Clean sweep

Over the weekend I start to notice things around the house that bother me. A dusty surface, an unclean doormat, food specks on the kitchen floor all make me anxious. We are not particularly messy as a family, but we do tend occupy the whole house much more intensely on the weekends.  It’s not that we don’t clean on weekends. Some cleaning is best done then, such as detail work in individual room, kid’s bedrooms, bathrooms and organizing of any closet or pantry, but for the surface cleaning I like to clean the house on Monday morning after everyone leaves for work and school. 

I like to clean. It has a clear objective, and the reward is a house that is nicer to be in. Monday morning cleaning is a race for me since I have about an hour after everyone leaves to do as much as I can before I leave for work. My general technique is to work from top to bottom. I start cleaning and dusting surfaces and work my way towards vacuuming.  If I’m really short for time, vacuuming offers me the biggest reward for my efforts. While people seldom notice the other smaller tasks of sweeping, dusting, and polishing the wood, they almost always notice a nicely vacuumed floor when they return home from school and work. 

The reason for waiting until Monday is that it always yields the longest lasting effect for effort. If I cleaned on Friday, I’d still have to clean again on Monday because of the time we spend in the house. If I wait until Monday, the chances of us keeping in clean throughout the week are greatly increased.

This is not unusual since all of my chores seem to be directed towards starting Monday with a clean slate. Laundry is usually completed, folded, and returned by Monday. Shopping happens on Sunday, and general catching up happens on weekends so that we can begin anew on Monday.

I suppose that my Monday cleaning not the best strategy for my family. It would probably be better for the kids to learn how to clean properly on the weekend.  Unfortunately, a chore oriented model usually requires policing until the jobs are done.  Fun activities such as playing with friends or leaving the house are restricted until tasks are complete.  While learning chores is an important part of everyone’s life, it is much easier to do the tasks than it is to supervise their completion. 

Long ago I had a house cleaner. I liked the discipline of having to have everything picked up before she arrived. This might be a better option than having the kids clean. This way they would have to do something, but not something overwhelming.  Tasks and responsibilities could be increased gradually. I do think that it is inevitable that they will learn how to clean someday on their own but for now I think I will continue with my Monday clean sweep. It affords me the satisfaction of a race, a house that stays cleaner longer, and something to make Mondays distinctive, other than the typical dragging feeling after another too short weekend.