Do you do house cleaning on a schedule, or at random?
Does your calendar tell you when it’s time to scrub the toilet, or do you wait for nasty sights and smells to alert you?
I am definitely in the latter camp. It’s known as ‘reactionary cleaning’.
House cleaning on a schedule – the rules
A house cleaning schedule looks like this. You commit to doing certain tasks daily, weekly, monthly, etc.
Obvious jobs like washing the dishes happen every day and then there are more occasional jobs. These include changing your sheets, vacuuming your mattress and cleaning your oven. All these jobs are scheduled.
No thanks
Housework tasks are cyclical. The sooner we do them, the sooner they will need to be done again.
We have enough reminders, notifications and obligations already. I don’t need my calendar to give me more jobs to do.
I declutter cupboards when they aren’t working for me.
I turn the washing machine on when it is full.
I wash the pillowcases when they look a bit yellowed.
I vacuum when I see bits on the carpet.
I clean things if I am sufficiently irked by them.
Not before.
You don’t need to please anyone but yourself, definitely not an arbitrary list that belongs in the 1950s when women’s merit was measured by the shine on her cutlery.
Simplify your life and remove rather than add. This not only applies to stuff, but also commitments.
I hate the idea of any particular day of the week being synonymous with a chore, but if routine makes you happy and productive, ignore my advice.
