The last two weeks I’ve tried something new…a mid-week tune-up for my home. Last week it happened on Wednesday evening (which I prefer) but this week it was tonight.
So what’s a household tune-up entail? Well, my version of the household tune-up is cleaning and laundry. I know (woohoo!) what a thrill, right? Honestly though, yes. Truly a thrill. It felt so good last Thursday morning to start the day all caught-up with the household stuff.
Laundry? Done.
Cleaning? Done.
Happy day? Indeed.
The best part of all? The weekend hadn’t even started yet.
I’ve always done a load or two of laundry during the week, with my main laundry days (where I get all caught up) on Saturday and/or Sunday. Getting caught up on laundry mid-week was something new.
The result? A big, mid-week check mark on the household to-do list and even better, less laundry to-do on the weekend. Plus, by getting laundry *done* twice a week I get that “ooh-ah-I-am-caught-up-and-lovin’-life” feeling twice a week. And if that’s not good enough…there’s the whole concept of no *cleaning* during the weekend. This has some serious benefits like more time to scrapbook! Or hangout with the kiddos! Or hang out with Jay!
Why-oh-why did it take me so long to figure this out? (And how lucky am I to have friends like you that I can share this with? Because seriously…it feels life changing.)
So how about you? Any life-changing household revelations you’d like to share? You know it would make me giddy to hear them… 🙂
Oh…and before you go, two more quick things. The first is perhaps even more life changing for you, if you’re in the market for Crop-in-Style cubes. Tobey shared this today:
Oriental Trading Thank you for sharing, Tobey. I bet this news will make someone oh-so happy. OK…off to watch Peter Walsh on Oprah with Jay (who recorded it earlier) and fold that last load of laundry! Have a good night. 🙂
And, that second thing, if you’re looking for a good book to read this weekend, I highly recommend Happy for No Reason: 7 Steps to Being Happy from the Inside Out by Marci Shimoff. I read it last week / weekend and loved it! I had a really hard time putting it down and can’t wait to put the concepts into practice. Because really, who doesn’t want to be happy for no reason, right? So if you’re looking for a good (and happy) read, there you go!
Hi Aby-
Does Oriental Express have a website? I have a few of the crop -in-style cubes and would love to get a few more. I did a google search and couldn’t find Oriental Express (at least nothing that had to do with scrapbooking!)
thanks! KC Dightman
I think she misspoke, it’s Oriental Trading Company. And to show that I’m not only here to critique the blogger, here’s my household tip. 🙂
Friday mornings I do our household version of the playroom “10 Minute Tidy” to get things ready for the weekend.
5 in the kitchen: wipe down sink, counters, stove and frig, swiffer wet mop floor
2 minutes in each bathroom: wipe down sink and toilet, polish mirror and faucet, swiffer wet mop floor
10 minutes in all 3 bedrooms total: fluff bed pillows and blankets, put away and stray items on dresser/nightstand tops, swiffer floor
10 minutes in LR and Family Room:
Swiffer duster tops of furniture, run vaccuum and swiffer floor
It’s a quick half an hour that makes my weekend all happy. I do laundry MWF, just a load or two each of those days and that keeps the house looking pretty darn good most of the time.
Wow I was just having a pitty party on this same subject. Overwhelmed by house chores. Then I came over to your site and read this post I am glad I am not alone. I’m looking for a plan I can stick to so that I too may have more time to be with family and have more time to do things I love. Thanks.
Blanca
I’m jealous. My work hours are such that I get to do a weeks worth of cleaning in two days. Makes for real fun weekends (not).
Laundry used to be the bane of my existence – seems I’m blessed with clean freak kids and DH who need to change clothes frequently. And I used to have a ‘laundry sofa’ – a closet for a laundry room, so the clean clothes got dumped on the couch in the family room, and I’m sorry to say they didn’t always get folded in a timely manner. So. Lightbulb FlyLady moment and I decided to fold and put away as I took the clothes out of the dryer. And. I started putting a load in in the morning on my way out the door, into the dryer upon my return, and folding when they were done. Seriously. There always used to be laundry piles waiting for me. No more. Sometimes I open the dryer, thinking there must be something in there, but no! I’m constantly caught up. So freeing. And the other thing is wiping down the bathrooms – just paper towel and a Lysol wipe go a long way toward keeping the bathrooms from getting yuck between cleanings and those cleanings go so much more quickly. There, you asked, so I wrote you a book, lol!
I do a load a day and that cuts down on what I need to do over the weekend. If I’m home early I might sneak two in. I try to get it folded before I go to bed so it’s not too bad. I also try to do one household chore a day. I work a 10 hour day so it’s tough but sure makes my days off nicer.
I so know how you feel! I just started a chore chart and feel so free by it. Never thought I would feel so freeing by following a list!
You can read about it here:
http://butterflijoy.blogspot.com/2008/01/schedules-and-discipline.html
oh and I do aundry everyday! Sounds crazy, but I only do one load and it is way less overwhelming than trying to tackle it all at once!
I am right there with you! I love it when I can find the time to do laundry mid-week. Five loads on Wednesday and five loads on Saturday/Sunday is so much better than ten loads on the weekend!
when i do laundry 2-3X a week, i feel so much better about life. but when i don’t, i notice i’m crankier and overwhelmed, like this week. my dream house would have 3 washers & dryers. one for dark clothes, light clothes and towels, toss them in, when filled, start a load. ahhh – a girl can dream right? my problem is i forget to check the hampers and then BAM! those things are filled to the top when i just did laundry a day ago….so frustrating. sarah’s comment sounds nice – would like to do that, i’ll put it in my schedule to make a schedule (haha).
that book looks good, I need some happy in my life right now, have to check that out.
Also I just started a job at the LSS and have not gotten in the grove of working and household stuff so I like the idea of a mid week thing, have to try that, then I could play with the family on days off, thanks for sharring.
HOUSE ELF – I was getting overwhelmed in the kitchen at meal prep time. I have 3 kids (8 yr old daughter and 6 yr old sons). They would all arrive in the kitchen about 4 PM hungry and/or wanting to “help.” Mine is a “one butt kitchen” – if you open the dishwasher, you cannot walk through the room – plus I am not fond of cooking. This chaos in a small space had to change. I borrowed an idea from the boys’ KG teacher, and we started designating a House Elf (ala Harry Potter, without the slavery connotation). Each day one of the kids helps me choose the menus for the day, set & clear the table, prepare the food, and go shopping if we need groceries or flowers. My 8 yr old daughter really gets into setting the table. She pulled out tablecloths & candles I forgot I had. The boys love “cooking” spaghetti & grilled cheese. They not only brag about their preparations, they EAT more of it, too. I get some help in the kitchen, but not overwhelmed, and the kids get one-on-one time with mom. I found out I really LIKE my kids one at a time! Of course I used my SB supplies to create a cute little House Elf chart with a clip on arrow to show who is Elf for the day.
We recently did a mid-week cleaning out of necessity. My boyfriend’s parents came in for a long weekend visit, and we wanted to do a ‘big clean’. Granted, it was the only thing we accomplished that Thursday night, but it was fabulous! Starting the weekend and visit out fresh was such a good feeling. And we were both happy to realize how much we can accomplish with limited time – one of those moments when you recognize your tasks can take up as much time (or as little) as you allow them to take. That was a big plus – and big realization – for us about weeknight cleaning. Thinking about all of this again has convinced me we need to do this more often! Thanks for the great reminder, Aby. 🙂
OK, somehow you sparked my interest and deserve kudos! I will have to implement midweek cleanup AND house elf w/ task list – THANKS to all!!
Great article, Aby, and great comments, too. Hm. Life changing household revelations? Dare I talk about my decluttering project publicly? Nah. Not yet, anyway. But, I can’t hide behind my newly discovered concept that less really is more when it comes to clutter and free time!
The way I keep my laundry caught up: Each morning I put one load of laundry in the washer while the kids are eating breakfast.
Then, in the afternoon when we get home from school/work, I transfer that load over to the dryer.
Then, in the evening while we watch TV, I fold that load.
It makes it really easy to keep it caught up and you don’t feel exhausted when you’re done!
A tip I’ve picked up from the Fly Lady (http://www.flylady.com) is to do my dishes and clean the sink, each night before bedtime. Then you wake up each morning with a clean and shiny sink and NO dastardly dishes taunting you or distracting you from other important tasks during your morning routine. I also do a load of laundry every day. It really doesn’t take all that long to get it from the washer to the dryer; folded and put up away. The folding and putting away part takes about 15 minutes! Amazing what you can do in short bursts of time.