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!!
I try to do a load of laundry every day, and make sure I leave the kitchen straight. I'm not perfect with it, but it makes our living area look so much nicer than when it's a mess!
I make sure to make my bed every morning before I go to work – it makes such a different to come home to after a long, stressful day! I also rotate doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen, bathrooms and vaccuming on each day during the week, that way, I don't have to worry about any cleaning on the WEEKENDS!
What a great giveaway! I could definitely use some help on the cleaning front. One of my favorite ideas is to keep baskets around. They're great for corraling toys, magazines, school papers and more.
What a great giveaway! Baskets are great for corraling toys, magazines, school papers and more. And they look great!
i love your plan! Mine is similar, but i commit just 20 minutes per day to doing my daily 'chore' – once the 20 minutes is up, i stop, no matter what! its amazing how clean things can actually get doing that!
i hate clutter and things lying around… I read my mail over the trash can. Salvation army calls every month asking if we have anything to donate (they will pick up in our neighborhood once a month) and I always say yes even if I don't have anything together at that time, I force myself to find something!
Great post! My cleaning tip is vinegar for everything. For mirrors, cutting through grease, sanitizing–works like a charm.
I love the basket idea – when we were growing up, my mom had this awesome basket that was shaped to fit on the stairs and had a handle on it. she'd throw all the stuff we'd leave throughout the house in it as it piled up and then at the end of the week she could just grab it on her way up the stairs to bring it to our rooms. Oh the things mothers do that you don't appreciate until later :)
My best tip as a working lady is simple. If it takes less than 5 minutes, just do it without thinking about it. Sweeping, or putting in a load of laundry, or even scrubbing the toilet. If it doesn't take long, just get it done. Works for me!
I do one load of laundry every morning to avoid major piles. i ABHOR laundry. I also love a good basket in each room! It sure helps with all the little toys that build up during the day!
My daughter and I play Cinderella, and at the ripe old age of 4 she's a pro at scrubbing the floor and dusting. I use white vinegar for the floor and microfiber cloths for the dusting so no nasty chemicals get on her hands. For now, it's fun mommy and daughter time where we work together (even if I have to be the wicked stepmother) and later, when she's got her own chore chart she'll already know what she's doing!
I have a chore chart! Although I'm going to incorporate some of these ideas :) My cleaning tip: split up the laundry so it's not a giant pile at the end of the week. I do sheets and towels on Monday, then smaller loads throughout the week. I can fold while I'm unwinding watching some tv at the end of the day. Thanks for a chance to win!
Everyday when I get home from work, before I change into comfy clothes and get too lazy, I clean for 15 minutes. I literally set a timer on my phone and clean anything and everything until it goes off!
I think I'm going to have to implement your chore chart as it looks to be exactly what I need in my life.
My one tip is to constantly be purging items in your house. This helps tremendously with clutter which also helps a house to feel cleaner, in my opinion.
I'd love to start a schedule like this. My biggest cleaning trick – Magic Erasers!
One tip I just got off of the internet last week, was putting globes from light fixtures in the dishwasher. And also putting scummy soap dishes too. Dust and hairspray make the glass look terrible, that's a quick fix.
I have hard wood floors throughout my apartment and they seem to attract dirt and dust more quickly than carpet. I bought a little mini hand-held vacuum for spot cleaning, if I spilled a lot of food in the kitchen while cooking or tracked mud in the entryway. Then, on the weekends, I can do a big sweep job to get all the corners and under all the furniture.
Containerize is my favorite tip to follow! It does make everything more organized and easier to keep it that way! I have a battle going with my laundry too and try to make sure to not take out a load from the dryer unless I have time to fold it right then. Thanks for the Cleaning Chart I need some motivation!
The easiest way for me to keep our bathroom clean is by cleaning while the kids bathe. I don't ever leave them alone while they're in the tub, so instead of staring aimlessly into space while they splash :), I Clorox wipe the toilet, sink, and floor as they play in the bath. About once a week, I scrub the inside of the toilet and organize our linen closet. It's nice to get a "chore" done while I'm doing something else.
Thanks for sharing your chore chart! I'm always curious to see how other people schedule their cleaning.
Melissa
My favorite organizational tip is to use a over the door shoe holder with multiple plastic pockets to keep all the hats, gloves and mittens. During the winter they end up all over the house! Also, a shoe basket at the bottom of the stairs has helped with the "where are my shoes???" I used to hear each morning. Hopefully your chore chart will get my house clean so I have more time to organize!
My biggest time saver is to brush my dog every morning. The mountains of dog hair that accumulate seems to defy basic laws of biology and physics, but spending 3 minutes with the furminator each morning while the coffee is brewing saves a lot of vacuum and sweeping heartache (not to mention operations to unplug the vac hose).
I have a major battle with clutter (where does all this stuff come from?!) everyday! I hate cleaning, but even after I clean I get majorly bummed with all the clutter. I have 4 kids 5 y.o. and under and my house is a constant battle. My only tips: 1- we have a rule that their toys must stay in their rooms. It's not easily enforced, but it helps. 2- I have to just tell myself to "just get started" instead of allowing myself to get discouraged and overwhelmed. Just get started on something and soon I'll see that it really wasn't that bad. Do I follow it all the time? Obviously not. But the times that I do I am very successful.
I may have to try the chore chart. Right now, I try to focus on one room in the evening when I'm home and dust/vacuum/spot clean that room. I also love the basket method!
One of the things I try and do to keep our house clean is not "place something down" where it doesn't belong. I get in, set it down just for a second to take off my coat or whatever, and then immediately put away whatever I brought with me. The little things like that certainly add up in time well spent!
Thank you so much for these tips! I was just married this year and have been trying to work out my cleaning schedule, so this is great advice! My favorite cleaning thing right now is our new Simplicity vaccuum. I love all the different settings/ways to use it! Keeps our dog hair at bay!
I am a fan of baskets too, but having the kids rooms upstairs and out of sight is my lifesaver, so if it doesn't get done, no one knows…
It's a simple tip, but could save time and frustration — keep all cleaning supplies together in a carry-able container (horse tack box style). It's all just grab and go.
I don't enjoy cleaning but I do enjoy a clean house. I make my bed immediately after getting up. I wash dishes as I cook dinner and as coffee brews in the morning (no dishwasher). I have trouble with things piling up on the dining room table so I try to attack that once every couple of days to keep the clutter under control.
I do the basket thing as well. Definitely going to try the chore chart. Sounds like a great way to alleviate that daily cleaning that takes way too long. Thanks.
Chore chart!! Makes life so much easier!
I use a bunch of clear storage containers-they are awesome! I usually wash laundry during the day and fold at night once the kids are down. A little cleaning here and there gets the job done!
Love clorox wipes! use the on everything!
In my laundry room I have one hamper for clean and one hamper for dirty. Everyone in the house knows what is clean and what is dirty – if it's clean everyone knows someone needs to put it away!
Everytime I walk out of a room, I try to make it better than when I entered – so I'll take an item that's been left in the wrong spot and put it away, or take out the trash, etc.
I've had a nagging feeling that a chore chart would work for me, but haven't implemented it yet. Now I will! My tip is to put junk mail in the recycle bin before it even comes into the house. My biggest problem is papers, so this has been a big help to me.
I am happiest when my kitchen counters are clean! I also do a quick tidy of the house before I go to bed each night.
My cleaning is a bit haphazard, but I do try to have the kitchen/dishes done every night so I have a fresh start every morning.
love the chart!!! going to make one after doing a deep spring cleaning.
thanks for hosting the giveaway! my tip is NOT a great one:
INVITE PEOPLE OVER!
that gets your motivation going right away and in one night, everything is clean – bathroom and all!
it really works.
After years of mopping with the regular solution, I discovered Bona hardwood floor cleaner. It's so easy, takes no time, and you don't even have to rinse! Many people comment on how clean my floors look – if they only knew how easy it was…
love the chart!!! going to make one myself after doing a deep spring cleaning first :)
I love your chore chart. I am always looking for different ideas on how to clean and stay organized. My way to stay clean and organized is to do the quick pick up and tidy before bed. It just makes everyday better to wake up to a somewhat tidy house.
Awesome giveaway! I love your tips. I live in a railroad style apt in Brooklyn so there's not a ton of space or places to store things so I think I'm going to give baskets a try. I also find that having a place for everything helps keep things decluttered. Mail goes in one specific place, so do coats, bags, shoes, etc. Having a place where you know things belong help to keep me organized and not go crazy from the clutter everywhere! I also usually do my cleaning on Saturday mornings and I try to swiffer and pick up stuff throughout the week but the deep cleaning is on Saturdays.
Thanks for the chore chart idea. I will tweak it for our home and I'm excited to get the family on board!
I do a type of laundry every day. Monday-sheets; Tuesday-towels; Wednesday-whites; Thursday-colors. It doesn't make laundry nearly as overwhelming! I think I'll try the chore chart. It looks completely doable!
Every night before i go to bed i pick up our room. It has become very calming and when i finally get in bed it is in a peaceful clean space.
I follow a similar schedule, works great if you follow it! Whether or not I did my "chore" for the day, I always put my house to bed. Basically cleaning up the kitchen and the clutter so that we can start fresh in the morning!
Every night before i go to bed i pick up our room. It has become very calming and when i finally get in bed it is in a peaceful clean space.
Laundry throughout the week–generally every other day–helps me from having a day on the weekend where I am wading through endless loads! But I love the idea of a chore chart. Might have to get my husband on board for that one…
Do tell…when do you dust the furniture? Surely, not only on swing day?