Do it daily.
Earth-shattering, right?
I committed last week to do my Daily Checklist . . . Daily in December.
It’s awful that I had to commit to that, since the “Daily” part should mean that I naturally do it every day anyway.
But I guess if things like noticing clutter in the bathroom or closing cabinet doors were natural to me, I wouldn’t have to have a daily checklist that includes them.
And I wouldn’t need this blog.
I committed to doing my checklist (and blogging about it) daily in December because December is crazy. Crazy is my biggest excuse for letting the house get out of control.
The reason my daily checklist hasn’t entered my mind much for the past few months is that the past few months have been crazy. Add December Crazy to already-crazy and I really don’t know what might happen.
Actually, I do know what would happen, and it scares me.
I was rather irritated that December started on a Thursday, which meant that I had to start getting traction on a weekend, when it’s easiest for me to justify ignoring the house anyway.
The extra effort did remind me of some things.
1. JUST doing the daily checklist (even once) makes the house feel cleaner.
2. Somehow, even though I don’t notice clutter when it’s there, I DO notice when it’s not there. For example, I might pass by my covered-in-make-up-and-hair-stuff bathroom counter for days without realizing why I’m feeling a little down and icky. However, when I pass by a clear bathroom counter, I am fully aware of why I feel a little lighter and more peaceful.
3. Most of my justifications are a joke. Assuming that the kitchen doesn’t need to be swept is generally wrong. Once I sweep it (even less than 24 hours after having just swept it), I find that my dustpan is plenty-full to justify the three minutes or less I spent sweeping.
And here’s my daily checklist for today:
Closed cabinet doors*
Made bed
Emptied dishwasher
Swept kitchen
Made to do list*
Cleaned up kitchen
Did a focused 5 minute pick-up*
Checked bathrooms for clutter*
Hung up and put away clothes in master bedroom*
Wiped down bathrooms (actually cleaned bathrooms today)
Made lunches
* means I didn’t do the task until after I started writing this post
How are you doing in your home in December?
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Here’s one thing I’m getting hubby
THANK YOU for putting close cabinet doors on your list!!! Right now about 6 are open!!!! Drives my hubby crazy!!! And I never agree, even thought I have cracked my head on it many many times!
“However, when I pass by a clear bathroom counter, I am fully aware of why I feel a little lighter and more peaceful.”
This is soooo true!! I am finally taking baby steps to begin my deslobification journey. I do mean baby steps. I am trying to simply take one small thing at a time. Not getting up to a sink/counter full of dirty dishes gives me that more peaceful feeling, so I am working on always washing dishes before I go to bed. Now that this is happening most nights, I’m going to add another small daily chore. I have so far to go, and it’s so overwhelming, but it helps to know that there are others like me out there – even if I don’t happen to know them in real life!
Thanks for the inspiration and enouragement!!!
Thank you so much for this post. 1 – for coming clean as a slob, cause, sister, I’m one too and I struggle so much with this, and 2 – for the fantastic DH gift. Totally added to my Amazon cart.
I love and totally relate to your 2nd point. When I don’t see it I feel it and don’t understand it! But I also feel so good when it’s not there.
Very true. Keeping up with it is key. I have an Everyday Cleaning Concept on my blog that I use and I have it set up so, even if I only do the bare minimum, it is still enough to not fall behind. Justifications definitely do not work because only you will pay for it later. I found, once I started cleaning daily, all of a sudden it seemed doable. If I slack or skip steps, that is when it starts to become frustrating and overwhelming. Definitely great points!
Well, I’m staying on top of the dirty dishes I create from all the holiday baking. But umm, I still haven’t caught up with the last of the canning season dishes. I’ve gotten too good at ignoring the stack of sticky rings on my counter or the steam juicer that needs one last scrubbing.
Hi! Found your website a few days ago, and reading through from the beginning. But wanted to get up to the front and say thankyou. Your journey – and especially your failures!! have really encouraged me to work on mine. The thing I love about your failures is that you don’t let them end you, you get up find more inspiration or another way of thinking of things and move on.
Yesterday I flooded my bathroom/laundry in honour of you – with dark clothing water of all things! Today I did another load of laundry because failures do not end our journey.
Thankyou for that. 🙂
Reading backwards has really made me partial to your daily checklist. It’s like the heartbeat of your blog. The repetition of just glancing at them so often was starting to brainwash me, so I am glad to see them again! (Kind of like “28 Days To Hope For Your Home”). Slobs need constant reminders that would strike normal people as crazy.
Break Time-I think the Cleanies never negotiate stuff. I get so put out when I HAVE to do something even when I think I should be “off the clock”.
You still use a dustpan when you sweep? I haven’t used one of those in years. I just make little piles with my broom now and suck it all up with the cordless dust buster. No more little lines of dust that seem impossible to fully get into the pan.