Do you love a clean house but simply cannot keep on top of the mess, dishes, laundry and dust?
I hear you! Between work, kids and all the other stuff that life throws at you, it can feel impossible to find any time to clean.
And when you do find time to clean, it feels like you can never quite get on top of the tasks you need to do.
Is it possible to have a clean house even without a cleaner and only spending 30 minutes a day or less on household chores? Yes definitely!
The secret is adopting a cleaning schedule.
A cleaning schedule that works
Before getting started with a new cleaning schedule, you need to put a few things in place first.
Having an effective cleaning routine is not about always having a spotless home. It’s about organising your home efficiently, so that when you come to clean it’s quick and easy.
Here are a few things to think about in order to make keeping your home clean much easier:
Declutter
If your home is overflowing with stuff then it’s a great time to have a clear out.
Having counters, surfaces, drawers and cupboards overflowing with stuff will make keeping your home in order so much harder.
Go through your home in stages, rather than expecting yourself to do it all at once. Go through your home one drawer and one shelf at a time. This way it will seem less overwhelming.
If you’re someone who struggles with letting go of items, then try categorising things as you sort through them. If you see how many similar and duplicate items you have, then you may be able to rationalise ditching some of them much easier.
You may also like this article about keeping a spotless home when you’re overwhelmed by the mess.
Have a place for everything
Once you have cleared out the things in your life that you are not using, then give everything a home.
Make it logical by placing the things you use regularly within easy reach. For example your bedside table should have the stuff you’ll reach for first thing in the morning or last thing at night – for me it’s lip balm, face serum, phone charger and my latest book.
In the kitchen you’ll want key utensils in drawers that are close to your oven or stove.
For your kids’ toys, organise them by category and use boxes, drawers and shelves to give everything a home.
Pay close attention to shared areas
Your shared areas in the home are likely going to be where you notice mess the most. So pay close attention to keeping on top of mess in these areas, and making it easier for you to keep them tidy.
For me the worst areas for clutter and mess are:
- Hallway – shoes, coats and bags tend to clutter up this area. Try
- Kitchen – The counter often gets swamped with paperwork, dirty dishes and glasses and food that hasn’t been put away.
- Living room – discarded toys, hoodies and socks and sofa cushions dumped on the floor make this room a real magnet for clutter and mess.
Try to think of solutions so that clutter does not gather in these areas. For example, if you always have lists on the side of your kitchen counter then consider getting a magnetic notebook to stick to the fridge instead.
Using a storage footstool in the living room is a great option as you can quickly clear away throws and toys at the end of a busy day so you don’t see the stuff.
Consider your own weekly calendar
There is a sample cleaning checklist that is already filled in and ready for you to use that you can download from this article.
However there’s also a blank version for you to customise it based on your own weekly routine.
We all have different commitments. It may be that you have zero time to devote to any weekly cleaning tasks due to work or other things in your diary.
The key with a cleaning checklist is to make it work for you! If you can only manage 10 minutes a day, then stick to the essential daily tasks – making beds, wiping down kitchen counters and a quick pick up.
Cleaning checklist
This whole house cleaning checklist will help you keep on top of key cleaning tasks on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.
There’s a pre-filled version for you to follow plus a blank version so you can customise it however you need to.
My realistic cleaning schedule involves less than 30 minutes of cleaning a day, and once it becomes routine you hardly notice the workload.
As you can see, each day of the week is focused on one area of the house, as well as essential daily tasks like wiping down your kitchen counters as well. It is far more efficient to concentrate your time on one room at a time, than trying to do bits of it in one big burst of activity once a week.
Daily
- Make beds
- One load of laundry
- Load and unload dishwasher
- Empty trash
- Wipe kitchen counters
- Pick up
Monday (bedroom)
- Tidy up floors/surfaces
- Dust
- Vacuum floors
Tuesday (living areas)
- Tidy up
- Vacuum floors
- Dust surfaces
Wednesday (kitchen)
- Clean stove top
- Clean sink
- Sweep kitchen floor
- Mop kitchen floor
Thursday (hallway)
- Tidy up
- Dust surfaces
- Vacuum floor
- Mop floor
Friday (bathrooms)
- Disinfect toilets
- Clean bathroom sinks
- Clean bathtub/shower
- Mop floors
- Clean mirrors
- Change towels
Weekend
- Change bedsheets
- Spot clean upholstery
- Spot clean rugs
- Fold and put away laundry
Monthly
These are tasks that do not need doing every single week, or even necessarily every month. But they will help to keep your home looking and feeling clean.
- Clean baseboards
- Clean microwave/oven/toaster/dishwasher
- Vacuum/mop under furniture/cushions
- Clean washing machine
- Wipe kitchen cabinets
- Declutter
Get the free printable cleaning schedule
To help you stick with this cleaning schedule, here is a free printable version for you to use. Stick it on your fridge and get the whole family on board with the tasks.
