New House Cleaning Plan

One of the things that is the most frustrating to me as a part time stay at home mom, is how to keep the house clean. I know there are a zillion things I should be working on at all times, but when I actually get a chunk of time to clean, I am too overwhelmed to pick one particular task to begin with.

In the past I tried coming up with a weekly to-do list, but our schedule is too inconsistent to keep up with a day-specific list.

After that, I tried to have a weekly list and just check things off as I did them, but then I just kept losing the list.

Instead, I came up with this idea: I use chore cards and attach them to the kitchen blinds for everyone in the family to see. This way, I always know what chores need to be done, and if Daddy Buffalo has some extra time, he can work on the chores he wants to do without me having to order him around.

Chore cards on my kitchen blinds

Left side = weekly chores, Right side = monthly chores

I created two columns of cards for weekly and monthly chores. All of the pink and purple cards are chores that need to be completed weekly. The blue and green cards are monthly.
If you have kids that are old enough to do specific chores, you could assign each kid a particular color card, too.

Envelope holds completed chore cards

 
I keep an envelope at the bottom of the blinds to put all the cards once the chore is completed. At the end of the week (or month) I simply put the cards back up on the blinds with the binder clips.

I started this idea with index cards and a list of potential chores. I didn't want to have 300 cards hanging up, so some of them are grouped. For example, we have 3 bathrooms in our house, and I want to make sure that each bathroom gets a thorough cleaning each month (if not more frequently). I put all 3 bathroom cards on the same clip to save room. I also doubled up on some of the chores. I have 2 "sweep" cards each week, and multiple dish washing cards. You get the idea. Attached are the templates I used to make the cards, but index cards work just as well. I've also shown a sample chores list below, but don't judge- I'm still getting the hang of how often to clean everything.
 

Weekly Chores:
Clean and sanitize kitchen counters
Run dishwasher (x2)
Empty dishwasher (x2)
Put away all dishes (x2)
Organize laundry room
Clear off dining table
Sweep kitchen (x2)
Put away all toys (x2)
**I'm thinking about adding laundry into this list too.)

Monthly Chores:
Vacuum Downstairs (x2)
Vacuum Upstairs (x2)
Dust
Iron (x2)
Clean bathrooms (x3)
Clean out refrigerator/freezer
Clean out car (x2)
Mop/steam sanitize kitchen (x3)

BFF Date Kit

As a stay at home mom to a 17 month old daughter, I rarely have time to myself, but I decided to make my debut in blogging now, as I become increasingly more daring in my crafting and home-making ventures. At least this way I will have a place to post pictures of projects and talk about ideas as I come across them.

The first item up for posting:
Best Friend First Date Kit

My BFF has recently been talking to a guy that lives out of town, and they were finally going to meet in person. Unfortunately, I was going to be out of town and unable to assist in the hours of primping and preening that are necessary for such first dates. In my place, I left a first date kit which included many of the essentials for a date.

Items to include:
-Gum (for the goodnight kiss)
-Mints (fresh breath maker)
-Floss picks (stray spinach remover)
-Mini water-free tooth brushes (just in case)
-Sunglasses (to avoid being blinded by his hotness)
-Watch (to make sure you are on time)
-Riesen candies (You have no "riesen" to worry. The date will be great!)
-Brush ("Your hair looks perfect")
-Mirror ("You look perfect!")

I thought about including Blow Pops with a note of "Don't Blow It," but I decided that would be better for another occasion.

Everything in the kit, including the container I put it in, was purchased at the dollar store, so the grand total was around $10. I already had the label maker, so that wasn't an additional cost, but paper tags would work just as well.

Not quite the same as having your best friend help you get ready, but good enough! Check out the pictures below.