Hands on skill creating a schedule:
Do you have a regular schedule of cleaning or tasks that you are expected to carry out each week? Your assignment is to make a schedule showing what you do each day in the week. Record the number of minutes or hours that you spend each week helping with the housework.
Take into consideration the following:
- Do you only do the things that you are asked to do in helping at home?
- Do you think to offer to do extra things so that your mother may have a little relief or fun?
- Do you do your share of the work willingly and pleasantly?
- Do you have to be reminded constantly of your responsibilities?
Just as you saved time in cleaning your room, you can save time cleaning and caring for other rooms. The most important thing is to have a plan for doing your work so that you eliminate needless steps and motions.
Sometimes when cleaning several rooms it is better to do all the sweeping, then do all the dusting, etc. Sometimes it is better to dust, sweep, and finish each room as you go. Try different ways of doing your cleaning and find the quickest way of doing your work.
You will find that if you have followed the daily practice of keeping your room in order, it is much less of a task to clean it each week. There won’t be any shoes on the floor, no clothes to pick up, and no trash on your desk. Most housewives will have a general rule of order when it comes to cleaning a bedroom. Here is a sample to follow that will help you to do it quickly and thoroughly.
- Wash the sheets and air the bed each week. Do this early enough to allow the bed time to air out.
- Bring all the tools you need to clean your room. This is another way to help save wasteful time.
- Dust and wipe down all tabletop areas in your room at least once per week. Wipe down all media screens, keyboards, etc.
- Empty the waste basket at least once per week.
- Cleaning the floor is last. Sweep, vacuum, or wash as needed.
This week, I want you to create a schedule for normal weekly chores that you are responsible for. Write down what chores you are to do each day. Then if you are to do certain chores once per week, I want you to schedule those as well. You may have chores that you are responsible for once a month, schedule those too.
Here is a sample schedule:
My daily chores:
Make bed
Pick up room
Wash breakfast dishes
Clean up kitchen
My weekly chores:
Monday—wash bedding
Tuesday—dust and use window/glass cleaner in all rooms
Wednesday—bake bread
Thursday—clean van
Friday—deep clean bathroom
Saturday—help with yard work
Make a list of your daily chores, then your weekly chores. If you have many chores that you do only once per week, divide them up among each day. That way you are not cramming all of your work into one day.
You can do this type of scheduling with every area of your life. If you are doing your school work, schedule exactly when you are to complete it. Schedule in time for extra activities like sewing, baking, beading, or writing. Maybe choose a different day each week to focus on different tasks(ex: sewing on Monday, baking on Tues, etc.) Make sure to throw in some free time as well. Stick to your schedule. If you have a different schedule each day, write it all out. This way you will know what is expected out of your day and when thinking about what it is you need to be doing, you can look at your schedule. Don’t cram up your entire day, leave some flexibility for when life gets crazy. The key is to establish some sort of order.
Your goal is to eliminate wasted time. You want to be efficient at what you do. Remember when you take less time to do daily and weekly habits, that leaves more time for fun and freedom.
