As I browse around the internet there are several topics I often research looking for tips and shortcuts. I see lots of various cleaning routines and schedules. I think most are more complicated than they need to be. I mean, I LOVE checklists, but do you really need one for regular cleaning? Some of the lists I see look pretty scary. They are SO long.
I would love for you to share with me what you do. I have set up maintenance plans for organizing systems, but I have never set up a cleaning routine for someone else before. Today I am going to tell you my ordinary cleaning routine. If you do not already have a schedule in place, maybe you can give it a try and give me some feedback.
At some point, I will write more detailed articles on each of these chores so we can share more shortcuts with each other, but for now I’ll stick to a basic description.
Four Daily Tasks:
There are a few chores that I try to do daily regardless of the day. These are the chores that keep the BIG clutter monsters at bay.
- Dishes – Load the dishwasher then hand wash any leftovers.
- Laundry – One load start to finish. I do not start another until the next day.
- Pick-up (I call it resetting the house) – A simple room by room with a laundry basket. I put things in the room away then toss any thing that needs to go elsewhere in the basket to be dropped off where ever it belongs (usually in little man’s room).
- Dinner
When done daily, they do not take that long. If left longer it seems to take forever to catch up. We eat early. When I worked full time outside the home, this is what my daily task schedule looked like. I would come in and tackle the mail. I would start a load of laundry. I would fill the sink half up while getting dinner fixings out. Then I would load the dishwasher while things were simmering on the stove. After dinner, I would move the laundry from the washer to the dryer. Finish loading the dishwasher hand washing anything that would not fit. I would do the chores from below and then hang and fold the cloths. Well before prime time I was done for the day. The 10 minutes right before bed or right after the little guy was put to bed, I would do a quick pick up.
The Calendar Matrix:
Weekday Across – On my big dry erase calendar, I have written an area on each weekday from Monday to Friday.
- Monday = Ceilings – I take a puffy ceiling fan cleaning wand and knock down all of the spiderwebs, clean any light fixtures that need cleaned, and check that none of the bulbs need to be replaced. Super easy and quick. Hey, after a weekend of who knows what going on around here, it always takes longer to pick up on Monday. Plus it seems Monday is a busy errand and phone day. A great match for ceiling day.
- Tuesday = Walls – I walk around the whole house with the glass cleaner and get the windows, picture glass, light switch covers, and fingerprints. I use a microfiber rag instead of paper towels or newspaper. Saves on time, cleaner, and trash. It is jeans day. I usually hook the fabric spray into my back pocket and spritz all of the fabric as I go, too. Little man thinks I am playing cowboy because I have a “shooter” in each hand. Do you know those soft brushes that come with dustpans? I tuck the handle in in my other back pocket and very quickly sweep down the baseboards of each room while I’m there. They get into all of the grooves nicer than a straight broom and I never have to scrub baseboards again. To do all of the “walls” in my house it takes about 30 minutes. And we have a ton of windows.
- Wednesday = Surfaces – I go through the whole house and dust. When I am done dusting, I completely clean off the bathroom counter tops.
- Thursday = Floors -Sweep. Mop. Vacuum. While I am in the bathrooms, I quickly take a scrub brush to the floors of the showers with just a tiny squirt of soap from the sink dispenser. It only takes a few seconds extra and I very seldom have to really scrub the tubs anymore.
- Friday = Projects- On Friday, hubby has a half day at work. We either jump into some DIY project, go play as a family, or I take ME time the minute he gets home.
- Trash night = This night has jumped depending on where we have lived. Before taking the cans and recycle bin to the curb, I clean out the fridge. Then we water all of the plants in the house.
If you look at each day as I described above, I do not have a cleaning kit that I carry around, only one to a few simple cleaners. You would not believe how much time it adds to each room when you are stopping to switch gears while trying to remember what needs to be cleaned next. Taking one cleaner through the house is fast. Tuesday takes me the longest, and it still only takes a half hour.
Weeks Down – In the bottom left hand corner of each Sunday on my calendar, I have written in abbreviation codes for each area of my home with a permanent marker. Here is what mine looks like.
- LR, DR, ENT, PH – Living Room, Dining Room, Entrances, Porches.
- KIT – Kitchen (includes the family den)
- BAT – Bathrooms
- BDR, SR – Bedrooms, Sun room
- PJ, SP – Project, Special – This day is for seasonal decor or minding any other space indoors or out not already covered. It is also a good time to set aside to make sure any unfinished projects get attention.
I just make a point to spend 10 to 15 extra minutes a day in those spaces throughout the week to get anything not covered in the weekday across. For example, in the kitchen I might check to see if the appliances need to be cleaned, wipe down the cabinet tops or doors, straighten up the pantry, or whatever else needs to be done.
I arranged my rooms so that the ones that need less attention are grouped together and ones that need more attention are by themselves. In our last home, I was able to devote a week to each room.
Update: I made up a sheet for the Fresh Start series I had intended to do for January. It was meant for use to figure out annual tasks for those of you making planners. I will get back to that article another day. The sheet has a blank calendar with an example of my monthly cleaning schedule matrix added to it and the list of my daily tasks. Feel free to download the Monthly Planner Calendar if you think it might help you tackle your cleaning chores. It is a pdf file, so you may need to download the Adobe Reader if it is not already installed on your computer.
For now just use the sheet as a simple checklist for your daily chores. Each day you get your daily tasks done put a check in the box. Put a second check in the box if you also get the add on task from the weekly chore (ceilings, walls, etc.) and another check if you do an extra task for the assigned room of the week. If you need an extra motivator set an additional reward (besides a clean home) for yourself for 25, 50 and the possible 75 check marks.
I have the basics listed, but you may need to add rooms or change up the chore list. There is absolutely no reason you have to follow my cleaning plan exactly or at all. If it doesn’t work for you, use the sheet to change it around so that you have a plan that does work for you. /Update.
Missed Days
I don’t always get everything done. I miss here and there. I may decide I don’t feel like doing a daily task or only have time to do part of the house with the across tasks. At any given moment, you could come to the door and catch the house looking like a tornado went through. But overall the house stays clean without a ton of effort because of the frequent rotation.
Big Time Messes
Now, if you are one of those who are really encumbered and looking for help, you may be thinking that it is easy for me to talk because cleaning is not effortless for you. I am FAR from Miss Martha. And I do not like to clean either. This schedule came from me trying to figure out how to eat my cake and have it, too. I wanted the clean house, but I wanted to spend more time playing.
We are now living in a home I inherited. I also inherited all of the stuff in it. I loved the previous owners with all of my heart, but they were severe hoarders. In the past we have had up to a third of other houses in stages of remodeling at one time. And once upon a time I was one of those messy people who was organized by knowing which pile something was located in.
In each of those times, I followed my routine doing as much as I could. Spending some of the project time on Friday, weekends, and throughout the last week of the month to make the paths just a little bit wider. It really did (and is doing again) help it all come out for us eventually.
The bottom line is it does take work. I just keep trying to work smart instead of hard, especially when it comes to ordinary cleaning.
Your Routine
I was really serious when I asked about your routine. I would like to know what you do. Do you follow those checklists? Have you made up a routine of your own? What tricks really work for you? And if you give this schedule a try, let me know if it makes cleaning easier for you.
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Wow. I loved reading through your cleaning routine. I think it is interesting to see how others do things. I don’t really have a schedule that works for me. I go from a new routine to nothing to a new routine to nothing. I guess I just haven’t found something doable for me yet. I think I’ll try yours next. Maybe it will stick!
Jens last blog post..{mt. laundry – wfmw}
@Jen, I’d love it if you would try it and then let me know what works and what doesn’t for you. I am really interested in finding out what others do too. I keep finding the checklists, but no examples from real people. So now I have gotten really curious.
This only works for me for three reasons. #1- our house is small and #2- there are things that just don’t get done ( dusting, walls, windows) on a regular basis ( mostly b/c those are chores that I use as discipline for when my children need to be punished LOL) and #3- it’s the CATCH UP TO KEEP UP.
I do those quick pick ups everyday. I also have a dry erase chore chart and that is part of my kids afternoon routine with HomeWork and piano practice. So of course, dinner and dishes get done daily. Laundry, everyone has a day of the week they get free reign of the washer. Everything else is on our weekend chore chart. We have an adult with a child on Team Kitchen and Team bathroom. But all the vac, etc get done on the weekend ( we have hard floors, ) and sweeping gets done by the person on that ‘dinner chore’.
I have never kept a daily chore chart. I do have seasonal things I keep on a permanent calendar with my birthday list. I will add windows sometime in April after the snow starts to melt. I guess it’s all priority, isn’t it? LOL Dusting does not get done enough around here, either it’s no my priority or my kids have just been really good lately. LOL
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We kept chores for our teen, not for punishment (how funny!), but as a way for her to earn extra cash. Those never really got done much either. It is definitely by priority. Usually if I have less time available I do what I can and quit, then I just start at the opposite side of the house the next time it comes up. (Or just pass this time all together.) Thank you for letting us know how you do things, Stacey. And hugs to the kids for being so good!
I enjoyed your cleaning ideas and plan to incorporate some of them into my daily routine. I’m getting ready to put my house on the market and am trying to find a way to make sure that everything always looks good just in case someone stops by without much notice! On a side note, when I was growing up, Saturday was always “chore day” in the house. We couldn’t do anything until our chores were done. I adopted that routine a bit when my kids were smaller. I made up little laminated cards with each of the chores on them “vacuum living room”, “dust living room”, “bathroom sink”, “garbage”, etc. I would go through the whole collection of cards and decide which chores needed to get done that day and then the kids (I have three) would have to draw from the cards. After all of the cards had been drawn, all participants (including myself) could trade with other family members if they drew chores they didn’t want to do. This method really worked well for us. Now the kids are gone and I need to figure out a way to keep my house clean all by myself!!
Thanks for your tips! Kathleen
I’m glad you stopped by! Let me know if the ideas help you any. I would love some feedback. I love the idea of the kids drawing and trading chore cards.
And good luck with selling your house! I wish I knew a little more about your situation, to offer some ideas that would maybe help more. My best general advice is to reduce and simplify as much as possible. The less you have to take care of, the easier it is to take care of it. I suggest you donate, give away or sell anything you are willing to let go of, then box up as much additional things as possible in preparation for moving. Make sure to include any family photos and anything else that make the home yours. If buyers see you in the house as they are looking around, they can not imagine themselves in the house as easily. It sounds like you can use the kids closets for temporary box storage. In the past I would have recommend renting a storage unit to encourage a quick sale, but the real estate market varies so widely now that the appearance of more space does not always return the payoff it has over the last many years. It all depends on how stable the market is in your area. Feel free to e-mail me or ask more specific questions in any of the comments if you would like someone to bounce ideas around with you. Good luck!
Hi! I’m new to your website – from smallnotebook.org – and I’m at once fascinated and inspired! I’m definitely going to give your system a try. My current system (or lack thereof…) is not working so much
Can’t wait to look around some more…
Kareys last blog post..better get this up…
My routines are on my sidebar under their own label. My “daily schedule” is listed as well as my “weekly schedule.” You can read more about them under the “cleaning schedule” label or just look under clutter.
momsthewords last blog post..
OMG,
This was liberating to read!
Thank you for acknowledging the uselessness of those unending cleaing lists! Mine could go on forever but you simplified it for me. Will you marry me? I’ll be subscribing now for sure!
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OK, I love this post! I am absolutely addicted to learning other people’s cleaning schedules and routines because it really helps me out with my own to see if I need to step it up or scale way back.
You asked, so here are my cleaning schedules: (my site also has a place where others can post their cleaning schedules, so you may want to look at those too)
Weekly cleaning schedule: http://www.household-management-101.com/weekly-house-cleaning-schedules.html
Daily household chores: http://www.household-management-101.com/house-cleaning-schedule.html
Daily kitchen tasks: http://www.household-management-101.com/kitchen-cleaning-tips.html
I am definitely checking out everyone else’s posts. I just love to see this stuff!
I loved reading this article on your cleaning routine. A lot of people will find this to be useful information. Thanks.
I have a similar plan. Monday I do bathrooms, Tuesday I do the kitchen, Wednesday I dust the house, Thursday I vacuum the house, and Friday I catch up on what I’ve missed and do all the laundry. Those are the big ones. Of course there are a lot more little things I include everyday, but this keeps me on track most of the time.
i stumbled onto your article and it sounds we share of the same views about weekly cleaning routines – i recently started a series of posts on my blog about this very topic and am posting my routines which, i promise, aren’t long and scary! i hope you will drop by and check it out – i hope you don’t mind but i have bookmarked your page and will link back to it in my posting tomorrow!
I’m an organizing and routines junky – always looking for quicker and easier ways to keep the house up to scratch. My Mum was HUGE on having the house presentable at ALL times for vistors – this meant that ALL rooms in the house should be able to have their doors wide open and there be nothing embarrassing about the state of any room. Unfortnuately, because she was so pedantic about this rule, I beat myself up when the house isn’t perfect eventhough my husband and I are out of the house for 14 hours a day with work, then come home and get straight into the kitchen to make dinner. The problem with this is that weekends are then spent madly cleaning each room, doing all the washing, the groceries, running errands etc and we never get time to relax. Any pointers?
I have seven daily tasks to accomplish that change depending on whether I’m working or not that day. On working days I try to get up one hour earlier so that I don’t have to come home to too many chores.
WORKING DAY:
1. Do one complete load of laundry.
2. Water plants / garden tasks.
3. Prepare ingredients for evening meal.
4. Load dishwasher, clean sink and kitchen surfaces.
5. General tidy up OR vacuum a carpet.
6. Bathroom wipe-down.
7. Wipe down a room OR wash a floor.
NON-WORKING DAY:
1. Do one to two loads of laundry.
2. Water plants / garden tasks.
3. Prepare ingredients for evening meal.
4. Load dishwasher, clean sink and kitchen surfaces. – thoroughly.
5. Tidy up more thoroughly / vacuum.
6. Bathroom wipe-down.
7. Clean thoroughly / paint a (small) section of the house *.
* This allows me to work gradually around the house, room by room, throughout the year.
Thank you for this post. I am a recent college graduate who cannot find a job so I have decided to become a housewife while I write my two novels. My husband works hard for us and I wanted to show my input and process in our life together. I was looking feverishly on the net for routines on house management and yours was so helpful. I have recently shared your site and calendar with a girlfriend of mine as well. Good work and thank you taking the time to do all this work. I have not fully followed your method but I feel that in the future weeks once I get my house in order and cleaned I can use your method for up keep.
Tyne Swedish´s last [type] ..The Great war?
Here is my routine, my family has an internal scruffiness field so I do this each day…
Living room… Clear the sofas, cushions off, covers in the wash, big sofa cushions off and clean down the edges of the sofa, wash down sofas and polish, move sofas and clear underneath, brush and mop underneath, take the book boxes upstairs, sort the two small shelves, sort the large shelf, sort out medications for the day, tv unit sorted, windowsill, switches, handles, washed, wood and reflectables polished, curtains fixed and if nessecary changed, candles placed and lit, skirting board washed, floor brushed, washed and polished.
Kitchen… Laundry sorted, wash on, tumble dryer sorted and put away(do this all day), dishes washed and away, cupboards, drawers and fridge freezer sorted, oven scrubbed, clean filters on washing machine and tumble dryer/empty water butt, sideboards, windowsill, reflectables, appliances, washed and polished. Floor scrubbed brushed and mopped. All rubbish into the bin/recycling.
Back hall… Dogs into secure area, clean, scrub floor, discentfect, then bleach, wash Walls, skirting, doors, dog dishes washed and refilled. Dogs washed, conditioned, dried and brushed.
Son’s room… Check bed to see if it needs changed, check toy chest, chest of drawers, bedside cabinet, shelves, dressing table, in the corners, wash windows, windowsills, mirror, wood, bedhead, and polish, clear under furniture, brush and mop.
Sort hot press and hall cupboard.
Bathroom… Sort drawers, shelves, book shelf, wash and scrub sink, bath and shower, wash shower screen and mirror and reflectables, wash down tiles, radiator washed, brushed and mopped.
Main bedroom… Bed made or changed, boxes, shelves, chest, cupboard and drawers sorted, check clock, windows and reflectables polished, windowsills and wood washed, floor scrubbed and mopped.
Hall, stairs and landing… Windowsills, windows, wood, doors, switches, handles, edging, banister, picture rail and Walls washed. Floors double brushed and double mopped.
Go over everything and make sure everything is washed/polished, all large furniture has been cleaned under, all reflectables are polished, windows have been washed in and out, all windows are open, candles are lit in every room. Febrezed and air freshener used throughout, front and back door and frame washed in and out, brushed and mopped, all rubbish and recycling in appropriate boxes, front garden is tidy, back garden is clean….
All between 9am and 1.50/2.50pm dependant on when my kid gets out of school to ruin it all!
OMG Laurell, i came across your blog because I was in desperate need of direction. I have tried flylady.net and honestly it was overwhelming. I have severe adhd and have had it for almost 27 years. My husband and I normally get along but unlike most couples the only thing we fight about is cleaning because I often find it hard to clean with three kids and juggling everything else, i am going to try this and see if it will work. hopefully I will actually get somewhere.
Loved your ideas for cleaning! I like the fact that you categorize your days by task, not by room. I always struggle with “Tuesday is clean bedrooms”, “Wednesday is “clean bathrooms”. Breaking it up by “ceilings” “walls” “surfaces” and “floors” is such a great idea! Going to try it starting tomorrow! Thanks
Absolutely note-worthy to make a cleaning routine and schedule! Not only that it makes the task easier, you can actually save a lot of time and effort if your thoughts in cleaning are organized. This will help in accomplishing the task without too much hassle.
I was really interested to see how you do your house cleaning. I usually start with the living room and do one or two rooms a day until they are all done for the week.
Vacuming is living room, hall one day, bedrooms another. What I don’t get done one day, goes to the next.
Kind of layed back routine, I don’t have kids, but my elderly mom lives with me. Since it is Monday, there are lots of things to do, but dusitng my bedroom needs done the worst. I did not get that done last week.
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Hi I came across this as I was looking for inspiration while staring at a mountain of ironing! My husband and I live in Sri Lanka and both have heavy work schedules which means when we fall home from work the last thing we want to do is clean. Dishes are done daily (no luxury of a dishwasher). Washing is usually done before I go to work and hung out to dry. Floors should really be swept and mopped daily but we usually do it once or twice a week. big cleaning jobs are saved for the weekend. Ironing is where hubby and I differ. He will happily get up and iron all his clothes needed for work, i on the otherhand like my clothes ironed before I put them away… just hate doing it! well better tackle the mountain!
Thanks for sharing this routine! We just moved into our house and I am looking for a way to start fresh (especially since cleaning is NOT my forte!).
I’m a little confused by something on the schedule and I was wondering if you’d clear something up for me. The vertical tasks (Family Room, Kitchen, Bathrooms, etc.) are confusing me. Does this mean you work on them for one week straight once a month, or does it mean that it is just done on Sundays once a month? How do you do these tasks on a daily/weekly basis?
Thanks so much!
Awesome take on a housekeeping plan. Simple and effective. Thanks for sharing this.
Awesome take on a housekeeping plan! Simple and effective.
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Hi! I love your weekly cleaning routine and how you do laundry every day, I really need to implement that. I find myself saving laundry for 1-2 times a week and then I have 4-6 loads to do at once! I am really unorganized when i t comes to keeping my house neat so I am going to try your schedule. I think it will work for me! I’m going to get a dry erase board so I can write out what I need to do! Wish me luck!
Michele
Thank you so much! This looks like just what I need! I think you said somewhere in your post about posting later about more details? I wasn’t sure if you have done those posts or how to find them, I would love to read them for your tips if you can direct me. Thanks!!
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Hey, that was a very informative article.
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I find it easier to do as you’ve described, going around the place with one cleaner at a time. I tend to like to complete a whole room at a time though. Our house is tiiiiiny so i have 4 rooms total. The loungeroom is a bastard as it is large and doubles as a playroom and dining room. I can wipe my daughter’s table thoroughly about 5 times a day. I made a rough schedule to follow, kitchen and laundry mondays, bathroom tuesdays etc and i find just by cleaning well one day a week a Room stay better for longer. I have to reclean often though with little ones (floors mostly). But definitely the best tip i have is to keep clutter away, clear benchtops regularly and have a little tidy up a few times a day. It only takes a few minutes. And if you make the beds that just changes everything. I never used to make my bed at all, but now it’s the first thing i do.
I used to do all or most of my cleaning in one day too. Now mine is distributed throughout the week but even so, I need to update it someday.
I think I would seriously knock me out if I had to do it all in one day now, lol!
i really like this idea of going by type of chores per day opposed to witch room i will do each day…this is simpler and i think its going to be faster and easier to follow…the problem with me is getting bored of the same routine…so i like to find new ways to change it up a little every once in a while…lol…thanks
Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I’d like to follow you if that would be okay. I’m undoubtedly enjoying
your blog and look forward to new updates.
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