The Green Room

One month into homemaking

A month ago I packed up my books and said good-bye to the world of academia and hello to the world of homemaking. Before baby arrives I'm living for three glorious months as a housewife, of the distinctly not desperate variety.

To be honest, at first I worried that I would get bored. But between reading for fun again, preparing for the baby, and starting to make Christmas gifts, I haven't been bored at all! (I might also spend large amounts of time on the internet - but at least I'm not watching TV?) As much fun as this is, and as much as my doting husband encourages me to relax and just enjoy my last bit of free time before motherhood takes over, I just couldn't stand the thought of not doing something productive to contribute to our home.

So I put together a program for the actual homemaking I wanted to do. There are lots of websites out there offering advice on this stuff, but I found that most of them required a lot more work than I think is necessary. I wanted an easy weekly schedule that I could and actually would follow. Our house doesn't need to be pristine, but both my husband and I are happier when it's at least picked up. I decided that one big day of cleaning each week would be too overwhelming and too easy to put off, plus I liked the idea of feeling like I accomplished at least one productive household task each day. I ended up breaking things down basically by room (which is easy to do in our little condo), although I toyed with the idea of doing it by chore.

Before we get to the actual routine, though, when I'm needing a bit of motivation I like to put on a happy little working song...

That's better. Now, here's the weekly rundown.


Monday - Menu
Put together menu plan for the week, make grocery list, and hit grocery store.

Tuesday - Bathroom
Sweep and clean counter, mirror, and toilet each week. Mop and clean tub as needed.

Wednesday - Bedroom/Other
Pick up, wash sheets, vacuum, and dust, all as needed. Since our bedroom doesn't really get dirty, I'm planning to alternate the bedroom one week and another random task the next week. Last time it was outside our front door, which gets inexplicably gross.

Thursday - Living/dining room
Pick up and vacuum each week. (The picking up part is the most important here - I somehow really clutter things up during the week.) Dust as needed.

Friday - Kitchen
Sweep and clean counters each week. Also sweep and look over the second bedroom, which is right off the kitchen and has the same flooring. Mop and handwash dishes as needed.

It takes me no more than a half hour to do each day's tasks (with the exception of grocery shopping), although I could probably do them in half the time if I was in a hurry. My goal is to have this be such an ingrained habit that I am able to pick it up again easily after the baby arrives. (Experienced mothers, feel free to laugh at me now.) But really, I feel like this routine is quite manageable and so far I don't mind it at all. On the day or two when I've put the chores off one day, I can just do them along with the next day's without taking too much extra time. And as corny as it sounds, it makes me feel like quite an accomplished homemaker!

I should also note that my husband the scientist is quite wonderful about helping around the house and would easily do more if I wanted him to. He empties the dishwasher every morning before leaving for work, helps with the dishes at night, and helps fold the laundry (which I often do on weekends just so I don't have to do all the folding myself!). He has also officially taken over cleaning the bathtub (my least favorite task) because he worries about me doing it while pregnant. I think because I know that doing all the housework myself is not a necessity, it makes it easier to do. Does that make sense? I mean, I could see a woman becoming resentful as she cleaned the toilet because her husband refused to do it, but since my husband can and has cleaned the toilet plenty of times, I don't mind doing it. It's just a little way I can make his life easier and more pleasant.

How do you get things done around the house? Have you found a weekly schedule to work for you or do you just attack chores as needed? Do you get your kids involved?