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You are here: Home / Interior Decorating / DIY / Orderly housekeeping (+ a funny fail)

Orderly housekeeping (+ a funny fail)

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Cleaning, DIY, Homekeeping, Time Management

Today’s post was inspired by Leena from Onshore. Originally, I was just going to share my failed project, but she had a great idea of sharing her new homekeeping schedule. It’s always great to share our systems and get ideas to tweak and improve our own! So here is what I do:

sidetracked-home-executivesTo keep things clean and orderly around the house, I use a simplified version of The Sidetracked Home Executives card file system.  Well, when I remember to use it, things stay clean and orderly…  It’s a fairly simple cleaning schedule already, but I’ve found it easier to stick to if it’s even more simplified.

Basically, you write down each household task you have to do every day and week on a 3×5 card and file each task into a the day it needs to be done.  (I have dividers for each day of the week.)  For example, today is cleaning day, so I have all of my daily tidying tasks (washing dishes, clearing off tables, etc) along with the weekly deeper cleaning jobs like washing the towels and vacuuming filed under “Monday.”

As you do what is on each card, you file it into the next appropriate day.  So when I wash the dishes, that card will get moved to Tuesday; when I wash the towels, that card will get moved to next Monday.

It’s very motivating to have the jobs broken down into quick easy tasks, it makes you feel like you’re accomplishing a lot and you can get through everything so quickly.

So where does the failed project come in?  Back when I had the Etsy shop, I kept a card file for online tasks as well.

Since I used a simplified version though, I only had a dozen or so cards to flip through, so I didn’t need the whole big plastic card file box.  I cut off the lid and tried using that for a while.

20130508_115919

But it was ugly.  I had some leftover balsa wood from dollhouse projects, so I attempted to make a simple new card file box with the balsa wood.  It was going to be pretty cute.

box

I used one of the cards to measure the width.  Then I cut out the other pieces based on that width.  And then hot glued the pieces together, and I was very pleased.

Then I tried to put the cards in.

20130508_121722

HAHA!

I measured everything wrong.  Looks like the old plastic box lid will work just fine.

Anyway…it does sound funny to have cards for the simplest of tasks, but it’s the little things that make the house a mess and when one is left undone, it’s easier to leave the rest undone.  Like Martha says (and I so often repeat…) “Tidiness begets tidiness.”  When I actually follow the card system, the daily tasks only take about 15 minutes and then I have the rest of the day free in a tidy house.

Have you found a system that really sticks and works for you? Any tips?

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  1. Leena

    December 10, 2013 at 2:15 pm

    LOL the box 😀 You can make a new one later.
    I don’t think I need to write individual tasks anywhere but if I would I think I would prefer these cards to a traditional list, the list just seems so long.
    Thanks for the link love

    Reply
    • Christina

      December 16, 2013 at 3:08 pm

      Yes, that’s one of the things I love about the system: you only see one task at a time and each one looks so small and quick, so I end up flying through them all.

      Maybe I will try to make another box. 🙂

  2. mary

    December 16, 2013 at 2:46 pm

    Just cut those cards down.
    That box is too cute to give up on.

    Reply
    • Christina

      December 16, 2013 at 3:09 pm

      Ha, maybe I should! Thanks, Mary.

  3. Katrina

    March 16, 2015 at 11:54 am

    The box is adorable. I’m going to get my supplies to make one today. Hope you got to use it for something else.

    Reply

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Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challen Ugly photo time! We're doing the $100 Room Challenge on our dining room (that you guys haven't even seen the "before" of yet). It's a super fun challenge to stay within $100 and makeover a room in a month. We're behind schedule, but there has actually been progress. I'll try to remember to share here, but there's more on the blog! LittleVictorian.com
#100roomchallenge
Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventua Update: the MCM is officially sold! We did eventually finish most of our restoration/renovation projects. I'll share the updates in the coming months as we get settled in to our new place. 😁
House update! The realtor is still confused about House update! The realtor is still confused about why "it's such a popular house." When she arrived yesterday for a showing, there were 8 cars in the driveway. 😃

We had three offers the first day, one of whom hadn't even seen the house in person yet.
Surprise! The house is going on the market today. Surprise! The house is going on the market today. (Long story that I'll fill you in on when I have more than 2 seconds.)
.
But we're once again with a realtor that calls our house "unique" instead of calling it a Mid Century Modern. 🤦‍♀️
.
We can't count how many locals came into this house and mentioned that those windows should be removed and walled up and the beams cut off. And then it would be a "normal" house. 🤯
.
Still can't really identify with people in this area. 🤷‍♀️ SO happy to be going back home to the East coast TOMORROW!
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