Slow and Steady

 

 

First of all Merry Christmas!  It's December both a joyous and exhausting month. So I thought with that in mind I'd give you a bit of an update on how my "working the plan" is going. Today on my plan it's clean the living room and clean the bedroom.  They are already done and it's not even nine o'clock.  What I am noticing is that by working the plan consistently, things just do not get as crazy and therefore a quick clean is so easy. Now if only I could conquer the kitchen!  That's a room that I feel like I can clean constantly and still have something messed up! 

 

 

I've settled into a routine and it's pretty basic but some days it's still overwhelming. I'll give you the current version because sometimes I adjust it based on needs.

 

 

1. Blog:  (this is whichever blog I plan to write on this day)  I have several blogs so I assigned them each a day of the week. Then I can keep a steady flow of new posts without being overwhelmed.  I can almost "guarantee" that there will be a new post on every blog at least once a week. For December I am blogging twice a week at Magical Holiday Home and North Pole Notes.

 

2. Clean:  Each day has a room or rooms. I actually combined rooms because I wanted one day for BIG project cleaning like the basement and garage, plus I wanted to take Sunday off. I tried putting two rooms together that are pretty much under control so that it is manageable to do two!

 

3. Zone:  This is an adaption of the FlyLady program. I like her daily reminders and tasks and they remind me to do things that I might otherwise not do. Sometimes I don't do the task that she suggests if something else fits better. This week is the Kitchen zone. I normally clean the kitchen on Wednesdays but this week I will do one task daily as well as the regular cleaning on Wednesday. I try to slot in a "monthly task" if the one she suggests doesn't need it or seem to fit my needs.

 

4. Declutter 15:  I pick something to declutter just for 15 minutes. Currently I am alternating between the garage and the basement for my 15 minutes...one day basement, one day garage and so on.

 

5. Laundry: At least one load every day plus I have assigned a day for each family member so they know when they can use the laundry room without messing up someone else's schedule.

 

That's pretty much the basic approach I have been following for about 5-6 months and it is really starting to make a difference! I am hosting several events this month and getting ready for them has been so much easier. Now adding in the Christmas shopping, wrapping etc is a bit of a challenge but I do feel like I am making progress.