I like following lists. I like making check marks beside the task completed. I love the feeling of accomplishment. But a list--especially a list from an expert--does so much more. It makes me feel in control. I feel like everything is going to be all right --cos I'm doin' the list.
But an odd thing starts to happen. If the list doesn't meet my needs, I struggle. Should I modify the list? Would changing this task for that one be OK? If my day is really busy, can I just double up the next day? How much can I fiddle with the list until chaos begins to reign again? That's the real question.
And what about things which I can see need to be done--but they are not on the list? What about that? Do I do them--or do I stick to the list? Again, how much can I mess with the list before things start to get out of control?
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22. Surface clean bedrooms
Instead of doing this, I did the next day's assignment. As you can see I grappled with the questions of the sanctity of the list right away. I decided--my stairs really needed a good sweeping!
23. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house
I did this on the 22nd, as I mentioned. I do not sweep my floors nearly often enough.I actually skipped doing housework on the 23rd, and the 24th. I did these tasks on the 25th.
24. Clean linen closet, straighten towels, sheets or regular closet if not applicable
Yay! I found a big bottle of soap I'd forgotten I had. We need it, too. Wasn't much to do in here, really.
25. Surface clean living room and kitchen
10 minutes in the kitchen barely made a dent, but it all counts!So, I did three assignments, today. The bedroom, the linen closet and the kitchen/living room. I found myself wanting to continue. When I went into the bathroom--I noticed the basin needed a wipe down. I debated with myself. I decided the point of the list wasn't the list--but a clean house I enjoy spending time in. Since I had five minutes--I wiped it down.
26. Deep clean kitchen (scrub appliances, wash trash cans, base boards, wipe down and straighten cabinets)
I skipped this one. I did this not too long ago.
27. Surface clean bathrooms
Done. Both.
28. Surface clean bedrooms
now if I can just remember to wipe off the lens before I take a pic!
Done. Again. My bedroom has never been so clean for so long! And great news--my daughter cleaned her room!
29. Clean one item you've been meaning to get to and haven't (deep clean your stove, wipe down all light fixtures, tackle a particularly unruly area)
I am skipping this one, since there are only 29 days this month and doing the next task instead.
30. Sweep and vacuum all floors in the house
Hubs did the vacuuming, I swept.
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As I write this up to post--I'm looking around me and it is odd. For some reason--for someone who has been cleaning her house all month (almost) --I have a pretty messy house. Things are out of control. It's pretty crazy that I can spend more than 2 hours a week cleaning my house--and still be ashamed to let anyone through the front door.
But honestly? There's no mystery. This is not a plan for people like us. There is no provision for people like me, my husband and my children who don't always clean up a mess right away, put things back where they belong and generally tidy up after themselves. We don't do those things. We're messies.
This plan doesn't allow for messies.
I need the ten minute tidy back in my life.
I also need to commit to doing the dishes (and cleaning the kitchen) every night before bed.
Then a list like this might make sense. So, I'm going to do both, next month. I'm going to tweak things just a bit and we'll see how it goes. Thanks for sticking with me through this experiment.
If you'd like to see how we rocked this list throughout the month, check out these posts:
The AT Cleaning Report Week 1: A (Very) Partial Success
At Cleaning Report, Week 2. Days 8-14
The AT Cleaning Report, Week 3: Days 15-21
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