I use Room Cleaning Systems in my house. I type up a list of things to do and what order to do them in and place them somewhere in the room so that they can be easily accessed. This is a great way to teach older children how to follow directions and learn how to clean a room. Its also a great reminder if you’re trying to teach yourself how to clean thoroughly, you just read and follow the list of duties til its done.
You can develop a Room Cleaning System for any room in your house, even the garage and deck.
Here is an example of my Bathroom Cleaning System. The beauty of these Systems is that anyone in the house who can read can use them. Walk your children through the system a time or two and use it together. Then, type or write them up and post them in the room in a hidden spot. When its time to clean, you can point your family member to the paper and let them go.
I’ve had a lot of success in helping my children do their chores with room cleaning systems, I’ve even made one with them for their own rooms. Try it yourself and see what you think! First, think of everything you do when you clean the bathroom. Decide how involved your system will be; will it be a general cleaning or a heavy duty cleaning? Then make a list of those things you do to clean from the very first thing to the last, in some kind of logical order.
My Bathroom Cleaning System is a general cleaning, not a heavy duty one, and it is done three times a week because we have several people in the house.
Bathroom Cleaning System:
Get your tools ready: cleaner, vinegar spray, several clean rags, broom
Pick up the room.Take out all dirty laundry and towels.
Run a sink of hot water and add 1/4 cup cleaner.
Pour 1/2 cup cleaner in commode to soak.
Take out the trash, fill the trash can with cleaner and water to soak of needed, if not give it a quick rinse and set it outside to air while you clean.
Pick up rugs, shake and lay outside the room.
Using the sink of cleaner and a cleaning rag, wipe down the sink, fixtures, commode, mirror, door knobs, door frames, window frames and tile walls.
Wipe down the sink cabinet.
Run the shower into the tub briefly to get it wet. Add scrubbing cleanser or spray on cleaner. Let sit while you continue.
Scrub around the bottom of the commode.
Using a clean rag, clean the tub and tub surround. Spray shower curtain with vinegar.
Change your wash water if needed.
Wash the sink.
Sweep the floor
Wash the baseboards or the area where the floor and wall meet.
Scrub the floor. ~~~~~~~~
To rid your bathroom of mold, without using bleach, mix about 2 ounces of Borax and a cup of white vinegar. Put it in a spray bottle and spray the mixture directly on the mold. Allow it to sit for 20-60 minutes. Wipe it off. Repeat if needed. To keep mold from growing, spray mold-prone areas with straight vinegar frequently and allow it to dry.
I don’t allow my children to use bleach to clean, so if the bathroom needs disinfecting or bleaching I do it myself. Be careful if you use bleach and remember not to allow it to be mixed with other cleaners.
I think you should try to make your own Room Cleaning System now … and let me know how it works, how you changed it to fit your family.
Next week we will clean the hallways, entryways and other room of your choice.
I will be drawing the name of the winner of the apron and dishtowel later today and will announce it tomorrow morning! Come back to see!
Oh nevermind lol. This is an old post….duh
I don’t remember entering for the towels and apron….lol. Did I?
Wow – it’s been almost a year. . . but I was reading through as I am updating our household chore lists and had a question! What is the index card system? I LOVE the idea of hanging the bedroom cleaning lists on the back of their doors, and may implement this IMMEDIATELY! (I literally just printed off new chore lists!)
Hi Angie,
I will talk about the Index Card system in a future post so watch for it! It is a system of cleaning that I learned as a child from my Mother. I think she may have read about it in some homemaking magazine like Better Homes and Garden!
Thanks for asking, I will try to get it up on the site very soon.
So when this 5 weeks is over I have a feeling we’re going to need to start all over again. LOL! This has been great. Thanks Sylvia.
Yes, I have that feeling too! 😀 That’s why we’re going to be talking a lot in the next 2 weeks about maintaining, routines and cleaning systems. Using something like those methods is the only way I’ve ever been able to keep control over the condition of my house, so I’ll share what has worked for me and my house of 7. Maybe something will help you, too! 😀
WONDERFUL idea, Sylvia! Tysm for sharing!
Cecily- My Collin is the exact same way so with him I have his room list made with very detailed instructions, laminated with a hole in the top to hang behind his bedroom door because with all the instructions it is on both sides. Between his detailed list and his index card system I have very little reminding to do, and for over a month his room has been so neat that Heath asked me if I was locking him outside during the day. LOL (just kidding of course).
Sylvia- do you have your kids room list somewhere? Just curious. I know this would help my oldest b/c he can read now. I’m thinking something similar only with pictures maybe for the 4 yo….just wanting an idea of what you do. I remember a book I read as a kid about how to clean your room, and I still basically clean my room that way. You make your bed first, then put anything that doesn’t belong on the bed, vacuum the floor, then put everything on your bed back where it belongs. However, my 7 yo will need a bit more detail than that, he’s a bit hard headed, just like his parents 😉
I like the idea of a laminated list too. Makes it much easier to re-use. I’ve done that with the kids chore chart before.
Cecily,
Here is Lydia’s list. She is 11 so you might need to alter it a bit. I remember when Sam was little one item on his list was “pick up your legos” LOL 😀
Put your pj’s under your pillow and make your bed
Put all dirty clothes in your laundry basket and take them to the laundry room
Put all your toys and dolls in your toy box
Sweep out from under your dresser, put everything away
Put all books on bookshelf
Pull everything out from under your bed, put it all away where it goes.
Pick up clothes out of your closet, hang them up
Clean out the closet and put everything where it goes.
Sweep floor
You might find that your child needs to know for certain where “everything goes”. Lydia has containers and boxes to put things in.
I do this for my family, and it WORKS! I have the list laminated so that it can be checked off ithe a dry erase marker as they do the list.