Chore chart/meal planning revisited

About 4 months ago, I started a chore chart to help me stay on top of house cleaning. I have also been attempting to do a better job of meal planning.

There were pros and cons to each system, and I've made a revision I hope I will love.

Last week, I was reading a photographer's blog and the post was about being organized in your work space. About half way down the post, it showed a few photos of 'workflow' charts .... which I have several of in my own office. It had the charts behind glass, however, and utilized dry erase markers to show progress. GENIUS!

Here's what I've done ....


I printed a new copy of my cleaning/chore chart. And put it in one of those certificate frames (which perfectly fit a piece of computer paper!). I'll just use a dry erase marker to cross things off when I'm done.

The frames beneath? Remember my meal planning? Well, I left a teensy bit extra room beneath each day/chore for a meal sticker.

I picked up new Post It notes .... they have ones that are sticky on the ENTIRE back. So I wrote some of our favorite meals on them and cut them up into small pieces. I grabbed 2-4x6 frames I previously displayed photos in and grabbed some wrapping paper to spruce it up some. I actually will probably snag a little scrapbooking paper from my sis to use, but this stuff is just filler. It's red b/c while the walls are pretty tan, we will probably bring in some red touches elsewhere in the kitchen. SO, I put the extra meals on these frames when not in use.

The frames before:


So there you have it ... I'm going to give this awhile and see how I like it. I have high hopes. :)

Chore charts aren't just for kids

I wonder if people sometimes get the wrong idea about me? With this and this blog post about how to do chores the lazy way, I wonder if I come across as lazy?

I hope not.

Yet I am constantly trying to find ways to make things easier. Does that make me lazy? I don't really think so.

Toward the end of 2011, I decided I need to come up with a better system of cleaning. The previous one was to just let things go until company was expected. The problem with this was that then EVERYTHING REALLY needed to be cleaned. All at once.

There had to be a better way.

I consulted with one of my supremely organized clients and started to put ideas together.

This is what I came up with:


Yes, I'm a grown woman, and I have a chore chart.

Is that lame?

Actually, I don't care if you think it's lame. I expect my baby brother to be rolling his eyes at this post. But whaev, Baby Paul.

Previously, I would always put off doing a chore because it'd been XX weeks/months since I last did it, and it was a big/icky job by that point. I started with the hypothesis that if I did things not weekly, but every other week, it wouldn't be so unpleasant of a task. I also figured if I was more on top of a given task, that it would take me a max. of 15 minutes to accomplish. It seems to be working.

For example, I started at the beginning of December. When it came time to "clean" for Christmas because my family was coming over, there really wasn't much to do. Sure, we ran out of time to clean one bathroom, but it was JUST cleaned the week before, calming my guilt over the matter.

I put the super-easy stuff on Monday/Friday, and have one "bigger/deep cleaning" sort of task on Thursday.

Does this mean the task gets done exactly on that day? Not always. Some days, I just have the 15 minutes to get my one chore done. Others, I don't. Another day, I might have an hour to kill. Yet having my chart means I am keeping tabs on things that are getting done (or not, as in the kitchen floor hasn't been washed ... I've been putting that one off for multiple weeks!).

The other way this is working splendidly is that Erik helps. I am usually able to bargain with him. "Honey, I cleaned the entire bathroom, will you scrub the toilet?" (for whatever reason, I loathe scrubbing toilets; but since this is the ONLY cleaning thing Erik has to do, he seems willing to help).

I'm also trying to come up with some other/bigger tasks to be done sometime during the month. For January, it was to put away the Christmas decor. I tend to put this off, but since I got to put a sticker on the chart, it was done before the Epiphany! :) Other examples of this will be cleaning/sweeping out garage and other 'bigger' tasks that need to be done a few times a year.

If you love it/hate it, this is week 7 of my chart, and it seems to be working fairly well. I will admit the first few weeks were rough, because some of the areas needed a BIG clean ... but after the initial clean, it hasn't been so bad!

What do YOU do to stay on top of things? I'm always looking for ways to improve this! :)

Lazy laundry

I was talking with my sister last night, and she said "I'm using your easy way to clean the microwave! It's so easy!"

Which is why I thought I'd share another lazy way to do household tasks (sounds nicer than chores, eh?).*

LAUNDRY:

Let me back up to when we were little. Friday afternoon was when we'd sort laundry. We'd all take our basket into mom and dad's room, dump it on the bed and sort into piles: whites and colors. I'm the oldest of four, and have 2 younger brothers. When I was in high school, I was sick of wading through everyone else's dirty laundry, so I started doing my own. Solution!

This "lazy laundry" way started when we were married. I had a basket or two and Erik has a monster basket (read: it's actually an outdoor trash can that's monster-sized and has been with him since college, but he won't part with it, so I had to find a way to live with it). We had ample baskets, so why not pre-sort?

I have 3 baskets and 1 pile in the laundry area of our closet. It's actually not pictured here, but the very last picture in the post, the laundry baskets sit in a little nook just to the right. So, we have our 3 baskets and 1 pile.

Biggest basket (Erik's essential trash can): colored clothes/jeans
Medium basket: whites. socks/undershirts
Small basket: Karen's colorful socks/undies
Pile: Karen's delicates/nice shirts

This way, if I need something SPECIFIC (I'm out of undies), I don't have to sort through the ENTIRE pile to nab enough for a load. It's all there!

I shared this with Robin a few weeks ago, and I swear, she freaked out in excitement. Which is why I thought I'd share this with you.

Now, I also read in a magazine somewhere (maybe Better Homes & Gardens?) that for families w/ little kids, using those mesh bags for delicates is a great way to launder kids' socks. Just have a little clip or hang it close to their laundry basket and have them throw dirty socks in there. So during/after the laundry process, they're easier to find (read: maybe you'll loose less of them). I've never tried this, but it seems smart to me.


*I'm sure you now think I'm the laziest housekeeper on the planet, but I find if things are simplified/quick and easy, I don't have as many excuses to NOT do them. Which is why I've come up with a few of these things. Use them ... or not. If you're a highly motivated person and don't need my lazy ways, you rock! For the rest of us who might find ourselves in a funk about house tasks, I am happy to help share inspiration! :)

Lazy way to clean the microwave

I think I picked this up from a college friend. Ready for an easy way to clean your microwave?

1. Put water in a measuring cup or bowl. Add lemon juice* if you like.

2. Microwave for 3-5 minutes. You'll want the water to boil/steam.

3. Wipe the inside of the microwave down, starting at the top. (the steam loosens the junkity-junk up, and it's really easy to wipe down).

*lemon juice isn't essential. It just makes it smell extra nice if that's important to you.