I have a confession to make….I am a clean freak. I have another confession to make……I also enjoy having time to spend with my loved ones. I used to believe that these two things could not co-exist. I seemed to always be cleaning while my kids were growing up before my eyes. Enter into my life a cleaning schedule! Let me explain.
Time for Change
I finally decided I needed to make a change. The process started with me really looking at what had to get done each and every week. This list will be different for everyone. So, get out your pen and paper and start making a list! Highlight the areas that are most important to you. For example, I love clean floors. I also have 5 dogs and a bunch of kids running around, so I knew this would have to be an every day or every other day item. My baseboards I don’t really notice all that much, so this may be a weekly or every other week task for me….are you getting the gist?!?
But wait a minute, my kids are older and can help, and I have seen my dog Bella use a sock to dust…..yep, a family meeting was in order. Everyone in the family could pitch in. for me personally, I had to set aside my need for perfection to instead embrace “Perfect Enough”. Keeping the end goal in mind, I kept thinking about more time with my family!
A Cleaning Schedule to the rescue
Now that my family was on the same page, I broke my week down day by day. I would commit to doing a few hours each day as opposed to cleaning the whole house at once. Before, I would clean the house in several full days a week. Giving myself a schedule helped to keep me on track, and it honestly gave me permission to let some things go as I knew I would tackle whatever it was another day.
The most important thing I gained from having a cleaning schedule has been conquering my perfectionist mindset. I am still cleaning and getting things done, but my cleaning schedule has given me permission to ease up on myself a bit. That is where the magic has been for me!
So there you have it. I can’t stress enough how having this schedule has freed up time and my own worst enemy, my thoughts. As a certifiable OCD clean freak, this schedule has given me permission to not spend every waking hour cleaning. Leaving a few spots on the mirror in the bathroom is ok with me if I know I will get to it on Wednesday. I really hope this cleaning schedule can help you too!!!!
My family has loved pitching in, and I have loved the extra time with them. Be kind to yourself. With a little rearranging and flexibility, you CAN have it all!
Here is my cleaning schedule:
