Lists Make Me Happy

I love lists. I love organization. I love having tidy little places for every little thing. I'm a neat freak, okay? My heart skips a beat when I see a well organized drawer, pantry, closet, or whatever else. If I see a well-organized garage... be still my beating heart! There is little as beautiful as a well organized garage! I love the phrase, "A place for everything, and everything in its place". Yes, I am that person. I'd apologize, except that I'm so happy to be that person that I don't feel any sorrow at all. What I do feel sorry for is all of the people out there who aren't yet list-makers. Why? Because it makes life so much simpler. And simple is good, right?

Of course simple is good. You bet your sweet bippy it's good! We all have too much. Too much of everything. Too much stuff. Too much to do. Too much to remember! Just too, too much. So with all of those too muches in mind, why don't you start today? What is something you struggle to get done the way you'd like for it to be done? Is it your health? Make a list of the supplements you want to take, the exercise you want to do, even the things you want to avoid, or only allow yourself on special occasions. Make a list and then consult the list often. Is it your home? That's a biggie for most of us. It is difficult to keep a house clean. I don't have children yet, so it's just me and my husband at home and our little non-shedding doggy, Miso. "How much work can that be?" The frazzled mother of 4 may scoff. Let me tell you now, it's still a lot! Granted, you, mother of 4, have much more to work at and clean than I do. But I still have my fair share! My husband works from home so I get him pretty much 24/7. This has been a huge source of joy for me, especially being someone who does not like to be alone for extended periods and hasn't been blessed with children. But it also means dishes for two all day long, tracking in dirt for two all day long, and all the other things that accompany daily life.

So in order to keep up with things that sometimes fall through the cracks (such as wiping down baseboards and light switches), I found a simple chore chart and tailored it to my specific needs. This way nothing gets missed. All the basics are covered, leaving me not only feeling more relaxed about cleaning (because I know that even if there is a clump of dust bunnies in the corner on Monday morning, come Tuesday they'll be spinning down the vortex of dust bunny death), but more relaxed in general! I don't have to worry about remembering to make time to wipe my dogs nose art off the windows, because it's in my schedule every week and will get done. And because it's done weekly, it never gets to the point where I am embarrassed to have someone in my home. Nothing has time to smell bad, look yucky, or anything else. Surprise visitors are no longer feared or stressed over, but instead are easily welcomed without worry about the appearance of your home. Just take this basic idea and modify it to your needs. Do you do a lot of cooking in your oven that leaves greasy splatters behind? Schedule it to be cleaned more than monthly and never let it get to the point where cleaning it becomes a big ordeal. If you struggle to keep up with your home, schedule in every little thing from cleaning floors, to laundry, to kitty litter boxes. If you only need a little help, leave out whatever you feel you can. I didn't include laundry on my list because with only two people in the house I only have to do it about once a week and to be as energy efficient as possible, do it only when I have enough for a full load, so no set days for laundry for me (though it does typically fall on Monday/Tuesday)! But again, tailor to your personal needs!

My list here has me washing dishes after breakfast, and then after dinner washing up whatever is left-over at that point; I tend to wash dishes between 2 and 3 times per day, depending on how we eat that day, just to keep up with them. I hand wash everything, too, which does take me more time than it would if I just loaded into the dishwasher all day and then washed at night. But I try to use that time of hand washing to pray for friends and family (yes, try, which means I often fail and stand there washing dishes mindlessly), so it is definitely not wasted time! I do occasionally use the dishwasher though, if I get overwhelmed with the number of dishes to wash, feel unwell, or the like.

The pick-up basket is someone else's brain-child, and one I actually haven't implemented yet, at least not officially. Because it just the two of us, there are usually only a couple things out of place at the end of the day, thus the lack of official basket. But I still use the idea, even if I don't need a whole basket to perform the task, and I would highly recommend it! It's a very quick, easy way to keep your home free of that oppressive clutter!

The Chore of the Day can usually be done in around 15 minutes or so depending on the size of your home. We live in a small apartment with very few knick-knacks; one bedroom, one bathroom, an office, kitchen, and the living room. So I can do a lot of those chores in less than 15 minutes. Not to say I am done with housework in 15 minutes. Far from it! That's just for the Chore of the Day. There is still plenty to do after that. But this definitely makes it easier to be sure you've hit all the major points you want to clean regularly.

So what are you waiting for? Make up your own list, and see how much easier it can be to keep your house in shape!

Keep in mind, this schedule is for maintaining a clean home; not starting from scratch. If your home is very messy or highly cluttered, see my posts (part one and part two) on de-cluttering to get started!