Clean Sweep

Up until two months ago we had a wonderful housekeeper coming into our home every other Saturday to clean the house. It was wonderful. I never had to scrub toilets, mop floors, or change bed sheets. She did everything, and I loved it. We were blessed to have someone pick up the slack as our lives appeared to be busier than ever. Every other Saturday morning she would come at 7:30 am, and I would happily rise to answer the doorbell to begin our clean sweep. We had this relationship for about 8 months, and about 5 months ago I started assisting with the clean sweep. I would gather items and put them away ahead of her "real" cleaning. This became a way of life because we constantly had problems finding things after she left. No, she was not stealing, but she was putting things away in places we would not normally put them. We had a saying around our house when we looked for things after she cleaned…where would Tracey (name changed) put this? We always found the item, but sometimes it was a few days later or a few weeks later. This prompted me to start putting things away ahead of her. After about 2 months of participating in this fashion it began to dawn on me that maybe I was doing the actual cleaning and she was just "using the chemicals." As the months rolled on, and we looked for ways to adjust our budget because we just purchased a much needed new car, I decided it was time to try my hand at cleaning. I noted two major challenges to this project:

1. Time
2. Level of Difficulty

Time was my greatest enemy. Being that I work outside of the home, my time is already limited. I can barely find enough time in the day to work then come home, play with my daughter, interact with my husband, cook, wash clothes, give baths, prep for the next day, and have some ME time. How was I going to take on cleaning this whole house? Now you may be thinking, "Laura, what did you do before the housekeeper?" The answer would be…and I am a bit ashamed to say…not much. I did the minimum and sometimes less than minimum. I would change sheets when they seemed dirty. Toilets were not really my thing. Mopping…what is that? I would tidy and put things away to give the appearance of clean. I did not do this out of laziness; however I had convinced myself that I had no time to deep clean my home. So when the housekeeper became an option I was overjoyed and amazed at how clean our house could really be if I just had the time.

My second enemy was level of difficulty. I had again convinced myself that cleaning like the housekeeper was too hard. I do not really know how to mop. I have seen it on TV, and honestly I think using my Swiffer with the spray in it is actual mopping. I didn't even own a mop bucket until about two years ago. Sad, I know, but true. I knew I could not do windows, and toilets just grossed me out. I don't do well dusting because the dust gets in my nose and makes my allergies act up. I can't make the pretty vacuum lines in the carpet like my husband and the housekeeper. I just knew I was incapable of getting this task done on my own.

Now at this point I was disgusted with my own thoughts, and I decided to revert back to the teachings of my mother and grandmother. I picked myself up, and realized I am a child of the only true and living GOD. If I want to clean my house, then I can clean this house. So, I began to scour the internet looking for assistance with these parameters:

1. An organized process (pretty much tell me exactly what I need to do)
2. A timely process (let it not take all night long)

My first find was the Household Cleaning Tasklist at MommySnacks.net. This list is well organized and it seems to include everything possible one can do while cleaning ones house. It is categorized by day and room/zone. It has what I am looking for – something or someone to tell me exactly what I needed to do. My only concern is I would have to work very hard in the beginning to adapt the style of the list to my lifestyle, andit proved to be a very time consuming process. Now I am feeling like the enemy is trying to win because I have chosen to believe God will provide, and at that very moment, God steps in, and I find my clean sweep. Through a comment by a reader of a blog I was following, I found the website that has changed my house cleaning life forever. (See why comments are so helpful. You may have the bit of insight that will help someone just stopping by.) MotivatedMoms.com's Printable Chore List is a wonderful tool that has met and continues to meet all of my needs for house cleaning. It is a very organized process and it is adaptable to my time and lifestyle. I even get Bible verses too! I am able to print out my weekly chore list and put it in my planner. It just blends in with my everyday life.

Now, I know that one checklist cannot change my feelings on cleaning, God has done that. I now take pride in my home and the cleanliness of it. I actually realize that I do have time for cleaning and I can do it well, even better than my housekeeper. The Motivated Moms method makes all the things I should be doing within my house visible and therefore attainable. It even puts items on the checklist for my daughter, like clipping her fingernails, which I needed to be more consistent in doing. For a nominal cost of $7 (with coupon code from RetailMeNot.com), I am able to clean my house and stay on top of the project all year long. To be completely honest and transparent, I slip up at times and fall behind on my "chores", but I have learned to forgive myself. My goal is to make this type of cleaning a way of life so that it becomes second nature. I am well on my way.

Let me know what you think. Leave a comment…it just might help someone.  Have you mastered mopping?  Teach me, please!