Tag Archives: household care

The Benefits of Lists

Housekeeping is about more than just the best household products and tips on how to better clean a room. Housekeeping is about keeping your house in order and what better way to do that than finding an organizational system that works for you. I am amazed at the majority of people who push their carts through grocery stores, wandering aimlessly and grabbing whatever they think they need. Rarely do I see someone with a list. Sometimes I feel a little odd, with my list and pen in hand. But at the same time I feel a sense of triumph in … Continue reading →

Maintaining Control of School Papers

In my last housekeeping blog I wrote about keeping order of school supplies in your home. Now is also a good time to start thinking about how you are going to keep order of the papers that will be coming home throughout the school year. Let’s first establish one thing…you cannot possibly keep every single piece of paper that your child brings home. If you do, you will find paper piles cluttering your house. So if you can learn to let go of some things, it will help. When my children were younger I basically had three options of what … Continue reading →

Keeping Order of School Supplies in Your Home

In some parts of the country, school has already started. Here in Wisconsin the official first day of school for most districts is September 1st. One of the things that are on the mind of parents is school supplies. Not just the supplies children need at school but the stuff they need at home. Many items they need duplicates of (pencils, paper, calculator, markers, crayons, etc.) and some items you need to keep stocked so that your children can pull from them throughout the school year (notebooks, pocket folders, etc.). Where does all of this fit into housekeeping? Well, without … Continue reading →

Taming the Laundry Monster

Fellow blogger Carol Paxman inspired me with her recent blog, “Taming the Clutter Monster.” I couldn’t help but think of my least favorite chore, what I consider to be a monster…the laundry. Although it has gotten better since I have learned to delegate, it still sometimes feels like it’s all I ever do. I remember a few years ago a friend of mine who lives a couple of hours away was feeling burdened by her housework. She has five children and they were younger at the time. I offered to drive that couple of hours to come help. I couldn’t … Continue reading →

An Ordered But Livable Home

For the most part, I keep my house in good order. Very rarely do you find things in chaos. I attribute that to my organizing skills. But at the same time I have also strived to make it livable. I was just at a birthday party recently where I met up with an old co-worker. Before I quit that job to become a full-time freelance writer, one of our other co-workers had been building a brand new house. So I asked my co-worker how the new house looked and if she had been there to see it. She said she … Continue reading →

Does Your Household Product Meet the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval?

You are probably familiar with the magazine, “Good Housekeeping.” It has been in circulation for 100 years now. That is pretty amazing. One of the unique features is the “Good Housekeeping Seal.” This is a list of products that have been approved under their stringent judgments. The seal actually guarantees consumers that if they purchase a product with their seal and it is found to be defective within two years from the date it was purchased, they will receive a replacement, refund or repair kit. So needless to say, you pretty much can’t go wrong when you purchase a product … Continue reading →

Creating an Annual Chore List

We are wrapping up our chore lists with today’s final one, the annual chore list. Hopefully by now you have discovered that keeping your home in order is not as difficult as you thought, once you organize everything. Your housekeeping binder will be helpful for other things but I will touch on that in a bit. Let’s first consider some of the chores that can be done on an annual basis. Go through your house and look for minor repairs that should be done. This includes tightening screws on cabinets, drawers, doors and furniture. It could also include caulking around … Continue reading →

Creating a Monthly Chore List

What I love about creating a monthly chore list is that it keeps me on top of housekeeping that can easily slip under the radar screen. When you create your monthly chore list, you should also have a space to write in the date you do it. That way you can know if it was done at the beginning, middle or end of the month. Here are some ideas on chores that can be done on a monthly basis (of course this depends on preference): Wiping down baseboards throughout the house Cleaning cobwebs out of basement, garage, on ceiling, anywhere … Continue reading →

Creating a Weekly Chore List

In my last blog I talked about creating a daily chore list. I also mentioned this was a great opportunity to delegate chores. If there was ever a good time to divide things up and teach new skills to your children, this is it. I also mentioned putting your daily chore list into a binder. This binder can become a very helpful resource in your home. You could even decorate it and label it “(Name of Your Family) Housekeeping Book” or something more creative. Make sure everyone is aware of where it is kept so that it can be accessed … Continue reading →

Creating a Daily Chore List

Some people find housekeeping therapeutic and others would like to avoid it at any cost. I tend to be one of those that equate it to therapy because I feel so much better when things are cleaned up and put away. But what has really helped is my daily chore list. I know that some people like to do their chores whenever they get to them, or an entire evening may be set aside. Some people take advantage of the weekend and use that as a time to catch up. Personally, I don’t like to spend hours of my time … Continue reading →