Magic Maintenance

Some of you have expressed an interest in Magic Maintenance. I want to explain that there are really four parts to cleaning and maintaining that I use regularly.

• Morning & Evening Routines: These are very basic things that I try to do every morning and evening. Except for Friday evenings. They are very simple and the few things that I have picked for my home that needs to get done everyday. You may pick something different depending on your home, lifestyle and personal goals. I suggest that you keep it fairly simple though, if you work full time as I do.
• Weekly Lists by Day: These are divided so I have a different room each day to focus on. So I have seven lists. These are the basics for a clean room. Plain and simple.
• Room of the Month: Explains it self...the room that gets the extra attention that month.
• Magic Maintenance: These are bigger chores or jobs that need to get done besides the ones listed above. They keep my house from falling into a state of disarray and I divide them by month. So I have 12 lists.....one for each month.

Keep this in mind. Magic Maintenace is like building a tower with blocks. You start with a firm foundation and keep adding to it. These ideas are nothing new. They have provided the foundation for home management for years, with lots of different names and outlines. The one I share here works for me and it can work for anyone. The key is DOING it regularly. If you are like me at all.....I tend to let things build up and then dig out. So I never really felt on top of things. The biggest part of the process is making each list. After you make them, you use the same ones, over and over. Here are the lists for morning and evening. They stay the same everyday. I will put a picture up soon so you can see how the am and pm routines are included on each day's list along with which ever room it is for that particular day.

Morning List:

• Walk through house, pick up/put away
• Make bed
• 15 minute declutter (choose area)

Evening List:

• Kitchen Quick Clean
• Financial Check Up.....I am doing this daily because paying down debt is a BIG goal.
• Laundry (one load, whole cycle...wash, dry, put away)
• Dishes

I try to do the quick kitchen clean while fixing supper along with dishes. Since I menu plan and pre prep lots of supper, it is managable most nights.

Honestly when you look at the list...none of it seems overwhelming but the only way for it to make a difference is to jump in and start doing them...over time, each one gets easier and easier because things are staying clean longer.