Wednesday, February 26, 2020

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?

20 comments:

  1. Sounds like a really busy, productive day. I think the curtains in my living room are make-do ones until I find something I like too lol.

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    1. It was a satisfyingly productive day. Today, too. :) Sounds like we will both need to go shopping for some new curtains, this year!

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  2. Your house must be so clean! You sound so organized. I am happy with how mine looks, but I plan to continue decluttering. It makes all of the difference.

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    1. Thank you, Stephenie. Let's just say that it is getting there. Decluttering makes a big difference! It also makes it easier to clean as there isn't that much stuff to clean around! :)

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  3. I think you are well ahead with your spring cleaning! I get the feeling of much energy, after the down time when you were still recovering. You are making good use of your retirement, with a variety of activities!

    I visited my friend again today and we got into a crossword puzzle together. Well, they say two heads are better than one and there were only two letters (four words) that we couldn't figure out and finally had to go to the solution.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady. Yes, I am making good progress on the spring cleaning! And, yes, I am also getting some of my energy back! Finally! :)

      Crossword puzzles are fun to do together with a friend. I'm glad you were able to visit your friend, today. :)

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  4. Sounds like a great deep cleaning cycle. Don't tell me you were able to wash the doors and windows in the living area in only 15 minutes. That is some major cleaning and would take me much longer than that. And that on top of your regular cleaning schedule, sounds very intensive. It must be nice to open up the windows this time of year.

    Such a lovely photo of the waterfall in the Japanese garden...pretty enough to frame and hang.

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    1. It is a good cleaning cycle for me. I washed only the insides of the door and windows, using a damp microfiber cloth and a squirt of white vinegar as needed. I didn't use a timer, but, I'm pretty sure it didn't take longer than 15 minutes. :)

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  5. I loved the waterfall photograph Bless.

    I think the cleaning schedule will work well for me although I don't have a lot of the rooms mentioned. I'll give it some thought and tweak it to suit my home. It's a good structure to work to and stay on top of things.

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    1. Thank you, Eileen. According to the park brochure, the water fall and the stream and ponds are supposed to represent heaven, man, and earth. :)

      I think you could tweak the cleaning cycle to suit your home, Eileen. You could do the music room instead of the children's room and your playroom can be your family room. If you like, the patio can be the back porch. Give it a try and see if it works for you.

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    2. This may be a stupid question but can you clarify what is meant by "all house clean" in week 8, please? Does it mean a week off because you've cleaned the whole house or does it mean choose any area from the whole house that you didn't have time to do in the relevant week?

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    3. No such thing as a stupid question, Eileen. Week 8 is set aside to either work on a particular room or task you couldn't get to during the relevant week or give each room a quick going over. For some of us, who can't seem to declutter a room or even a cabinet in one go, it might be the time to go back and declutter a bit more. Sometimes, especially if I am hosting an event, I might opt to do a whole-house clean that week, instead of concentrating on that week's given area. Or, if you prefer, you can take a break that week and relax and enjoy your clean house! It's up to you. :)

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    4. Ah, that makes it clearer. Many thanks.

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  6. Thanks for posting how you do the deep cleaning.
    I think this is a good idea. I keep my house tidy and relatively clean but I don't really deep clean regularly.
    I may see how something like this fits into my life.

    Debra

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    1. You are welcome, Debra. I think, the original idea behind the cycles was, this way, each room or area gets a regular deep cleaning every couple of months and everything is maintained. It doesn't always work that way, for me, but, it does seem to get easier with each go around. :)

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    1. Thank you, Regine. Hope all is well with you.

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  8. I'm sure we all have some of those temporary purchases which are in use for far longer than initially intended. X

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    1. Ha, ha, I guess so, Jules. Sometimes, it is easier to make do with what we have than to go to the trouble and expense of replacing things. I have plenty of other things in my house that fall in that same category!

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