Presentable ... not perfect

At this point in my life, with two little ones and another on the way, keeping my house presentable is the concern. I gave up on perfection when ... come to think of it, I never really tried for it in the first place!

Those who know me well know I've been an avid fan of flylady forever (well, technically since just before I got married in 2001, when I wanted to impress Peter with my housekeeping skills but needed lots of help!). I still think the system is great, but now that I'm home I wanted something with more well-defined tasks for each day and one that would make sure I got my deep cleaning done.

I stumbled across JustMommies Home Organization Plan a few weeks ago and so far I love it. My favourite feature is that all my tasks (other than the daily routines) are displayed on one page. On this printable page for each month there is a monthly calendar with a task for every day (there are two catch-up days per week), a weekly plan, and a part of the house to work on for that month with appropriate deep cleaning tasks. It is so similar in theory to flylady, I just find the format is easier for me at this point in my life. Flylady is more of a whole life approach and has so much flexibility that sometimes it was overwhelming. This is just housework-related and is so concrete that I don't have to spend any mental energy figuring out what to do when.

My second favourite feature is the afternoon tidy included in the mid-day routine. Since I'm home, mid-afternoon is a perfect time to tidy up the main living areas and make sure the kitchen is clean before supper is put on the table. I usually start this while the kids nap / rest, and Nathan helps me finish when he gets up. If I make sure to do the afternoon tidy I have very little to do after the kids go to bed. Very nice!

It's been just over 2 weeks and my house has stayed relatively tidy. In fact, I think there was only one time since I've started that I would have been embarrassed if someone had dropped in. Before starting this plan my house was rarely presentable so it is making a huge difference. And, considering we plan to do major renovating this spring, having the basic housekeeping under control is a necessity...

(And yes, that is my new kitchen in the above picture ... it needs some major updating ... and it makes me sad when I think of what I left ...


... so I try not to think about it too much! Will post pictures once we refinish the cupboards and replace the countertop.)

Note: This post was written a few weeks ago ... since then I've lapsed a bit but am just about back on track. I still think the program is good ... just need that second trimester energy!