Shall we talk cleaning routines?
(No, not in a “what you need to change right now because you’re the worst cleaner ever” way!)
Time to get something off your chest: What’s the worst thing about your current cleaning routine?
Is it the expectations of perfection that weigh you down every time you see someone else’s evening speed cleaning routine, the daily “five cleaning habits you must have to succeed,” a weekly deep clean requirement, and quarterly “clean the whole house like crazy” endeavors?
Or is it the lack of help, that fact that no one (not even your oldest kid) can do a competent job, and your husband’s not joining you in any of the inside chores?
Maybe you’re just exhausted by the demands of your current season (hello, sports practice/newborns/surgery recovery) and you Just. Can’t. Fathom. using your limited energy on scrubbing those baseboards.
I know you know the answer – so just tell me, too. What’s the worst part of your typical cleaning program?
Get it out there.
Because now we can do something about it.
Don’t do this: #1
Cleaning Routine Mistake #1: Picking something that sounds nice, but totally doesn’t fit your life.
(Like bathrooms on Wednesday – oops, wait, I’m out of the house most of the day on Wednesdays. And when I come back, low on energy from herding cats kids, I do not have the willpower to force myself to scrub toilets.)
In other words, trying to fit your life around the cleaning routine – not molding it to fit you.
So grab your calendar or planner, take a mental snapshot of your current cleaning habits, and let’s start reshuffling.
- Where do you have space in your day (and your personal energy) for a bigger cleaning task? Star those days.
- Which days are only good for “move laundry to dryer and skip folding” kind of tasks? Put an X by those ones.
Now take a look at what you’re actually doing, compared to this ideal schedule you just created.
Take all the more involved or longer-length jobs off your full days, sub the shorties, and give your more open days the toilet scrubbing kind of tasks. (Unless toilets are the easy part for you!)
Don’t do this: #2
Now you’re ready to ditch Cleaning Mistake #2: Thinking it’s all about discipline.
Yes, you may technically have time today for a full-house vacuum, but do you really want to get out there with the upright? Not really….
This is when most of us go for that good ol’ standby, willpower, and tell ourselves that if we’re good moms, we get things done. Even if we don’t like doing them. Ever.
But I’ve got a better way – one that’s easier to live. Here’s how it goes….
So you want to get over the discipline hump? Here’s how.
- First off, pick a tiny chunk.
- Tell yourself, “I’m just going to sweep that dirty corner of the kitchen.” “All I have to do is wipe down the faucet in the kids’ bathroom.”
- Then see what happens – told you so!
See how this avoids using willpower for most of it? All you need to do is tell yourself, “Today’s bathroom day. I have to clean the outside of the toilet.”
It’s just one task, right? And then you’re off and running, and eventually you start doing more.
The trick is, don’t talk yourself into scrubbing every bathroom in the house before you can grab cleaning supplies. Just say, “I’m going to wheel out the vacuum for that corner and that’s it. That’s all I have to do.”
Motivate yourself to do just the “tiny cleaning” version of each task.
Don’t do this: #3
Ready for Mistake #3? Never asking yourself why it’s not working out.
Ask yourself why.
Why are you avoiding the vacuum? Journal it out.
- Maybe your arms are tired from holding the baby all day.
- Maybe it’s a low-energy time of day.
- Maybe the vacuum doesn’t work well anymore, so you put off turning it on and waiting for that horrible noise to start.
Just find out – it can’t hurt, and it’s going to help.
We can’t pinpoint what’s wrong and fix things for you if we don’t know the exact cause of your dislike. So keep your journal out and go through each cleaning chore, one by one:
- Is your sponge shedding everywhere?
- Does the cleaner irritate your hyper-sensitive pregnancy nose?
- Are your hands getting a rash from the shower cleaner?
- Do you only think about wiping down counters at your most exhausted time of day?
- Would you enjoy a little scrubbing up right before lunch, but that’s not the “right” time to do heavy-duty cleaning?
What’s it for you?
Once you know what’s bothering you, start planning a solution.
- Change cleaners. (Or at least try something new at the store.)
- Make a note in your planner that counters are to be cleaned directly after cooking, not at bedtime.
- Put a “scrub something” note in that same planner for Wednesdays at 10am when you unaccountably have energy for some elbow grease.
What you’re going to do now
It’s all yours – the problems, the solutions, the life waiting for you around the corner after these tweaks. What are you going to do with it?
- Delay it till it never shows up? (I.e., never make changes in your cleaning habits, and hope someday you’ll just “feel” like cleaning?)
- Obsess over perfection, and overlook the fact that you’ve got three under three, or a runny nose, or a bad energy day?
- Or are you going to ditch the three cleaning mistakes and start your own scrubbing system – one that’s just right for you?
It’s up to you.
If you’re ready, I challenge you to match your chores to your days, only motivate yourself to do the “tiny cleaning” version of each task, and always ask why when you find yourself cutting corners or skipping out on certain parts of your cleaning routine.
These three things will change your cleaning life. I promise.
Now it’s your turn. What are you going to do with them?
