Daily Tasks

I've thought long and hard about this business of routines and about what I want to do in my home on a daily basis.  I have already shared my morning and evening routines.  Some of the tasks on this daily list are included there.  I am not repeating them but merely showing that this is done daily.

There are not many tasks on my list of daily jobs.  This is because I hope to do some weekly and monthly jobs each day, as well, but these chores do allow my home to look polished even if I haven't done anything more.

I've enjoyed reading about your routines for morning and evening that you've shared.  One mentioned never going to bed with dirty dishes in the kitchen.  I followed Flylady for years and I agree with this 100%,  but I discovered even with just two of us at home, if I didn't put a stop time on kitchen work, I'd be doing it at bedtime, too.  So for those last couple of items each evening, I choose to set them in the kitchen and deal with them in the morning.



I also want to add that there are just two adults in the house and that makes a huge difference.  If I were dealing with children of any age, mine or my grandchildren, on a daily basis I'd be a lot busier and less able to keep my home this neat.  I know this because I am often amazed at how much easier it is to do housework and have spare time each day!  Last spring when Sam and his family moved in, even though Josh is not a messy child by nature, I found the going a lot more difficult...but I was able to manage my daily routine every day and that made a huge difference.

I did not include in this list the fact of making meals and washing dishes after.  This is something I do three times a day except on Shabat when I rinse dishes and stack them neatly in the dishpan.  I load them into the dishwasher after sunset, unless I've been waiting to finish filling the dishwasher, in which case I'll go ahead and load and set to wash.

You'll note also that I don't vacuum daily.  I tend to do this every other or third day.

Air bed and bedroom for 1 hour.*

Put away clothes.*

Open/Close blinds and curtains.*

Turn the thermostat up/down.*

Empty trash in all rooms.*

Pick up and straighten living room and dining room.*

Load dishwasher.*  Stack dishes to soak.* Put away clean dishes.*

Do laundry.*

Close windows.

Make bed.

Dust bedroom.  Yes, I am surprised, too, but I've just been reading in that 1924 housekeeping book that a bedroom should be dusted daily.  It makes sense on a weird level since dust allergies are so prevalent and they do disturb sleep.

Swish toilet.

Wipe counter tops, polish chrome and mirror.

Freshen towels.  Hang bath towels on line to freshen.

Put out fresh napkins.  Check placemats and replace if needed.  Wipe table.

Freshen flowers.

Wipe stove top,  stove hood, refrigerator, freezer and microwave door.  Wipe visible drips from cabinet doors.Put out fresh dishtowels

Clear and wipe kitchen counters.

Sweep kitchen, baths, and entries.

Sweep porches.  I don't do the patio daily but I do try to do the porches.  The pets track plenty of sandy soil upon the porches.

Plan meals for the next day.  Thaw necessary items.  Prep ahead foodstuffs.