How to Organize Housework
Housework has always been called an endless and thankless job, but you can feel very thankful about things getting done with less time and trouble by organizing your chores better. All you need is a little time to make a plan. Include every task from daily mopping to twice a year battery changes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Write down all the chores from daily kitchen clean up to changing out the air filters every three months. Write so that there's room on every line to write something more. It will seem like a daunting list, but it's going to be broken down into bite-sized pieces.
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Read the list carefully. Pick a different color pen and put a star next to everything that needs to be done less than once a month. Rewrite them on a second piece of paper and cross them off the first list.
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Use a different pen and mark off all the things to be done every day, adding a.m. or p.m. when it makes a difference. Start your to do list each evening with this list.
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Look closely at the things you need to do once a week. Can some of them go every two weeks or every 10 days? You can't save time if you do things more often than needed. Think of weekly chores such as laundry that you could do more easily one load at a time during the week.
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Begin to put a day next to each chore for the average week, spreading chores out as evenly as possible. Group like things together such as sweeping and mopping. Don't schedule more than it's possible to do in a given day.
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Go through your lists and see what you can do while you're doing something else. Can you fold clothes while you help your child with homework? Can you pack lunches while you're cleaning up after dinner or lay out tomorrow's clothes when you do a batch of laundry in the morning?
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Learn to delegate. You can't be a perfectionist if you want this to work. Children can fold towels, pick up newspapers, feed the pets, sort the laundry and do other simple chores when they're small. Give older kids chores to do while they sit in front of the TV such as cleaning out drawers, sewing buttons on and straightening up the room they're in.
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Get a basket or caddy to keep all your cleaning supplies in. When it's time to work, just grab it and you're ready to go. Keep an extra window cleaner and scouring powder in each bathroom.
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Plan your days each night or get up a little earlier in the morning and plan out your day. Now take your calendar and add those chores that you only need to do once in a while. When you make up your to do lists, check your calendar, too. Get organized and you will save a ton of time and trouble.
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Tips & Warnings
Make it a rule that whenever you go into or out of a room you pick up something and put it away.
Never sit down to watch TV without doing something. It will save you so much time to do double duty.
References
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