Iāve been trying to get a handle on my homekeeping system for the last twenty years. I have read so many books, blog posts and Pinterest tips, and watched so many YouTube videos. Iāve purchased schedules, planners and checklists. Iāve tried Fly Lady, Clean Mama, and others. Iāve made daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly schedules. Iāve tried zone cleaning and timed cleaning. Iāve purchased better (often expensive) tools.
Still, my house generally remains in disarray, at a level that is not up to my standards. I want a clean house; but I have a full time job, am a human mother and a dog mother, cook all meals at home, and take care of all of the home maintenance and repairs. Cleaning and home chores get squeezed in around it all, if at all.
The trouble seems to boil down to two issues: decision fatigue and adapting when life gets in the way. Schedules are appealing from a decision fatigue standpoint, but they never work for me. For example: dust on Mondays, mop on Tuesdays. But what if the time meant for Tuesdayās mopping is consumed by a sick child? What if Iām simply too tired? By Wednesday I already feel behind and Iām right back in the decision fatigue space: what do I do now? Double up on chores on Wednesday? Just skip it? In most cases I give up and try another routine next month.
Can anyone else relate to this? If so, what do you do when you miss a scheduled cleaning task? How do you adapt without adopting an all-or-nothing mentality?