An Organized Fall Cleaning
I know fall is almost upon us because we've slept with the windows open all week. This is my absolute favorite time of the year - the smells delight me, the colors entice me and the sounds envelop me. Everything is different when the temperatures start to drop and that brings joy to my heart.
Did you do a good spring cleaning at your house? We moved in the spring, so we're not doing a spring cleaning...we're about to do a fall cleaning! Does that sound daunting? Well, it doesn't have to be. I'm going to show you how to do it in as little as a week, and then keep up a similar schedule all year round. (That will make the next major cleaning so much easier!)
First and foremost, I am a list maker. I need to have everything in writing in front of me before I proceed anywhere. So, before I begin my cleaning I start a list...and not just any list but a Master List. "Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (Proverbs 24:3-4). So now we go chamber by chamber and stuff by stuff in writing.
This list has all of the rooms in the house on it in order from the front to the back. Under the name of each room I have listed the many different chores that are specific to that room - dusting, closets, filing, washing linens and finally, sweeping and mopping. This may seem tedious at first, but I like to have everything facing me all at once so I know what to tackle.
Then I break down this list into days. For example: I have ten rooms in my home including the bathrooms and the mud room. I generally put two rooms in each day and I'm done in a week. If there's more to do than can be done in one day, everything shifts and I finish up on Saturday. This breaks up the whole house into manageable chunks and I can cross each task off as I go.
There is a pared-down version of this list in my planner all the time. Each week I print out a new one, and tackle two rooms every day. I may not get everything done, but the rooms are straightened, cleaned and attended to every week. This makes the deep fall cleaning that's coming up so much easier. Plus I know that I'm managing and building my home room by room.
Even if you don't want to take the time to make up a list, consciously decide to tackle a room every day and make a positive difference in your home. We are called to be keepers at home, and cleaning and organizing our home sweet home are just two of the ways to do that.
Did you do a good spring cleaning at your house? We moved in the spring, so we're not doing a spring cleaning...we're about to do a fall cleaning! Does that sound daunting? Well, it doesn't have to be. I'm going to show you how to do it in as little as a week, and then keep up a similar schedule all year round. (That will make the next major cleaning so much easier!)
First and foremost, I am a list maker. I need to have everything in writing in front of me before I proceed anywhere. So, before I begin my cleaning I start a list...and not just any list but a Master List. "Through wisdom is an house builded; and by understanding it is established: And by knowledge shall the chambers be filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (Proverbs 24:3-4). So now we go chamber by chamber and stuff by stuff in writing.
This list has all of the rooms in the house on it in order from the front to the back. Under the name of each room I have listed the many different chores that are specific to that room - dusting, closets, filing, washing linens and finally, sweeping and mopping. This may seem tedious at first, but I like to have everything facing me all at once so I know what to tackle.
Then I break down this list into days. For example: I have ten rooms in my home including the bathrooms and the mud room. I generally put two rooms in each day and I'm done in a week. If there's more to do than can be done in one day, everything shifts and I finish up on Saturday. This breaks up the whole house into manageable chunks and I can cross each task off as I go.
There is a pared-down version of this list in my planner all the time. Each week I print out a new one, and tackle two rooms every day. I may not get everything done, but the rooms are straightened, cleaned and attended to every week. This makes the deep fall cleaning that's coming up so much easier. Plus I know that I'm managing and building my home room by room.
Even if you don't want to take the time to make up a list, consciously decide to tackle a room every day and make a positive difference in your home. We are called to be keepers at home, and cleaning and organizing our home sweet home are just two of the ways to do that.
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