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WithAllMyHeart
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| Posted: June 09 2012 at 3:07pm | IP Logged
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Hi All-
Does anyone here have a home maintenance/chores routine/checklist/system that actually, honestly, works for them? I'm like a yo-yo dieter in this department, and I'm starting to wonder if I'm chasing rainbows...
Or maybe it's just my flawed nature to be much more interested in planning a routine than in sticking to it. I don't know.
I've tried FlyLady but just couldn't keep up. I love the index card file idea, but seem to stall out every time I try to put one together. I liked the Home Routines app for a while, but I don't know what happened with that- I think I got off track somehow when life got in the way and just never got back on board. I have tons of books on the subject- so I know a lot of tips and tricks. I just can't seem to put them into practice consistently.
How do you all do it? Or do you?
I just feel so disorganized and guilty for not keeping up with this stuff.I feel like I need to gain some control over my environment. 
-Jennifer
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 09 2012 at 4:20pm | IP Logged
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I love the comparison to yo-yo dieting, and I can really relate to that analogy in this department. I'm not a yo-yo dieter. But I am a yo-yo housekeeper.
I recently revamped (again), and truly, I found a system that works for me *when I do it.* 
This simple article was my foundation. I ended up with something that fit all on one page that I could leave out all the time (if it is in a noteboook, I will NEVER look at it).
I also used fly lady's lists as a reference as well as this Spring Cleaning list.
I divided my home into 4 zones (easy since I have a split level with four levels) and assigned each zone a day of the week as well as a week of the month. So I have weekly and monthly chores (all on the one page) with the monthly chores and focused decluttering time during the zones "week" (1-4)
I also made a basic schedule, not with hard times, but with an order of routine for the early morning, mid-morning, afternoon, and evening in a bit more detail for when I flake out and can't remember to start laundry while making coffee or even put the water to boil before I start the laundry  It helps to look at a piece of paper to know what to do next.
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 09 2012 at 4:23pm | IP Logged
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Oh, and I have the Spring Cleaning list as a checklist to work through during the focus for that week. I can't possibly do all that in one week like she does, but I can do a few things from each zone each month, so they are gradually getting done.
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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jawgee
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| Posted: June 09 2012 at 8:26pm | IP Logged
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I really like the simplicity of Motivated Moms. It is a chore sheet that you print out every week with indivual chores listed for each day.
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Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
The Catholic Cup on Facebook
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: June 11 2012 at 6:10am | IP Logged
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jawgee wrote:
| I really like the simplicity of Motivated Moms. It is a chore sheet that you print out every week with indivual chores listed for each day. |
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I like Motivated Moms, too. I found it especially good for those times I knew I just needed to DO and not spend time working on a system.
The challenge with any system is doing it!
My only problem with Motivated Moms was not knowing how often they put things on there, so if I got behind, I wasn't sure what I'd missed or if I could just wait until it came around again. I needed a system that would allow for my being a dunce but I could pick up again knowing "where I was" so to speak.
I do think that doing their system for a while really helped me know what kind of system I needed (it taught me I do like checklists!), and it usually goes on sale for 1/2 off mid-year, so now is a great time to try it for around $4!
__________________
Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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jawgee
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| Posted: June 11 2012 at 7:18am | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| it usually goes on sale for 1/2 off mid-year, so now is a great time to try it for around $4! |
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True! Then I just keep the PDF file they send and use it from year-to-year. The dates are off a little, but I don't mind.
__________________
Monica
C (12/2001), N (11/2005), M (5/2008), J (8/2009) and three angels
The Catholic Cup on Facebook
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: June 11 2012 at 9:00am | IP Logged
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I have a pretty simple system down that I have been using for several years now. Everything that needs weekly cleaning is done on Thursdays (right now--it used to be Fridays). All of us (the kids and I) work together and get our list crossed off, and if we do so (and I make sure we do  ), we usually do a teatime or picnic at the park or something like that in the afternoon as a treat. I put the list up in the morning and we get to work, doing chores here and there, around meals and baby's naps. I used to try and do a task a day, but this method suits my personality better--once I get going, I stay motivated and love to see those tasks checked off all in one day! The kids seem to like it as well.
Daily chores are, of course, done daily: laundry, sweeping the dining room and kitchen, dishes, general tidying, cleaning the downstairs bathroom, etc. I peg these to something scheduled (laundry started before breakfast, put away before bed, straightening done after each meal and before naptime, etc.).
Monthly or seasonal tasks are my weak point. I do a very thorough cleaning during Holy Week, and then I usually do one right before the baby is born (which seems to happen annually around here as well, usually in the fall ), so that's at least twice for the seasonal projects. Monthly cleaning gets done when I can fit it in--usually on a Saturday, since my monthly stuff seems to be the bigger tasks that require Daddy to watch the kids. I wish I had a clearer system for the monthly or seasonal chores.
My main issue right now, though, is setting up a chore system for my kids. They actually do quite a lot of chores already, but I would love for it to be laid out in writing so that I don't have to remind them what needs to be done on a daily/weekly basis. I'm hoping to get their chore schedule ironed out this summer so it's all in place before the next baby arrives in the fall.
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Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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kristacecilia
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| Posted: June 11 2012 at 9:32am | IP Logged
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Jens post about chores has been a God-send for our family. http://wildflowersandmarbles.blogspot.ca/2012/01/of-duties-a nd-routines-chore-system.html
For myself, I decided to concentrate on laundry and meals (including meal planning and keeping the kitchen clean).
That plus the children's chores have made a huge dent in our housework. Plus I find myself doing more without even thinking about it now.
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God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
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WithAllMyHeart
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| Posted: June 11 2012 at 3:37pm | IP Logged
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Thank you all for the thoughtful suggestions!
Having it all already planned out for me sounded really good, so I took Monica's suggestion and purchased the Motivated Moms app (because it was a little cheaper than the PDF, and I don't have to print it out), but after looking at it, I agree with Lindsay that it makes me a little nervous not to have an overview of what is included on the schedule and how frequently. I guess I must be too much of a control freak to let someone else do my planning for me, as much as I dread it...
Celeste- I don't know why it never occurred to me to schedule a big chunk of chores on one day instead of spreading them out. I'm like you- I like to get in a "zone" and then stay in it rather than keep switching gears, so I think I might try that. Two questions: Why did you switch from Fridays to Thursdays for your big cleaning day? (Fridays seem like the natural choice...) and How did you come up with your lists of seasonal chores- did you just make them up, or did you get them from somewhere? Every time I start making those lists and culling from different sources I end up with an uncontrollable, monster, snowball list of things that "need" doing.
I also read Jen's post, and I think I am going to hand over setting the table and cleaning up under the table after meals to my little ones. But what I *really* loved was how she emphasized being ready to change the system frequently. I'm not designing the perfect system that I will go by for the rest of my life, right? I'm just figuring out how to get things done for a while until it doesn't make sense anymore. Maybe that's what I've been doing all along- but while i saw my yo-yoing as a failure on my part to follow through with a plan, it was really just the way things like that work. Seasons change, right? That thought actually takes a lot of pressure off and makes me feel a lot less stressed out about the whole thing. Thanks for pointing me there, Krista! 
Still working on my plan, but I feel a lot better about it now...
-Jennifer
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DominaCaeli
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| Posted: June 11 2012 at 4:02pm | IP Logged
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WithAllMyHeart wrote:
| Celeste- I don't know why it never occurred to me to schedule a big chunk of chores on one day instead of spreading them out. I'm like you- I like to get in a "zone" and then stay in it rather than keep switching gears, so I think I might try that. Two questions: Why did you switch from Fridays to Thursdays for your big cleaning day? (Fridays seem like the natural choice...) and How did you come up with your lists of seasonal chores- did you just make them up, or did you get them from somewhere? Every time I start making those lists and culling from different sources I end up with an uncontrollable, monster, snowball list of things that "need" doing. |
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Jennifer, the way you described it is exactly how I am--it's so much easier for me to get a big list of stuff done while I'm "in the zone" than it is to get myself motivated every day to do weekly cleaning tasks.  Fridays is the logical choice because I *love* having a clean house for the weekends, but we have been doing it on Thursdays for the last few months because we have had a park day with a couple other homeschooling families on Friday mornings. Our cleaning day has changed depending on our family schedule (though it has always definitely been a weekday--I don't like doing a huge chunk of cleaning with the kids on Saturdays because my husband is home and we have other things going on). It even changes week to week, depending on what we have going on.
As for the seasonal tasks, I have referenced other lists (Martha Stewart, Home Comforts, etc.), but I have found some of those to be overly complicated--and a bit over-the-top. I mean, I like a clean house, but I'm not going to be washing our exterior walls annually. Anyway, I have gone through our house room by room and come up with a list, then looked at those references to see if there's anything important to add. I also prioritize the zones that are particularly important to my husband--clean floors and bathrooms, for example. And for seasonal items, if I'm unsure how often something really needs to be done, I err on the side of less frequent--at this stage in life, my husband doesn't want me overdoing it. I also take a look at my lists and revamp them every once in a while. Our needs and schedules continue to change as our family grows, gets older, etc.
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Blessings,
Celeste
Joyous Lessons
Mommy to six: three boys (8, 4, newborn) and four girls (7, 5, 2, and 1)
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JaysFamily
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I like to read Iheartorganizing and Real Simple for inspiration. They seem to help me get off the computer or phone and into my chores! Just a warning though: iheartorganizing has the side affect of making you run out to Big Lots or online to Ikea for organizing bins and scrapbook paper! The next thing you know, you're decorating toilet paper rolls as you clean out the bathroom drawers and cabinets!
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In Christ,
Jaysfamily
wife to Jay
mother to DS(5)
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Realistic Routine/System for Chores?
