Organisational goals.

Look – I love a clean and tidy house. And am so particular about it I cannot sit down and relax in the evening unless my living room and kitchen are spotless. And I cannot sleep unless my bedroom is the same. However, to achieve this, it feels like I am scrambling every day to tidy, clean, put away and organise. And I am sure I am not alone here, but it feels like no sooner have I finished one room, and started on the next one, then I have to go back and start all over with room #1 again. Sigh. Maybe a system is needed. However, I am not sure I am ready for this mum's system – much as it sure is impressive. According to Kidspot, mum-of-one Erna Kessler has a cleaning schedule planned out for the entire year. Yes, really. And it was the arrival of her daughter – and returning to work a free months later – that made her make the decision to get serious about having a cleaning schedule. "Things were so chaotic back then at home," the dental nurse told Kidspot. “I would get to work  and everything there was so organised, with a roster for shifts and cleaning all our equipment which made things so easy, so I wanted that at home too.” And so the new mum set to work – starting by making a list of everything that she and her husband wanted to clean and keep organised. Then she laid it out in weekly, monthly and yearly planners – until she had an entire years' cleaning schedule ready. “I always want to be on top of things,” the mum-of-one says. “I don’t want to go, ‘Oh my goodness, when did I last clean that?’” Now, seven years later, Kessler's yearly planner is still in place, with some modifications.

Two hours cleaning per day

Kessler - who admits she 'happily takes on “90 per cent” of the household chores' - has a long list of duties throughout the week that keeps her busy. For instance, according to her schedule, she should be mopping the floor every Tuesday, dusting surfaces and cleaning mirrors every Friday, then once a month she wipes under and inside her kitchen appliances, as well as giving the fridge and freezer a thorough cleanout. Vacuuming happens daily, while laundry is done twice a week. Twice a year, the mum-of-one organises the bedroom wardrobes and checks for stains on walls. “I clean so much that there’s no scrubbing involved,” Kessler explains. “It’s just wiping over. Her favourite job, apparently, is cleaning the bathroom, which the 43-year-old does every Friday. “I love a clean toilet and basin,” she says enthusiastically. “It’s not a big job for me because every day after showers we use a squeegee to take the excess water off the glass and something like this that takes less than a minute makes a huge difference. When I clean the toilet, I spray it with product and leave it for a while and spray the shower head all over it and let it dry. I only have to scrub the bowl inside.” If you think that Kessler's day-to-day cleaning schedule sounds a little intense, it might help to know it does come with some benefits. Kessler says she has implemented a rule that means no cleaning is done in the afternoons after school pick-up as well as on the weekends to give the family more time to spend doing the things they enjoy. “I want to feel that I have some kind of break, that there is a difference between a weekday and weekend. That gives us quality family time when we are together.”