At the bare minimum

For the time-strangled among you, here's the bare minimum to ward off a health department citation and keep your mother happy:

* Make your bed every day.

* Vacuum and dust once a week.

* Do your laundry once a week.

* Change the sheets weekly.

* Mop the kitchen floor once a week.

* Take out the garbage as often as it needs it (if you can smell it, you're overdue). Ditto on emptying the wastebaskets and removing the pile of newspapers.

* Clean the bathroom once a week: Swish out the toilet, wipe down the sink and vanity top, clean the mirror. Mop the floor. If you're a tub bather, clean the tub. The shower? Wipe it down with a squeegee every day (yes, you, please).

* Wash the dishes every day. Wipe the countertops and therangetop.

* Hang up your clothes.