Organization Challenge Week 3

How did last week's challenge go for you? Did you get your schedule all planned out for the month? I don't have meals planned out for the month, but I did get out my planner and write down all of our appointments and commitments.

I also found a really cute 2010 planner at a local book store. If you're going to have to look at it every day for a year, you might as well get a cute one right? :) Mine is just like this one only smaller so it will fit in my purse. I love that it has a place for phone numbers and note pages in the back. It also has a couple of small pockets that I will probably use for things like receipts or grocery lists.

This week's challenge is to Organize your Cleaning Schedule.

The goals for the week are:
Make a list of all the chores that need to be done around your house. I have mine on note cards which you can read about here. Break them down into weekly, monthly and seasonal. It's a good idea to share this list with your family (and hopefully get them involved). Most husbands and children have no idea how much work is involved in cleaning a home.

Look at your weekly schedule and decide what days are going to be heavy cleaning days and what days are going to be maintenance. Lately I have been dividing my cleaning days into "wet chores" such as bathrooms and mopping and "dry chores" such as dusting and vacuuming. Laundry gets done everyday around here (yes, I even did laundry on Thanksgiving).

Take 20 or 30 minutes each day to straighten the house and do a quick "swipe" of the bathrooms. This will keep things from getting totally out of control. You can find a great daily checklist here. You might also want to read how to fake a clean house. It could come in handy if you have last minute guests.

Stay organized:
Get to bed on time and try to write in your journal (week 1).
Check you planner daily and remember to write things down on your to-do list to save yourself the stress of trying to remember everything (week 2).

Find week 2: Organize Your Schedule here
Week 1: Organize Your Mind here.

If any of you are organizing along with me I would love to hear how it's going for you! Remember, this is a process and we don't have to get organized all at once! In fact, I'm pretty sure that's impossible. :)