I think it’s no secret that back in the day, most housewives organized the household chores by doing certain tasks on certain days. Generally speaking,

SUNDAY = Day of rest

MONDAY = washing

TUESDAY = ironing

WEDNESDAY = sewing

THURSDAY = shopping

FRIDAY = cleaning

SATURDAY = baking

I LOVE this kind of thinking. I love routine and schedules and lists and on and on. I also love to tweak it and modify it and then sometimes change it altogether. Love routine but also love change. (No wonder I’m so crazy!) ; )

For several months now I’ve followed this cleaning schedule and it has worked great:

SUNDAY = weekly prep (lunches for week, calendar, etc.)

MONDAY = clean bathrooms

TUESDAY = clean kitchen and laundry room

WEDNESDAY = clean bedrooms (and sheets — lots of fun with bunk beds)

THURSDAY = dusting/glass in all other rooms not yet cleaned

FRIDAY = bank/groceries

SATURDAY = misc. projects or catch up

On a perfect day, I would also do at least one load of laundry (and fold and put away — my least favorite part), keep up with the dishes and do the routine picking up (a never-ending task) of toys/nonsense that has trickled down from the kids’ bedrooms. We also have the kids pick up their bedrooms daily (again, this is on a perfect day, haha…does this exist?).

The other day I decided on a whim to change up everything and revert to some of the old days habits.

Here’s why I decided to change: my old schedule spread out the chores, but it also meant that every day a significant cleaning chore loomed over me, haunting and tainting the rest of the day. It was obviously more important than other things on my list. Those little projects that aren’t always in the most urgent category got pushed to the next day’s list and then the next and really went undone for weeks. This created yet another self-inflicted stress burden. Theoretically, this new schedule would force me to focus on those not-urgent-but-also-necessary-tasks.

I am currently on day five of my new schedule:

SUNDAY = weekly prep (lunches for week, calendar, etc.)

MONDAY = misc. projects

TUESDAY = ironing/mending/sewing

WEDNESDAY = work/plan menu

THURSDAY = office day/coupons/bank/groceries

FRIDAY = CLEAN!!!

SATURDAY = outside projects

How do you keep up with your daily chores? Comment to let me know…

Categories: Frugal homemaking on the farm

Ginia

My name is Ginia Oehlschlager and I'm a small-town gal from Missouri. Join me as I document my crazy life on the farm with my husband and four kids. I'm always looking for frugal, simple ways to live the life God set before me. Where faith, family and fun come together on the farm.