Cleaning schedules can get daunting quite fast. Because who has time for that? Well, when you plan your cleaning schedule out properly, you actually save time. Remember, a clean house doesn't happen in a day. Instead, you want to use daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly cleaning schedules to help you stay on task and organized.
Creating a Daily Cleaning Schedule to Stick To
Cleaning isn't a sprint. You can't do it all in one day. You want to think of cleaning as more of a marathon. The start of that marathon is your daily cleaning schedule. Now, there aren't enough hours in a day to make your house immaculate daily. However, there are small things you can do every day that make cleaning less daunting at the end of the week. And, you can work these right into your normal routine.
The key to making a daily house cleaning schedule work is incorporating it into your normal routine. A few minutes for cleaning here and there are a lot less daunting than hours at a time. Try a few of these tips to make cleaning a cinch.
- Kitchen: When making dinner, take the time when you are putting it all away to clean off and sanitize the counters and wipe down the stove.
- Office: Sort and organize mail while you prepare for dinner or get ready for an activity.
- Dishes: Unload the dishwasher in the morning before work or before going to bed. As you use dishes during the day, you can quickly rinse them and load them in the dishwasher, then run the dishwasher after dinner. This saves you a sink full of dirty dishes.
- Clutter: Take five minutes before going to bed to quickly pick up and put away small things around the living room.
- Laundry: Put a load of laundry in before leaving in the morning, then you can put in the dryer when you get home. This can help avoid laundry mountain at the end of the week.
- Trash: Check and take out the trash after dinner time while tidying up the kitchen.
- Bathroom: Pick up and wipe down bathroom counters and throw laundry in the hamper while brushing your teeth.
- Bedroom: Make your bed as you get ready in the morning and put any clothes in the hamper.
Real Simple Weekly House Cleaning Schedule
Daily cleaning keeps the clutter and germs from building up during the week. A weekly cleaning schedule is going to go a bit more in-depth. Rather than just picking up around the main areas of your home, focus on a deeper cleaning of your bathroom, kitchen, bedrooms, and living room.
When it comes to weekly cleaning, you need to plan your must-clean rooms (typically bathrooms and living rooms). Start building a weekly cleaning schedule from the most important tasks to the least important. Important areas to weekly clean include:
Practical Tips for Making Weekly Cleaning Doable
Weekly cleaning is going to take more time. Therefore, you need to pick a day when you can devote a good chunk of time to getting your house cleaned and sanitized. Try these tips to make cleaning a bit easier.
- Have all supplies ready for each room: You don't want to be tracking down your supplies for cleaning, so have them ready and available before starting.
- Clean one room at a time: It can be easy to get sucked into cleaning parts of this room and that. But don't be tempted. Clean and sanitize one room from top to bottom then move on.
- Take breaks: Remember how cleaning is a marathon. Well, you can easily putter out if you go full tilt. Therefore, set a timer to make sure you take breaks. Just make sure you get back to it.
- Only clean what needs to be cleaned: Not every household or room needs to be cleaned each week. Assess the rooms that need cleaning and only clean those. Don't clean for the sake of cleaning.
- Modify your cleaning schedule to make it fit your home: For example, some people like to marathon clean in one day. Others like to clean a room a day. Do what works best for you.
Monthly Cleaning Tasks to Consider
You can think of monthly cleaning as your deep cleaning routine. These tasks don't need to happen all at once, but you want to make sure they get done throughout the month. Monthly cleaning tasks are what keep your home in working order. A few examples of monthly cleaning tasks you might add to your schedule include:
- Clean washing machine
- Wash and scrub refrigerator
- Clean dishwasher
- Wash windows
- Wash walls
- Clean molding
- Clean upholstery
- Flip mattresses
- Declutter drawers
- Dust fans and HVAC systems
- Sanitize floors and bathmats
- Wash bedding and shower curtains
Tricks for Monthly Cleaning
Monthly cleaning can be labor intensive and take time. For example, if you are cleaning your range, it can take hours. Plan for it within your schedule. So, if you have to let the cleaner sit in the oven, deep clean the rest of the kitchen and go out for dinner. When you come home, you can finish cleaning out the oven.
- Space out your cleaning: It can be best to focus on deep cleaning one room at a time. For example, you might choose to deep clean the bathroom one week and the kitchen the next week. Baby steps!
- Use a checklist for deep cleaning: That way you can mark things off as you get them done. And it helps you to know where to start the next month.
- Split up the chores: Deep cleaning can be daunting. Break up the cleaning among family members to make it more manageable.
A Look at Yearly Chores
The great thing about yearly chores is that you only have to do them once a year. Which is perfect because they are hard. The things that you need to add to your yearly house cleaning schedule are:
- Clean HVAC system and vents
- Clear gutters
- Clean blinds and drapes
- Deep clean windows inside and out
- Clear and clean medicine cabinets
- Steam and deep clean carpets
- Organize kitchen cabinets
- Clean dryer vents
- Clean fireplace and chimney
Tackling Yearly Cleaning Tasks With Ease
You might be looking at that schedule thinking, yeah okay. But actually, using the seasons to guide you can help you stay on task. For example, you can:
- Winter cleaning: Clean medicine cabinets and organize
- Spring cleaning: Clean HVAC systems, gutters, and dryer vents in spring
- Summer cleaning: Use the summer breeze to air out windows, drapes, and carpets
- Fall cleaning: Clear and clean chimneys
This uses the weather to your advantage and makes yearly cleaning a bit easier to tackle.
Finding the Perfect House Cleaning Schedule
When you have a schedule, you can more easily enlist the help of your family and roommates. Sit down and explain that it takes everyone working together to make your home a comfortable place. When you schedule chores for your children, keep their ages and abilities in mind. Be prepared to work with them for the first few times and show them how to clean a room. With a little patience and persistence, you can maintain schedules for cleaning that will work for everyone.
