THE WEEKLY ROTATION
Once you've tried the daily
“Basics” plan, you might be wondering about all those things that aren’t
on the list. You could ignore them and
let them haunt you… (“Linda… I’m calling you… I’m that dirty bathroom that
gives you the creeps…”) Nah. That’s not going to work.
I like a clean house. You probably do too. I have visions of sipping a cup of tea while
smiling to myself because the house is clean.
Of not cringing when my husband invites someone over unexpectedly for
lunch after church on Sunday. Of
enjoying the place I live fully, feeling like I belong there, that others are
happy to be there, and so on. Of
imparting a sense of being cared for to my family.
I think the thing that
women object to is having to do the same cleaning over and over. Endlessly.
Or perhaps it is having the little munchkins mess everything up right
after you’ve cleaned it. Endlessly. I remember cleaning all day on Saturday when
I was a kid. I don’t want to give
up all my Saturdays in the future in exchange for a clean house.
So here’s the happy medium
I found I can live with. I break up my
major chores and do two or three a day and do them after my “Basics” or after
work. Here’s what my list looks like:
Monday
– Laundry (2-3 loads)*, Water house plants, Change sheets, Vacuuming
Tuesday
– Errands, Bathrooms
Wednesday
– Grocery shopping, Face scrub (exfoliation), Mopping
Thursday
– Laundry (2-3 loads), Water house plants, Ironing
Friday
– Dusting, Glass tabletops, Mirrors, Microwave, Clear out
leftovers in fridge
Saturday –
Take out all trash in the house, Make a menu for next
week, set TeVO to record favorite programs, Face scrub
Sunday
– Church, Day of rest, Call extended family
You will need to adapt
this list for your own family. When I
had small kids at home, vacuuming had to be at least twice a week. The bathrooms they used had to be done more
often.
Now estimate how much time
each chore will take. Be realistic. Some take 10 minutes and some take 45. I’ve found I can get these done in an hour or
two, depending on the day. But I also
found I’d planned to do so much on one day that it would take 11 hours to do it
all back-to-back. That was a
shocker! I realized it was more of a
week’s list than a day’s list. And I
would have felt condemned and guilty for not getting it all done if I had not
figured the time needed.
Once in awhile you get a
crazy day, and none of these chores can get done. Feel free to move the Monday list to Tuesday
or cancel the Tuesday list until the next time if you have to. I hereby extend my magic wand and grant you
the authority to be IN CHARGE of these things!
Don’t let a list control you.
Decide what works for you, then make it happen. Put on some peppy music, crank up the volume,
and MOVE!!
Proverbs 31 talks how the
about the virtuous woman smiles to herself when the snow flies because her
family is prepared for it. It says
strength and dignity are her clothing because she has it together. This was written in a day before electricity
and washers and dryers and dishwashers and vacuums. Actually, she may have had dirt floors! Yikes!
I can take charge of my responsibilities and make my home a lovely and
peaceful place. Then I’ll make my cup of
tea and smile.
*More on laundry and other specific chores in tomorrow’s
blog!
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