To clean or not to clean

I've heard it said that it takes 21 days to form a habit.

There always seem to be things in my life that I would like to turn into a routine, and habits I would like to form as I seek to improve as a mother and housewife.

A while back I saw a "cleaning schedule" on Pinterest. I have never been a great cleaner. I've not been a bad cleaner, but it's been hard to stay motivated to keep up with the deep cleaning of the house. 

I'm not talking about simply doing dishes and picking up toys - because let's be honest, those things have to be done every-single-day-almost-every-hour in order to just have the appearance of a clean house. No, I'm talking about things like cleaning out the fridge. And washing windows. And polishing the wood furniture. And scrubbing the floors. 

It's exhausting keeping a clean house! And with 2 young kids in the house? One might argue that it's impossible. "Cleaning a house with young kids is like brushing your teeth while eating oreos" is more than just a funny saying - it's a reality. 

So I decided to take it upon myself to experiment a little bit with cleaning and figure out a routine that would keep me on top of the deep cleaning, while not stressing me out. I've tried various cleaning ideas - deep cleaning all in one day, all in one weekend, and splitting up tasks over different days - like dusting one day and cleaning all glass (windows/mirrors) another day. 

After seeing yet another cleaning schedule on Pinterest, I gave it a shot. And so far, I like it.

Monday - Thursday I deep clean clean an area of the house.
Mondays: Kitchen. Wipe down counters, clean out fridge, clean microwave wash windows, sweep/scrub floors.
Tuesdays: Living room. Put away everything - mail piles that collect, toys, etc, dust, wash windows, polish wood furniture.
Wednesdays: Bedrooms. Put away /, hang up/put away all laundry that's accumulated, wash windows, dust, polish furniture.
Thursday: Bathrooms. Clean countertops, mirrors, scrub toilets, sweep/wash floors, wash shower/bathtubs

*As a disclaimer, our house is small, so breaking the house up into 4 areas makes each day seem fairly easy.

**As another disclaimer, I have two little kids. Easy is not a very accurate depiction of keeping a house even remotely clean.

A few notes: vacuuming is not on the list. Henry is terrified of the vacuum cleaner, so it takes two of us to complete the task - one to vacuum and one to comfort him in the other room. Also, there are tasks I do not do every week (washing windows, polishing furniture). But if I stick to the weekly schedule, I still concentrate on that area on each given day. And if I miss a day, it's not overwhelming to pick it back up the next day.

I also make my own cleaners! To see recipes, check out this post on our other blog: http://familywellnessessentialoils.wordpress.com/2014/10/10/green-cleaning/

Dare I say it's becoming a habit? Not yet...but I'm working on it. With the excuse that because it's a weekly routine, I am giving myself 21 weeks to make it a habit. :)