The Daily Cleaning Schedule of a Desperate Trenton Housewife

I don't know about you, but I'm not an organized person and never really have been. I love when things are clean and organized, I just have a difficult time getting there. Even when I was single and had nobody to take care of but myself (oh, those were the days), I still couldn't ever really get a handle on it.

Now that I'm responsible for caring for my family, I've had to finally buckle down and try to keep a clean and organized home. Oh believe me. There are still times when I think, “If anybody was to stop by the house right now, I would have to explain how we had a recent break-in; and instead of stealing our electronics and jewelry, they ransacked our house by throwing Cheerios and naked Barbies all over our house."

The investigation is on-going.

At any rate, here's how I started:

I like lists because they seem to keep me on track (for the most part). So, I made cleaning lists. First, I started with a daily cleaning list. An extremely detailed daily cleaning list/schedule with specific times would never work for me. I would just end up getting frustrated because there is no way I would be able to stick to it with my two young kids and all. So I broke down my cleaning tasks by the “time of day.” I also threw in some other stuff, just to remind myself.

Here it is:

Before Breakfast:

• Beautify (ha!)
• Pick up bedrooms, get laundry together, make beds
• Start a load of laundry
• Feed pets
• Get kids dressed
• Make breakfast

After Breakfast:

• Take kids to school
• Load dishwasher
• Do a 5-minute pick-up
• Pick preschooler up
• Make lunch

After Lunch:

• Clean kitchen and load/unload dishwasher
• Switch laundry over
• Do a weekly chore (The weekly chore list is a whole 'nuther post. It includes vacuuming, mopping, bathroom cleaning, etc. and is broken down by the day. Stay tuned for that)
• Prepare a project or game for the kids
• Sweep

Before Dinner:

• Prepare dinner 
• Fold laundry and put it way (I often don't get around to the “put it away” part, just saying)
• Family fun/project/game
• Help kids with their own daily chores (My kids are three and four years old, so their chores are easy at this point. They feed the dog, set the table, help me cook, etc.)
• Unload/load the dishwasher....AGAIN!

After Dinner:

• Clean up after dinner (kids help with this)
• Pick up living areas (kids help with this)
• Pick up kids' rooms (kids help with this...or else)
• Baths, books, beds
• Beer/wine and reality shows

Well, there it is. Please don't think for one second that I stick to my list 100% of the time. Not even close, actually. But it helps to keep me focused. I have three copies of this list. One is stuck to the fridge, another is taped to the back of my master bathroom door (I wanted one upstairs and that was the most inconspicuous place) and the other is in my family binder (which is, again, a whole 'nuther post).

Do you follow a cleaning schedule? What are some of your ideas of how to keep a clean house?