Helping my mother-in-law in her kitchen- we always have fun!

Once upon a time I was given the opportunity to gleen great gobs of experience from a mother of ten.  One of the things she taught me was to organize my summer in such a way that I could tackle a room at a time of deep, deep cleaning.  I just find that homeschooling and housekeeping are mutually exclusive; if I am keeping my house super clean and in order, schoolwork is not happening, and if we are focused on school, housework falls by the wayside.  Aside from the daily upkeep (cleaning toilets, running laundry, etc.), the deep spring-cleaning kind of stuff just doesn't get done. 

And because we live in the middle of almond orchards that are shaken every fall (did you know they shake the trees to harvest the almonds?  Can you imagine the dust???), I do have to revisit the vacuuming of upholstery and daily dusting until the rain begins in December.

So here's the plan for this summer:

Week One 6/5

Family Room- vacuum upholstery, touch up paint, clean baseboards, empty and wipe down cupboards, re-organize cupboard contents, clean out sliding glass door track, call someone to fix the screen, mop sunroom, clean fireplace tiles, clean out empty pot, dust fan

Week Two 6/12

Guest Room- wash all linens, wash curtains, clean out closets, vacuum and dust closets, vacuum under bed, clean out under-bed boxes, touch up paint, clean baseboards

Week Three 6/19

Living Room- vacuum upholstery, touch up paint, clean baseboards, dust palms, re-do painting with kids

Week Four 7/3

Dining Room- touch up paint, clean baseboards,  clean glass top, clean chandelier, dust cabinet, wash all glasswear and dust all pieces and books, fix broken chair

Week Five 7/10

Kitchen- touch up paint, clean baseboards, clean chandelier, clean out lighting fixture, empty and wipe down cupboards, re-organize cupboard contents, clean out fridge

This is a huge week because the kitchen is such a big task.  I tend to schedule this week when I know I'll have the time and the energy to tackle it.  Last year I had a high school friend from church help me and I'll be asking her again! 

Week Six 7/17

Baby's Room- touch up paint, clean baseboards, dust blinds, clean out drawers, sort through dresses, re-organize closet, wipe down crib, dust fan

This is an easy week and I schedule this room purposely after the big kitchen week to give myself a break.

Week Seven 7/24

Linen Closet- sort through all the holiday stuff and get rid of unwanted items, dust down shelves, sort through other boxes

Master Closet- sort all clothes, re-organize shelves, sort through kids' stuff, mop, clean baseboards, clean mirrors

Week Eight 7/31

Laundry Room- touch up paint, clean baseboards, wipe down washer and dryer, clean out dryer vent, vacuum out hampers, empty and wipe down cupboards, re-organize cupboard contents, clean out lighting fixtures

Week Nine 8/7

Master Bedroom- touch up paint, clean baseboards, clean out sliding glass door track, dust down and oil armoire, re-organize drawers, wash windows, clean out bathroom cupboards, dust fan

Week Ten 8/14

School Room- touch up paint, clean baseboards, clean windows and screens, dust bookshelves, empty and wipe down cupboards, re-organize cupboard contents

Week Eleven 8/21

Kids' Rooms- touch up paint, clean baseboards, make lists with the kids of what needs to be done and supervise them

Office- touch up paint, clean baseboards, clean windows and screens, dust bookshelves, empty and wipe down cupboards, re-organize cupboard contents, clean lighting fixture

Phew!  Are you tired?  Me too!  But breaking it down like this is really manageable, and most rooms can be tackled one task per day.  There are also quite a few things that can be done by the children.

Speaking of involving them... I do love to, and I do love to reward them.  Some weeks the reward will be the knowledge of a job well done, but other weeks it may be a Slurpee run or an afternoon playing games.