Cleaning Cycles on Wednesday

Waterfall (Japanese Garden)

I had a very productive day, yesterday (Tuesday).  I finished dusting the family room and dusted my bedroom.  Then, I washed the insides of the front door and the living room windows (lots of kitty nose prints!), cleaned the window sills and wiped the tops of the door frames.  I shall wash the curtains and drapes the next time the living room comes around in the cleaning cycle, although, I'm afraid that they might disintegrate in the washing machine as they are rather old and worn!  The current drapes were bought on clearance, for $10 per pair, as "temporary, until I find what I really like" and that was at least 15 years ago!  Later, I watered the few houseplants that I have and the front garden, practiced the piano, did the dishes, and wiped down the stove top and kitchen counters.  I also checked my pantry supplies and made a note of a few things I need to replenish.

Today, is another sunny, warm day.  My plans for the day include vacuuming (including under the living room sofa cushions as part of my living room cleaning for this week) and watering the back garden.

In case anyone is interested, here is the 8-week cleaning cycle I am following:

Week 1 - Entryway and Living Room
Week 2 - Dining Room and Laundry Room
Week 3 - Bathrooms and Front Porch
Week 4 - Kitchen and Back Porch
Week 5 - Children's/Guest Rooms and Closets
Week 6 - Family Room and Room of Choice
Week 7 - Master Bedroom and Closet
Week 8 - All House Clean

I am aware that there are many house cleaning cycles out there, including one that cycles through the house in one month.  But, the one above is the one that I have been following and it works for me.  The focus is on decluttering first, then, organizing and cleaning.  For me, however, decluttering is an on-going process, so, my goal is to keep things somewhat organized and clean while I continue to declutter.  I don't have all the rooms or areas mentioned in the cleaning cycle and, sometimes, I take rooms out of order for whatever reason ( for example, if I am expecting an overnight guest, then, the guest room might need to be tidied and dusted before its week comes up).

The way this cycle works is, each week, we do a little bit of deep cleaning in that week's room; ideally, each deep cleaning task should not take more than 15 minutes per day.  This week, as I've mentioned before, is Week 1 and I am concentrating on the Living Room - I have dusted the furniture, including shelves, on Monday, cleaned the windows and doors on Tuesday, and, today, I will vacuum, including under the sofa cushions and the two lamp shades.  On Thursday, I plan to polish the few brass ornaments I display in this room.  And, as far as I am concerned, that will be all the deep cleaning I will do in this room during this go around.  Weekly dusting and vacuuming will keep the room maintained until the next time around, when, more deep cleaning (like washing the drapes and, probably, the windows, too) will be needed.

Today, I am grateful for:
- Another sunny, warm day
- Being able to open the windows to air out the house
- Dancer napping on the sofa in the afternoon sunshine
- Electricity to run the vacuum
- An answering machine to screen my calls!

Today's joyful activity is reading.

Tuesday's To Do List:

- Dust family room and my bedroom - DONE

- Water the house plants - DONE
- Water the garden, front and back - DID the front
- Practice the piano - DONE
- Do the dishes - DONE
- Wash inside of front door and living room windows - DONE

Wednesday's To Do List:

- Vacuum - including under the living room sofa cushions and lamp shades

- Paperwork/filing 

- Do one decluttering/organizing task
- Water the back garden

How is your Wednesday coming along?