Thursday, February 5, 2015

Organizing Cleaning: Room vs. Task


Every time I clean the house, I debate with myself, weighing the pros and cons of cleaning one room completely at a time, such as tidying, dusting, and vacuuming the living room, before moving on to the next room, vs. completing one task, such as dusting or vacuuming, throughout the house.

Seems like each has its good points. Doing it one way, a room at a time will mean that at least one room gets completely cleaned.  Doing it the other way, one task at a time means it is easy to do all the vacuuming when I have the vacuum cleaner out.

On the other hand, there's also a "half done" aspect to both (unless I do the dusting and the vacuuming all on one day).

I guess for some people who live in a 2-story home, it might make sense to do all the downstairs areas on one day and the upstairs areas on another day. But I live in a single story house with a fairly open floor plan - it's harder to divide the house into sections, although I guess I can treat the public rooms (living room, dining area and family room) as one section and the 3 bedrooms and hallway as another.

There is no right way or wrong way to clean, of course. It all depends on what we find to be convenient and works for each one of us. It's just that I am not quite happy with how I'm doing things and looking for a better way.

So, how do you organize the weekly cleaning, especially if you are unable to clean all the rooms or areas in one day or one weekend? Do you "do" one room at a time, moving around the room in a clockwise or anti-clockwise manner, before moving on to the next room?  Or do you tackle each task, but do it throughout the house? For example, when you empty the waste baskets, do you empty all the waste baskets throughout the house, or just the one in the room you are cleaning?




6 comments:

  1. hi Bless. So puzzled by your 2/5/15 Blog. I don't have your major commute, instead I have DH who easily messes up my plans with one or two words. Thanks to GON, ETEing each area and room is 1/3 the battle. We've a few protocols like 'new in - old out,' use it - or lose it, [need/use/love] or 'don't put it down, put it away.' Routine is a secret helper and finally, forget perfectionist tendencies, Done is Good Enough

    I've assigned myself a specific task each day +20 minutes of 'Branch' work. For example, I strip & re-make the bed[s] Friday AM but do laundry Mondays because it takes only a small amount of effort to load Washer, dry for 10 minutes + hang on hangers or drying rack.

    Damp microfibre to dust & vacuum, Branch-like rotating start & end rooms each week. I'm aware that Bless runs circles around my meagre efforts. I still make appointments with myself, blocking time for projects/crafts and run woefully behind an ideal script.

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    1. Hon, I am afraid I'm guilty of putting things down instead of away! Bad habit, I know.

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    2. It takes only 21 days of conscience thought to create a good habit. I'm please that DSs carried the 'don't put it down, put it away' protocol with them when they left for university and now to their own abodes. I've wondered if their girlfriends find it neurotic or whether they notice.

      We buy fruit from the street sellers who force us to buy way more than we can eat in two days. but it is so fresh and delicious, different from products that finally reach Canada

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    3. Hon, if you have access to rambuttan or mangosteen, have some for me!

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  2. Mangosteens are out of season and so expensive, $ 1


    Rambutan and plentiful and the sellers off them by the liter [2.2 lbs] Mangosteen ae out of season expensive, USD $1. each, lots of Durian tho

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    Replies
    1. There used to be a rambutan tree in the garden of my childhood home. And I like Durian; I am unable to detect their aroma.

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