The Binder: My Cleaning Record and Free Planner Printables

It's no secret that the summertime is busy around here.

I whine about it a lot, after all.

Summer is the time when most things fall to the wayside- and by most things, I mean exercise, flossing, going outside... and cleaning my home.

Yeah, in the summer, I never clean my house.


Thankfully, I've got a super easy and very basic daily routine (wipe the sink, wipe the toilet, ten-minute tidy up, dishes, and done).

(Side note: No, I'm not doing a load of laundry every day like I used to. Now we're on a once-a-week laundry plan that I'm not a huge fan of, but it works for right now. Someday, I'd like to go back to three times a week, at least... but this is working okay for now.) 

My routine keeps things relatively sanitary around here, but besides that, my little house gets very little lovin' for about three months.

Yikes.






I've tried to use planner pages to help keep me on track- The Confident Mom has some great ones, for example.

The trouble is, I can't get it all done.

Yes, I recognize that I could get it done... but I don't. I don't really even want to try. There are more important things than clean cupboard doors, and I choose to spend my limited free time doing those things.



I'll let you in on a little secret- those unchecked check boxes? I hate them.

They glare at me and make me feel like a big ole failure. Who needs it?

So while those cleaning plans are great and probably very helpful for many people, they just don't work for me. At least not during the summer, they don't.

I still need a way, though, to keep track of what I have done... and what I haven't done for a while.

So, instead of using a to-do list, I use a "cleaning record" system, or a checklist. This way, I have a list of what needs to be done, and a record of the last time I did it. I can see what hasn't been done in a while, and then I can decide if it warrants some actual action on my part (ie, "is it bad enough?").

Because in the summer, if it's not too bad, it just doesn't get done. Let's be honest, here.


Here's what it looks like, basically.

If I've done a task to completion, I put a dot in the box (or, I'm sure you could use an X or something. I like dots, though, for some reason).

For times when I just spot sweep or spot mop without moving stuff around or really getting into corners or whatever, I put an "S" (for "spot"- as in, spot sweep) in the box- which usually means that I'll need to do a more thorough job later on. Like in September.

Back when we had one bathroom upstairs and one downstairs, sometimes I'd get to one bathroom but not the other. I'd put a "D" or a "U" for "downstairs" or "upstairs." If I've done both, then I'll mark it with a dot.

I no longer have to worry about that because... only one bathroom. And I don't really go upstairs. We'll get there. Someday.

So, at a glance, I can see that I haven't swept the entryway in a while, and then I can decide if it's bad enough to do. (It usually is). I haven't dusted the living room in... forever.

But instead of feeling guilty about not getting that done this week, I can decide whether or not it needs to be done. If not, no worries.

And no nagging check box.

It's just a RECORD. Not a to-do list.



My little chart also shows me that most of the time, I tackle a bunch of tasks all on the same day (mainly on my day off). During the summer, though, those days off are few and far between, so I may want to try to get one or two small chores done a day so that I can keep on track. Maybe.

Now for the FREE Printable...

Because I love you and want you to be happy-- here's a FREE printable PDF version of this chart.

FREE Cleaning Record Page

It doesn't fit perfectly in my binder, but I fold mine in a little so it fits without sticking out- that's what works for me- and then I don't have to look at the whole month at a time.

There are 31 days on this cleaning record system, so you need one a month. I left the task list empty for ya so you can fill in the tasks that need to get done at your house.


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