Sometimes finding one’s groove for doing housework can be a bit of a challenge. For me, I never had any real “plan” of how to keep up with everything house and home until about 3 months after I had Nora. I will admit, going from the clinic to being at home full time was hard for me at first. I LOVED being at home with Nora, but doing that plus keeping up with everything else I had to do around the house with a baby that refused to nap was really stressful. I had this idea that my home was supposed to be perfect. That was my first mistake. I definitely say that I didn’t struggle with post partum depression by any means, but I did struggle with trying to find the right schedule that gave me joy and a sense of being a happy homemaker. And then one day, I found the Flylady.
At first, I found some of her tasks ridiculous. Shining and drying my sink after every use? Keeping my shoes on in the house all day? Swishing and swiping my bathroom every night before bed? But at the place I was at, I was desperate to find some sort of schedule that worked for me. Her goal is not to have your home perfect, but to have it clean and well oiled enough that you are always ready for unexpected company to come over and do it all with only 15 minutes of mandatory house work a day. Each week, your in a new “zone” (master bedroom, kitchen, bathrooms, kids rooms, front porch/entry way, etc) that hones in on different chores to clean and organize that room. And after religiously doing her plan for 2 months, I really saw that my house, and my heart, had never been happier. I wanted to share this with other wives and moms out there who might be struggling with how to keep up with housework and truly love being in your home with out being overwhelmed by clutter and things not being organized. I think the best reason for doing this schedule is because it gives me the most possible time to be with Eric and Nora and feel intentional and present with them.
So here is what my day looks like:
1. Wake up, make the bed and get dressed head to toe, including shoes. This is normally work out type clothes on a regular day for me.
2. Pull up my hair and put on make up. Even if it’s just a touch of mascara.
3. Get breakfast ready for me and Nora.
4. While sipping on my coffee, I go over the tasks for my day by checking my email for her daily 15 minute cleaning plan, think about what we are having for dinner (thawing meat, start the croc pot, etc), empty the dishwasher if it is full, go downstairs and start a load of laundry and fill up my water bottle for the day.
5. Once that is done, I can sit downstairs and have my devotions while Nora plays on the floor.
6. Nora and I go for our early morning walk (now 5K training run) and come back for her morning nap.
7. During her nap, I have time to do my 15 minute cleaning and take a shower, catch up on reading my blogs, change the laundry out, etc. During my shower, I have a scrubber already in there and wipe it down everyday to prevent it from getting yucky (no one likes cleaning their showers, right? This makes it loads easier to do!).
8. When Nora gets up from her nap, we have the rest of the day to play. This is all normally done by 1030 AM. Pretty awesome, huh?
Something else that I love about the Flylady is that she always encourages time for pampering yourself everyday by doing something small that you enjoy. For me, it’s getting seasonal candles and having them burning all over the house. There is nothing that makes me happier than a yummy smelling house! I also turn on my favorite tunes while I cook our meals (and yes, it’s usually Christmas music – don’t judge). I also use our fine china on Sundays for lunch, which in my mind is just awesome.
My goal is to have dinner pretty close to being ready by the time that Eric gets home from work. I also try and pick up the first floor so that when he comes home the house doesn’t look like a total mess.
At night before I go to bed, I pick up the toys (we have most toys in the front room, but have a small tub of toys in each room) and make sure to hit all of the “hot spots” in the house – this is the countertops in the kitchen, dinning room table, the dressers in our bedroom, making sure all laundry is put away, the inside of the fridge etc. I always swish through my kitchen and bathroom sinks and counters, making sure to get all the crumbs, toothpaste, etc. I sweep the floors at night as well. All of this normally only takes me about an extra 15 minutes, but when I wake up the next morning, our house is pretty much spotless, so I’m not running around trying to get things organized.
Some additional things that are done through the week on certain days:
Monday: Bi-weekly home blessing hour to get ready for the week – mopping the floors, vacuuming, quick dusting, emptying all the trash cans, change bed sheets, wipe down all mirrors and doors, purge mail/catalogs. I go to the grocery store on Mondays as well – I try to buy for 1-2 weeks at a time, except fruit/veggies are bought once a week. I typically have a frozen pizza or freezer meal on hand if we have a crazy day (’cause we all KNOW that those happen).
Friday: Also do bi-weekly home blessing hour to get the house ready for the weekend.
Sunday: Church in the morning followed by Sunday lunch at home on our china. Eric and I sit down and go over the calendar and go over grocery list and dinner menus for the week together. We also just do appetizers/fun snacks for dinner and play games on Sunday nights – we really want that to be a fun tradition that we start with our little family.
For some people, this may seem like a lot and that having a schedule like this would drive them insane, but for me (the task/list/schedule oriented nut that I am) it makes complete sense and I am always happy to be in my home. I no longer feel completely overwhelmed doing housework, and my home is truly always ready for company. It makes it even easier to get ready for out of town company to visit our home and for me to not stress about having things look nice and clean.
So happy housework to all!! I’m sitting here right now enjoying the smell of french dip sandwiches in the croc pot for tonight. Yumm-o!
Alisha says
Did we just become best friends? 🙂 LOL. Seriously! This is what I have been looking for, in the process of finding a new house, my goal is to transition to part-time work outside of the home, and I was just thinking how sometimes, I feel so overwhelmed being home. I always feel like my home has to be 100%. I am definitely going to check out that website!
Thanks!!
lmeberspacher@gmail.com says
I'm SO glad you liked this post! I was hoping that I could encourage just one person by writing it. And yes, we may have just become BFFs 😉
KayJackson says
I just made a cleaning schedule the other day! It is a combination of Fly Lady, my own needs and my husband's preferences, and a schedule I found on Pinterest. CRAZY how much it helps!
lmeberspacher@gmail.com says
It really amazing how much of a difference it makes! I'm glad you know the Flylady, too!!