I grew up doing my chores on Saturday morning. It wasn't ever a question. You just did your chores that day. On a rare occasion, I'd have a soccer game that began before 9 am, so my mother would make an exception and told me I could finish it once we came home. The only other exception I can think of is if we went somewhere for the weekend ... but that exception was: it needs to be done before we go - like on Friday after school.
I remember one Saturday I was slacking because it was Senior Prom that night. I don't know what they do now, but when I was in high school, we had a "day date" (some activity that couldn't be done in a gown) and then went home to get ready for the dance. You were then picked up for the formal part of the date: dinner, dance, parking (just kidding).
ANYWAY, my date was coming that morning at ten and I knew I could get out of my chores. Not so fast. I remember my dad made me finish vacuuming the staircase while my date waited. I was mortified, but looking back I know it was smart parenting and I'll do the same thing to my kids.
I have this hard time when it comes to planning my days. I'm sometimes good at getting a menu planned for the week. I'm sometimes good at getting appointments and activities lined up for the week and letting Steven know so we're all on the same page. Yet, I have a hard time pinning down a day of the week to do my housework.I know, I know, I do housework all day every day. I mean deep stuff. Even laundry.
Mondays my house needs it, the weekend has destroyed everything. While on the other hand Fridays would be nice because going into the weekend with a clean house is a good omen for me. Saturdays would be nice because Steven's there to do his chores, but I hate wasting a Saturday-with-Dad doing work. I'd much rather play (Saturday's all we have as our weekend being Mormon). A mid-week day like Wednesday would probably work, but I've usually realized that something else needs done that day, usually errand-running.
So I wonder: when do you do your chores? and did you choose that day with any sort of theory behind it?
12 comments:
When I clean:
*20 min before someone visits
Or
*when we've reached a serious state of squalor
wait, wait, wait . . . did you say you played soccer. Oh . . . my . . . goodness!
So I understand your dilema but I don't understand why your answer is to not clean any day of the week, month, or year for that matter. Please explain.
You don't have a vote for my option: hire someone else to do it. I know, it's kind of an easy way out, but at this point in my life (working full time), there are some thing I just need to let other people do....every other Monday, Melody shows up for 6+ hours and then our house sparkles.
Hey Mindy- I TOTALLY understand. I have the hardest time finding time to deep clean too. I was actually thinking about that the other day when I noticed my gross dusty base boards in my bathroom. What if you made up a schedule of ONE deep cleaning job for EACH WEEK and do it after you do your regular cleaning. Then it wouldn't be like one whole day is wiped out doing all your deep cleaning? What do you think? Like the 1st week of every month is "wiping down the walls week", 2nd week of every month is "organizing the pantry week".....
i set aside a smallish job for each day of the week. i never have chores on saturday that way, except the usual kitchen/dishes/straightenup.
monday: bathrooms
tuesday: vaccuum, scrub kitchen
wednesday: bed linens and towels in wash
thursday: dust/mop (i don't mop though, i just clean the floor on my knees with a hot wet rag. lovely.)
friday: vaccuum again
i do laundry and quick vac the hardwood & tile almost every day. but that only takes a minute. straighten up the kids' rooms every 2 days or so. seems to work for me!
oh, and now i'm really into the whole once-a-month maid idea. :)
I clean on Thursday mornings. That way, it's clean before the weekend and I don't have to worry about it on Friday (which I count as part of the weekend). And, if I didn't have a set-in-stone time to clean my house, I'm afraid of what would happen....
C'mon...you didn't play soccer.
so funny you wrote this. Last night I wrote out my 'chore' list for today. the kids had a sleep over at grandma's house and so now's the time (just had to jump on the computer first) but I'll soon be off! and I thought Rocky would be home to help, but no he has to 'conveniently' work, lol. so today it's all me doing the 'deep' cleaning.
I voted on your poll, and I usually clean when I have the time...I agree that I like to have Saturday's open to PLAY! but with owning your own business, I'm finding that our 'play' day is not always Saturday.
anyhoo, as we sing "Saturday, is a special day, it's the day we get ready for sunday!" LOL.
With #4 it has become necessary for me to try Lyn's solution. Last week was the first time and WOW it was great. We'll see if it continues to be necessary, but life is busy and too short to be spent cleaning (especially Saturdays when it is the only family day).
I think it's so great your parents were so strict with this... mine were not and this has caused me seriously problems. I HAVE to have a routine cleaning day. It's Thursdays. It works well for me because it starts off the weekend wonderfully. My toilets are scrubbed every week... they have to be. I have three boys who don't have the best aim. I try to avoid planning anything on Thurs and if something comes up, then I move cleaning to wed or fri. It's working for me so far and I hope I am teaching my kids how important it is to clean... you know, really clean... not just shove everything under the rug. Routine is good for me.
The results of the vote:
16% Monday
20% Midweek
4% Friday
12% Saturday
12% Never (or so they claim)
41% When they have time
And no one is cleaning on the Day of Rest.
So I'm playing blog catch up here... but I try to do all my yucky cleaning on Mondays. (bathrooms, vacuuming, mopping, etc). I also do laundry, because I just plan on being home all day. I find if I don't do it on Monday, it doesn't get done. Once it's clean, it's easier to keep it picked up during the week. I still haven't found a great time to do "extra deep cleaning chores." I feel like I'm doing good just to keep up with the basics. Which is probably why I spent the month before Preston was born deep cleaning, doing all of those things I just hadn't gotten around to since we'd moved in... So maybe I'll try one of those other schedules for that. Some day I'd love Lyn and Julianne's plan at least for the deep cleaning!
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