I shared a photo of my cleaning cards on Instagram a few weeks ago and thousands of you were interested in learning about the details. It’s really simple. There’s not much to it. Keep reading to see how I stay on track with the chores of our home. I hope you take some inspiration from my system.
When we moved into our new home, I quickly became overwhelmed with the square footage and the long list of chores that had to be done. It gave me immense anxiety and I wondered if I would have to hire a cleaning company to take over. Instead, I came up with a simple system that allowed me to break the chores into manageable weekly tasks.
Using 3×5″ index cards, I split up each room of our home. I wrote down one room on the top of each card and listed all of the tasks that needed to be completed in each space. Then I calculated how much time it would take me to clean each room and wrote it on the top of each card. Knowing the time it would take to clean each room, I grouped them into weekly chores (3-4 rooms per week). It takes me an average of 95 minutes per week to clean 3-4 rooms.
Here are my index cards. Yours will be different, but this is a guide to help you get started.
You can find the tabs here.
Once you are finished writing out your tasks on cards, you can store them in your cleaning caddy. Clip the current week on the side of the caddy, so it’s easy to see what needs to be done. (The cleaning caddy is from TJ Maxx).
Here are some of my current favorite cleaning products. I got most of them at Grove Collaborative. If you are new to Grove, be sure to get your first set for free HERE.
Don’t get overwhelmed with the thought of cleaning. Break it into daily tasks, and tackle them when you have time throughout the day. Finally, enjoy the process. You will be cleaning for the rest of your life, you might as well make it fun. If you would like to see my other cleaning checklists, be sure to check out my home keeping bundle.
If you need more in depth help with cleaning and home keeping, check out my second book The Complete Book of Clean. It has detailed cleaning checklists, cleaning recipes, and tips galore! Be sure to check it out here.
Keep in mind that I maintenance clean on a daily and weekly basis. I sweep floors daily, wipe down counters, wash dishes, declutter, make beds, empty trash cans, clean toilets and tidy. These cards fulfill the deep cleaning tasks that need done on a monthly basis.
Let me know if this post has helped motivate you to start a cleaning card system! I love to hear your thoughts. Be sure to check back next week, as I will be sharing my cleaning cabinet and laundry room organization with you! Get the most up to date information by subscribing to my blog here –> SUBSCRIBE.
~Toni
Tags: clean, cleaning, cleaning caddy, cleaning cards, declutter
Blog, Checklists, Clean, Cleaning, Cleaning Card System, decluttering, lists, Organize Posted in
20 comments
20 comments on “Cleaning Card System”
I recently did something similar but on a spreadsheet. I think I may transfer to notecards. I like that idea. Great job!
This is a great idea! I love making lists like this, the satisfaction of checking one off is great! Also like the idea of the caddy. Convienent and cute.
Hi Toni! Gosh am I glad you’re back. We haven’t had the full tour yet have we? Everything I’ve seen so far has been beautiful. I saw the same idea you have here in an old book one time. Fly Lady method or something? Also Bre from Bre’s Project Book has a similar system. She also has sets for daily, weekly, monthly and annually. Guess I’ve been shown this 3 times now. I’d better get cracking! Thx for the post. It’s inspiring.
Yes it is a great idea: simple, clear and efficient! I might, no I will try it.
As always, an inspiration! Simple, uncomplicated and effective. Thank you for sharing. Please keep it coming! I look forward to youtube videos also!
Did one of your cards say KEEPING ROOM? What is that?
Its also known as the family room.
This is a great idea! I’ll be moving to a bigger brand new home by the end of the year and with 2 kids and so many responsibilities this method should be of great help to keep me on track. Thanks for sharing!
How awesome. I think I will be making these next week and laminating them. I would love to be able to cross off as I go. I’m a sporadic cleaner so it would be a good way to keep track of what I’ve done. Thanks for the idea.
This is an awesome idea. I do something similar to this, but instead of using cards I use the housekeeping list app on my iPhone and make checklists that I can uncheck once I complete the list so that I can reuse the list the next time it’s time to clean a certain area. I may write them on cards soon just because I love writing things out and trying different ways to see what I like best and keeps me on track.
Love it!
Thanks for sharing
I recently cancelled our cleaning service and came up with a very similar method! I laminated my cards and put them on a ring- the kids use them for their zones too.
I take my ikea 3 tier rolling cart and hang a trash bag on the side. It has all my supplies and goes with me all through the house. It’s been working great! I like how you added garage and porch on your cards- wil be doing that!
Hi I’m a new reader of your blog and have found lots of good advice for my new incentive to de-junk my home. I really like this cleaning card idea. It’s great. It’s so easy to forget which jobs have been done and which haven’t but assigning them a week and using cards is a simple but really effective system. Looking forward to more great posts.
Love it!
Thanks!!
Hi Toni,
Thank you for all your hard work and wonderful suggestions. I have been following you for over a year with the plan that as soon as I graduated from my masters program that my house will come to order. My husband has been doing a fabulous job but it is time to take it to the next step.
In your challenge regarding the car, you mention that you remove trash every time you get out and that you vacuum and clean the car weekly. Do you do anything else weekly? How about monthly or seasonally. I am pairing the above suggestions with your suggestions in the Complete Book of Clean and am hoping this will help. Also, do you have any suggestions for the Garage/Patio/Yard for monthly or seasonal chores?
Thank you so much for all you do!!!
Marvi
Once your list for each room is complete, laminate each card. That way you can use a sharpie to check off each item, when the room is done, use an eraser to remove the check marks and it’s ready for the next cleaning!
Do you get your family to help or is it just you that completes the tasks? Also, I’m not much of a house keeper but we have a new home and would like to get organized and clean regularly. What book would you recommend I get first The Home Organization or the Home Clean Book? Thanks, really enjoy all your posts. I watch and read them and have been saying for s year, “One day I’ll do all that!!” ?
They definitely help out. I recommend the organizing book first.
As always great idea for cleaning as I need all the help I can get Lol! One question tho as I searched but couldn’t find it – where did you get your cleaning caddy? Love the color ?