If you are new to the whole housecleaning merry-go-round, the best thing for you to do is to come up with a cleaning routine that works for you, your schedule and anyone else in your household. Dozens and dozens of folks have published cleaning routines on their websites. You can find just as many books written about cleaning and organizing. With all that, it must be something important since so many people have written a lot of words about it.
I have read many of these housecleaning theories and plans, but the problem I have with them is that 1) there is so much included in them that you could work from sun up to sun down and never get finished with everything on the list. 2) If you work outside the home, you would have to get up at 3:00 in the morning and go to bed at midnight to accomplish all that must be done.
First of all, let me say that I absolutely HATE cleaning all the time. Cyndi Lauper sings “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!” Let’s go with that! Unfortunately, I and those I live with are not the neatest people, so the house can get messy pretty darn quick. Whether you have a job outside the home or you are a busy stay-at-home mom who spends most of her time carting kids around from one place to the next, some kind of realistic system must be set to get the house in order. If you have kids, I will be the first one to say many hands make light work. If you do not have kids, you must do it all by yourself. That is a harsh reality!
My plan is very simple, really, but you must take the time to think. I have a couple of rules, though:
- Give yourself lots of grace!! If life happens and you can’t get something done as you planned, that chore will come around again. Don’t beat yourself up about not getting a chore done. Sometimes there is not enough time in a day to do all the things on your to do list. It’s going to be OK if a chore does not get done.
- Re-evaluate your plan every once in a while. You might realize that a chore doesn’t need to be completed on a daily basis and that it would serve you better to place that chore on a weekly basis.
- As you clean a room, make an inventory of items to buy for that room or repairs to complete. Implement those repairs and purchase items over time to take advantage of sales, etc.
If you are new to maintaining a home or if you are overwhelmed with everything that must be done, take a breath and start at the beginning. This plan consists of a 5 step process that makes you think on the front end to give you peace of mind in the future.
Step One
In order to solve this overwhelming problem, sit down with a pen and paper to write down every single task to complete. Go from room to room and write down every task to complete in that room. Don’t forget the garage, closets, cabinets, refrigerators, garden, etc. Be very detailed in your list. When you are finished, set it aside until tomorrow. If you overwhelm yourself from the start, you will tear that list into tiny shreds. Grab a cup of coffee, or maybe a glass of wine, turn on some soothing music to motivate you to write your list.
Step Two
On the following day, get your list and separate those tasks to do every day. I am providing my list as an example to show you what the daily tasks might look like. Your list may look very different than mine and that is OK. What you consider a daily chore is personal to you and your lifestyle. You must take into consideration how much time you have on a daily basis to spend on daily chores and when you might complete them.
Laundry
Unload dishwasher
Clean a sink/toilet/tub I rotate these
Clear the kitchen table after dinner
Take out the trash (I rotate these every day between upstairs, downstairs, recyclables, and empty boxes)
Clean one section of kitchen cabinets on the outside
Organize something (think of all the spaces that need occasional organizing)
Declutter for 15 minutes (I pick up where I left off the day before)
Make Beds
Put away hand-washed dishes
Wipe down the kitchen counters after dinner
Sweep and mop one room of the house
Clean a surface (I rotate these every day; think of all the surfaces in the house)
Clean out a car (I rotate the cars by decluttering the inside, wiping down/vacuuming the inside, and taking to the car wash)
It usually takes me about 2 hours to finish my daily chores. If I am not able to complete my daily chores, I will pick up where I left off on the following day.
Step Three
Once you have determined your daily chores from your master list. assign tasks to your family to complete. I am a soon-to-be empty nester, so I cannot rely on child labor much longer. It is bittersweet for sure!! If you have children at home of varying ages, their task assignments may change as they get older. Assign tasks that are appropriate to their ages. If you have little ones, assign tasks that they can do, but give the task of supervising the little ones to an older child. Learning supervision is a much-needed skill. As children get older and receive a new assignment, make sure you show them how you want that task completed. I cannot tell you how important this kind of training is! Below are some examples of age-appropriate tasks for children:
Ages 2-3 – Pick up toys with supervision, place dirty laundry in the laundry basket
Ages 4-5 – Learn to make their bed, pick up toys, dust with supervision,
Ages 6-7 – Make their bed, learn to feed pets with reminders, dust, learn to fold towels, set and clear the dinner table, put away clean laundry in their room, help prepare food with supervision, learn to empty trash around the house, clean their room with reminders
Ages 8-9 – Clean their room, rake leaves with supervision, learn to sweep floors, bring all laundry to the laundry room
Ages 10-11 – Clean their room, learn to wash dishes, load the dishwasher, help prepare lunch or dinner, begin supervising little ones
Ages 12-13 – Clean their room, take trash can to the curb, learn to do the laundry properly with supervision, supervise little ones, change sheets on the beds, change light bulbs, take out gathered trash to the trash bin, prepare lunch unsupervised, learn to wash the car
Ages 14-15 – Clean their room, learn how to mow the grass and complete other yard duties, supervise little ones, learn to prepare a meal when needed unsupervised, wash windows, do the laundry with no supervision, wash the car with supervision
Ages 16-17 – Clean their room, wash and clean out the cars, take out the trash to the trash bin, prepare a meal unsupervised, drive siblings to activities, go to the grocery store with a list, learn some garden maintenance, learn to clean the kitchen
I am sure there are many more age-appropriate tasks that children can complete. You know your kids and their abilities, so these are just examples. Getting children involved in household upkeep not only helps you out, but it also teaches them vital skills that will work to their personal advantage as they get older. They may not think so, but you are helping them make it in the world.
Step Four
The next step is to divide your house into rooms and list all the tasks that must be completed in each room on a weekly basis. Don’t think about deep cleaning at the moment. Only think about tasks to complete every week. These tasks are not the tasks that children can complete or are on your daily list or any deep cleaning needs. These are tasks that generally clean and make the room livable and presentable. If you do not have children with designated chores, then certainly add those tasks to your weekly list. To get an idea about what might be a weekly list, look at my example list below:
Kitchen
Clean/organize the refrigerators and freezers, clean off the kitchen desk, clean the outside of the trash can, clean the stove hood, wipe down large and small appliances, dust blinds
Laundry Room
Clean off the top of the dryer, change the cat litter, pick up laundry on the floor, complete ironing, straighten laundry closet
Dining Room
Dust, clear off the table, declutter
Bar Area
Clean counter, restock water and other beverages, clean out catchall basket, put items away
Family Room
Pick up and put away items, dust, wash throw blankets, wash cat beds
Foyer, Stairs and Hallways
Pick up and put away items, clear off the stairs, clear off the piano, dust shutters and surfaces
Downstairs Bathroom
Clean toilet and sink, put out clean towels, put away stray items, clean mirror
Office
Straighten desk, pick up and put away items, dust
Master Bedroom
Pick up and put away items, organize night tables, dust, change the sheets
Master Bathroom
Clean vanities and mirrors, pick up and put away items, clean toilet, dust
Son’s Room
Pick up and put away items, dust, clean off desk, change sheets
Son’s Bathroom
Clean the toilet, pick up and put away, clean the vanity and mirror
Guest Room
Pick up and put away, change sheets if necessary, dust
Guest Bathroom
Clean toilet, dust, pick up and put away if necessary
Game Room
Pick up and put away, dust
Craft Room
Pick up and put away, sweep floor, dust
Garage
Organize for 1 hour a week
Yard
Work in the yard 1 hour a week
Balcony and Pool Area
Organize pool supplies and toys, brush the pool, spray wasp nests if necessary, and maintain pool water
I assign each room a day of the week, considering that one day a week is my day off, and I clean nothing. If you work outside your home, your day off could be on a weekday if you choose. Mine is on a Sunday, but I could change that if I wanted or needed to. I also spend all day on Monday meal prepping, so I must consider that when assigning rooms to my schedule. Obviously, there are more rooms on my list than the remaining days of the week, so they overlap. Below is an example of my plan:
Monday – Meal prep
Tuesday – Kitchen, laundry room, dining room, clean refrigerators
Wednesday – Look at grocery sales, master bedroom, bar area, garage, foyer/stairs/hallways
Thursday – Son’s room, guest room, game room
Friday – Yard work, balcony and pool area, family room
Saturday – Clean all bathrooms, clean one closet, craft room/office
Sunday – Day off
Step 5
The remaining items on the master list are those to complete either once a month, bi-annually or annually. You can group these together as once-a-month tasks even if they are bi-annual or annual chores. Since these tasks only need to be done once a month, I break down the month into 4 weeks. If there is a week that has a 5th day in it, then you can have a week off from monthly cleaning. that only happens occasionally, but I see it as a reward. Below is my monthly cleaning schedule by day, so you can see an example of what that could look like.
First Tuesday of the Month
Match up socks
Deep clean dining room – clean dining room chairs and table pedestal, sweep cobwebs in corners, wash windows and blinds, clean glass on the china cabinet, clean light fixtures, change light bulbs as needed
Second Tuesday of the Month
Deep clean kitchen – wipe table legs and chairs, wash windows and blinds, sweep cobwebs in corners, clean light fixtures clean pantry floor, clean top of the refrigerator, clean coffee pot with vinegar, clean stove hood, wipe appliances, clean off desk, organize cabinets
Third Tuesday of the Month
Deep clean guest room – wipe bed frame, wipe dresser and dressing table clean cedar chest, sweep cobwebs in corners, clean fan blades, vacuum and mop under the bed, vacuum closet floor, wash windows
Fourth Tuesday of the Month
Deep clean guest bathroom – clean outside of cabinets, organize cabinets, wipe out drawers, sweep cobwebs in corners, clean mirrors, wash rugs
First Wednesday of the Month
Deep clean guest bath – sweep walls, clean around the base of the toilet, clean shower curtains, wipe cabinet doors and drawers, wash rugs, bleach tub, organize cabinets
Second Wednesday of the Month
Deep clean balcony – spray insect nests, wash windows, vacuum floor, clean iron furniture, sweep walls
Third Wednesday of the Month
Deep clean master bedroom – organize armoire, cabinets and dresser, clean off end tables, vacuum/mop under the bed, dust fan and light fixtures, clean blinds and wash windows, sweep cobwebs in wall corners
First Thursday of the Month
Deep clean small bathroom – Clean shower, organize and clean inside cabinet, wipe around toilet base and pedestal sink, sweep corners of walls, clean towel bars, clean mirror, deep clean toilet and sink, clean shower
Second Thursday of the Month
Gardening – pick a garden bed and work on it
Third Thursday of the Month
Garage – (seasonal work in the winter) – clean and organize one quadrant
Fourth Thursday of the Month
Deep clean game room – clean windows, clean fan blades, clean coffee table top to bottom, organize and clean closets, sweep corners of walls, organize media equipment, vacuum furniture
First Friday of the Month
Deep clean living room – vacuum furniture, vacuum under couch, vacuum edges of baseboards, dust all knick-knacks and glass items, shake silk flowers of dust, dust fan blades, wipe window ledges, wash windows inside and outside, clean and organize cabinets
Second Friday of the Month
Deep clean son’s room – wipe bed frame and desk, supervise a desk clean out, clean and organize a closet, sweep wall corners, clean fan blades, clean and vacuum under the bed, vacuum furniture, wash windows and blinds, vacuum corners with hose
Third Friday of the Month
Deep clean master bath – inventory supplies, wipe bath cabinets, organize and wipe out drawers and sink cabinet, sweep wall corners, clean trash cans, organize closets, clean fan blades, wipe floor around the toilet, clean shutters and windows, clean tub surround,
Fourth Friday of the Month
Deep clean son’s bathroom – wipe cabinets and drawers inside and outside, wipe wall corners, clean shower curtain, bleach tub, organize cabinets and drawers
First Saturday of the Month
Deep clean bar area – clean out counters, throw away empties, organize and clean out drawers, organize cabinets, sweep wall corners
Second Saturday of the Month
Deep clean foyer/hallway/stairs –Sweep wall corners, clean glassware in curio, clean windows and shutters, clean off the piano, clean stairs in between banister, clean frames on ledges, wipe down frames, organize hall closets, dust florals, clean out bookcase, clean garage door
Third Saturday of the Month
Deep clean offices – clean and organize office closets, clean fan blades, sweep wall corners, clean desk chairs and frames,
Fourth Saturday of the Month
Deep clean laundry room – organize cabinets, clean off top of the freezer, organize a closet, wash windows and blinds, clean fan blades, wipe freezer,
Sundays
Take the day off! Do something relaxing and enjoyable.! Take time for yourself!
That’s about it. again, your list will look a lot different than mine, depending on how many rooms you have in your home. No two homes are alike, and some people place more importance on certain tasks over others, so you organize your list according to your needs and what makes you feel peace in your home. Is your list set in stone? No….Be flexible and change it if you feel like a task should be moved around to a different section. The main idea is to get into a routine.
What if you cannot follow what is set for a certain day or week? Simple. Skip it and don’t feel stressed out about it. Don’t beat yourself up or get up in the middle of the night to finish what should have done the day before. The world will not come crashing down if you can’t get your list done. Any chore on your list will show up the next day, week or month.
After you have worked on following your list for a while, you may find that a task works better on a different day. It’s OK to move items around as time marches on. You don’t have to get up at 3:00 a.m. to clean your house anymore. Give yourself the gift of peace and freedom! Having all the chores separated, organized and written down will give you the guidance you need to form new habits and beat that overwhelmed feeling.
