Project Deep-Clean
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If you’re a fan on Facebook, you’ve probably seen my status updates about once-a-month cleaning that Jamie posted about on Simple Homeschool.
Now, if that’s not simple, I don’t know what is!
The more she posted about it, the more I knew I wanted to give it a try ‘cause I’ll just be honest, the floors don’t necessarily get mopped around here once a month right now.
Last week, when Jamie posted about what a once-a-month cleaning day looks like in her house (I confess, I got really excited about the husband bringing home take-out for dinner part), I decided that the first week or two of summer break would be a great time to deep clean the house and get on a once-a-month cleaning rotation.
I even got really inspired that one particular day and deep-cleaned the kids’ bathroom. Remarkably, other than some water spots on the mirror, it has stayed clean since last Tuesday. There may have been some threats involved.
So, I made myself a list of what I wanted to do in each room. Yesterday, I started with the living room. It’s kind of nice knowing that I only have to focus on that one room that one day. It makes it not seem so bad spending a couple of hours on one room.
I’m giving the kids the week to work on their own rooms, a little each day. If they don’t look like I want them to by the end of the week, they’re mine next week. The kids do not like the way I clean their rooms. It tends to involve lots of garbage bags and stuff going missing.
Today, it’s the kitchen and dining room. Yeah, that’s two rooms, but it just kind of makes sense to tackle them in the same day. And, while I’m working, I’ll have this to brighten my day:
![IMG_3310[3]](https://weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/IMG_33103.jpg)
I found the flowers with a note for “the coolest mom ever” on my laptop Saturday morning. The gifts were from Megan, my creative, words-of-affirmation kid. Wasn’t that sweet?
![IMG_3307[5]](https://weirdunsocializedhomeschoolers.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/IMG_33075.jpg)
So, I’m hoping that the once-a-month cleaning will work for me since I’ve tried many other cleaning schedules that haven’t.
Have you found a cleaning schedule that works for you?
Kris Bales is a newly-retired homeschool mom and the quirky, Christ-following, painfully honest founder (and former owner) of Weird, Unsocialized Homeschoolers. She has a pretty serious addiction to sweet tea and Words with Friends. Kris and her husband of over 30 years are parents to three amazing homeschool grads. They share their home with three dogs, two cats, a ball python, a bearded dragon, and seven birds.
I was looking at the article too – the idea's certainly intriguing! Right now I co-clean with a friend (we alternate weeks and clean each other's houses together). It's a lot more fun to clean someone else's house, and when it's my house's turn it's nice to have someone else's perspective since I think we often develop a blind spot to certain things (like the pile of unplanted seeds and peat discs currently gracing my living room chair!).
How sweet and precious these flowers are 🙂
(Sorry…. can't comment on the cleaning schedule thing. But if matters improve in this household, I'll let y'all know immediately ! 😉
I did it for the first time last month and I love it. I have some tweaking to do for this month. I will say things that don't usually get cleaned are getting cleaned more often. Like my floors too. Happy cleaning!
No – and I've tried easy ones like "mop on Monday" sorta stuff, Fly Lady (but who wears shoes in the house in FL) and others that just do not stick. But I'm loving those flowers !!!
I've never been able to handle the Fly Lady. Who wears shoes in the house in Georgia? 😉
That's good to hear. I hope it goes well for us, too.
I hope to start with the once a month cleaning too. Seems like it could be the answer to my frustrations. My kids also do not like it when I clean their rooms . Alot of stuff gets taken out.
There are few chores that none of us likes to do and needs regular upkeep. We use picture cards of those chores on one side and time needed to complete the task. Aftee it's done, it gets placed next to our names. At the end of the week, we add the total minutes for free time or activity of our choice. We just started so will let you know how it goes!
Neat idea! I might have to give that a try.
I haven't read the article but I am planning on getting some major cleaning done while we are on break!
i also liked jamie's ideas. i'm aiming for 2x/month and split over two days–downstairs, upstairs. i don't want to do the regular little stuff she does in b/n monthly cleanings so that's why i'm doing it 2x/month. also, probably not as deep a cleaning, but good enuf and often enuf for me. i think i'll assign jobs like cleaning the baseboards to the kids. 🙂 love your blog!
I've been following Flylady (Flylady.com) for years and I really like her ideas alot but still struggle with getting deep cleaning done. I like this idea but, with 3 boys, 2 and under it is really hard to clean all day. I think I'm going to take this idea and morph it with my Zones but clean one morning each weekend, while my husband is home to play with the boys. A few hours is all I'll need 🙂