Over the past few weeks, we’ve built routines for managing your calendar, phone, paper piles and meal planning…but I’m guessing you’ve noticed something else needing your attention:
The pile of laundry, the sink full of dishes, the dust on the shelf…all those household cleaning chores.
Your dwelling (aka home) requires time and attention.
In fact a recent study shows that women spend on average 21 hours a week doing housework. That’s like having a part time job… on top of running a business and everything else you do in this stage of your life.
No wonder you feel like you’re never done.
If you ignore the chores til it gets out of control, it costs a lot of time + energy to catch up…or if you’re always cleaning or doing laundry, it eats up all your time.
Imagine sitting down to work on your business or to enjoy a movie with your hubby and NOT feel compelled to go switch the laundry or grab that dust bunny?
You can when those tasks have a routine inside a specific timeblock.
This woman knows the needs in her home…and doesn’t ignore them or let them pile up. She makes sure they are WELL taken care of.
I want that to be said of me, don’t you?
Perhaps routines around mundane tasks are actually opportunities to worship the One who provided that thing you’re cleaning… and to pray for the ones who use it (and get it dirty again).
2 Decisions You Need to Make to Create a Household Cleaning Routine
- Decide what needs to be done. First braindump a list of all the household chores you do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Next, put like tasks together. No more keeping it all in your head where it gets lost in the shuffle and takes up valuable brain space. With it all in front of you, you can wisely decide what to do with it.
- Decide when you will do it. Will you do household tasks every day of the week or only on certain days? There’s no right or wrong, just take into consideration how you want your week to flow- do you want to give it time on days you’re doing your work or business or only give it time on weekends?
In this season of midlife, it’s just me and my hubby (and 2 dogs), and I’ve decided to dedicate focused time to my business Monday- Friday, so I block off time on Saturday morning to do most of my cleaning and laundry.
I call it my weekly reset.
When I get up, I start a load of laundry and keep it going till it’s clean, folded AND put away…I can’t stand clean laundry sitting in a basket, especially if it’s wadded up, cuz then it’s not ready when you need it.
While the laundry is going, I put in my earbuds and turn on some tunes or a podcast while I dust the main rooms, mop the floors and clean the bathroom. It’s amazing how much I get done in just a few hours when I’m not distracted by emails or texts or random business to-dos…cuz those all have their own place in a different time block.
Then I do daily tidy-ups.
I wash the kitchen counter when I finish dishes each evening. I empty the dishwasher when I’m waiting for my coffee each morning. I wipe down the bathroom counter when I’m finished getting ready every day. I do a pick up of the living room before going to bed every night.
It literally just takes a minute cuz by doing it daily, it doesn’t pile up.
But enough about me…what about YOUR household cleaning routine?
5 Steps to Create a Weekly Household Cleaning Routine that Saves Time
- Identify the Problem or Need. Start with just 1 category. What is an area that needs your attention- laundry, floors, bathrooms, main rooms or something else? Either choose the one that needs the most attention or start with the one that feels easiest for you…either way it builds momentum and you can repeat this process with another area.
- Uncover the Root Issue. Determine why this need is important or why it becomes a problem. Is it because there’s too much to maintain in a space, there’s not a place for everything, it gets used a lot and not put back, there’s not good communication…? Or is it you and your own idleness? Knowing the root helps create lasting change.
- Plan out the Steps. In order to address this category, what needs to happen in what order to care for it? Consider chunking like tasks cuz it takes less time to do more of the same than to pull everything out multiple times. Based on what the problem area or need is, and how dirty it gets will help determine your routine steps.
- Block the Time. Decide when you’ll do the steps you planned- daily, weekly, monthly? Is this something that needs a once-a-week reset and daily tidy ups? Or does it need a reset more often? Once you decide on the frequency, decide which days and time blocks work best and block it off. It should go in a Pour Out to avoid robbing time from your work or refills.
- Invite the Support. Communicate (and delegate) what needs to be done to keep your home running smoothly with those who are under your roof. If you have a kid or two still at home, you’re in luck…but if not, you’re probably not the only one in the house. So get your hubby in on those daily tidy-ups and weekly reset routines.
Now can you breathe easier knowing that your household tasks have a routine that lives inside a specific time block in your week?
Remember, there’s no such thing as a perfect plan or week, so if something comes up or you’ll be out of town, just shift your timeblock to a different day that week…or permission to let it wait till next week (gasp).
REDEEM Her Time COMMUNITY QUESTION: What 1 Household task will you start with to create a routine?
Join us at redeemhertime.com/community and share with us- and while you’re there, pick up some tips from other like minded women like you who are managing their homes + businesses and all the other demands on their time in midlife.
But before you DO anything, take time to just BE.
Go grab the free FILL YOUR CUP FIRST Guide to make refills part of your daily routine.
