Current Hausfrauing Schedule

Cleaning on a schedule is something I've been doing for over 10 years. I bet my parents wish I used it when I lived at home and was a mess! It was a little rigid at first, but it's come to be something that makes my life a lot easier. I don't need to think about it. I just do it. Like any other routine, once I'm in it it's automatic.

I've shared this before both on this blog and via email to people who've asked but I'm revisiting it here because I do what I want. Sometimes I make changes to my hausfrauing schedule every few weeks. Other times it goes unchanged for months.

It is rare for things to get unmanageably messy or dirty in my house because I don't buck the hausfrauing schedule. The only time things look like a shitbomb hit us is when I've been sick or when we've just returned from vacation and things are strewn about. But we all have those upside down weeks and I find if the actual cleaning goes by the wayside, keeping on top of the daily dos lets me coast for a while in a fairly presentable manner.

A copy hangs on my fridge because I'm a dork

My daily dos are ingrained in me so I don't need them there but it's a good reference. Some nights I'm lazy and don't do them, but honestly not too often because that just doubles the next day's work load. I don't like making things hard on myself. I also look at it like this - would I rather spend a half hour every day putting the house to rights, or a few hours on the weekend sorting through the stuff I've let pile up for 5 days, then a few more hours cleaning it? And the cleaning will require more elbow grease because I was too lazy to wipe off the counter in the bathroom after I brushed my teeth. I'll take a half hour a day.

We all have a lot of stuff going on. I don't like living in squalor but I don't like spending time on the weekends cleaning and running all of my errands so I try to space it out over the week.

If I miss a day of anything, it's not the end of the world. I do try to stay on top of things because when I do, tasks don't take a long time week to week. It all ties together - if I've kept everything picked up and put away, vacuuming or dusting all three floors of the house doesn't take more than a half hour even when I have to travel with the vacuum.

Keeping time to a minimum is important to me - I get home at six or later and exercise at night as well. Food prep on the weekends takes dinner out of the equation most days.

Hanging this up also reminds of the quarterly or monthly tasks that I hate but that must be done. Doing them on a schedule means there's really no more ass breaking spring cleaning here. I do my ass breaking spring cleaning out in the yard now. Blah

Hausfrauing doesn't bother me, but my favorite week of the month is undoubtedly the one that contains the Tuesday our cleaning lady comes. The rest of that week is cake! 

Do you use a cleaning schedule? Are you  a weekday or weekend cleaner?

 Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday

10 things I do to make daily life easier

Via

1.  Say no to things without feeling guilty or like I need an excuse. I can't please everyone and I can't do everything. Over-scheduling turns me into The Exorcist. No one is safe and everyone must pay.

2. Do things the night before on weeknights: I check my planner to see what's on tap for the next day, lay out my clothes and jewelry, fill up my water bottle and make sure my breakfast and lunch are all together in the fridge or on the counter. I can be up, showered, and out of the house in 20 minutes in the morning since I'm not dicking around with that stuff. I like my sleep.

3. Drink 80 ounces of water by noon. This helps me with sinus issues, headaches, and overall health.

4. Plot out errands efficiently. Doubling back and inefficient use of time pisses me off so I group errands together, make sure my lists are ready, and keep my reusable bags in the trunk.

5. Request books in advance at the library. I know I'm always going to have something I want to read ready for me. I use Goodreads to keep track of books. I'm never without a to-read list and I love it.

6. Use cuticle gel and take care of my cuticles every week when I do my nails. And I do do them every week. I do not need to be walking around with janky ass chipped nails.

7. Plan to arrive early. I am without the stress of running late 99.5% of the time in life.

8. Not expect perfection from myself or others.

9. My Holy Grail - My Daily Dos: make the bed, wipe down the kitchen, deal with dishes, wipe down baths, spend 10 minutes picking up around the house and setting things to rights. This ensures that things never get too bad even if I skip a day here and there.

10. Value the opinion of my dogs over most people...and accept the fact that I'm never going to be able to eradicate dog hair from my home or life.

And of course, the kitchen version of this has its own post: did you see 10 things I do to make life easier in the kitchen?

What do you do to make daily life easier?

Linking up with Kathy for Humpday Confessions.

 Linking up with Shanna for Random Wednesday