...i'm too busy for housework

I grew up in a home with a mother who was a tad anal-retentive about cleanliness. She hated things out of place, dusty furniture or crumbs on the carpet. My mother could not go on with life until the house was back to her standards. She wasn't just a woman who liked things clean. I actually think my mother enjoyed the scrubbing, polishing and cleaning process. Sadly, I didn't inherit her passion for cleaning. I hate cleaning. But, growing up with an ultra-clean mother not only gave me a knowledge of how things should be done, but also a love for order. My home isn't always to my mother's standards. In fact, I often feel anxiety when she comes to visit because I worry she will see my dusty floorboards or fingerprints on the windows. (She never mentions them, though, so my worries are probably unfounded.)

It was always a mystery to me how some of you found the time to craft, make healthy meals AND keep a perfectly clean home. I was just trying to survive by doing the minimum until my friend Kiersta, a home-organization guru, taught me about her "system." She made a list of all my chores and divvied them up between 5 days. Saturdays were my free day and Sundays were my day of worship. Oh, my. This plan SAVED me. It took me between 30 minutes and 1 hour to finish my chores everyday and my house was always in pretty good condition. It is a system that works perfect for me.

I typed the chores up on index-card sized cardstock and them laminated them. I keep them on a mini-easel on my desk. I love visualizing my progress, so I use a dry erase marker to cross things off as I complete them. It works great! I have a goal to design cute house-cleaning cards in the near future and spiral bind them.

I want to know your house-keeping secrets. How do you amazing women do it all?