Sometimes you have routines in place for cleaning, but you lose your resolve or your excitement to follow through. Don't despair! All you need to do is find some quiet time in your day and follow these steps:

1) Write down what IS working for you. Whether it is the tools, products or what you are doing that works - write it down. Don't second guess yourself.

2) Write down what IS NOT working for you. Be just as honest here. If you have doubts about it - write it down. Don't over think this.

Once you figure out what is NOT working for you, it is time to do some tweaking. IF it has something to do with the routine of it - that is a pretty easy fix. Change it up! Whether it is the time of day or the actual job itself on that day, you can change things to better suit your current schedule.

I make chore charts for every room in our home. I have children assigned to tasks as well as their Father and I. Sometimes they grow up and can do more or perhaps I find that the task I assigned them is to hard. I have to be flexible so that they can feel accomplished and not stressed out by their assigned tasks. If they feel like they can do it then there is less trauma about it. That doesn't mean that it can't be challenging to them. Challenging is good - completely impossibly difficult is not. I try to keep their chores age/maturity appropriate.

If your routine needs work you might try some of these different ways to have a better routine:

A) One room per day (plus daily tasks in kitchen & bathroom)
B) Specific Daily Tasks (all dusting or all vacuuming per day)
C) Minute by Minute Assigned Tasks (Jobs you will get done at certain times of day)

Perhaps it isn't your routine. Perhaps you are getting bogged down because most cleaning tasks don't ever seem to be "completely" done. Tomorrow the same jobs will be done again. Sometimes you can feel frustrated. Take time to reward yourself. Whether you give yourself "TIME" daily to do what you want to do (ie: hobby, read, tv, exercise, etc.) or you reward your self with sometime (chocolate, a new book or shopping). Whatever will help get you motivated, do it!

Sometimes you just need to feel accountable for the cleaning. If this is you, you can either choose to be accountable to your family members (ie: husband, children, etc.) or you can use your best friend, mom's group, etc. Figure out how often (daily, weekly, monthly) you will check in with each other. Make sure you are specific and you follow through.

Having realistic expectations on what you can and will accomplish is a great motivator in and of itself. Challenge yourself (just like the children) but don't overwhelm yourself.

Make it a great one!