Handle Chores, House Cleaning and Errands with Simple Systems

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits, this is the third post in a series called Creating Simple Systems. Also see the series, “Edit Your Life.”

The key to creating calm and simplicity in your life is creating simple systems, instead of haphazard systems of chaos that form naturally when we don’t give thought to these things.

We’ve talked about creating a simple system for handling mail and paperwork, and others for things like errands and email. Today, let’s look at how simple systems for chores, cleaning, yard work and errands can simplify your life and bring order to the chaos.

From Complicated Systems to Simple
First, let’s take a look at some of the complicated systems we might have for these things, when we don’t give them much thought, and how they can stress us out. See, when you don’t intentionally design a system, one will form anyway, and it probably won’t be an optimal system. But it’s the one we use, so we just continue to use it.

For example, let’s look at a complicated system that might form for cleaning our house if we don’t intentionally design it:

We intend to keep things clean, but our lives get busy, and things come up, and we’re tired when we get home. Things start to get messy.
Company is coming over! We clean like crazy at the last minute, raising our stress levels. Still, we only do a quick clean, which means there’s still a lot of clutter and mess even when the guests do come over.
We let things deteriorate some more until the next guest comes over, or until we’re sick of things. There is really bad dust under the furniture, grime in that “crisper” drawer in the fridge, and we don’t even want to talk about the bathtub.

Now, you might not be this bad, but you can kind of get the idea. No system is designed, so things get complicated. And we get stressed out at the last-minute cleaning, and by the constant mess.

The solution: design a simple system intentionally, making a routine that works for you, and alter it if it doesn’t make sense. Write out the system, so it is formal, and try to stick to it as much as possible — religiously, if possible.

House Cleaning: A Simple System
For all of these simple systems in this article, please remember that they are just examples. You should modify them to fit your life. And another important guideline: write them down, put them somewhere you’ll see them, and focus on making them a habit for at least a month.

Here’s a sample system for house cleaning:

First, have a big weekend dedicated to cleaning, so you can start your system with a clean slate. Get the whole family involved (if you have one), and clean one room at a time, from top to bottom, clockwise, until you’re done. It also helps to get rid of clutter. You might need two big weekends if there’s a lot of cleaning to do.
From now on, have a clean-as-you-go routine: when you’re getting ready in the morning, do a quick wipe of the sink and toilet and bathtub. Put things away as you go through the day, wash dishes when you’re done using them, wipe the counters and table when you’re done cooking or eating.
Also have a daily routine: Every morning, make your bed, take out the trash, and do a quick pick-up. In the evening, sweep the kitchen/dining room, clean up after dinner, and do a quick pick-up before bed.
Have a weekly routine: either designate one day for a quick 1-hour clean (it shouldn’t be that dirty if you’ve been cleaning as you go), or have different days designated for different things — vacuum the living room, for example, or wash the linens, etc.
Every few months, do a deep clean: clean out the refrigerator and oven, clear out the cabinets and clean them, etc.

Other Chores: A Simple System
Besides cleaning your house, you probably have other chores you need to do on a weekly basis. It’s good to get a weekly routine going as your simple system, so you never forget to do them and you know when you have to do what.

Here’s a sample weekly routine:

Monday: Yardwork
Tuesday: Clean car
Wednesday: Pay bills, update financial software
Thursday: Errands, groceries
Friday: Laundry
Saturday: Clean house, put away laundry
Sunday: Family Day

Errands: A Simple System
Running errands throughout the week will stress you out, and cost you time and money. Here’s a sample simple system for errands that works well for me:

Keep a running errands list, adding to it as you think of things, so when errands day comes, you know exactly what you need to do. Also keep a running grocery list.
The night before your errands day, you plan your dinner menu for the next two weeks and complete your grocery list, then look at all the errands on your errands list and plan out the most efficient route.
On Errands Day, you spend a couple of hours doing all the errands on your list and then buying all your groceries. One trip, planned efficiently, saves gas and multiple shopping trips.

See also:

Handle Chores, House Cleaning and Errands with Simple Systems

Every Wednesday is Simplicity Day on Zen Habits, this is the third post in a series called Creating Simple Systems. Also see the series, “Edit Your Life.”

The key to creating calm and simplicity in your life is creating simple systems, instead of haphazard systems of chaos that form naturally when we don’t give thought to these things.

For example, let’s look at a complicated system that might form for cleaning our house if we don’t intentionally design it:

We intend to keep things clean, but our lives get busy, and things come up, and we’re tired when we get home. Things start to get messy.
Company is coming over! We clean like crazy at the last minute, raising our stress levels. Still, we only do a quick clean, which means there’s still a lot of clutter and mess even when the guests do come over.
We let things deteriorate some more until the next guest comes over, or until we’re sick of things. There is really bad dust under the furniture, grime in that “crisper” drawer in the fridge, and we don’t even want to talk about the bathtub.

Now, you might not be this bad, but you can kind of get the idea. No system is designed, so things get complicated. And we get stressed out at the last-minute cleaning, and by the constant mess.

Here’s a sample system for house cleaning:

First, have a big weekend dedicated to cleaning, so you can start your system with a clean slate. Get the whole family involved (if you have one), and clean one room at a time, from top to bottom, clockwise, until you’re done. It also helps to get rid of clutter. You might need two big weekends if there’s a lot of cleaning to do.
From now on, have a clean-as-you-go routine: when you’re getting ready in the morning, do a quick wipe of the sink and toilet and bathtub. Put things away as you go through the day, wash dishes when you’re done using them, wipe the counters and table when you’re done cooking or eating.
Also have a daily routine: Every morning, make your bed, take out the trash, and do a quick pick-up. In the evening, sweep the kitchen/dining room, clean up after dinner, and do a quick pick-up before bed.
Have a weekly routine: either designate one day for a quick 1-hour clean (it shouldn’t be that dirty if you’ve been cleaning as you go), or have different days designated for different things — vacuum the living room, for example, or wash the linens, etc.
Every few months, do a deep clean: clean out the refrigerator and oven, clear out the cabinets and clean them, etc.

Here’s a sample weekly routine:

Monday: Yardwork
Tuesday: Clean car
Wednesday: Pay bills, update financial software
Thursday: Errands, groceries
Friday: Laundry
Saturday: Clean house, put away laundry
Sunday: Family Day

Errands: A Simple System
Running errands throughout the week will stress you out, and cost you time and money. Here’s a sample simple system for errands that works well for me:

Keep a running errands list, adding to it as you think of things, so when errands day comes, you know exactly what you need to do. Also keep a running grocery list.
The night before your errands day, you plan your dinner menu for the next two weeks and complete your grocery list, then look at all the errands on your errands list and plan out the most efficient route.
On Errands Day, you spend a couple of hours doing all the errands on your list and then buying all your groceries. One trip, planned efficiently, saves gas and multiple shopping trips.

See also:

Posted on 1 August 2007 in Simplicity |
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Comments (16)

kher Cheng Guan Says:

August 1st, 2007, 7:25 am

the core problem with most folks is they don’t plan effectively. they rush and then later they rant when things got screwed up!
personally i agree with what you say in your blog. my all-time favourite book is “How To Simplify your Life” by Tiki Kustenmacher. Catch up with you again. Have a great and pleasant day ahead….

Barry Says:

August 1st, 2007, 7:54 am

I am slowly trying to “edit” my life. My favorite afternoon routine is “mowing day”. I have a big lawn, and it takes a few hours to do it right. So one weekday afternoon (not a weekend) I have two areas of tasks: 1) take care of mowing, lawn care, and generally anything outside that I can complete that I don’t consider a project; and 2) grill burgers. I get home from work several hours before my wife, so when she gets home, we have a beautiful yard and burgers ready to eat. This is when a simple routine makes you a hero. Thanks for all of your posts.

Rabbagast Says:

August 1st, 2007, 8:01 am

Great site, I read it and often feel inspired by it. Systems forming on themselves when it comes to things like home management can be a real problem. And different members of the family can even subscribe to different views on what these systems are - on what the unwritten law of the house is, so to speak - which often generates conflict. That’s why it is so important to work with communicating skills in the family.

Here’s another tip, or at least something I thought of that we are about to put to the test in our family. It’s about the fact that we always seem to be missing important household items. If we have toilet paper then we lack coffee, and if we have the coffee in place, there’s no sugar. And so on. So I have made a list of these elementary household items, listing them under titles like FRIDGE, BATHROOM and so on. When we discover something that we don’t have we often make a mental note, or tell each other that we MUST remember to buy this-and-that, but these things often slip when we go to the shop. Now, all we have to do is mark it on our new list, and bring that list with us. Furthermore it is easy to check the list for a quick recap of what we need to buy.

We’ll see how it works. Hopefully it will make grocery shopping more effective, and eliminate the need for single runs to buy toiletpaper or cleaning products.

Michel Says:

August 1st, 2007, 8:13 am

Smaller places are quicker to clean.
Just moving to a small apartment (I am single) simplified my life a lot.

Stephen Says:

August 1st, 2007, 8:23 am

Leo, great stuff! My wife needs to see this. Heh. Maybe then she would help me with the cleaning…

Schizohedron Says:

August 1st, 2007, 9:22 am

W/r/t the errands list: You know the list you sometimes find on the door of a public restroom, on which they list when the place has been cleaned last? I’ve been thinking of making a grid of household tasks like that, and hanging it somewhere I’ll see it every day, to make sure certain things get done. I plan to write when any given task was completed, and to set a date for the next occasion, so I have no excuse to neglect the upcoming task. I look at it as the heart through with the circulation of regular chores gets pumped. (I don’t see myself getting any more “pumped” to do the chores, sadly, but at least I’ll have a schedule!)

Debi Says:

August 1st, 2007, 11:44 am

GREAT ideas! If you not familiar, check out http://www.flylady.net for more on this. She has lots of tips on building a routine and what she calls a Control Journal for helping to make these routines into habits.

Dancing Empress Says:

August 1st, 2007, 11:46 am

Wonderful post, thank you! I have found that over-scheduling myself is an enemy of my household routines, and the word “no” had become my most effective tool for housekeeping.

This isn’t to say that I’ve given up having fun, but rather that I’ve made self-care a priority, and now reserve a bit of each day to focus on attending to my most basic needs so that I can stay present (and presentable!) for the activities I choose to engage in.

Thank you again for the reminders!!

Gillian Says:

August 1st, 2007, 14:06 pm

I have had a printed grocery list for years. There was a period that they were published weekly in the newspaper and I adapted it from that. It’s divided into categories like dairy, breads, vegetables, and so forth, preferably in the order I’ll see them in the grocery store. I copy a batch and post one on the fridge. I either highlight what I need or write down something that isn’t listed. I often use it on a clipboard, for the errands.

Dumitru Tira Says:

August 1st, 2007, 16:23 pm

I did a total de-clutter day about 2 weeks ago, about 50% of the stuff I had in my room went to the recycle point/trash, but I still have to figure out a system for reminders(off-line) and I also need to see how this system will work then I’ll get back to school.

nice post.

cheers,

Dumitru.

Dennis Bjørn Petersen Says:

August 2nd, 2007, 4:18 am

Great idea with the list, Rabbagast. I always remember what I needed when I come home ;)

I like the idea of putting the whole cleaning routine into a system. Its either that or we are hiring a maid.

Maria Cristina Ramos Says:

August 2nd, 2007, 9:24 am

As far as house chores go, I think FlyLady (http://www.flylady.net) is the best. I’ve been susbscribed to her mailling list since January 2000 (we were less than 100 members then) and I’m still faithful.

Laura Says:

August 3rd, 2007, 8:30 am

Delurking to say, first, great blog! Secondly, I wanted to share a chore schedule I found online recently that is simple, and quite efficient. I’ve tried flylady, but was overwhelmed with email clutter. This is a yearly schedule with a small number of tasks for every day. The tasks rotate so that your house is relatively clean at all times. She even includes things like cleaning refrigerator shelves and clipping the children’s fingernails. You can see a sample page on the “About” page.

Summer Says:

September 3rd, 2007, 4:22 am

I used to a one day cleaning doing the laundry because i don’t have any clothes to wear. but doing it just once isn’t productive. my house became so dirty that it took me forever to clean and folding a lot of clothes is no big thrill. since i subscribed to your blog i changed my style. now i clean as i go, doing laundry when my hamper becomes 3/4 full, i have my errands list, i have a calendar of “events”, a weekly menu, a grocery list, i have a cheap notebook where i jot down all the things i want to do, (i don’t know if i want to go hitech and buy a palm pilot so a cheap notebook works for now) and most of all i have time for myself to pray and read a good book. thank you so much.

Kris Says:

October 25th, 2007, 11:59 am

I like the tips. I was fortunate that my awesome grandmother taught me the value of the “clean as you go method” when I was younger. I have since passed this on to my loving husband. I am surprised by how many people see some things as chores. I am the first to admit that I don’t ALWAYS want to clean the house; but my husband and I make it fun. We turn on our favorite music, tell jokes to each other, and marvel at how fertile our dust bunnies must be. :) It is a wonderful way to spend time together and feel that we have accomplished something together every single week. Once you have a system down, you can do a decent clean on the house in short order and have a good time doing it.

A second note on the decluttering system is to have a rule like the “one in, two out”. For every piece of clothing that I bring in, one piece must go in “the box”- a small canvas basket that gets taken to the closest charity once it is full. That has really helped around our house and it helps prevent you from making any impulse purchases. Bright Belssings!

John Says:

November 8th, 2007, 11:05 am

I have a system for reducing the number of trips I have to make to the grocery store. I have two of almost everything. When the first container of laundry detergent goes empty, I add ‘laundry detergent’ to the grocery list on the fridge and just open the second container. This saves me from making those stressful ‘emergency’ trips to the grocery store.