This post is sponsored by the makers of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, the quick and easy way to clean and disinfect your home!
I get a lot of emails asking about my cleaning schedule after I wrote about my typical day on Joanna’s blog. I truly do not love cleaning, but I know that I’m so much happier with life when my house is clean. Don’t you feel the same way?
A couple years ago, right after I had Claire and when Gracie was old enough to really start doing some damage, I was feeling like I would never have a clean house again. (I also thought there was a good chance I would never get to sleep through the night again. :) good times) I was picking up the house all week long it felt like, and then I would do all my laundry and deep cleaning on the weekends. That meant my Saturday was completely gone and that the house was totally dirty again by Monday morning. Stresses me out just thinking about it.
Then one time I was visiting a friend’s house who had three rambunctious toddler boys. I walked into her house for the first time and my jaw dropped. Her house was CLEAN. Like, I’m not talking about tidy – tidy is not always possible during the day with kids, but it was clean. She is one of those amazing mothers who is really active with her kids, so I knew she didn’t spend all day neglecting her boys to clean the house. I was surprised and a little jealous of her sparkly floors so I begged her to share her secret. She laughed and said she kept a chore chart, which I thought was hilarious! What grown woman has a chore chart?! Suddenly I had to have one!
I copied her chart and have been using a slightly tweaked version ever since. I can’t say that I’m always following through here, but when I do, my house is practically spotless and best of all, I don’t feel like I am cleaning all the time – which honestly was the hardest part for me of being a stay at home mom in the early years.
It looks like a lot, but I think even on the most intense days I’m only spending 30 or 40 minutes in aggregate cleaning (though we live in a 1500 sq ft apartment, so your home might require a little more time). I’ve listed the chart here below, and here’s a simple printable version.
So the basic idea is this: there are daily chores – easy things you should take care of almost habitually in the morning and in the night, and then there is a single special chore of the day. Most of these chores end up getting done once a week (for example, every Monday I do a deep vacuuming of all our rugs. I took only one interior design class in college and I only remember a handful of things from that class. One of them was a tangential comment my professor made about vacuuming. She said that you should go over the same area on a rug SEVEN times super slowly to get it clean. Isn’t that just nuts? I don’t do that, but I do try to do a slow vacuuming on Mondays.). Friday though is the swing day, where you rotate in chores that need to be done less frequently, like scrubbing the microwave.
I’ll walk you through today’s cleaning schedule. It’s Tuesday. I wake up and make our bed. It won’t get done unless I make it as soon as I get up. The girls are getting good about making their beds too. After I finish getting ready I wipe down the bathroom counters and the sink. While I’m making the kids breakfast I empty out the dishwasher.
Then life happens and the house sort of falls apart during the day.
Then at night the girls help me clear the table and load the dishwasher. Michael does the trashes. Once the kids are in bed I quickly sweep or vacuum the kitchen and dining room and I might pop into the living room too. I keep a wet rag with me and as I go I’ll spot clean the floor. My goal is fast and furious cleaning!
And here’s where my baskets come into play. I keep them everywhere. I really love this basket that I posted about yesterday because it is super sturdy and holds its shape. I zip through my house every night with this basket, throwing in every misplaced item, then going back to each room once and put the things back where they belong. It takes me just a few minutes to pick up a day’s worth of clutter this way. No more running back and forth and back and forth from room to room putting things away. Try the basket method – you’ll never go back!
Plus – another bonus of having your pretty baskets out in every room? If you have a friend coming over right away, you can just corral everything in the basket super fast and no one’s the wiser.
Once the house has been de-cluttered, I do my chore of the day (today was cleaning the mirrors and windows), and then I’m done! It might sound like a lot, but I promise it isn’t. When I’m consistent with this schedule, I never have to do one of those marathon cleaning days to get back to ground zero. The house never has a chance to get really dirty, so the cleaning never feels like a true chore. It feels easy and, dare I say it? Pleasant?
So that’s my approach to cleaning in a nutshell. I know we all have our special tricks, and I’d LOVE to hear yours!
Today’s super-sized give away is $350 to Target AND $150 to the Container Store and all you have to do to enter is leave a comment sharing your favorite cleaning or organization tip. I can’t wait to see what you guys do to keep your spaces sparkling! Any other crazies out there with a chore chart? :)
Contest ends March 22. Winner will be announced on the 23rd. Contest rules can be read in full here. Good luck!!
My favorite cleaning tip is to never leave a room empty handed. If I'm heading upstairs, I will take something with me and put it back in place. Also, I'm working on decluttering the heck out of my house. I hope that it will make all the difference in the world!
Thank you for such a wonderful giveaway! I'm crossing my fingers.
My tip is to never leave dishes in the sink (huge pet peeve). If dishes stay in the sink without washing/putting them in the dishwasher, they will just get nastier, meaning the less you will want to clean them!
I try to make sure that every counter or surface is clear and wiped down before bed…the house always looks MUCH cleaner if the first surfaces you see in every room are clear! And I keep clorox wipes in every bathroom and the kitchen!!!
I'm really not the best person to give cleaning advice, but I will say that I recently discovered Mr. Clean Magic Erasers and I love them! They're expensive for how un-re-usable they are (they deeply absorb dirt and grime that doesn't wash out from the sponge), so I try to buy the generic brand. It's amazing how much better they are than Lysol at removing tough stains from my stovetop and stainless steel sink. My mom swears by white vinegar, too.
Awesome giveaway!
I am now doing laundry every one to two days to avoid the piles and my crankiness spending a day doing it. The dustbuster is also my friend for small messes!
My cleaning tip is to minimize the kitchen work by soaking things overnight. I know that lots of people like to go to bed with a clean kitchen, but I don't like to scrub, so I leave dinner's tougher pots and pans soaking in the sink, and I lay a wet rag over any stubborn mess on the stovetop or counter. In the morning, everything wipes right up while my tea is steeping.
I am now doing laundry every one to two days to avoid the piles and my crankiness spending a day doing it. The dustbuster is also my friend for small messes!
Since i'm an apartment dweller I do not have a dishwasher so what I do to try and keep a pile of dishes at bay is while cooking if I'm chopping things up as soon as I'm done I will wash the cutting board and knife and let it dry. I try and do this with pots and pans also. But I still need help with organizing the rest of my house, hah.
I do a load of laundry a day, and then I sort it into laundry baskets that my kids can carry into their rooms and put away.
I try and do a little every day. Company coming help me get my rear in gear for a deep clean and the changing of seasons. I am about due for a good window washing.
Always at the end of the day as I walk from our family room at the bottom of our three story townhome to my bedroom all the way on the top floor, I take advantage of that little journey and tidy up any clutter that occurred during the day. That way the house is back in order and ready for the next day.
I do the basket thing too. It's so good, especially when you have two floors, so you're not running up and down the stairs all day.
My one cleaning rule is that I have to put the laundry away as soon as it's folded. If it doesn't get put away, people knock it over, start taking one or two items out, and pretty soon I have to fold it all over again! Twice the work. So, fold it and put it away, no matter how tired I am!
I work full time and can't afford a cleaning person so I feel like the house is ALWAYS a disaster until Sat. morning comes. Thanks for the tips. But in addition to using the chore chart for myself I think I'll draft other family members to helping out too!
I might have to print this post out! It's a great schedule. I make a point to clean out our fridge really frequently (on trash day, so things don't stink). We have a petite apartment-size fridge so it helps keep it under control and there's not too much wondering of "how old is this". It only takes a few minutes and I can also see right away if a shelf needs to be wiped down.
I agree on the baskets. We have a couple of those closet maid cube storage units and they save my mind and my husbands behind!
One thing that works for me, I wash each family member's laundry in individual loads. Now putting away folded laundry doesnt involve opening and closing a million drawers and closets. Aside from that, I need all the charts and tips you got!
The husband and I have bigger chores that we assign monthly. I don't have to nag him because I know that it will get done at some point during the month when he has time and it is good for him because he doesn't feel like I spring a cleaning project on him at the last minute.
Love your chore chart! I keep a chore chart also, although I'm going to make some tweaks based on ideas from yours. I also keep a basket for a quicker pick up at night( my kids are 4, 3, and 10 months….lots of stuff to pick up). I make sure to get laundry going first thing in the morning, although unfortunately I dot get it folded until nighttime and it lays on my bed clean all day (ugh). I love to clean, but for me the challenge is not to obsess about it and just keep things clean underneath and enjoy the mess of the kids!
I don't have a chore chart, but after reading this, I may start asap. I have 3 young boys and it's hard to keep everything clean and organized. I don't have any tips except I'm trying to teach my boys early on that they should put their toys away at the end of each day, some days it works, others it's a fight. Hopefully one day they will get it on their own!
Meg
Clean a little everyday and then clean a lot on Friday so that the weekend is free!
I love the chore chart and basket idea. I try to do laundry every day to keep on top of it. If I don't, then it piles up and consumes an entire day.
Once a week I clean my sink drain using baking soda+vinegar+boiling water. i think it helps keep our sink fresh…thanks for the giveaway!
Every night before going to bed, I do a 20 minute sweep of the house picking up clutter and wiping down dirty surfaces. That way I wake up to a (somewhat) clean house in the morning.
wow! I really like your method! I kind of let things go then do massive cleaning on the weekends…which as you know, EATS up the weekend time. I'm definitely going to give your chore chart a try!!
Dusting and watering the plants are the chores I dread. Like Michael, my husband does the garbage. I adore him for it.
ok, i spend my life at target, so i'd love to win.
and, this list is awesome. i don't have kids, and am embarrassed half the time at the cleanliness of my house. i always joke that the only time i clean is when i know people are coming over or in town to visit!
so, i'm going to *steal* this list and make it law around here!
My favorite cleaning tip to always make sure you use cleaning supplies that smell good! It is much easier to convince yourself to clean if the whole house smells amazing during and afterwards! I personally love all of the Method products since they work well and smell fantastic.
Wash the dishes and pans immediately after finishing dinner. Don't give them the chance to pile up. It takes discipline, but it really doesn't take much time. And, you feel so much better when you go to bed with a clean sink instead of a sink filled with dirty pots and pans, and wake up to a clean sink!
I am still trying to improve to acceptable in both cleaning and organizing but am looking forward to trying to incorporate your ideas. The only tip that comes to mind, to share, is that it's much easier to clean *any* surface (floor, countertop, table) if it is clear of clutter! Keep it clear, wipe clean often and easily.
My best cleaning tip is to use a bit of fine grit sand paper folded in half to get tough grout stains. For organization, I love my Elfa closet from Container Store and their clear plastic shoe bins because I have a place for everything, which makes life easier!
I live alone, so I love the idea of getting into the habbit of a chore chart, so when I have a family of my own it will already be second nature.
I usually collect clutter and throw it on my couch and then proceed to organize from there, but maybe now I'll buy a basket.
I also always keep baking soda in the house because you can use it to clean anything!
I try to do a load of laundry everyday, and I multi-task— I work from home, so when I'm on a conference call and don't have to be at my desk, I fold laundry, make beds, or do other things that I can do without thinking :)
Wow, I'm so impressed how consistent you are with house work. I'm motivated to do the same.
I'm actually terrible at cleaning, but I do try and not let everything in a mess all the time. The only trick I have is that I spray our shower walls with cleaner before I get in to take one, and as I'm finishing my shower, I rinse all the cleaner from the walls with a pitcher I keep close by. You still have to scrub once in a while, but it does help with soap buildup, etc.
making the bed every day is super easy in the winter if you have easy to wash duvet covers – skip the top sheet and just wash the duvet cover as often as you'd wash your sheets. that way you just throw the duvet cover over the bed, fluff the pillows, and you're done! also, always have magic erasers – my favorite cleaning product by far.
I too try to keep the house tidy everyday by doing the small things, and then on Saturdays I'll bust out the deep cleaning for the entire house in just an hour or two while my husband watches the kiddos. It really makes a difference doing just a couple small things everyday!
My chore chart is flawed to the point where it has stopped being useful. I think yours is a better approach. The one tip I do have–let the kids help. My son loves to swiffer or vacuum around the house, as well as put silverware away.
Cleaning as I cook makes a big difference in keeping the kitchen clean for me. I really hate having a sink full of dirty dishes – to me it makes everything seem ten times worse than it is!
I also try to clean whatever room my kids are in at the time – I do their bathroom while they are in the tub, the den while they are building legos, etc.
Baskets baskets baskets!!! I love how baskets help keep me organized :)
We have a nightly chore list that we do just before bed. We call it "shutting down the house"
To keep the bathrooms always clean, we have Clorox wipes in every bathroom. A quick wipe down of the counter tops while I'm brushing my teeth and I'm good to go!
My favorite cleaning tip, if it is considered a tip, is to have a home that you are really proud of so that you feel inspired to keep it clean and show it off! Every time I renovate a room or upgrade something in my home, I'm suddenly inspired to take extra special care of it. I did a closet makeover to make it so much cuter and more functional, and it has been spotless ever since!
i do not have a chart chore, but my neighbor across the
street does, because every tuesday she is out vacuuming her car while her little one is asleep. she must not read blogs, cuz you have to do that during naps…….
anyway, my tip is to have company over frequently; the house gets a good cleaning before they come.
secret–my blinds have never been dusted and i lived in this house 8 years….yuck!
I have no tips…. I'm just here to soak in all the tips and inspiration I can get
We have very similar cleaning schedules! I like the do-a-little-a-day approach.
I clean as I go. This happens most in cooking, but I prefer to keep things clean and return them to their place after I use them. I also use Rain-x in the shower to keep the water from staining my glass. :)
I always try to clean up the toys each time the little one sleeps….so at naps and at night I organize the toy clutter!
I am not very good about keeping up with the cleaning, but i am good about keeping things organized. sooooo, i clean on saturday, but i don't have do any "straightening" first. that helps.
I love the basket idea! My cleaning tip is that when I'm making dinner and tossing stir spoons, extra plates, etc. into the sink, I always rinse them off before the food has a chance to sit and get stuck to them. Then when dinner is in the oven, I load all of the dishes into the dishwasher and wipe down the countertops. Once dinner is over, I only have to rinse off our dinner plates/silverware and put those in the dishwasher instead of an entire sink full of dishes I used to cook with too!
My way of keeping bathroom mirrors clean at a moments notice is to have a small spray bottle of glass cleaner under the sink. I also keep a spray bottle of counter cleaner there too so I can use my dirty bath towel to give the counter a wipe when the toothpaste drips! I love Target and need to head there now for diapers!
Trays are my favorite "cleaning" tip! :) I have them everywhere and just throw stuff on them – it instantly looks at least a little better and more organized!
Once I added clear boxes from the Container Store to cluttered spaces (pantry, under sinks, bathroom closets) everything became more organized and easier to find!