I thought this was an interesting post.

Personally, I am much more relaxed when everything is in order. I use my weekends for the standard cleaning chores (laundry, recycling, clean bathrooms, etc). I'm a single mom to a 3 yr old and work full-time. I absolutely feel relaxed when I am ahead. I make a point to spend time with DD on weekends having fun more so than catching up on the house.

I don't devote weekends to putting everything back in order. I put effort into it every day because week day/work day routines are crucial to staying 1 step ahead of things and allow the weekends to be "clutter free". It's easier for me to suck it up and keep the organizational system going daily than saving it up and hope for an uninterrupted catch-up day.

A weekend or holiday saved as a catch-up day is nothing more than another week/work day for me.

I agree with Gayle but unlike the two of you I am not working out of my home right now. However, caring for a husband with a severe head injury does tend to leave things very disorganized, he files things in piles and uses the space under his coffee table for his snacks. I try to organize him, but that is like trying to organize a 3 year old. However, much of the rest of the house is more under my control, as he hibernates in the family room, bathrooms, and 1/2 of the kitchen as well as being the tornado in the garage and sheds..but I've taken on the other rooms as you can see in some photos i posted on pictures, I'm getting a handle on some of them. I use time when he is ASLEEP for my organizing, as he goes 2 or 3 days between sleeps most of the time, right now he has nodded off, but i'm on here taking a break rather than cleaning (although dishes are in the dishwasher)

I like to do big projects on three day weekends, like on olumbus weekend in October, pulling out my winter clothes and rotating away the summer things, bathing suits, etc. Reverse in the spring on a three day weekend, i.e. Memorial Day. Other than that, I think you just have to maintain on a daily basis. My mother used to do the old traditional spring cleaning, but I don't need to do it as long as I keep clutter under control, laundry up to date and dust and vacuum regularly.

I have the same dilemma. I am a sahm for the most part but I do clean a couple of houses every week. I try to stay on top of the regular tasks and messes but I do feel like in my free time I should rearrange the cabinets, drawers, etc. I feel more relaxed when they're finished but free time is nice.

What I do is set goals of what I feel like needs to be done and get them finished and then reward myself with reading time. I love to read so books are a big motivational tool, possible borderline addiction:)

It feels good to set the goals, accomplish the goal, and then receive a reward- kind of like getting a gold star in school. Have fun on your long weekend and if you feel things need to be done, do it in moderation and enjoy some relaxation time.

I find when I have a big chunk of time, like a 3-day weekend, I set some goals to get some extra chores done, and allow time for relaxing afterward. If I try to relax first, that stuff is just pecking away at me, and the quality of the relaxation isn't nearly as high as if I get that stuff done first.

Barbara

I would do both. Get caught up on some stuff you want to get done and then take the rest of the day off.

as for Spring cleaning, etc..I still kinda do them but not all at once..I do find that when it is warm enough for the doors to be open in the spring is a great time for me to shampoo our light "champagne" carpeting, esp this year it is soooooo stained from hubby tracking wood ash in from the new boiler building...so gross..can't wait for a warm day to do that..I tend to try to do a whole house serious clean 2 times a year, one in the spring when we can air out and one in the fall before it is too cold to air out...to ready for Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays.

I tend to relate to the old adage that someone gave me on a fridge magnet.. something like: "To be truly lazy, you need to be truly organized".
Trouble is, I tend to work best according to mood, rather than routine, so I'm as likely to find myself scrubbing out the bathroom on what could be a lazy Saturday afternoon, and then lying in bed with a good book on Monday morning. And my moods for either relaxing or organizing are definitely related to the weather... rain gets my cleaning and organizing genes running on high.
But it is a very calming, very satisfying feeling for me to wake up on a weekend, and walk around a tidy clean house, and have a real choice about what we can do... that's so freeing, for me, to be able to pack up a picnic, say, and leave the house for the day, without any guilt or any burden about the washing or the dusting or the floors waiting for me at home, because I have done all the chores that needed doing, when I had the chance.
But then again, there are days when relaxing for me, IS sorting out the sock drawer, and getting my filing all up to date. I love those stay at home-just puddling around the house days..... IF I'm in the mood.
Lily