I think that one of the hardest parts of running a home is keeping up with all the chores. That’s where a weekly cleaning schedule can help!
It’s so easy to get overwhelmed and then realize that you haven’t cleaned the bathroom for 2 weeks!
Nobody needs to tell you to clean the bathroom, you already know you need to do that regularly. The problem is that you get busy and time gets away from you.
Before you know it, you have a toothpaste crusted sink and a water splattered mirror (we won’t even talk about the toilet…!).
Not a good look!
And let’s not even mention when your mother-in-law makes an unannounced visit!
Welcome to Judgement City. Population… You!
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Weekly Cleaning Schedule
You are probably the same way. You know what you need to do (sweep the floors, clean the toilets, wipe down the counters) but it’s tough to find the right time and way to do them.
It isn’t that any of the steps are hard to do, it was just finding a system that will work for you, so you don’t forget to do the important things.
The simplest solution… A Maid!
OK, OK… the REALISTIC simplest solution…. a cleaning schedule!
There are many different cleaning schedules out there and they are all great. But there in no such thing as a “one size fits all” cleaning schedule.
We all have different lives and demands on our time.
Maybe you work as a police officer and work 12-hour shifts for 3 days in a row? Or you work 2 jobs and never know when you will have free time?
So you need to find a schedule that works for YOU!
The Wonders of a Cleaning Routine
There are so many benefits to have a cleaning schedule. You might THINK that you don’t need one… but trust me, EVERYONE needs a weekly cleaning schedule! You’ve just got to find the right one!
Here are some of the many benefits of a realistic weekly cleaning schedule:
- Less overwhelmed and more in control
- Not shouting at your spouse or kids about the mess (or them shouting at you!)
- No blind panic when a visitor is coming over
- No more judgmental comments from your mother-in-law…!!!!!
- Enjoying your home more and not feeling like it is just an endless list of chores and “to-dos”.
- Taking pride in your home
Well… the list goes on and on. The feeling of relief and control when your home life is in order has effects on ALL aspects of your life!
Below I describe a general weekly cleaning schedule that does work for MOST people. If necessary, with minor changes you can tweak it to fit your lifestyle.
However, I don’t want anyone getting stressed out because they can’t get the schedule to work for them!
If it’s not working, the problem isn’t with you. The problem is the schedule. So you need to look closely at what is not working and rearrange things a bit.
Getting Started with Your Cleaning Schedule
We often make excuses when thinking about starting a new habit.
How many times have you said “I’ll just wait until after the weekend to start the new diet” or “I shouldn’t start going to the gym until after my birthday because I don’t have time”.
Well, with this cleaning habit I want you to start TODAY!
There’s no need to wait! I promise you, you will be glad that you start it today! It doesn’t take long to do the basic “Daily Dos” and that’s exactly what you’re going to start with!
We aren’t going to jump straight into a big complex cleaning routine. We’re going to start small. We’re going to start with establishing a simple daily habit.
Once you have the hang of the daily tasks, then we are going to add in some quick weekly tasks. Nothing too time-consuming, I promise
I’m all about the quick cleaning! In fact, one of my favorite posts I’ve ever written (and I’ve written a lot!), is my 11 Quick Cleaning Hacks for Busy People!
Once again we will wait until your new weekly habit is established before adding in some extra monthly tasks.
By starting small with simple tasks, you are more likely to stick with your new cleaning habit, rather than trying to do too much at once.
Daily Dos
This is where you will start! The quick and simple “Daily Dos” are things that you probably already do every day. We’re just going to make an effort to do them EVERY DAY.
There are just five easy tasks that you need to do every day. These will help you keep the chaos at bay and keep control of your home!
Not sure which tools or cleaning products you need? Check out my Recommend Cleaning Supplies. These are all items that I personally use and depend on to keep my busy home clean and tidy.
Daily Do #1
This is the first “Daily Do” and pretty easy too!
As you get up each morning, spend 30 seconds to a minute straightening up your sheets and blankets.
If you have lots of fancy throw pillows and it’s taking you too long to make your bed (so you don’t do it!), then you need to ditch the throw pillows! It might look really nice with all those pillows and cushions, but it doesn’t look nice if you can’t be bothered to make the bed every day!
Daily Do #2
This might take a little longer than making your bed, but if you do it every day, then it should take more than a couple of minutes.
Get into the habit of washing your dishes or loading your dishwasher every evening after dinner. Don’t sit down to watch TV or at the computer, until you’ve cleared the dishes away. Don’t wait! Do it right away!
I run my dishwasher overnight and then every morning I empty it and put the dishes away. I normally do this while I’m waiting for the kids to finish their breakfast before leaving for school.
Daily Do #3
Doing a load of laundry every day will go a long way to keeping your mountains of laundry under control.
You might think that you don’t have time to do a load of laundry every day, but because it is a much smaller load, it’s so much quicker to sort, wash and put away.
Some people won’t have enough laundry to do it every day. Please don’t run your washing machine for just one pair of pants, underwear and a shirt! If your household is smaller, then you might be able to do a load every other day or third day. Just don’t leave it too long!
Daily Do #4
Wiping down your kitchen counters every day is our fourth Daily Do.
Once again if you do this quickly after you have finished dinner, then it shouldn’t take too long.
Get a good multi-surface cleaner that you love the smell of and use that. You can either make your own (tip #2 in my Quick Cleaning Post) or find one that you really like at the store (I LOVE Method’s Grapefruit all purpose cleaner).
Daily Do #5
This is probably the MOST IMPORTANT Daily Do!
Every day you want to tidy up your clutter spot.
What’s your clutter spot? Well, we all have a spot or two in our homes where clutter seems to multiply.
Maybe it’s a corner of your kitchen counter? Or a table by the front door?
Most likely it is near where you come into the house. You probably kick off your shoes, dump your bag and drop your mail in this spot.
We all have one, so where ever it is, you need to clear it off EVERY DAY!
That’s it for your Daily Dos! Not too bad, huh? Once you get into a routine it can all be done really fast (or even better – share the Daily Dos with your family members!).
Weekly Whams
After you’ve got into the routine of doing your Daily Dos it’s time to add your Weekly Whams.
These rotating tasks that you will do every week.
I break them up into quick 10 minute tasks every day, but if you are short on time then you can group them together.
I use the following acronym to help me remember which days I do each Week Wham.
Stop Mountains Forming By Daily Cleaning
Sweep – Mop – Flex Day – Bathrooms – Dusting – Clutter Day
OK, grammatically it’s not the best… but it helps me remember and it also reminds me WHY I’m doing it!
If you have trouble getting motivated to clean, then check out my 15 Cleaning Motivation Hacks. They will help you stick to your new routine!
You will notice that there are only 6 Weekly Whams, but there are seven days in the week… yep, you get a day off!
I start mine on Monday, so I can have Sundays off, but you can adjust it to whatever works best for you.
Before you start your Weekly Whams, you should set a timer for 10 minutes. That’s it… just 10 minutes. We are going to clean for 10 minutes and then stop. It doesn’t matter if you are finished yet or not.
You can always pick up where you left off later in the week (on your Flex Day) or the next week.
Monday: Sweep
I say sweep, but you can vacuum too! In fact, even on hard
It’s quicker to use a vacuum and you don’t have to mess around with trying to get all the dirt into a dustpan. But do whatever you prefer and find the quickest.
This is a quick sweep or vacuum. We are not worried about moving furniture or getting into all the cracks and crevasses. Remember the aim is to do it all in 10 minutes.
Depending on the size of your home, you might not be able to finish all the vacuuming in 10 minutes. That’s OK. You can either keep going (if you have time and want to), or you can wait and do the rooms you missed on your Flex Day or the next week.
If you REALLY want clean floors but don’t have enough time, then I strongly recommend you look at getting a robot vacuum! I have 2 and they are a life-saver! I run them every single day and they keep my home looking clean and tidy even when I don’t have time to sweep!
Check out the vacuums I use on my Recommended Cleaning Supplies page.
Tuesday: Mop
Ideally, you would mop on the same day that you sweep the floors, but that’s not going to happen in 10 minutes (unless you have one of those adorable tiny homes!). So I do the mopping on the next day.
Once again you can pick how you want to mop your floors. I like to use a microfiber mop and multi-surface spray. REALLY quick and easy!
Wednesday: Flex Day
This is your mid-week reset day! If you’ve got behind on any of your Weekly Whams or you want to tackle a deeper cleaning task, then this is your day!
Otherwise, you can use it for something like grocery shopping or meal planning.
It’s a Flex Day… so be flexible!
Thursday: Bathrooms
This one is pretty self-explanatory… on Thursdays, you clean the bathrooms!
Again, this isn’t a deep clean. You want to just do a quick clean-up. Spot clean any areas that are really yucky (
Wipe down the counter and sink (to make this quicker, keep the clutter on your counter to a minimum), clean the mirror, wipe the toilet tank, seat and base and use a toilet brush to scrub the inside. That’s all you need to do for now.
Friday: Dusting
Fridays are our dusting day. I picked dusting for Fridays because this is the one that I skip most often. Well, it is a Friday, sometimes I do want to have a life!
Dusting is also a task that you can get kids to help with! Even little kids can be taught to dust any flat surfaces… just keep them away from your Grandma’s antique china collection!
If you want to really make dusting a faster task, then you want to keep your knick-knacks to a minimum. Yes, they might look nice, but your collection of 19th Century snuff boxes just collect dust!
If you just can’t part with your collection (I don’t blame you!), then try putting them in a display case. It’s much easier to dust the outside of a glass case than to dust each item individually.
Saturday: Clutter Day
Our final Weekly Wham is Clutter Day. Yes, on Saturday you are going to spend some time tackling clutter.
This is where I like to be flexible with my 10-minute rule. Some Saturdays I will spend just 10 minutes straightening out a clutter spot, but other days I might spend an hour or 2 to REALLY clear out an area.
This is up to you and how much time you have. But the more you are able to declutter, the quicker it will be to clean the rest of your house. No clutter on the kitchen counter means it will be faster every day when you wipe it down.
Sunday: Rest
This is the best day of the week! Your Rest Day!
All you need to do on Sundays is your regular Daily Dos, and then relax!
Extras
The Daily Dos and the Weekly Whams above will help keep your home clean and tidy, but there are a few additional tasks that need to be done from time to time.
These don’t have to be done every week, and some don’t even have to be done every month! But they will need to be done eventually!
I normally pick 1 or 2 of them to do on my Flex Day. I don’t do too many or take too long doing them though. We are still looking for speed!
The extra tasks are:
- Wipe down appliances
- Clean
oven - Wipe down cabinets
- Dust ceiling fans & light fixtures
- Clean baseboards
- Scrub grout
- Wash windows
- Clean light switches & door handles
- Vacuum sofas & chairs
- Polish wood furniture
- Wash bedding
- Sweep porch & deck/patio
- Clean electronics & remotes
- Change A/C filters
And that’s it! This simple cleaning routine will help keep your home clean, tidy and organized! Awesome, right?!
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