I was lucky enough to interview Heloise – the household hint icon – for a magazine article I’m writing, and she told me something interesting. When she does her spring cleaning, she likes to do it by task vs. by room.
Instead of spring cleaning the kitchen or the family room, she cleans all of the switch plates in the house. Or she wipes down all of the mirrors or all of the door frames.
I would say her principle works off of momentum; if you have the tools and mindset to tackle a job, tackle all of the rooms that need that job done. Switching tasks takes extra time and you run the risk of becoming sidetracked.
In my regular household cleaning, I like to clean by task. A reporter recently asked me about my cleaning routine. Here it is:
Every Day
First thing in the morning:
Unload dishwasher
One load of laundry
Make bed
Before bed:
Wipe down kitchen counters
Load/turn on dishwasher
Pack lunches
Set coffee pot
Weekly
Monday: Clean bathrooms
Tuesday: Vacuum
Wednesday: Clean kitchen
Thursday: Dust
Friday: Vacuum and mop
Saturday: Saturday project (could be dust baseboards, clean a closet, dust ceiling fans, etc.)
Sunday: Strip and wash linens
