By nature, I am a very visual person, I like to have things out in the open where I can see them…I also have issues with clutter, a cluttered environment = a cluttered mind. I also get distracted easily, mostly because I simply do not care about most things…so everything sort of superficially holds my attention for a short time and then I flutter along to something else…sort of like a butterfly. Unless it’s something that I do care about or regard as important, when that happens NOTHING…not even death…can sway me. Like a pit bull I latch on and never let go. Ever.
I also hate wasting my time, especially on mundane and illusory things like cleaning…I’d much rather be digging in my garden or tending to/hanging out with my animals or going on sunset hikes in the woods with my family or rockin’ my babies while they sleep or playing video games with my husband and children or…well, pretty much anything else! I mean it’s just going to get dirty all over again anyways…I especially hate cleaning according to a schedule, especially when that schedule has appointed for me to clean something that isn’t even all that dirty. I want to clean what needs to be cleaned and only when it needs to be cleaned and then get on with my life!
That is why I developed this chart 😀
Along the left hand side, in the first column, is listed, what I refer to as, my “Core Chores”…the main ones that must get done most often, once a month at the very least. Along the top is numbers 1-31…the days of the month…and it’s laminated so that I can use dry erase markers on it. I developed this chart so that I can figure out how often things actually require cleaning…when I see that something requires cleaning I clean it and then mark it on the chart what day I did it on.
Then at the end of the month I record all of this into my spreadsheet and save the data for each month as a “log” of sorts of the work done. Then I go back and see how often things required cleaning…for example, I now know with certainty that my toilet needs cleaning every other day and that my kitchen needs to be swept everyday, sometimes twice. I know that the bedsheets require washing every other week and that my lower kitchen cabinets need to be wiped down once a week (I’m a bit klutzy and tend to absentmindedly drip food during meal preparation). With a bit of planning and foresight I no longer feel as if I am wasting my time cleaning what does not require cleaning but instead make a “surgical strike” at the right time and moment, doing exactly what needs to be done and nothing more.
Furthermore I love having the “Core Chores” on a poster out in the open for the whole family to see because then the children read it and become familiar with what needs to be done and…gasp!…actually do things without me even asking, just so they can mark it off on the chart. And because the work needing done is plainly evident, written on the wall, my husband also helps out with the things that he reads on there. This was actually a happy unintended coincidence, but I am so grateful for it!
Things can get pretty hectic and messy in this little cottage with 7 people all day long…living and loving and learning…but thanks to this chart I am able to efficiently and easily focus my attention on what is most needful and then get back to what is most important…LIVING life! NOT cleaning it 😉
Click the link to download my “Chore Chart” spreadsheet 😀
Musings Of A Mountain Mama 
Fantastic spreadsheet and it is great that it is working for everyone. Team effort. Very organized and efficient way of getting the job done.
Hi stephanie and family. I have to say I have read all your postings. They are very well written u diff. Have a way with words. I also like to say you have given me a lot of great ideas to try when I get my own place. I am really glad you started this blog and I enjoy reading it. God bless you all Jenn