How to Manage Your Time When Housecleaning
Make a list of all the cleaning tasks that your home requires., Arrange your cleaning tasks using a calendar., Assign each cleaning task to the person responsible for it., Augment your monthly schedule with a daily checklist if desired., Adjust your...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Make a list of all the cleaning tasks that your home requires.
Managing your time well is a matter of scheduling well, and enumerating your cleaning tasks will help you build a schedule.
Aim for comprehensiveness.
Include both frequent and infrequent cleaning tasks on your list.
For example, frequent tasks might include laundry, sweeping, and washing dishes.
Less regular tasks might include cleaning windows, dusting air registers, and deep cleaning your appliances.
Next to each task on your list, estimate how often it needs to be done.
For example, you might decide that dishes need to be cleaned daily, vacuuming can be done every 3 days, and cleaning out the refrigerator can be done once a month. -
Step 2: Arrange your cleaning tasks using a calendar.
After deciding on the frequency of your housecleaning tasks, you can begin building your schedule.
This is best done using a month-to-month calendar; you can also build your schedule on a weekly or even yearly basis if desired.
Begin by marking down your prior commitments on the calendar.
For example, if a particular work commitment will absorb most of your time on a certain day, you won't want to assign yourself a time-consuming housecleaning task.
Next, mark down your most frequent cleaning tasks on the calendar.
For example, if you've decided you need to vacuum every 3 or 4 days, you might mark "vacuuming" down on each Monday and Thursday.
As you fill in your frequent tasks, make sure to spread them out evenly.
You may want to group related tasks (such as vacuuming and sweeping) on the same day.
Now fill in your less frequent tasks.
Weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly tasks can be filled in after your more frequent tasks.
Once you have completed the entire month's schedule, you can use it for each successive month.
Minor changes may be required by your work schedule. , If the housecleaning in your home is handled by more than 1 person, make sure each person's responsibilities are indicated on the schedule.
These responsibilities should also be worked around other time commitments. , You may find that there are some tasks that need to be done every day or on an "as needed" basis.
You could consider arranging these tasks in a separate daily checklist.
Examples might include making the bed and spot cleaning floors and surfaces. , The entire point of the housecleaning schedule is to help you manage your time so that cleaning tasks don't pile up and feel oppressive.
If the schedule itself starts to feel oppressive, don't be afraid to make adjustments.
Shift responsibilities around or scale back the frequency of tasks until the schedule fits your needs and you are able to stick to it. -
Step 3: Assign each cleaning task to the person responsible for it.
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Step 4: Augment your monthly schedule with a daily checklist if desired.
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Step 5: Adjust your housecleaning schedule as needed.
Detailed Guide
Managing your time well is a matter of scheduling well, and enumerating your cleaning tasks will help you build a schedule.
Aim for comprehensiveness.
Include both frequent and infrequent cleaning tasks on your list.
For example, frequent tasks might include laundry, sweeping, and washing dishes.
Less regular tasks might include cleaning windows, dusting air registers, and deep cleaning your appliances.
Next to each task on your list, estimate how often it needs to be done.
For example, you might decide that dishes need to be cleaned daily, vacuuming can be done every 3 days, and cleaning out the refrigerator can be done once a month.
After deciding on the frequency of your housecleaning tasks, you can begin building your schedule.
This is best done using a month-to-month calendar; you can also build your schedule on a weekly or even yearly basis if desired.
Begin by marking down your prior commitments on the calendar.
For example, if a particular work commitment will absorb most of your time on a certain day, you won't want to assign yourself a time-consuming housecleaning task.
Next, mark down your most frequent cleaning tasks on the calendar.
For example, if you've decided you need to vacuum every 3 or 4 days, you might mark "vacuuming" down on each Monday and Thursday.
As you fill in your frequent tasks, make sure to spread them out evenly.
You may want to group related tasks (such as vacuuming and sweeping) on the same day.
Now fill in your less frequent tasks.
Weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly tasks can be filled in after your more frequent tasks.
Once you have completed the entire month's schedule, you can use it for each successive month.
Minor changes may be required by your work schedule. , If the housecleaning in your home is handled by more than 1 person, make sure each person's responsibilities are indicated on the schedule.
These responsibilities should also be worked around other time commitments. , You may find that there are some tasks that need to be done every day or on an "as needed" basis.
You could consider arranging these tasks in a separate daily checklist.
Examples might include making the bed and spot cleaning floors and surfaces. , The entire point of the housecleaning schedule is to help you manage your time so that cleaning tasks don't pile up and feel oppressive.
If the schedule itself starts to feel oppressive, don't be afraid to make adjustments.
Shift responsibilities around or scale back the frequency of tasks until the schedule fits your needs and you are able to stick to it.
About the Author
Shirley Howard
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow crafts tutorials.
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