What I do about cleaning is I schedule something every day. I do not do my daily chores all at once but interspersed throughout my day. What motivates me is that I do not do well in a dirty and/or chaotic environment…when my house is dirty it really affects how I feel; it creeps me out and makes me feel bad. So I’d much rather make the effort to keep my house clean than to not clean. Not cleaning doesn’t benefit me in any way. Keeping my house clean does. Here’s my current schedule, feel free to use/amend for yourself:

Daily:
Make bed (kids make their own)
Clear & wipe down tables & counters
Sweep hard floors downstairs
Vacuum carpet
Water plants
One load of laundry (usually towels)

Sunday:
Wipe down stairs
Mop kitchen floor

Monday:
Brush and wipe down toilets
Mop upstairs bathroom
Wipe down sinks and counters

Tuesday:
Straighten dresser tops
Wipe down TVs, computers, stereo

Wednesday:
Clear out one shelf
Clean mirrors

Thursday:
Sweep hard floors upsatirs
Mop downstairs bathroom

Friday:
Clear out one drawer
Dust

Saturday: Organize my closet (kids and husband do their own)

If you have any children over 4 give them chores to do as well. My kids have to keep their rooms clean and each of them has 2 additional chores: My daughter, who is 16, has to clean out the fridge thoroughly once a month and keep the shelves and inner door wiped down twice a week. She also has to wash the hallway going down the stairs once a week. My oldest son, who is 11, has to take out the trash daily and to the curb weekly, sweep the front and back porches every day and keep them organized. My youngest son, who is 8, has to wash the dishes every day, wipe down the stove and counters, and feed the cats. They all have to put their clean clothes away and straighten their closets once a week and my sons have to take out the trash to the curb for pick-up once a week.

If you have children 2-4 have them pick up their toys and put their dirty clothes in the hamper. If you are not picky about folding they can also put some of their clothes away at this age. It has been my experience that Fours really like to help with the dishes. Have them help you wash and dry your non-breakable dishes and put them away. By six they might be ready to handle doing the dishes all on their own.

If you are married or living with a man try to get his assistance. I know this can be difficult. It can be emotionally painful. All of your feminist sensibilities will rail against the unfairness of it all. Older long-term married women gave me this advice: Ask your man nicely to do some housework and thank him when he does. Do not berate his cleaning or do his work over if he does it differently or less thoroughly than you. Over time he will improve. Follow this with a reward of some kind, such as extra attention, his favorite meal or dessert, or allowing him to watch a game or go out with his friends without hearing any complaint from you. It is also very important!! to not ask your man to do any housework as soon as he gets home from work, before work, or early on his day off. Let him hear you talking about how helpful he is to your friends and family.

I resisted doing this for years because I thought it was sexist and demeaning to both of us but once I started I could have kicked myself because it made a world of difference in how my husband responded to my requests for his help in keeping the house clean. There was a time when he wouldn’t even pick up his dirty socks and underwear off our bedroom floor!!! Once I threw a boycott and wouldn’t pick up any of his stuff and by the end of the month our bedroom floor was covered with his dirty socks, t-shirts, underwear, and assorted pants and shirts and our bedroom smelled like a locker room. He only picked it all up because he didn’t have anything clean to wear.

Now, he does his part with no prompting or begging from me. He does the bulk of the laundry once a week!! keeps the bathtub and bathroom walls clean! keeps his closet together and sometimes even keeps his clothes off the floor. He also keeps the inside part of the windows clean, he’ll mop the kitchen and bathroom floors if I ask him to, does all the yard work (mowing, shoveling snow, etc.) and keeps the garage clean.

I also highly reccomend The FlyLady. Her site has been a wonderful resource for me and my family. The 15-minute tidy is a lifesaver, you just set your timer for 15 minutes and set to clearing/cleaning until it goes off. kids really like this! and my husband has responded well to it. We are in the process of cleaning out our basement (shudder) and doing it in 15-minute bursts.

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