On my blog I talk about different ways to clean, products to use, and tips and tricks, but the one thing that works the BEST for me is my cleaning routine. Without a cleaning routine our house would be a disaster and I would be struggling with the untidiness of it all. A cleaning routine can be difficult to start and harder to maintain, but with a little persistence it can save your sanity.
My mantra is ‘every day a little something’. I don’t have the time to clean the whole house in a day like I used to (and with a family it would only be clean for about .2 seconds all week long), so I assign specific jobs to days of the week. Not a brand new idea, but it works really well because each task builds on the next day. Bathrooms need a good cleaning after the weekend, so Monday is bathrooms day. Dusting should be done before vacuuming, so Tuesday is dusting day. Wednesday is vacuuming day and then Thursday is floor washing day (because floors should be vacuumed or swept before being washed). Everyone needs a little grace and wiggle room so Friday is catch-all day – a day to catch up. Saturday I wash sheets and towels in preparation for the week ahead and Sunday is a day of rest.
My Cleaning Schedule:
*Monday – Bathrooms
*Tuesday – Dusting
*Wednesday – Vacuuming
*Thursday – Floor Washing
*Friday – Catch All (Catch up day)
*Saturday – Washing Day (Sheets & Towels)
*Sunday – Rest
Trying to piece together the perfect way to maintain your house? Stop aiming for perfection and just do a little bit every day. It’ll never be perfect, but starting somewhere is the best place to start. Then realize that the only way the cleaning routine will work is if you follow through and keep up with the routine. Too tired and busy for a cleaning routine? Set your timer and commit to cleaning for 10 or 15 minutes every day and whatever you get done, you get done. Remember that the mess is good – people live in your home and enjoy life!
Cleaning Tip:
Set your timer and commit to cleaning for 10 or 15 minutes every day and whatever you get done, you get done.
Need some resources to get started? Here’s a fun post on how to make a cleaning binder, my cleaning routine page with very detailed information, if you need a daily reminder, I post daily picture reminders of cleaning tasks on my Facebook page, and every month I have a FREE monthly cleaning calendar on my blog (here’s May’s calendar).
How about you? Are you a cleaning routine-er? What’s most effective for you?
Visit Becky’s Blog to learn more cleaning tips.
Becky
Becky (Clean Mama) writes a cleaning and organizing lifestyle blog all about simplifying everyday life and making daily cleaning tasks more fun. You'll find her with a printable checklist and a cup of coffee while running around with her three little ones. Clean Mama is also the housekeeping expert on Answers.com, and has been featured in HGTV magazine, BHG.com, Oprah.com, iVillage and has written cleaning and organizing content for companies like 3M, Peapod, and Reckitt. Look for Becky's first book to be published in the Spring of 2014! Learn more about Becky at www.cleanmama.net.
Tags: cleaning, cleaning routines
Blog, Clean, Cleaning, contributors, May 2013 Posted in
24 comments
24 comments on “How to Make a Cleaning Routine Really Work”
I was complaining to my daughter that if I only cleaned a little each day the house would never be totaly clean. She told me, “Well it won’t ever be totally dirty!”
you have a wonderfully smart daughter!
With kids, a dog and a cat it would never be clean for long…
Is Saturday Laundry day for all of your laundry? Or do you do that everyday? I find with 3 boys (1 adult and 2 small) that they create a whole lot of laundry. I feel like I always have a mountain to do.
I do at least a load of laundry every day – Saturdays I just do sheets and towels. The other days I rotate through all the clothing.
xo, Becky
This is great information. found it on New Nostalgia by Amy bowman.
I have recently started the same thing and it is working great. Not every thing is clean at the same time, but it is cleaner than it was. Maintenance during the week is so much easier and better than a day of total cleaning every full moon or so. I feel the house is much healthier because of it also. This is a really great idea. Thank you for sharing!!!
Thanks Lois!
xo, Becky
I like to dust after I vacuuming . . any dust stirred up will quickly be wiped away! 🙂
I usually dust after I vacuum . .. this way any dust that occurs is quickly wiped away!
I absolutely agree that floors should be vacuumed or swept before being washed, but it is not too late to wash the floors the next day? Here I should vacuuming every day and then wash the floors immediately after.
Ideally floors should be washed after vacuuming, but I prefer to spread it out. I do a quick sweep of any hard floors that need it before washing the floors.
xo, Becky
I posted about our cleaning routine a while back. It surely makes life easier to have the routine. I actually look forward to starting the clean-up on Monday, because it makes me feel so much better to have my surroundings in order. Cheers!
Thanks Daisy!
xo, Becky
I do a little bit every day. And now that I use Norwex Microfiber cloths I find that it takes me less time and saves me money too!
Thanks for sharing Becky. I love your attude about cleaning and will give your schedule a try. A little bit everyday is great.
This is great advice, dividing up the cleaning makes it seem so much less daunting! Thanks for sharing!
This is great advice! A little bit everyday, is so much more do-able. Thanks for sharing!
Great blog! I’ve used so many of your tips!
I don’t know how people cope with leaving all of their cleaning to one day every couple of weeks, because to me, that would be so depressing. I’m with you on this one, and I think that if we all just did our cleaning as we went along, things would be a lot easier. I vacuum and dust every day, and wash the dishes, and I put a load of clothes in to wash every other day. I have to do this, and I find that if I do all of this before I sit down at my desk in the morning (I work from home) that my day will be much easier and I know that I have a nice tidy lounge and kitchen to walk back into.
Where can I get more information on this topic?
I enjoy reading anything related to the cleaning industry as this is an area in which
I have worked for the past 9 years.