Today, we’re going to be talking about making a master to do list for your home. We will cover what it is, what it is not, and why you need one.
If you are new to the blog, welcome! I blog and make videos about cleaning, decluttering, and organizing. You can find my free printables to help you get organized in the drop down menu under the Printables category at the top of this page. Also, check out this post on 10 things people with clean homes do every day.
Making a Master To Do List for Your Home
So what is a master to do list? Basically it is a master list of things we need to do room by room and area by area for the entire home.
This list is going to have three sub categories under each room: the first category is cleaning, the second category is organizing, and the third category is repairs/problem areas.
To make it easier I am creating a free printable Master To Do List here for you that you can print from home and mark these things down to begin creating your master to do list for your home.
I am personally a list maker, and I find it to be extremely satisfying to check things off my list as I accomplish them. Now because this is a master to do list for the entire home, there is no way you are going to accomplish all of this in a day or even a week. The idea is to just get it written down and create a master plan for yourself. I find that this reduces overwhelm and helps me to organize my thoughts.
Now let’s look at what this list is not. This master to-do list for your home is not meant to be a honey do list for your spouse. I want you to make this your personal plan so you can create a plan of attack to make your home function the best that it can within your own abilities. What good is a home organization system if we can’t maintain it?
Now let’s be realistic. We are all in different seasons of life. I am in my late 40s, so my life looks dramatically different than it did when my three kids were small and when my twins were first born. So be realistic and give yourself some grace, especially if you have young children at home.
I have one who is recently married and two that are in high school, so my children need me much less now than they did when they were young. Young moms feel so much overwhelm, already, and this list is not meant to add to your things to do.
Also, if you are working full-time outside of the home at any age, you need to be realistic about what you have the time and energy to accomplish. I want you to take as long as you need to work through this list. There is not a deadline, unless you set one for yourself.
Here is the basic concept behind this master to-do list for your home. We are going to look at our homes room by room and area by area. We are going to look at it with a critical eye. We are going to look at what is working and what isn’t working. Then we are going to brainstorm some solutions to what isn’t working.
So how do we begin this master to do list? Now is a good time to grab that free printable I will link in the video description. If you don’t have a printer, just grab some paper and a pen and let’s get started.
On your printable, I want you to mark the first room. I wanted to start in the kitchen because that is my biggest problem area. Now, remember, we are going to be looking at three different categories for each room. 1. cleaning. 2. Organizing., and 3. Repairs/problem areas.
Now that you have your room listed at the top of your page, let’s begin addressing those three areas. Let’s start with the first category, cleaning.
Now for me, I’m not going to focus on basic upkeep. For me basic upkeep is the things I do every week, such as scouring the sink, cleaning out the fridge, and sweeping and mopping the floors. On my master to do list I want to go over the things that need to be done less frequently and would be considered more deep cleaning tasks.
I want you to do this task with your cabinets closed. We will open these later and address the interior . These are the things I don’t do on a weekly basis, but they do need to be done from time to time.
For the kitchen my list is going to look something like this: deep clean oven, clean oven vent hood, clean grease off of exterior of cabinets, clean exterior of coffee pot, clean exterior of stand mixer, clean tile, grout on floors, clean backsplash above stove.
As you are working through this cleaning category, I want you to look high and low. Let your eyes hit the ceiling and fall all the way down to the baseboards. As you do this, you will likely see dust high in the corners or on the light fixtures. You will see if there is anything piled on top of your refrigerator that needs to be cleaned. If you are like me and your eyes scanned down to the floors, you will see the grout and the tile looking dingy. That’s why I want you to look high and low and everywhere in between.
Write down anything you see that needs deep cleaning.
Now we are going to look at our second category, Organizing. I told you to keep the cabinets closed earlier, but now it is time to open them. If you are in the kitchen like me, your list is probably going to be a lot larger as this is a big space to organize. Now let’s start in one area of the room and work our way around the entire room.
You might want to start in one corner and work your way to the right until you complete every space on every wall. As you open your cabinets and drawers, take note of what needs organizing. Remember, we don’t organize clutter so you may want to declutter each space before you even attempt to organize it.
As I look at my pantry, I can immediately see items we never eat or use. So I will go ahead and grab these items and either donate them or toss them if they are expired.
As you organize each space I want you to ask yourself the following:
1. Is this item clutter or is it actually something I use?
2. Am I keeping this out of guilt or is this something I want?
3. Do I have duplicates of this item?
4. When was the last time I used this?
5. Am I only keeping this because I spent a lot of money on it?
Now you can probably think of some more questions to ask yourself to help you determine whether to keep or toss something. These are just some basic ones that should get you started. So now my kitchen organizing list might look something like this….
Clean out utensil drawer and toss out duplicates, declutter my file basket, declutter and organize the pantry, clean out and donate duplicate pots and pans.
Now we’re going to look at our third category, which is repairs and improvements.
For the third category of repairs and improvements to problem areas, I want you to think of how this particular room functions. Not only are we going to look at things that need to be repaired, but we are going to think critically about the function of our space.
I want you to ask yourself what is working and what isn’t working? What causes you stress every time you have to do it? For me, it’s usually paper clutter or having too many items in one space.
My paper clutter system hasn’t been working too smoothly these past few months and I have just been accumulating paper piles in a basket on my counter. So I know I need to file these and give them a permanent home.
Another area of my kitchen that isn’t functioning well is the way my pots and pans and lids are cluttering up my cabinet. I have too many things stacked on top of other things and I can’t seem to find the right size lid to match the pot when I need it.
So as you are going through each room think through your daily habits.
Ask yourself the following questions:
1. Can I complete this daily task with ease or is my system too complicated?
2. What area of this room causes me the most stress? What is stressful about it? How can I improve that?
3. Can I create a better set up by using a more suitable space for this task in this room or in another room?
Here is an example. I have paper file boxes in my lower kitchen cabinets that I plan to move to a more suitable room. This will free up my cabinet space and allow me to set up my pots and pans and lids better and reduce the stress it causes every time I use them.
Here is another example. My husband recently bought an espresso machine that we use every day. We have a separate coffee grinder. The grinder was making coffee grain messes every day on the counter. So I bought a pretty little basket to hold the coffee grinder and the scoop. It has improved the mess already. Now, instead of sweeping coffee grains off the counter, multiple times each morning, the basket catches any spills. Since they are just dry coffee grains, I can take the basket and shake it out to empty it. It is not a perfect solution, but it has certainly eliminated some of the daily mess.
So now is the time to think through your space. Think through your daily habits. Does your space allow you to move effortlessly from one daily task to the next or is there something causing you stress and slowing you down?
These are the types of things I want you to list under your repairs and improvements category. Then I want to you to think through some solutions that will help you solve these issues. You may find yourself rearranging your room a little bit. Or you may find yourself removing certain things from that room altogether. Make a list of what you need to do to improve this space.
After you have made your list for one room, I want you to go through your entire home and repeat the same process for every room.
After you complete this master to do list, you should have a plan of attack on how you are going to address these issues.
Before you create your plan of attack, I want you to think of how much time is needed for each task and for each room. Also consider your energy levels and when you would work at your most peak performance. You will want to schedule these tasks to match your energy level and work at your own pace. Don’t let the list intimidate you. Instead, look at it more as a goals type of list. To build momentum, start in your smallest space or simplest room.
I hope you found this information helpful. Let me know how it goes for you and share any tips you learn along the way.
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