15 October 2020

Dear Laca,

On the subject of managing a house...

I’ve jotted down everything I think of when managing our house. I’ll try to keep it up-to-date but if you see things like “check the diaper bag” you know I’ve failed miserably lol.

The trick is to automate away as much as you possibly can.

Automating restocking looks like

1. Take a couple of months to track how fast we use something
2. Order 1 of that thing up front (so you always have a backup if the rate of consumption ends up changing)
3. Set up an auto-delivery on Amazon

Things we use at a pretty consistent rate (that you can automate the delivery for):

• Shampoo
• Conditioner (you’ll always use more shampoo than conditioner so I track these separately)
• Body Wash
• Toothpaste
• Toothbrushes (change every 3 months)
• Razor blades
• Euler’s preventative medicine (he’s on Heartguard and NexGuard)
• Euler’s dog food
• Toilet wand refills
• Swiffer wipes
• Clorox wipes
• Dog stain carpet cleaner
• Tilex/bleach
• Printer paper
• Hand soap (each bathroom will have a different rate)
• Bathroom cleaner
• Window cleaner
• Multipurpose cleaner
• Dishwasher tablets
• Laundry tablets

Okay now I’ve ordered all of the responsibilities in the frequency I think about them, NOT how often they need to be done, which is why I’ve phrased them as questions.

Note, a lot of them are cleaning things which sucks - trust me I know - but cleaning is super valuable preventative maintenance for a home (as important as an oil change is for your car), so if you don’t enjoy cleaning the house please tell dad to hire a cleaning person to do this for you. It’s way too much for one person to manage on her own if it’s not your full-time job.

Daily

Food

• What do we eat for breakfast?
• What do we eat for lunch?
• What do we eat for dinner?
• Does the counter need wiped off?
• Does the table need wiped off?
• Is the stove top clean?
• Are there dishes that need washed?
• Are there dry dishes that can be put away?
• Does the sink need to be washed?
• Does the dishwasher need to run?
• Does the dishwasher need unloaded?
• Does the baby need to eat?
• Do we need to put milk in the fridge?
• Do I need to pump so we have some milk in storage?
• Has Euler been fed (am)?
• Has Euler been fed (pm)?

Dog

• Does Euler need to go out?
• Does Euler need some exercise?
• Do I need to trim his nails?
• Should I clean his ears?

Me

• Have I taken my prenatal?
• Have I showered today?
• Do I need to shave?
• Do I need to do laundry?
• Do I have time to brush my teeth twice?
• Do I have time to floss?
• Have I had 2L of water?
• Did I eat too much today?
• Did I exercise enough today?
• Do I need to return anything?

Baby

• Do we have enough changing pad covers (or do I need to do laundry)?
• Did I give her the D-drop?
• Did she have tummy time today?
• Did I read to her today?
• Can we go on a walk today?
• Does she need a bath today?
• Do I need to empty the diaper genie?
• Do I need to restock the diapers?
• Do I need to restock the wipes?
• Are her fingers clean of lint?
• Are her toes clean of lint?
• Do I need to clean out her nose?
• Do I need to brush her hair?
• Do I need to trim her fingernails?

Cleaning

• Should I wipe the dog noses off the back door?
• Should I wipe the dog noses off the front door window?
• Should I wipe the dog noses off the office windows?
• Do I need to vacuum the living room?
• Do I need to mop the kitchen?
• Do I need to mop the foyer?
• Do I need to sweep up E’s food?
• Do I need to clean E’s bowls?
• Is there anything on the table that needs to be put away?
• Is there anything on the island that needs to be put away?

House

• Do we need to bring in the flag?
• Do we need to bring in the pillows from the back patio?

Weekly

Food

• Do we have enough food for next week?
• Do we have any visitors to prepare food for?

Cleaning

• Does the microwave need wiped down?
• Does the oven need wiped down?
• Does the dishwasher need wiped down?
• Does the fridge need wiped down?

• Do I need to wash the back-splash behind the sink?

• Does the downstairs toilet need to be wiped down?
• Does the downstairs toilet need to be cleaned with the magic wand?
• Does the downstairs bathroom mirror need wiped off?
• Does the downstairs bathroom counter need wiped down?

• Does the downstairs bathroom floor need vacuumed?

• Does the guest toilet need to be wiped down?

• Does the guest toilet need to be cleaned with the magic wand?

• Does the master toilet need to be wiped down?
• Does the master toilet need to be cleaned with the magic wand?
• Does the master bathroom mirror need wiped off?
• Does the master bathroom counter need wiped down?
• Does the master bathroom floor need vacuumed?

• Does our shower need to be bleached?

• Should I wash our sheets?

• Should I wash our towels?

• Should I vacuum the cubbies?

Plants

• Do the air plants need soaked?
• Do the air purifying plants need 100mL?
• Should I buy more plants for the house?

Baby

• Is she ready to move up in diapers?
• Is she ready to move up in clothes?
• Does the diaper bag have the right size?
• Does she have a schedule yet?
• When is her next doctor’s appointment and have I gathered:
  • How often she eats a day
  • How long she eats for
  • How many dirty diapers per day
  • How long she sleeps at night
• Are her medical bills paid yet?
• Have I transferred money from the HSA to Zach?

Monthly

Cleaning

• Does the guest shower need bleached?
• Does the guest bathroom mirror need wiped off?
• Does the guest bathroom counter need wiped down?
• Does E’s food tray need cleaned?
• Should I dust the living room?
• Should I dust the office?
• Should I dust the guest bedrooms?
• Should I dust the master bedroom?
• Should I dust the laundry room?
• Should I wash the couch blankets?

Dog

• Does E need a bath?
• Did E take his prevention medicine?
• Should I take him to a dog park or something?
• Should I wash the dog towel?

Me

• Do I need a hair cut?

Half Annually

Organizing

• Do I need to throw out any old food?
• Could the pantry use some tidying?
• Could the fridge be wiped down on the inside?
• Are the kitchen cabinets clean?
• Is everything inside the kitchen cabinets tidy?
• Is the master closet tidy?
• Are the guest closets tidy?
• Is Laca’s closet tidy?
• Is the closet under the stairs tidy?
• Do I need to wipe down the base boards? (your dad has a fun hack where he’ll take a leaf blower to them instead and that works in a pinch!)

❤ your mother