Messy Monday: Excel at Your Tasks

Unless you can afford to hire the help, you are your home's cleaning lady each week (with perhaps some little "Merry Maids" as your helpers, depending on your children's ages). When it comes to getting your housework done, thinking of yourself as hired help can help.

Recently, I came across the cleaning checklist for our church. All of the jobs in each room were listed on an Excel spreadsheet, with four columns for each row. As each job was completed, the cleaning person would check that box. At the end of the month, there should be a check in every box--indicating all jobs were performed as expected.

When I saw this, something clicked. I knew that this system would help me. So I opened my own Excel spreadsheet, thought about my home, and listed the jobs that really should be done in each room each week (you can also include once-a-month jobs). Each week, I'm either completing jobs and checking off boxes, or I'm not. If I'm diligent with getting the work done, I will excel!
For me, this system is far superior to keeping track of everything loosely in my head. That's because it's very concrete and visible. There either is or is not a check in each box. That means certain jobs are less likely to be consistently  neglected. You'll see if sweeping the sun porch or vacuuming the stairs, for example, are always falling by the wayside each week. As you enter a new week (and a new column on the spreadsheet), you can give priority to jobs that have not been checked off from the week before.

As far as completing the tasks, you can either do a little here and there if you find yourself with some downtime. There are probably many tasks on the spreadsheet that require fewer than 5 minutes to complete. Or you can set aside a length of time each day to one section on the spreadsheet (take a half hour each morning, for example to do your housework. One morning, do the bathrooms; the next, vacuum and dust the living room; etc.). Another option is to set aside one morning (or afternoon) or two (depending on the size of your house and how much you can realistically get done with your children) to complete your spreadsheet in full.

I suppose this system resembles the Fly Lady's zone system (where you do your daily jobs and work in a certain "zone" of your house each week). However, it works for me much better because it is my system. I am not following someone else's routine that works great for them but feels awkward to me. That's really the key: taking all the tips you've learned and read and modifying them to devise your own system. When you reach that point, it will click, and you will excel at your tasks (maybe using Excel!).

(The winner of last week's giveaway was Rebecca (comment #6). Rebecca, please email me at cheryl@momsinneedofmercy.com with your address & Karen will get your book sent out to you! Congratulations!).

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