keep my house clean and spotless

I’m disturbed with how full my dustpan gets even though I sweep AND dustmop every day (plus wash the floors twice a week)! I won’t even entertain the thought on exactly what I missed when I wasn’t completing this chore on a daily basis… Or before we had a shoes-off policy. I would think a two person two cat household would produce less… dirt.

Scary.

This goal should be easier with a plan.

• Kitchen/Dining Room – newspaper, wash counters, clean stove, dishes, clean coffeemaker, empty trash if needed
• Bedroom – Make bed, put clothes away, toss water bottles
• Bathroom – Clean counters, wipe mirrors and empty trash if needed
• Floors – Sweep and dust mop

Mondays- Kitchen: wash floor, Foyer: wash floor
Tuesdays- Declutter, clean windows, wash hardwood floors(+)
Wednesdays- Dust
Thursdays- Bathrooms: wash rugs if needed, wash floors, wipe shower walls
Fridays- Wash hardwood floors

(+) every other week

Aside from his perfect and fetching smile, the mischievous flicker in eyes, and his undeniable uncanny ability to make me laugh whenever and wherever, I knew R was the one when I learned that he was an absolute neat freak. “Borderline OCD,” he admits, and I gush.

Keeping lists of appointments, todo lists, remembering what needs to be done is a challenge; I am GREAT with big ideas but terrible with details. To compensate for my natural inability to keep things organized, I pride myself in surrounding people who can help me with this character flaw in the forms of mentors, assistants, technology, cleaning crew, fiance, etc. There comes a time, however, when a lass finds herself in a situation where she has to cowgirl up and reconsider testing where her abilities lie.

You have to feel bad for R, who revolts his need to organize and re-organize after me on a daily basis. And the thing is, I do love living an uncluttered, magazine quality looking home, and being that we spent a fortune acquiring this house and the furniture inside it, I should do the honorable thing and actively pitch in.

1. Before I leave to go to the next room, ask myself: “Is there anything here I need to bring to the next room?”
2. Find and create “homes” for every item in the house
3. Keep to a daily cleaning schedule to be completed every morning
4. Shred receipts and toss unwanted ads ASAP
5. Scan business cards and ads we might be able to use later
6. Organize every drawer and closet in the house
7. Toss anything I haven’t used in a year
8. Go through my closet and donate anything I haven’t worn/used in at least a year