Wednesday, May 16, 2012

House chores

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For a bunch of reasons, I do not have a maid or cleaning lady nowadays. In Brazil, that is outrageous! I seriously have people asking me how in the world am I managing. A cleaning lady here costs about 25 bucks a day, so it's understandable that they are 'must haves' at home.

However, the truth is, I am not sure I want another one. Although they come cheap, dealing with most of them is a pain. The last draw with my former cleaning lady was the fact that she used dog pee-soaked rags to clean my house. It took two heavy scrubs everywhere to get the smell out.

I live in a 650 square feet house, with a 160 square feet backyard. A mansion, I know. But I actually love the fact that it is small, and find it a huge blessing. It means I can work a full time job and keep my house clean and tidy. Here is my routine:

First, these daily tasks take 15 minutes of my day and keep me sane:
Daily:
o   Do the bed
o   Dirty clothes in hamper
o   Wash and dry one load of laundry
o   Hang clean clothes in closet
o   Clean counters and sinks
o   Do the dishes
o   Take out the trash
o   Put out new kitchen rags
o   Any minor tidying up
Most of the rest can be done once a week:
Monday: Iron clothes, change bed sheets and towels

Tuesday: Wash bathroon, kitchen, backyard and desinfect trash cans

Wednesday: Vaccumm and dust, wash windows

Thursday: Wash oven and stove, fridge, and dutch oven.

Friday (or Saturday morning): Wash bathroon, kitchen, backyard and desinfect trash cans

Then there are the monthly jobs:

1st week of the month
o   Dog's bath
2nd week of the month
o   Dust lamp shades and fans
o   Wash glasses from bar
3rd week of the month
o   Clean under appliances
o   Clean on top of cupboards
4th week of the month
Clean inside closets in bedroom, bathroom and kitchen
If things get a bit crazy, I work extra hard to get everything back in shape. I also have a seasonal list, which I'll share another day. How about you? How do you keep your home clean and neat?