{"id":1843,"date":"2012-05-30T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-30T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/noelfigart.com\/blog\/?p=1843"},"modified":"2020-06-03T10:35:46","modified_gmt":"2020-06-03T14:35:46","slug":"spring-cleaning-in-thirteen-weeks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/2012\/05\/30\/spring-cleaning-in-thirteen-weeks\/","title":{"rendered":"Spring Cleaning in Thirteen Weeks"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"title\">My home is more or less decluttered. I mean, I don\u2019t have to do more than a routine decluttering on a periodic basis to make sure that I keep up with problem areas. Drawers may get stuffed occasionally, but surfaces tend to be relatively tidy. \u00a0While I hardly keep the house perfect, I do have daily, weekly and quarterly chores. Technically, I probably <em>should<\/em> do some of these things monthly. I don\u2019t. So there.<\/div>\n<div class=\"copy\">\n<h2>Daily Chores<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Make bed<\/li>\n<li>Swish-n-swipe bathroom<\/li>\n<li>Evening clutter patrol<\/li>\n<li>Clean up kitchen after dinner<\/li>\n<li>Quarterly Chore (weekdays)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Weekly Chores<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Dust<\/li>\n<li>Vacuum<\/li>\n<li>Get trash to curb<\/li>\n<li>Mop kitchen and bathroom floors<\/li>\n<li>Wipe down fridge shelves in prep for grocery shopping<\/li>\n<li>Change sheets<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is not a lot of work in a decluttered house. It also means parts of the house could get really grody, as there is other stuff that needs to be done (after decluttering. You\u2019ll never get to this stuff before decluttering). If you haven\u2019t decluttered so that you only own what you can reasonably store, part of your weekday thing probably should be five to fifteen minutes of decluttering (if this matters to you. Hardly a moral imperative).<\/p>\n<p>So, how do the Quarterly Chores work? Well, my list is actually thirteen weeks long rather than 12, but hey\u2026 Who cares? Stuff gets got to on a semi-regular basis, and that\u2019s plenty good enough. This isn\u2019t tool and die making, so precision isn\u2019t that damn important. Your house will be different, but I wanted to give you an idea of how this works. Few chores take more than five or ten minutes, unless you\u2019re starting from something really nasty (like my fridge recently. I added the wipe down every week thing because I NEVER want to do THAT again!) Another thing that you should notice is that I do have some regular decluttering of places that in my house tend to collect it. I think it\u2019s something like a quarter of the chores. If you do it every three months, you\u2019re going to find that you\u2019re looking at a five minute job after a year or so.<\/p>\n<p>Are there things missing from this list? \u00a0Oh yeah. \u00a0Absolutely. \u00a0If it becomes truly problematic, I\u2019ll add \u2018em to the list and have a longer rotation. \u00a0I don\u2019t care about perfection, but just that detail cleaning gets done somewhat regularly. What I won\u2019t do is try for more than a few minutes a day cleaning. \u00a0I\u2019ve proven time and again I won\u2019t do it, so it\u2019s better for the chore to be broken down and put into a long rotation than do it \u201cperfectly.\u201d \u00a0I cannot urge anyone who is Housework Challenged strongly enough <em>not<\/em>\u00a0to try for \u201cperfect.\u201d You\u2019ll never live up to perfect. \u00a0Good, on the other hand, is completely possible to maintain.<\/p>\n<p>I put the list under a cut because, it\u2019s LOOONG.<\/p>\n<h2>Quarterly Chores<\/h2>\n<h3>Week One<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>KITCHEN: Declutter Fridge and Calendar board<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Declutter Pantry Cabinet<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Declutter Spice Cabinet<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Declutter under sink<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Declutter baking cabinet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Two<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>DINING ROOM: Polish chairs thoroughly<\/li>\n<li>BATHROOMS: Wash Bath Mats (NO DRYER!)<\/li>\n<li>DINING ROOM: Polish Silver<\/li>\n<li>LIVING ROOM: Declutter Entertainment Center (Including cabinets)<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Clean Cat\u2019s Water and Food Bowl. Dust off Cat\u2019s food bucket<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Three<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>BEDROOM Declutter a desk or bureau drawer<\/li>\n<li>BEDROOM: Wash Curtains<\/li>\n<li>BEDROOM: Declutter Plant Stand<\/li>\n<li>BEDROOM: Declutter Filing Cabinet<\/li>\n<li>BEDROOM: Polish Furniture with Pledge<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Four<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>HALLWAY AND DOJO: Declutter Printer Table<\/li>\n<li>HALLWAY AND DOJO: Declutter bookshelves<\/li>\n<li>HALLWAY AND DOJO: Pledge dust bookshelves<\/li>\n<li>HALLWAY AND DOJO: Shine Mirrors<\/li>\n<li>HALLWAY AND DOJO: Dust baseboards and get cobwebs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Five<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>KITCHEN: Scrub Down Counter Tops<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Declutter Tupperware<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Scrub Down Small Appliances<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Scrub down kitchen faucets<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Clean off top of fridge<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Six<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>BATHROOM: Scrub around entire commode<\/li>\n<li>BATHROOM: Dust Baseboards<\/li>\n<li>BATHROOM: Scrub Bathroom Mirrors<\/li>\n<li>BATHROOM: Scrub Tub<\/li>\n<li>BATHROOM: Declutter a Cabinet<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Seven<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>LIVING ROOM: Clean Windows<\/li>\n<li>LIVING ROOM: Vacuum Under Cushions<\/li>\n<li>LIVING ROOM: Clean Ornaments<\/li>\n<li>LIVING ROOM: Vacuum Under Furniture<\/li>\n<li>LIVING ROOM: Clean glass and electronics<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Eight<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>JUNGLE ROOM: Clean and declutter shoe shelf<\/li>\n<li>JUNGLE ROOM: Clean Dragons (Yes, I do collect <em>something<\/em>).<\/li>\n<li>JUNGLE ROOM: Clean Windows<\/li>\n<li>JUNGLE ROOM: Declutter generally<\/li>\n<li>JUNGLE ROOM: Sweep and Mop floors<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Nine<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>KITCHEN: Polish Cabinet Doors<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Wipe Down Baseboards<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Scrub Large Appliances<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Clean Out Fridge<\/li>\n<li>KITCHEN: Run Self-Cleaning Oven Cycle<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Ten<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>BEDROOM: Wash Comforter and Shams<\/li>\n<li>BEDROOM: Wash Windows<\/li>\n<li>BEDROOM: Clean Mirrors<\/li>\n<li>BEDROOM: Declutter Vanity<\/li>\n<li>BEDROOM: Dust Baseboards<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Eleven<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>DINING ROOM: Run china through gentle dishwasher cycle and dust hutch<\/li>\n<li>DINING ROOM: Clean Corner Cabinet Thoroughly<\/li>\n<li>DINING ROOM: Dust Baseboards<\/li>\n<li>DINING ROOM: Wash Windows<\/li>\n<li>DINING ROOM: Declutter Hutch Drawers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Twelve<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>BATHROOM: Vacuum The Prince\u2019s Bathroom Vent Fan<\/li>\n<li>BATHROOM: Vacuum My Bathroom Vent Fan<\/li>\n<li>BATHROOM: Vacuum Muscle Boy\u2019s Bathroom Vent Fan<\/li>\n<li>DAUGHTERROOM: Tidy room (She doesn\u2019t live with us full-time or this would be her baby!)<\/li>\n<li>DAUGHTERROOM: Dust and Vacuum thoroughly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Week Thirteen<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>WHOLE HOUSE: Windex light switches<\/li>\n<li>WHOLE HOUSE: Windex Door Knobs<\/li>\n<li>WHOLE HOUSE: Dust Picture Frames<\/li>\n<li>WHOLE HOUSE: Clean glass lighting fixtures<\/li>\n<li>WHOLE HOUSE: Clean Front Door<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My home is more or less decluttered. I mean, I don\u2019t have to do more than a routine decluttering on a periodic basis to make sure that I keep up with problem areas. Drawers may get stuffed occasionally, but surfaces tend to be relatively tidy. \u00a0While I hardly keep the house perfect, I do have &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/2012\/05\/30\/spring-cleaning-in-thirteen-weeks\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Spring Cleaning in Thirteen Weeks&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1843"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3002,"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1843\/revisions\/3002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/noelfigart.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}