when we don’t have a housecleaner for whatever reason, we do a cleaning schedule. it’s just like what the incredible Clean Mama does and teaches, but I tweak it to make it work better for us and our household.
and by doing this, I don’t clean for more than 20 minutes a day. and, the perk of it being a schedule that repeats is that if I don’t feel like cleaning, I skip it that day with the knowledge that I’ll just get to it next time.
and another perk of a schedule is that everything feels manageable and everything feels like a bite-sized piece. it’s not stressful or overwhelming.
i will also note - when I don’t feel like cleaning that day, I skip it. no guilt. I mean, I may do a lightened version - like wipe the countertops instead of cleaning the whole bathroom - but either way, I don’t force anything. I know I can just jump back in the following week. if anything, I love the simplification of this schedule - like, on mondays, I check to see if the bathrooms need cleaning. and if i don’t feel like doing it, I know there’s the following monday. (but, usually I don’t mind doing it since it’s so quick and manageable.)
below is how I break everything up - do whatever works best for you and your space!
daily:
every morning:
start a load of laundry, if needed
specific schedule of what gets washed each day below
unload dishwasher, reload it with lurking dishes
make bed
tidy house
sometime each day:
put away laundry
every evening:
clean kitchen, wipe counters, clean sink
load dishwasher, run dishwasher overnight
tidy house, put everything back in its place
few things make me happier than waking up to a clean, tidy home with a clean sink, if you can’t tell.
here’s my full post on my daily schedule with my full list of morning + evening routines and how I fit household things into my day, if you’d like a peek.
weekly:
sunday
check laundry baskets: would we benefit from a load being washed? or could we wait a day?
clean floors (or on saturday)
monday
check laundry baskets: would we benefit from a load being washed? or could we wait a day?
clean bathrooms
tuesday
towel tuesday - wash all towels, linen napkins, rags, cloths, burp cloths, changing pad covers, bath mats, hand towels, etc.
clean kitchen + breakfast room area
wednesday
check laundry baskets: would we benefit from a load being washed? or could we wait a day?
clean surfaces - each week I interpret that however
thursday
check laundry baskets: would we benefit from a load being washed? or could we wait a day?
work on a monthly (or yearly) cleaning routine
brett empties all trashcans + diaper pails for trash day
friday
fresh sheets friday - wash all bed sheets, crib sheets, mattress protectors, pillow cases, sleep sacks, etc.
wipe down diaper pails + trashcan
replenish changing stations
clean floors (or on saturday/sunday)
menu plan for the following week, order groceries
work on a monthly (or yearly) cleaning routine
saturday
check laundry baskets: would we benefit from a load being washed? or could we wait a day?
clean floors (or on friday/sunday)
work on a monthly (or yearly) cleaning routine
Note: you’ll notice Wednesday - Sunday is pretty vague and can easily be skipped, whereas I put the two most important things to me on Mondays and Tuesdays. I personally have the most energy at the beginning of the week, so I wanted the two most important-to-me things on those two days.
And I have the biggest task - clean floors - on Friday or the weekend. That’s because I love starting the weekend with clean floors, but since Brett works from home, sometimes cleaning floors during the week just doesn’t work. And this way, I can have him help, or he can hang with KK. Or, or! I have cleaning floors assigned to both weekend days so that if we don’t get to it one day because we’re resting or adventuring, that’s okay! And, like all the other routines, if we don’t feel like cleaning floors one week, we totally skip it, guilt free. We know that we’ll cycle through to floors again the following week and somehow our house won’t fall apart. :) Again, just like the other routines, we just like having the weekly reminder of, could our floors benefit from a clean? It’s manageable to us this way!
really quick, let’s talk laundry:
figuring out a laundry system that works for you is one of the best, easiest ways to take care of yourself. for me personally, it eliminated so much stress I didn’t even know I had. would you like to assign certain things to be washed on certain days? do one small load a day? do all laundry on one day? enlist your kids to help? hire someone to do it? whatever system works best for you! the key here is figuring out a system that works for you.
monthly:
A few examples of things we do monthly:
use upholstery cleaner + upholstery shampoo, if needed
and/or wash slip covers + throw pillow cases, if needed
clean dishwasher (there are many ways to do this, but I personally run this tablet through a wash cycle)
clean dishwasher filter (a google search explains this better than I ever could!)
clean washing machine, if needed (again, many ways to do this, but I use this tablet + give the machine a wipe down after)
put one of these guys down drains
clean + vacuum cars, if needed
give trashcan + diaper pails a good scrub, if needed
click here for my favorite cleaning supplies
wipe down big mirror
wipe down fireplace, if needed
wipe down bookshelves, if needed
wipe down baby gates, if needed
wipe down KK’s toy rotation cube
update KK’s monthly bookshelf - wipe down, fill with new month’s books
wipe all doorknobs, light switches
sweep/neaten/wipe down patio, if needed
wash all blankets + swim towels, if needed
wash Nugget covers, if needed
sweep + neaten garage, if needed
check salt levels in water softener
would we benefit from purging some clutter and making a donation bag?
check diaper bag + car + stroller (see if any supplies low, clean out trash, etc)
etc
See our full list of monthly routines - and how we created this list - here. And know, I don’t necessarily do all of these every month, but I love having the reminder every month, if that makes sense.
yearly:
Each area of our home is assigned two months a year - six months apart - to get a good deep clean. And, like, I don’t necessarily do it, but I like the twice-a-year reminder to see if that area of the home would benefit from anything.
Here’s my deep cleaning schedule.
Here’s my full list of yearly routines, also known as my Yearly Tasks + Expenses list, AKA how I keep track of certain tasks, traditions, and chores I love to do each month of the year.
Did you enjoy this post? Check out my full list of favorite routines and systems - aka the big list of things that help me feel my best - here!
