Do you dream of having a clean and cozy home? If the lack of organization and tidiness is driving you insane, having a weekly routine will help you get your home in order. Today I’m talking about old fashioned homemaking routines that will help you stay on track.
Getting into the habit of cleaning certain parts of the home on specific days can make it easier for you to handle the household workload.
Old Fashioned Homemaking Routines
The older I get the more I realize how much wisdom our mothers and grandmothers had when it comes to homemaking. There’s a reason why old fashioned homemaking routines were popular: they worked!
I love being a homemaker and strive to serve God well in my homemaking. The Bible tells us that the Proverbs 31 woman looks well to the ways of her household. That means she manages her home well.
“She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:27
Old fashioned homemaking routines can help you manage your home well.
Routines vs Schedules
Understanding the difference between a routine and a schedule can help you determine which method works best for you’re household.
Routines give a soothing rhythm to your day. When you have a routine to your day or week, you basically do certain tasks in a certain order and about the same time each day. Routines allow flexibility in your day. Flexibility is especially important if you have young children at home!
Routines help you create habits so that you don’t have to think so hard about what to do next. I love having a routine to my day!
Schedules are more regimented and work better for:
- women who work outside the home
- families with very tight, busy schedules
- those who need certain activities or appointments to happen at specific times
- highly disciplined individuals
I’ll be honest and say: Schedules really don’t work for me. I’ve never been able to follow a schedule – and believe me when I say I’ve tried many times over the years.
Getting Dressed for the Day
Getting dressed for the day is more challenging if you don’t work outside the home. It can be so easy to fall into a rut of wearing your most comfy clothes or even your pajamas when you are home most of the time.
The problem with this is when you feel extra comfy – you’re more likely to feel extra lazy. It’s harder to be productive in the home when you don’t get dressed for the day.
Getting dressed for the day is important! If you want to have a clean and cozy home, work will need to be done. Our grandmothers woke up early and got dressed – ready to work.
Start your day by getting dressed and put your shoes on. If you don’t wear shoes in your house, get a pair of shoes specifically for the house. I like wearing my sneakers during the day. I get more accomplished around the house when I’m fully dressed.
Do your hair and put on a little makeup if you wear it. You’ll feel more energetic and when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror you’ll feel better about yourself too.
If you hate to wear nice clothes at home when you’re working because you don’t want to get them stained or dirty, try wearing a pretty apron over your clothes. Wearing a good apron was part of every old fashioned homemaking routine!
You can find some of my favorite picks for pretty aprons here.
One resource I’ve been loving the last couple months is The Year Round Outfit Guide for Moms. I’ve been working to look more “put together” (something I’ve always struggled with) and when I found Corine at Frump Fighters and saw how easy she made putting outfits together – I ordered the book right away.
I’ve had my book for a few weeks now and it’s making getting dressed so much easier. I don’t have to think about it so hard.
Corine also has a printable calendar with an outfit for every day of the year. You can hang it in your closet door and reference it while you’re pulling out your clothes for the day.
Daily Disciplines
Certain daily disciplines should become a part of your homemaking routine. These disciplines include making beds, getting laundry started, sweeping hardwood floors, tidying up by picking up anything that is out of place, and taking care of anything else that will keep your home looking good.
The Daily Eight
- Make your bed.
- Start a load of laundry, dry, fold, and put away.
- Sweep the floors and vacuum.
- Tidy the kitchen.
- Wipe down the bathrooms.
- Straighten the house.
- 10 Minute declutter.
- Take out the trash.
If you have self-discipline and do these tasks each and every day, you can complete them with ease. Once these simple tasks become a habit, you’ll find your home stays neater and you have less work to do each day. Plus, having last minute guests pop in will be a lot less stress inducing!
Weekly Chore Routines
Create a custom weekly chore routine that works for you. It helps to complete a few chores each day. By doing a some housework each day of the week, you can keep your home tidy and relax on the weekends.
Who doesn’t want to relax on the weekends?
So let’s talk about my Rhythms and Rest Cleaning Routine. If you do these tasks each week in addition to your daily eight, your home will stay clean and tidy with a lot less work.
Weekly chores were almost always a part of every old fashioned homemaking routine. Remember the song?
The best part of having a good cleaning routine?
If you are doing this routine each week and one day you miss a task, don’t fret. You don’t have to catch up later in the week unless you really want to. Just wait until the task comes along again next week.
For instance, if on Monday I have an unexpected appointment come up and I run out of time, I can clean the bathroom again next Monday.
Monday: Bathrooms
Get a start on your cleaning by working on the bathrooms each Monday.
- Give the bathroom a good scrub. Wipe down the toilet, wipe down the sink, scrub the tub and shower, sweep and mop the floor, and wipe down any mirrors inside the bathroom.
- You might also need to wipe down or dust cabinets, shelves, and photo frames that you have in the bathroom.
- Dust light fixtures, tops of door frames, baseboards, etc.
- If you are keeping up with the bathroom on a weekly basis, you can keep mold and grime from building up while making sure your bathroom always looks good.
Note: When you wipe down the bathrooms on a daily basis, you’re doing a quick wipe. For instance, check sink and faucets and wipe away water marks, check mirror for splashes, pick up the floor, and hang up a new hand towel as needed etc. The daily wipe down shouldn’t take but a few minutes.
Tuesday: Floors
Floors get dirty so fast. If you live with more than one person and perhaps a pet or two, your floors will take a daily beating. Spend your chore time on Tuesday cleaning the floors.
- Some rooms may call for a thorough sweeping and mopping while others may have carpet on them.
- If you have carpeted floors in some rooms, be sure to vacuum them and possibly even shampoo them if you have the extra time to spare.
Wednesday: Sheets and Towels
Your beds should be made with fresh linens once a week. You may even find the beds stay fresher if you change out pillow cases twice a week. If your children are old enough to help make the beds, let them! In my house my teens strip and remake their own beds and start the sheets in the wash.
Towels also needed to be washed once a week. Otherwise, you may run out of fresh towels.
- Strip the beds and allow the mattresses to air for a bit.
- Remake beds withe fresh linens.
- Wash a load of towels, dry, fold, and put away.
Wash sheets and pillow cases today or sometime on the weekend:
- Spot treat any stains on your bed linens.
- You can wash bedspreads, comforters, and quilts as needed.
- Hang your linens up to dry or toss them in the dryer according the manufacturers directions.
Thursday: Meal Planning and Grocery Day
According to experts, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the best days to do your grocery shopping. Before you head to the grocery store, it’s a good idea to plan your meals in advance. By planning your meals, you can easily make a list of the groceries you need and avoid overspending on items that you do not need.
After planning your meals for the week, make a list of ingredients needed, and head out to the store to shop for those items. Put items away when you arrive home.
If you make this day your “town day” and take care of other errands while you’re out, you may want to plan for an easy evening meal.
To make meal planning easier, subscribe to a simple meal planning service like Eat at Home. I love their simple menus! I’ve been a subscriber for a few months now and love how easy the service is to use.
Eat At Home Meal Plans take all the struggle, guesswork and misery out of meal planning even if:
- You have picky eaters.
- You are trying to feed your family a more wholesome, nourishing diet.
- You aren’t the world’s best cook (or you hate doing it!)
- You need to get dinner on the table in 15 minutes.
This is especially helpful for women who work outside the home. Simply print the grocery list and order your groceries for pick up. But even busy full time homemakers can find a meal planning service to be helpful.
For as little as $1.13 per week you can have Eat at Home do all the work for you!
Friday: Dusting and Sabbath Prep
In our house, Friday is a day of anticipation. We prepare for the Sabbath. The house has been cleaned all week and now it’s time to get ready for rest and renewal.
On Friday we finish up any tasks that need to be done. We also try to think ahead. What things can we do ahead of time to make the Sabbath a joyful experience and a day of rest? Here are some of the things we like to do each week:
- tidy the house
- fill the cars with gasoline
- prepare the Sabbath meals
- set the table
- make sure the church clothes are clean and pressed
- dust all the furniture
I generally dust all of the surfaces, bookshelves, and desktops. Once every month I try to also dust all of the artwork around the house.
Dusting and polishing my furniture is one of my favorite tasks. It’s also a task I often give to my kids if I’m busy. Even young children can help polish the furniture once they’re old enough to follow directions.
At the end of the day as the sun sets and the Sabbath draws near, I like to light candles and enjoy the quiet.
Weekends: Rest
Having a weekly cleaning routine will make your weekends much more enjoyable. You have time to relax, focus on God, and spend time with your family. Spend your weekend doing what you love with those closest to you.
When you get some rest on the weekend, you’ll feel more prepared to tackle the workload at the start of the work week.
In our house we keep Sabbath on Saturday and Sunday we spend relaxing or doing other enjoyable activities. On Sunday afternoons, if I need to meal prep, I will spend a couple hours getting meals ready for the week ahead.
Old Fashioned Housekeeping Rules
These seven rules of housekeeping will help you maintain a neat and organized space. Basically these rules are old adages you’ve probably heard before. They make sense because they work!
If you get in the habit of following these old fashioned housekeeping rules, you’ll have no problem keeping each room inside the home as clean as possible.
1. Put It Away, Don’t Put It Down
When you are no longer using something, make sure to put it away immediately. It’s easy get into the habit of setting something down on a table or chair and forgetting about it.
If you put it away when you are done with it, you can keep your home far more organized.
related: The One Minute Rule
2. A Place for Everything and Everything in its Place
The popular quote from Benjamin Franklin is still relevant today. It means everything in your home should have a place of its own. If you are not using something, put it away. Otherwise you’ve just created clutter.
Remember, a pile of clutter is simply a pile a unmade decisions.
3. A Tidy House is Easier to Clean Than a Messy House
Can you imagine how much time you spend cleaning when you get behind on housework for several weeks? If you follow my weekly cleaning routine, it’ll take less time and effort to maintain a neat home.
When you let things get out of control, you end up spending hours scrubbing, mopping, and wiping down different surfaces.
4. Kids Need Chores Appropriate for Their Age
Encourage your children to get involved in the daily household chores. They need to have chores assigned to them based on their age. While younger children can help with wiping down surfaces and sweeping, older children can assist with laundry, change bed sheets, make their own beds, and much more.
When you have helping hands, it becomes easier to maintain a clean and tidy home.
related: Chore Chart Bundle for Kids
5. Make a List
For your own sanity, try to plan ahead as much as you can. Make a list of what you need to get done and when you plan on working on each household chore or task.
If you create a list of what you need to do, you can start knocking each task out and crossing it off the list when you have finished.
6. Create a Routine and Stick to It
After you create your routine, stick to it. Be persistent. Do not let anything minor get in the way of your routine. Consistency is the key to avoiding a mess while keeping everything as organized a possible.
Using my R&R Cleaning Routine above, you’ll soon find your house stays neat, you have less clutter, and most important – you have time to focus on those things – and people – that really matter to you!!
7. Don’t Procrastinate
If you wait until the last minute to get things done, you will feel overwhelmed. Avoid running into that problem by doing your chores ahead of time. You will feel so much better when you have completed your workload.
Work on keeping your home clean and organized by getting into a routine and completing chores each day. You can even get the children involved. It is much easier to clean a home that is tidy than it is to clean one that has been neglected.
If you feel overwhelmed with cleaning your house and don’t know where to start, read this.
Action Steps to Take Today
- Think about how you can incorporate old fashioned homemaking routines into your day.
- Begin practicing the Daily Eight chores each morning.
- Choose a day for each weekly chore. Or follow my R & R Cleaning Routine.
- Print out my Cleaning Routine printable below if you’d like to try this system.
- The only way to keep a neat house is to do it. So get started today.
Free Printable R & R Cleaning Routine
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