Thursday, March 14

Preparing for Great Lent: Lenten Cleaning...

A kitchen at Mount Vernon


 For the past several Great Lents, I have made plans to deep clean our home and that has worked out pretty well for us!  This Lent, however, I'd like to change things a bit for our family.  I would like to begin a habit of weekly cleaning.  Since moving in  our home last December, I have not had a weekly cleaning schedule.  Instead, I have opted to clean the house each time we have guests.  I would frantically clean like a maniac before people arrive, cook and play hostess for the time that they stayed and then drop from exhaustion once they left, watching the house slide into a grimy existence until the next guests arrived (usually two weeks later).

I think that it would be better for us all for me to get back to what I have done in the past:  clean a little each day.  I am hopeful that this will ease the burden that cleaning house has become.  I am also hopeful that I will be better able to include the children in cleaning routines.  When I've had to rush around cleaning under the gun, it has made for many tense moments and Mama is often cross on those days! 

Here is my plan (based on the layout of our home):

Sunday:  Day of Rest (ha!)
Monday:  Bathrooms and Wash Towels
Tuesday:  Bedrooms and Wash Sheets
Wednesday:  Hallway, Entrance, and Living Room
Thursday:  Kitchen and Dining Room
Friday: Alternate Cleaning the Playroom, the Office, the Laundry Room, and the Sunroom
Saturday:  Sweep the Porch, Fill Birdfeeders, Clean the Birdbath, and Water Indoor Plants

I am hopeful that if I can keep up with the daily cleaning during Great Lent, it will become a habit that keeps up long after.  Do you have a Lenten Cleaning Plan that you are going to follow?

9 comments:

elizabeth said...

great idea... we all need time to build new habits and this sound great... :)

Melinda said...

Very good idea, and so true about cleaning when guests come.
I have tried to implement cleaning schedules but I haven't been able to follow it for even a week! I have just come to accept that I need to have a flexible schedule since we homeschool and we love flexibility.
What I have found that works is getting really really really organized. I have made a lot of progress in the bathrooms and kitchen lately, and I notice that those areas that are very organized inside and out tend to stay clean. I find that I enjoy keeping the bathroom clean every day if the counters are clear and under the sink is nice and tidy.

MamaBirdEmma said...

Good points, Melinda! We homeschool too, and one if the things I like best about that is the flexibility!! My favorite thing to do us to organize! I still have a few "hotspots" that need to be worked on, by my true nemesis is cleaning... Someday I'll get it!

Maria said...

I can SOOO relate to the scramble for guests/slide back scenario. I also find it hard to stick to a schedule. Ideally, I look around each day and see the thing that most needs to be done (today, bathrooms). I aim to get that done. Sometimes I can, sometimes I can't. Then I try again the next day.

I find that if I can load the dishwasher while I'm talking on the phone, or put away scattered books and toys while I'm listening to the radio news (for instance), it doesn't feel like I'm really working, so I don't have to summon up that time-to-tackle-this-job energy.

You've always inspired me with your commitment to a tidy and beautiful home, so I'll be interested to learn how your schedule works for you.

MamaBirdEmma said...

Thank you, Maria!

I know what you mean about multi-tasking. I usually talk on the phone with at least one of my sisters each day and we all admit that while we chat, we tackle a job. It makes the job go faster!

Pattie - Chicagoland, IL said...

I like this plan. It is simple, doable and not too overwhelming on any given day. Great stuff. Thank you!

MamaBirdEmma said...

Thanks, Pattie! I hope that I can keep it up:)

Michelle M. said...

A friend just asked me today if I still keep to my cleaning schedule. Well, I do not! After John was born, he was such a difficult baby that I could only clean when he would allow me. This lasted up until very recently. now, it seems, I just clean all the time. I do not a have a schedule. Thanks for the inspiration!

MamaBirdEmma said...

It is good to know that I am not the only one who has been thrown off! Thanks, Michelle!

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