Keeping House - Zone 1 (Entry, Porch & Dining Room) - August 2011

These are the dates for the Zones in August.  Add them to your calendar, to remind yourself where we are.  I use stickers to record the zones on my calendar (read more here).

• Zone 1: The Entrance, Front Porch and Dining Room (August 1 - 5)
• Zone 2: The Kitchen (August 8 - 12)
• Zone 3: The Bathroom and One Extra Room (August 15 - 19)
• Zone 4: The Master Bedroom (August 23 - 27)
• Zone 5: The Living Room (August 29 - 31)

Day One
The first thing we must do before we start our detailed cleaning is declutter the area. So today you need to put away any homeless items that have made their way into the entrance of your home. Things like shoes, hats and bags need to be put away. That pile of junk mail needs to be read or simply thrown out.
If you have nothing to put away - yay for you!! You can give your doormats a shake out and the porch/patio area a quick sweep.  Day one in Zone one is done!

Day Two
My plan for day two is to clean the front entrance window glass. I use Windex wipes, they are so quick and easy, and don't leave any streaks. I have a floor to ceiling window in my entry, and to wipe over both the inside and the outside takes less than 5 minutes! This is all I am doing here today - it makes the world of difference to the front of my home.

Day Three
I noticed the other day my front door is really dirty. So, for my third day in zone one I am going to clean the front of my wooden door. It has lots of grooves and detail in the wood, so this one takes a little time. I will use a rag and a bucket of soapy water to clean the door, and then I will wipe it down with an old towel.

Day Four
Today we move into the dining room. Just like in the entrance, the first thing we must do is declutter.  Put away anything that doesn't belong here.  Paperwork that is on the table, shoes that are hiding under the table on the floor, projects that were being done on the table, but have sat idle for the past week...  Whatever it is, put it away.  If you have nothing to put away, then your job is to rotate your chairs.  This ensures that your chairs wear evenly.  The sun can cause wear and tear on your furniture, and so can different people's weight.  Rotate the chairs to ensure that your chairs wear at a similar rate.

Day Five
The job in here is to shine your Dining Table.  I use Mr Sheen and a microfibre rag when doing detailed cleaning of my wooden furniture.  Clear everything off the table and clean that table until it shines! And then put a vase or ornament in the middle of the table when you are done - something that makes you smile :)

I hope that you can see how easy this system is - the jobs are few and simple. Next month we will do some different jobs and before you know it, your entry way and dining room will be permanently spring cleaned!