As I mentioned yesterday, most of the information I’ve been posting for this Getting Organized series is excerpted from a book I’ve been writing for ages and haven’t yet finished.  It is, however, quite condensed so we can do (in general) one post a week.  There is so much that could be said about routines that I wanted to put up another couple of posts with some additional notes on the specific weekly “focus days.”

Cleaning Day

Cleaning Day is for — duh — cleaning.  Let’s get a little more specific, though.  Most, if not all, of my weekly cleaning tasks happen on Cleaning Day, every Cleaning Day.  So (at least in theory — real life and my discipline don’t always match my plans 😉 ) the bathroom gets cleaned every Wednesday.  (And we would vacuum.  Except in this house, only Michael’s office has carpet.)

The rest of my regular cleaning tasks (which are generally monthly) are scheduled for Cleaning Day, as well, but they rotate.  (My “month,”  by the way, is actually a rotation of four weeks.  That’s just simpler for me than dealing with the little pieces of weeks at the beginnings and ends of months, and pay day for us is every two weeks, so I can keep my grocery schedule rolling well that way, too.)  You can do this two different ways.  You can assign a type of task to each week — for instance, washing all your windows one week and doing all the cobweb-dusting the next.  Or you can do what I do, and assign a different zone of your house to each week.

As I already address the Laundry Room, Kitchen, and Office on their respective days of the week, they don’t have to be part of the rotation.  (Monthly kitchen tasks are divvied up similarly, but on Kitchen Days.)  My own rotation is this:

• Week 1: Bathrooms and Entries (the first spaces guests see!)
• Week 2: Bedrooms
• Week 3: Dining Room (The dining room usually takes relatively little work, so “overflow” cleaning/decluttering from bedrooms or the office/schoolroom can also go here, or “extra” rooms like craft/hobby rooms.)
• Week 4: Living Room/Family Room

Office Day

I use office day for “business-y” things, as well as for cleaning and tidying the office area.  (As a homeschooler, this is also a good time for school planning.)  If you can condense as many of your phone calls into this day as possible, that will cut down on interruptions during the rest of the week.  (I’m not talking about chatty calls.  I’m talking about making dentist appointments, calling for a price on a car part, etc.)  Filing, paying bills, balancing the checkbook, and planning for the coming week are the sorts of things that fall under this heading.

I like to add to my list certain “piddly” maintenance tasks that I otherwise just never think about — like throwing away “dead” pens or refilling the printer’s paper tray.

Yard/Garden Day

Yard/Garden Day is, of course, for outdoor tasks — sweeping the porches, tending the garden, etc.  It’s also a good day, though, for addressing those couple-times-a-year tasks.  These are often “bigger” tasks, where you’ll want to set aside a chunk of time.  And/or they may require the cooperation of your spouse or children.

I have divided my periodical tasks up into lists by month, just so that I can keep track of everything, and I don’t have to do it all at once.  I’ve taken into consideration things like what the weather should be like, and if that affects a particular task.

This list is also a good place to leave yourself reminders of seasonal things you’re otherwise likely to forget.  For instance, if you never remember to buy Christmas cards, you can add that to November’s list.  Or if you need to swap the snow shovel for the gardening tools, you can write that down.

Day of Rest

Your Day of Rest should be just that — a day of Rest.  Consequently, there shouldn’t be much on your list for this day unless, perhaps, it’s preparation for tomorrow.  If there are specific things you’d like to spend this time focusing on — like Scripture memory or family games — you could write these down, though, so you remember your intentions.  It’s totally up to you.  (This is the one day I don’t have an actual list for.)

I hope you’ve found these extra tips/insights helpful, and I’ll see you next week for Project management.