Clean 2014!

One of my New Year's resolutions is to clean up my house! A new year means its time to replace my old cleaning chart with a new 2014 chart. This cleaning chart helps me keep track of tasks that don't have to be done very frequently (in my household). I came up with this system because I kept asking myself, "Did I clean the fish tank this month?" or "When am I supposed to change the water filter?"

So here is my old cleaning chart:

and here is my new cleaning chart:

Ok, let me explain a few things...

• This chart works for my household, you can change the tasks and frequency to fit your household. Once I have completed the task for the month or time period I mark an "X" in that month's column. 
• Deep cleaning/ shampooing the carpet I try to do once a month. 
• Cleaning Pablo's tank is also once a month. 
• I used to wash the linens once a week but now I try to wash them every two weeks.
• I always forget to check the fire alarm/smoke detector so I added that to the chart. Notice the little battery in March's block? That is my reminder to change the battery. I know that fire prevention month is October but I chose to put my reminder in the month of March since it's (usually) not a busy month. 
• Cleaning/organizing my desk and deep cleaning the fridge are both done every-other month. I used to deep clean the fridge every week but I switched to every-other month because my fridge doesn't really get that dirty. My fiance words: "Why are you cleaning our fridge this is already clean?!"
• The windows & fans get cleaned quarterly along with the patio & garage. 
• My year is broken into 4 quarters: December-February, March-May, June-August, September-November. This is because I felt too stressed to clump all the busy holiday months into one quarter. Got this idea from the fiscal year ;)
• My washer and dryer gets deep cleaned twice a year.
• I change my Brita water pitcher filter every 4 months. The instructions say to change the filter approximately every 2 months but here in Hawaii the water is fairly clean so I don't change it as often. (Plus it saves some money.)

And...for continuity I my wanted my chart to match the labels in my pantry cabinets since I post it up on the inside of my cabinet door! 

Feel free to use my cleaning schedule template or customize your very own by using the blank template:

 I wish you all Good Luck with reaching your New Year's resolutions!