I changed my cleaning system...again

[KyMama]

A few months ago I read a book from the library called Sidetracked Home Executives: From Pigpen to Paradise.   Since I wasn't using my checklist or app regularly I thought it couldn't hurt to try something different.   I've discovered that my main problem with checklists is that I get discouraged when I see all the empty squares from things I didn't get done.    With this index card system I don't have anything hanging over my head making me feel guilty.   

The system is pretty simple.  You start out by writing all your chores on index cards, using a different color for daily, weekly and monthly.    Then you number dividers 1-31, one for each day of the month.  The colored cards go in front of today's date and are moved when you finish them.   For daily they move in front of tomorrow's date, I put weekly in front of next Monday's date and monthly goes in front of the 1st of next month.    I think the book suggested spreading the weekly out over the week, but I don't like having to do something on a certain day, the same thing for monthly.  If I'm in the mood to clean the kitchen should I wait until it shows up in my calendar or do it now?  I choose now, so I put all the monthly cards in front of the current day.   This way I can work on whatever I want, whenever I want.   

The index card file box also has months of the year for important dates and a-z for an address book.   Honestly, I'm not really using these like I should.   Hopefully I'll start using them as I get the cleaning under better control.   

Since I started using the box I've also added bill reminders.  I took a different colored card and wrote the account name and all pertinent information on the front.  The back is used to track due date, amount due, date paid, amount paid and the confirmation or check number.   I also changed all my bills to electronic statements so I've cut down on all the paper clutter.   When I get an email notification I download the statement to my computer and write the due date and amount on the back of the corresponding index card and place it in front of the due date.    This way I can easily see when a bill is due since I rotate the date dividers every morning, not to mention I can see the bright pink cards that are coming up.   When I pay the bill I fill out the back of the card so that I know I've paid.

I'd be more than happy to answer any questions or explain it in more detail if anyone is interested.  I highly recommend you read the book too, although there's not much from the book that I'm still doing.  I always tend to take and idea and make it more my own, I just can't help myself.  

[Maura]

My sister discovered this book about thirty years ago. She was finally able to get her house together with two young children (later five children)

She began with “pick up stuff” and went to “Pick up magazines… pick up newspapers… pick up kid’s library books…. put dishes in kitchen sink…” bit by bit.

It is a great system for someone who is not methodical and/or was never taught how to keep house.

[manygoatsnmore]

I have that book and the card file, too. It was a great help to me when I had young children. As long as I used the cards, I was organized, the bills were paid on time (this was well before autopay was an option), my home was clean, even my car was washed and cleaned out every week. I still tend to think in terms of what would be on my cards when I'm cleaning, even though I don't use the card file. I keep thinking I should make a new set of cards to fit my lifestyle now. I'm not as organized as I could be, and although I'm making great progress on decluttering my home, I know I could do better.

I saw Pam and Peggy in person once when they were guests on AM Northwest (they lived in Battleground, WA, not far from where I lived), and I was in the studio audience with my cousin and sister-in-law. They were absolutely hilarious. They grew up in a house with a born organized mother, but the organization gene missed both of them. Their first book tells the story (the one KyMama referenced) of what their lives were like before they figured out the card file system, and how it changed life for them. Their motto was (is) "We change lives with 3x5's." It really changed my life when I was using the system. With 3 kids (and then 4), I was outnumbered, and every one of my kids was a hyperactive mess maker, lol.

[joanie]

Thanks. I have never heard of this system. I am going to try it.

[here to stay]

As a sadly very efficient procrastinator, I found that if I put my highest priority chores on my smart phone's calendar, I get a little reward by getting them checked off at the end of the day. Eventually most things work their way onto it and get done but it still allows me avoid something if I want to. The reminder just shows up the next day.