To Clean because I have NEVER bought a Fantastic, a 409, a Pine Sol, a Lysol, Clorox Wipes, a Tide, etc. I have never used a toxic cleaner since being married!! I clean differently than most people. I only clean with ALL natural products. I did this even before it was cool to be green! At first, my only reason to do this was because it was cheaper. I used and still use Shaklee Get Clean products. Now, after being more educated on why it is so important to be toxic free, I am really glad that I have been using these the whole time!!! Toxins are dangerous, as in hurtful, as in not very clean at all.
When most people think of green cleaners, they think: expensive or lack of quality. With the Get Clean products that I found, nothing is further! These are CHEAP!!!! And they WORK!!!! '
Let me tell you what I use and how!
Kitchen
Let’s begin with with the Kitchen because we spend most of out time in there! I feel like I am in there all day! As soon as I am done cleaning up a meal, it’s snack time! Does that happen to anyone else? I run my dishwasher everyday and I always try to wipe the stainless steal appliances down every night. I HATE going to bed with a messy kitchen!!! I love waking up and coming down to a clean room. I am in a better mood when there are no dishes out, the stove is clean and their are no fingerprints on the fridge! I also like to sweep or vacuum the floor everyday (several times a day under their high chairs).
In the kitchen I use…..
Basic H2 Organic Super Clean Concentrate and my super microfiber cleaning cloth for the appliances, cabinets, counters and walls.
Scour Off Heavy Duty Paste for my sink and my appliance deep cleaning. Click
HERE to see how I clean my oven!
Basic G- Concentrated Germicide for disinfecting my sink, counters, knobs, floor and whatever else I want germ FREE!
Dish Wash Concentrate for washing pots, pans or anything else by hand. I only use 1 drop per dish! This stuff is really powerful!!!!
Dish Wash Automatic Concentrate for my dishwasher. I only use 1 teaspoon of this stuff and I NEVER pre-rinse my dishes. CHEAP!!!!
Here is a before and after of the fridge…
Here is a photo of my polished sink using Scour Off…
Here is a before and after on my window…
Bathrooms
Next, I’ll tell you about the bathrooms because everyone likes start with the grossest area and get it out of the way. I use…
Basic H2 Organic Super Clean Concentrate for the windows and mirrors.
This stuff works…..with NO streaks!!! I mix 2 drops of the concentrate to my 32oz. water spray bottle. (It costs $.02 per 32oz. That’s right, it costs me only a 2 PENNIES for a 32oz. bottle) CHEAP!!!! I told you. 1 bottle of Basic H2equals the cleaning uses of 5,824 bottles of 26 oz. Windex. WOW!!!!
Here is a picture of the awesome window and mirror super microfiber cleaning cloth that I use.
Here is a picture of my mirror. NO STREAKS!!!!
Basic G- Concentrated Germicide for the sink, toilet, floors and bath/shower.
I really like to disinfect!!! I have three kids who put there hands everywhere and I don’t want germs everywhere!!!
I wrote more about Basic G HERE!
Here is a picture of my bathroom cleaning bottles. I put this on the door. I have these bottles in every bathroom. It is simple , neat and easy!
Scour Off Heavy Duty Paste for the bath/shower, floor and sink when needed.
This stuff takes off rust, mold, hard water residue and other build up. And it SMELLS like cherries!!! And totally safe!
Here are before and after pictures of some hard water residue on my sink drain. (I know it’s gross! Don’t hate me!)
WOW!!! Look at that sparkle!!!
I think that is pretty much it for the bathrooms, lets move on to floors
Floors
I try to vacuum or sweep everyday. I don’t know if it is just my family but we REALLY need to do this everyday! We get kinda totally dirty here! I found a floor duster that I really like and the dusts the baseboards too! YAY!!!
It is by o-cedar.
Here is a picture of it at work!!!
I also love to use my BFF aka my Dyson vacuum. I love it! Now that my son is crawling and trying to eat everything he sees, I have just been leaving it out all the time. Anytime I see something on the floor, I just turn on my Dyson and suck that baby up before my son finds it!
I use the attachments to get baseboards, lamp shades and furniture.
I have the Dyson Ball Slim and it’s great because it is so easy to move around and it’s lightweight!
For washing my floors, I use…..guess…..
Basic H2 Organic Super Clean Concentrate
This awesome no rinse, no residue, streak-free formula works great on any floor! It seriously makes my wood shine. For floors, mix 1 tablespoon of Basic H + 1 gallon of water. Apply to floor with sponge or mop. I just put it in a spray bottle, spray it on the floor and wipe it with a microfiber mop.
Here is my little helper! Look at the floor shine!
Dust
Now, how do I dust? I don’t! LOL, I wish! This family makes a lot of dust or at least we see it more because of all of our dark wood floors and furniture. Usually I dampen my super micro fabric cleaning cloth with my Basic H. I also use a really long duster to get my fans, vents, light fixtures, stair railing, walls and ceiling.
Here is another picture of my helper. I find it best to give the kids their own set of cleaning tools to keep them busy. It’s never too early to teach the art of cleaning!
Laundry
Laundry for 5 is not an easy thing to do! I have a system that works for now until I can get the kids to do their own. Right now I put ALL the the dirty laundry form everyone in our family in my side of our closet. I have 3 laundry baskets for whites, lights and darks and 1 basket on my hubby’s side for his work clothes. I also keep a laundry basket in my laundry room for hand towels, wash cloths, etc. All of my laundry products are concentrated and NON-Toxic. It is totally safe for your skin. It is great for sensitive baby skin!
I use…
Fresh Laundry Concentrate
Soft Fabric Concentrate
Soft Fabric Dyer Sheets
Nature Bright
I can’t say enough about the laundry products! A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!!!! They get the stains out EVERYTIME!!!
Here is a picture of the baskets in our closet…
Here is a picture of our laundry room basket…
Extra Tips
Have your kids ever drawn on your furniture with pen?!?!? Mine have, a normal mom would probably freeeak out! But not me. Basic H gets it right out!!!! AND in less than ONE MINUTE!!!!! I just put in on straight and scrubbed in right out!
Here is a before and after of my chair with pen on it…
I also really like the Magic Eraser for scratches on the furniture.
Here is a before and after of white paints scuffs on my dresser.
And that is how I clean and what I use!!!!
I also showed you ALL MY CLEANING POSTS OF 2010 HERE!!!! Go check them out for more cleaning ideas and tips! :)
For more tips, please read this book!
I can’t wait to read about your cleaning schedules!!!!
Have a great day!
Also, don’t forget that you can get a FREE SHAKEE CINCH SAMPLER KIT (over $100 value) with the purchase of a Shaklee membership (a $19.95 one time fee to save you 15% off ALL orders including your first order) or ShakleeDistributorship ($39.95) AND a $70 order at member price (MN). To get this special, place the products in your cart, and then it will tell you that you qualify for the free Cinch Sampler Kit at the top. After that, sign up as a member or distributor. You DO NOT need to place the sampler kit in your cart…it is automatic, just make sure to check if you qualify. Please note, if you become a Gold Ambassador, you do not need to place an order to get the free kit. Please email me at donahuewellness@hotmail.com for any questions. ***Plus, I will let you know of ALL OF MY NEW MEMBER SPECIALS!!!*** You can read about my Cinch results here and my sister’s amazing story here.
