A progress report on my three resolutions for 2009:
Every day, I will clean for 15 minutes.
I’m not sure how to say this graciously and modestly, but … I may have totally rocked this resolution this month. Woo hoo! In stark contrast to last month’s willy-nilly “methodology,” I made a list of the tasks I need to do regularly, categorized by frequency: daily, weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly. For example, I make the bed every day, dust the bedroom once a week, clean the stovetop every other week, and empty the paper shredder bin every month. I have a 4-week plan in the works so that I don’t keep re-writing lists every night, but that requires more tweaking before it can go into regular rotation.
All of that is to say that I feel much more prepared to tackle my daily cleaning allotment. My self-assigned tasks don’t always add up to the whole 15 minutes, but it’s easy enough to clear the dish rack, put clothing away, or wipe down counters to fill in spare minutes here and there.
One of our recurring fights (you know what I’m talking about, right?) revolves around the distribution of household chores. Much to my chagrin, JG usually carries the brunt of the burden because he is very industrious and gets home earlier. Since I started this resolution, we have not broached this topic, which is a relief to both of us, I think. Even better, JG has made a point of acknowledging my efforts, which is especially gratifying because I try to clean in the morning, when no one is there to coo over my mopped floor.
Every week, I will write and send my grandmother a note.
I had a close call last week, but I managed to get a card to the mailbox on Saturday before the mail carrier came. Phew! My favorite card to send my grandmother was the cute, glittery Valentine. It had a cupcake on it!
Every month, I will take at least a few hours just for myself.
In order to figure out if I had accomplished this resolution, I had to check my calendar on my PDA, which was my first clue that I did not do so well at this one. Let’s see … I had dinner with a friend one night … I stayed home from climbing to try the 30-Day Shred … I’m going to book club tomorrow night … Huh. These are not quite what I pictured for time “just for myself.”
Between tonight and tomorrow, I might rent a movie or read for a couple of hours, but I don’t have anything specific in mind, and I have several errands to run, which does not bode well. I think I have to file this one under Needs Improvement.
12 comments
Wow!! Color me impressed! Lists of housework. Letters to grandmas. All of this sound eminently doable to me in a whoah, that would be hard kind of way. I will follow your lead and try to get my grandma a letter in the mail by the end of the weekend!
You must be a way cleaner cook than I am. Our stovetop is always covered with the makings of dinner. It has to be shot with 409 daily!
I am duly impressed, and here’s a virtual golf clap for your morning cleaning efforts. I am pretty sure that everyone in the world has fights about the distribution of household chores.
I’m totally impressed that you clean for 15 minutes every day. I tried this — I even made a chart on the inside of my pantry door (which I thought would be perfect since I head straight there the moment I walk in the door…). Still, no luck. I cannot seem to remember to take the time and do my one daily cleaning chore. If I could make it work though, I think it’s WAY better than having to spend an entire Saturday cleaning. Bleh…
Good for you! I have been rather neglectful of my house, but I haven’t been home much this week. So how the heck did my house get dirty if I’m not there? It’s a mystery….
I think you need to make available your spreadsheets/lists for the rest of us who aren’t so organizationally minded. I am betting that I would be in perfect awe of your budget spreadsheet as well as your 4-week plan that is in the works.
I feel like it is as much as I can do to cook and clean up dinner every night and maybe throw in a couple loads of laundry. However, that means all the regular tidying up gets done on the weekend and nothing really gets deep cleaned. Sigh. What is your secret?
How has your grandmother reacted to your resolution to send her letters? I bet she loves it!!
I try to the 15 minute clean up but have been failing miserably this semester!
I think I should send my grandma letters, too! Such a nice thing!
I’m super impressed with your dedication to cleaning. Well done!
I just spent two hours cleaning the apartment for a dinner party tonight, when I REALLY should have been doing my homework for class at 4…sooo I think I’m going to have to start aspiring to 15 minutes a day. I’m really impressed at how organized you’ve become about it. On an unrelated note, thanks so much for the book suggestion–they have a copy at our library, so I’m going to get it tomorrow!
I really should add that cleaning one to my resolution list. Maybe then I’d actually get around to it every once in a while.
RA! Let’s chat about your daily cleaning lists.
I need your help.
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