We're halfway through summer, and I think we FINALLY have our summer schedules down. With kids home, not only is there more mess, but there are more hands to make haste of the work. We are finding that we have a lot more free time to do things that we enjoy.  Here's our modified summer chore schedule:

Monday:  Clean the bathrooms. Kids handle the upstairs and I handle downstairs. We swish the toilet, take bleach to the sinks, Windex the mirrors, and Scrub the tub.  Sweep and vacuum, and we're done in about 15 minutes.  Laundry is heavy cottons. Quick room by room pick up of clutter, and we're done!

Tuesday:  Deep clean the kitchen. Sink sparkles, stove gleams, fridge is shiny (we have a stainless steel fridge). I clean the windowsill and swipe with a cloth of Skin So Soft. Not only does it gleam, but it discourages ants from taking refuge on my kitchen. We clean out the fridge (trash on Wednesday, so it goes directly to the curb), wash the microwave turning plate, sweep and mop.  Take trash and recycling to the curb. Clear the clutter from the dining/living rooms. Laundry is whites.

Wednesday:  Dining and living rooms. Make sure clutter is under control. Wet wipe the window sills. Straighten videos and books. Refill the napkin basket. replace candles. Clean the frog's cage. Wash the windows. Sweep and mop. Vacuum, Dust.  Laundry is delicates.

Thursday:  Outside work. Wash down the furniture. Windex the table. Make sure trash is picked up and recycled. Weed the gardens. Rinse the porches. Rinse pool toys.   Laundry is heavy cottons.

Friday:  We don't like to clean during the weekend, so we do a once over to make sure everything is acceptable. One final sweep of all rooms, make sure all clutter is in its place. Clean rooms in case an overnight invitation pops up. We have a rule:  if rooms are a mess, no overnights.  Laundry is sheets and towels.

Daily cleaning:  dishes, spot vaccuum, spot dust, clutter control.

All in all, we spend approximately 1 1/2 hours a day cleaning and decluttering. It's making for a happy summer, with lots of time left over for dance classes, baseball, library, amusement parks, museums, etc.