Keeping a Clean, Organized Home

See how incredibly thrilled this woman is to be working hard at keeping her home neat and tidy and clean? I fear this is so far from me. Now, I do have days where I really do just want to get down and get to work and make my place shine but many times it is more of a duty then a pleasure. I know this attitude is wrong and I am working hard at trying to change it.

Part of my motivation is spiritual. I am currently renting and have been for some time. A lot of the time I lose pride in the place I am living because it doesn't belong to me. However, this is a terrible way of thinking. This home that I have is a blessing from God and we are to be good stewards with everything we are given. So, already my excuse for not keeping my home is no good. God desires me to treat everything respectfully and with joy and thankfulness.

As I strive to get motivated to keep on top of my duties and my home I have started to write up a list of all the tasks that need doing in a home. Whether it is daily, weekly, monthly or annually I have tried to write them all in a list that I can later organize into when and how often it needs to be done.

Here is what I have come up with so far:

*sweeping
*dusting
*vacuuming
*wiping down the counters
*dishes
*cleaning the bathroom
*shaking out and cleaning the front hall mats
*scrubbing baseboards
*cleaning out the fridge
*cleaning out the freezer
*laundry (cleaning, folding, putting away)

*ironing

*changing the beds
*watering the plants
*fertilizing the plants
*organizing closets
*cleaning the oven
*vacuuming under couch cushions and behind and under the couch (or other furniture)
*cleaning the windows
*washing the floors
*organizing kitchen cupboards
*organizing the pantry
*organizing dressers
*making meals
*grocery shopping
*making meal plans
*baking
*cleaning the porch
*yard care (weeding, mowing, tidying toys...)
*paper work (organizing and filing)
*paying bills

Can anyone think of anything else I missed? I really am desperate to organize my life and with a second little one coming any day I would love to get started now as things will only be getting harder. I plan on taking these ideas, deciding when each thing needs to be done and then making myself a master list/schedule to try and learn and make routine. I will also have to add the everyday living tasks such as devotions, kids time, visiting etc. to this list eventually and try and get it to work. It sounds like a very inflexible idea but I see it working well with my flexible schedule. If I am diligent on the daily tasks that keep a home presentable then I can easily switch a task from one day to another since it is not something that will cause the house to fall apart.

Please send me your ideas and any things I missed. I would love to learn how you manage your lives and maybe adopt some of those ideas myself.