Welcome to Tackle It Tuesday!
You know those things that are lost on your To Do List? The random things that you KNOW you have to figure out…. Like the life things, but they always seem to get put on the back burner? OR maybe it is some way that you want to be more intentional, an area that you want to focus on and grow in, but it just never gets the attention it deserves?
Welcome to Tackle It Tuesday! The goal for Tackle It Tuesday is to provide action steps on one area of life and help you to create real meaningful change in an area of your life you’d like to work on.
Have an idea for Tackle It Tuesday? Is there an area that you struggle with? An area you’d like help with? Fill out the contact us form and it might just be an upcoming topic!
Tackle It Tuesday #1: How Automating Cleaning Routines will save your sanity and time!
If you do a google search for “Cleaning Quotes” there are some real gems. It is clear that cleaning, for most people, is not a fun task or something people look forward to. Growing up, it seems that many of us realize that cleaning happens. We may help with the cleaning, we may be taught how to clean, but for so many people that I have talked to the link to the chain that is missing is the when/frequency of cleaning. We know what needs to get done and we know how to do it, but a) when can I find the time to do it and b) how often should I be doing it? If you are anything like me, cleaning feels daunting and overwhelming. We have a dog, cat, and now a 2 year old that we affectionately call “Wreck-It Millie”… so you can imagine that cleaning is sort of a big undertaking around here. For most of my adult “living on my own” life, cleaning seemed to be an all-encompassing weekend task or an “OH NO” we have company coming over everyone HURRY! Yet, even in the second scenario, I would find myself apologizing to whoever our guests were ANYWAY despite me spending every last second I had cleaning the house. You know exactly what I am talking about… The typical “lines”.
“Please excuse our mess.”
“Oh gosh, don’t mind our house.”
“It was so clean until ____________.”
This always bothered me. Let’s be real. Our house was NOT filthy. Our house was lived in. We had stuff. We didn’t have great organization or routines and methods to keep all the wheels rolling without me having to do a huge clean up every weekend or race around like crazy if someone was coming over. Here’s the thing guys… if I am being real with you, it wasn’t serving me. I would find myself so frustrated and disappointed in myself. Seriously? How come I cannot figure this out? Everyone else seems to have clean organized homes, right? What am I doing wrong?
FRIEND, the secret is, many of us do exactly what I just mentioned. We end up still racing around trying to pick up despite our best efforts, despite the best of intentions. If you have ever thrown shade at yourself for not having this area together, forgive yourself and know that with a few little tweaks, some intention, and creating habits, this area of your life could FINALLY be an automatic routine that takes little brain power.
For the last year, I have been determined to figure this out. There has to be a way to make routines of cleaning throughout the week, each week, so that there is never one huge cleaning mess to tackle. This can’t be a pipe dream, right?
Great news! Turns out that it CAN be done! I’m going to walk you through and provide tangible action steps to make it happen for you, your home, and your family. Please know that this will look different for you depending on the size of your home, the type of daily/weekly schedule you have, and your life. I have tried to keep these steps and information as vague as possible while still giving you real action steps in order for you to be able to apply it to your life and lifestyle…. SO, let’s get started!
ACTION STEP #1: Sit Down and Make a List
This step is my FAVORITE part because it gives you the freedom to decide what is realistic for your family. I am sure that there are people in the world who have the time and energy to clean certain things or do certain things far more than I am currently at this “season” of my life. Having a 2-year-old who likes to get all the things out to play with, sometimes makes cleaning at this season a little on the challenging side. One example might be a task like dusting. I am sure that there are some people who would have the standard in their life that they want to do a quick dust daily or every other day. However, depending on your season of life that might not be realistic for you. It is important to remember that we are all in different seasons and spaces and walks of life and to give grace to yourself as you try and figure out what will work best for you and your family.
This action step provides you the flexibility and grace to figure out what feels right to you? What is doable? How can you achieve a clean home?
The first thing I did was sit down with a blank piece of paper and pen and put headings for each room. (Living room, office, dining room, kitchen, etc.) After I did this, beneath every category I listed specific cleaning items that were applicable to that room. This will, of course, differ for everyone because all of our homes are decorated differently. I will use our Living Room as an example. My list under living room included: vacuum rug, vacuum couch, declutter (pick-up), baseboards, dust, windows, window seat, dry mop, and wet mop.
ACTION STEP #2: Identify when Tasks will Happen
After I did this for every room, then I went through the list and at each task I put a letter. I decided how often I wanted the task to happen and put that letter next to the task: Daily (D), Weekly (W), Twice a Week (2X), Monthly (M), Quarterly (Q), and Annually (A). After that I used a document I found on Pinterest (Click here to check it out), to list out the task that would fit for certain days of the week or would fall under monthly, quarterly, or annually. This was a super helpful process because it allowed me to customize when I would do certain tasks that needed more time (the weekend) and utilize doing quick tasks throughout the week.
As you’re doing this process, consider when the tasks might happen on that day. For example, maybe you get up early before everyone else in your home so you have some time in your morning routine. Maybe, it is easiest for you when everyone is in bed. Maybe you are at a season with kids who still nap, so you can use their nap time. Maybe you work from home and can use some of your lunch hour. It is important to be realistic for what you can handle and adjust as you go.
ACTION STEP #3: Automate the List!
Why waste brain real estate and have one more thing on your mind when you can automate this with the technology so many of us have every day? If technology isn’t your thing, you could do the same process but just keep your list you created handy and have a specific time designated each day to complete your tasks.
If you are anything like me, crossing things off your to do list feels so good. It gives me the motivation to get things done. I knew that having a paper and pen to do list hadn’t worked for me in the past long-term, so I decided to try out the Reminders feature of my iPhone. I created a new list titled “Daily Cleaning” and in the list I put all of my tasks that were on my paper and pencil list. I listed the every day tasks first, then the tasks assigned to certain days of the week starting with Monday, then I split the Monthly Cleaning into four weeks to spread out those tasks instead of all being in one big chunk each month, and finally quarterly cleaning. Once I got all of the tasks in, I set reminders for when my phone would alert me to remind me of the tasks for the day.
It didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of tweaking, changing, realizing what was realistic and what simply was not, and figuring out when the time would best work in my/our schedules, but FINALLY I can confidently say we are in a routine.
The cleaning tasks no longer take up real estate in my brain. I no longer have to ask myself, oh no, when was the last time that I mopped the floor? I don’t have to second guess or wonder or try and figure it out, it is in my phone, I am held accountable and the tasks are broken up in such a way that there rarely has to be a run around large cleaning event. Now, if a friend or family member drops by with little or no notice, I don’t have to immediately PANIC because I know that the foundation is set. Millie may have dumped a bin of blocks all over the floor, but that is a post for a different day (HA!). Our home remains consistent and I feel more at peace knowing that I don’t have to stress about making this work.
Automating the Cleaning Routines has totally changed how I view cleaning, how I feel about having to clean, and the overwhelming nature of keeping up with a house has dropped significantly. The load feels so much lighter being spread out in a way that now makes sense for our season of life and for our routines and lifestyle.
If these action steps feel too overwhelming, consider starting with just one room and building from there. Do you already have cleaning routines established? What helped you make cleaning routines not a massive burden in your life? Share with us below! Do you have questions? Want more specific examples or help making this a part of your routine? Let us know!
I hope these action steps provide you with real tangible steps to make this area of your life lighter if it feels heavy. Know that figuring all of this stuff out is a process and give yourself grace as you figure out what works best for you and your family.
Here’s to pursuing a present, simple life by living intently and always remembering what matters and what doesn’t. Remember to give yourself grace and permission to enjoy the journey. I’m always in your corner, cheering you on, and pulling for you friend!
With love always, Madison
