The Secrets of Zone Cleaning: Introduction

    I'm a cleaning queen.  I just happen to live in a perpetual mess.  At any given moment, my house looks like it's been hit by a bomb, a hurricane, an entire JV football team, and several groups of bachelor men that still rely on their Mamas to do their laundry---- all at the same time.  Outside of two nights each week (when my house is populated by bachelor males who have their Moms do their laundry) the primary occupants of my house are two little boys under 10.  My husband, I'll make this very clear right now, is exempt from ALL housework.  In fact, I'll go as far as to say that circumstances in our history make it very clear that he is BANNED from housework.  The only things I ask him to do is take the trash to the curb and try to change a diaper every now and then. 

     So, how's a Mama with fibromyalgia supposed to keep this place tidy without calling in the pros?  The secret is in zone cleaning. 

     I've tried so many cleaning systems out there- Fly Lady, chore charts, scheduling things on a calendar, checklists... none of them really work for us.  My life has to be very flexible, so schedules get tossed out the window.  Fly Lady assumes that ALL members of the house WANT a clean house.  So, in desperation, I made my own system up. 

Hmmm... That really does look like me.  Oddly frightening.  Except that I don't wear shoes when I clean.  Ever.

    For Zone Cleaning, you simply divide your home into zones.  In my house, I have four zones.  Four.  That's it.  Each day I deep clean a single zone.  The other zones only get what I call a "Health and Safety" sweep.  Let me break down the zones:

Zone 1: Bedrooms.  (ALL BEDROOMS)
Zone 2: Bathrooms/Hallways (INCLUDE STAIRS, LAUNDRY ROOMS, AND MUDROOMS)
Zone 3: Kitchen (INCLUDES PANTRIES AND ATTACHED DINING AREAS)
Zone 4: Living Room (INCLUDES OFFICES, ATTACHED DINING AREAS, AND ENTRY WAY)
Health and Safety Sweeps: ANYTHING HYGIENE OR SAFETY RELATED (load dishes, load washer/dryer, pick up toys on stairs or from pathways, take out trash, ...etc...)

     It sounds like a lot, but it's not.  At the moment, I follow the zones in order (1-4) on the days of Monday-Thursday.  Friday I keep open for errands and a general break.  All other areas such as lawn or car care I save for the weekend. 
     However, the true beauty of zone cleaning is that it's very flexible.  Have a dinner party scheduled for Monday?  Need to run errands on a Tuesday?  Change the zones around to adjust for YOUR lifestyle.

I'll even show you how to make an easy cleaning kit.

     Over the next few weeks, I'll go into detail about what it takes to clean each zone along with my hints, tips, and tricks.  The first time you clean a particular area, it might be an all day project.  But, I can easily say that by the time the third week rolls around, you will be done with your zone (and all the sweeps) in less than two hours.  After all, if I can take my home from the brink of utter destruction to tidy and calm, so can you!