A chart to schedule chores (so you might actually do them)

By Leigh Kamping-Carder | January 22, 2015 - 2:59PM

I recently embarked on a full-scale, top-to-bottom, New Year’s apartment clean. We’re talking scrubbing the baseboards, purging the freezer, polishing the toilet’s nooks and crannies, and everything in between. It's made a huge difference. My apartment isn’t actually bigger or brighter, but it does feel that way, and suddenly spontaneously hosting a friend for a glass of wine feels less like a hardship (“Can he see the cat hair tumbleweeds under the chairs?!”) and more like a pleasure.

While I thoroughly recommend tackling the same kind of clean (or hiring someone to do it for you) posthaste, I know that’s not always feasible. Which is why this chart from Design*Sponge, which breaks down common household chores by how often you should do them, is so useful. (You can download it here and stick it to the fridge for extra motivation.)

There’s something about breaking down housework by day, week, month and season that makes it feel more manageable. As the blog’s founder, Grace Bonney, observes, “Let’s be honest, not everyone has time to mop the floors and scrub the sinks every day. But once a week? That might be doable.” Though I’m still not optimistic that I’ll take the garbage out daily, and living alone I don’t really accumulate enough trash to make it necessary anyway, it does feel good to know I’m off the hook for washing the windows until spring.

Professional organizer Lisa Zaslow shares the secrets to staying clutter-free

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