I decided it was time to make some real changes. We have tried everything to stay on top of our mess. But by the time I got home from work, we barely had enough energy to cook dinner and climb into bed. &&&& being pregnant is also not helping this get any better. We tried every variation of chore charts there are, I think. We even had a reward system for a hot second. That didn't even last a day. Remember: We are in our late 20's. We should not be rewarding each other for cleaning something that's ours. We were a wreck. Still here? Good.
So I did a bunch of Pinteresting and read what other people did. I took ideas from a bunch of blogs and changed them around to fit mine and Andrew's lifestyle. I wanted to make it easy enough that we could make a list of rules instead of chores and easily remember them. We sat down and made sure we could easily handle the changes together (this is really important. You can't make changes if everyone isn't on board). We came up with five. And let me tell you I think they have changed out lives. So here we go!
BEFORE YOU GET STARTED:
Preparation is key. To prepare you need to get your favorite cleaners together and put them all over your house. It sounds weird, I know. But you want cleaner whenever and where ever you need it.
Bathrooms: Under my bathroom sinks I put a mirror cleaner, a toilet cleaner, a counter cleaner and in my bathroom with a shower I put shower cleaner. Lysol wipes work great, but I did a spray and paper towels. I like how easily they clean and pick up my hair.
Kitchen: I put a dish soap on top of my sink (which I don't usually do, but again I wanted to make everything so easy) and surface cleaner under the sink.
Other random locations like night stands and in our entertainment center we put Lysol wipes. I just wanted to make sure we had everything covered.
Trash Cans: Put extra bags under the main bag so when you have to empty the trash you always have back ups right there and saves you the extra trip. This is one of my favorite tricks my mom taught us when we were young! Thanks, mom. :)
Note my Method obsession.. I like all different kinds of cleaners, but these are some of my favorites:
1. Wipe down every surface after use.
This is key. And probably my favorite. After everything we do we wipe down the counters. It sounds annoying, especially in the bathrooms and bedrooms, but it's not that hard. If you find a cleaner that you enjoy the smell of it will make everything always smell fresh. And because of my obsession with smells, this one is at the top of my list. But remember, even pouring a drink or brushing your teeth will cause a mess. And the longer you leave it, the nastier it gets. So just do it right away because it only takes two seconds. Having cleaner all over really makes this one doable.
2. No dishes are allowed in the sink.
Did I lose you? It's easy. So much easier than I thought it would be. My trick is that I start my dishwasher every night regardless of how many dishes are in there. If there are only 2, I might wait until morning. But I won't wait much longer than that. I might add a coffee cup or two, but I have been known to start it with just a couple cups and spoons... the light cycle makes me feel okay with this. :) Then in the morning Andrew will empty them and so we always have an empty or dirty dishwasher for new dishes to go into. Plus, how many times have we went to cook something and needed the ONE thing in the dishwasher? That hasn't happened at all since this started. Everything is always clean.
3. Make our bed every day.
No. Matter. What. This better get done. This probably doesn't need much explaining, but if your room feels clean, it's easy to keep everything else clean like your bathrooms or your floors. There is just something so fresh about a made bed.
4. No clothes are allowed on the floor.
We made this rule because we are both terrible about putting our clothes away. Jackets, socks, whatever, we have very little self control and by the end of the week we have random clothes everywhere. I am pretty sure we are not the only one with this problem. So, we got us each a laundry basket and with a floor-is-lava rule, we are saving so much time. Also, because we have to think about where they go, we are folding them or hanging clothes back up that would normally just go on the hamper. Its less laundry and cleaner floors. It is a win-win-win for everyone.
5. 30 minute power clean every night.
This is where we make up for the lack of rules and set chores. We set a timer for 30 minutes and do as much as we can. This includes sweeping the floors, vacuuming, cleaning the shower (only 5 minutes with those Clorox bathroom cleaner wipes), dusting, taking out the garbage, mopping, decluttering, anything really. If you're competitive this could be a fun time to get extra steps in a day and challenge your partner to see who really is better. ;)
The first few days we had a lot to do and it seemed like too much. I didn't think we would last (Just remember it's only 30 minutes.. you get to stop once it's done). But by day 5ish we were trying to find things to do.. like cleaning baseboards and window seals. Deep cleaning stuff.. so weird. My favorite thing to clean during this power clean is the sink. There is something so refreshing about waking up to a polished sink. I can't explain it, it's just something your'e going to have to trust me on and try.
We made these changes in one week. ONE. I started out just wanting to try it. I don't think we could ever go back. We are now those people who have a clean house all the time. I am no longer afraid for people to come over unannounced and that feels so freeing. It leaves me time to do things like blog.. and sleep. And sleep some more.
Got any good tips?! Please share them! I LOVE trying new things. <3
