This App Helps Me Keep My House Clean (Without Causing Me Stress)
I have always had problems with daily, weekly and monthly cleaning because they are based on arbitrary standards and not based on my actual life. When a friend told me about the Tody app a few months ago, I thought it would be the same. Instead, with some preliminary work on choosing the areas and tasks that are important to me (and setting low expectations), I found that I could change the way I thought about running a home.
Traditional cleaning routines often set us up for failure by ignoring the realities of our individual needs and energy levels. According to the daily and weekly cleaning tasks recommended by Good Housekeeping , I should spend at least five hours a week on housework. For some this is probably not a problem. For me this is irresistible. Despite my initial skepticism, using the Tody app allowed me to create a realistic and uncomplicated housekeeping system that reduced my stress and made housework more accessible.
Pitfalls of Traditional Cleaning Procedures
My personal obstacles to maintaining a perfectly tidy home include having two young children, multiple chronic illnesses, a career, and a burning bitterness toward patriarchal standards that have taught me to believe that my worth depends on how clean my baseboards are.
Because I was the only one in the family whose self-worth was tied to running the household, I was often the only person motivated to take action. When my body and mind had no energy left to act, I isolated myself in areas of the house that I thought I could easily control, such as the office or bed. However, when a friend introduced me to the Tody app, I discovered that it emphasized flexibility and allowed users to create their own “zones” and task schedules, so ultimately it was only my own expectations that mattered.
My favorite app features
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Customization . Before using the Tody app, it’s worth taking the time to set up which rooms and activities interest you and how often they should be repeated. The app makes things easy with preset rooms and tasks that you can activate or ignore. You can also choose what level of effort to put into each task based on your feelings and abilities. Add only those rooms and tasks that are relevant to your home, and add your own tasks as needed.
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Priorities. Once you’ve initially set up your household needs in Tody, the app prioritizes your task list. This means that completing the best few tasks will earn you big points and help you feel accomplished.
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Gamify it. Choose whether you want to compete with Dusty, the local boss, and choose a difficulty level. (I always set it to easy because I need a confidence boost.)
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Check your attitude. You can also choose from three “attitudes”: relaxed, medium or active. I keep things relaxed so I never see so many tasks that I become paralyzed. The relaxed environment also means that tasks will have to be repeated less frequently.
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Focus time. Use the Focus Timer to challenge yourself to complete specific tasks in one session.
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Take a break. You can pause tasks that you know you won’t be able to start due to life, illness, vacation, or anything else. Impossible tasks should not be at the top of your list and taunt you.
When I used Tody for weeks and then months, the tasks became more about maintenance than perfection, reducing the pressure to meet external standards. I may have a list of unfinished tasks, but the top one is the most overdue and will be the most rewarding to complete.
It also helped me better understand what tasks to delegate or ask for help from my husband and children. If sweeping the porch and sidewalk is 30 days overdue (see authentic screenshot above) because the temperature just dropped below 90 degrees, then getting everyone in the yard to help will be a big win for me and my family.
Tody also helped me realize that I needed more help. When I fell behind, it was easier for me to communicate with my husband and children.
The one thing Tody didn’t—and couldn’t—do was enable one middle-aged woman to perfectly care for a 3,000-square-foot home with four people and two cats. My husband and kids do their work and I mark their tasks on my app.
Results and benefits of using Todi
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Stress reduction : Instead of feeling overwhelmed by the endless list that I was always behind on, the app helped me feel in control.
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A tidier home : It took time and adjustments, but there is now a noticeable difference in how clean and tidy my home appears.
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Focused Approach : By being clear about which tasks are most important, I no longer feel the need to “hide” from household chores.
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Separating my self-worth from housework. Thody personally doesn’t blame me for falling behind on my to-do list. And it’s not just my list—it belongs to my entire family, and I no longer feel like a failure at being 100% responsible for our household needs.
Tody worked because it allowed me to adapt my cleaning routine to our lives and reduce the mental load of maintaining the house.
The free version of Tody (which I use) is ad-free and has all the features I described above. Starting at $9.99 per year, you can use the premium version to sync with multiple people, set up other households, and further customize the look and feel of your app.