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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 organization tip that I stumbled upon about a year ago is hanging a clear pocket shoe organizer on the inside of closet doors in bedrooms and bathrooms and use it to organize little things that usually end up in a junk drawer. For the nursery that is pacis, nose drops, medicine, fingernail clippers, etc. For the bathroom its mainly a lot of beauty products. But I love how easy it is to find things now in a rush and I find that I am never re-buying things that i thought I ran out of or lost because I can check to see what I have at a quick glance in side the closet.
My best cleaning tip is caffeine! ;)
My favorite cleaning tip is caffiene! ;)
One trick that keeps the house on track is starting a load of laundry first thing in the morning. No putting it off until who knows when! Thanks for sharing the chart, I will be putting it to good use.
This may sound crazy, but I do allll of my laundry on Monday. I'll even stay up late to finish it all. BUT then I don't have to think about it all week and wonder "Hmm, I wonder if that's clean or not?" My other thing is to de-clutter/purge one space each day. A drawer here, night stand there. This way you don't have piles of 'stuff' growing throughout the year. Last item- when cleaning your windows wipe one direction (side to side) on one side of the glass and the opposite direction (up and down) on the other side so it's easier to tell which side your streaks are on. And YES I absolutely have a chore chart for myself.
I don't really have a system… just when things start looking "bad" I go to town. Your chore chart could come in handy!
Molly
My biggest tip follows yours — pick things up and wipe down surfaces every day. At this point, I do it on autopilot, and it's not at all unpleasant!
We have detachable shower heads in our shower and claw foot tub. This makes cleaning ourselves, the kids, the shower/tub much easier. They also come in handy when. You need to wash large item like garbage cans, blinds (confession: we have some cheapie white vinyl 2" blinds in the house)
This was exactly what I was thinking about tonight- making myself a cleaning chore chart! Thanks for the start!
xo Becca
I run Rosie the Roomba to get my carpets nice and clean, while I am cleaning the bathrooms. 2 Birds. 1 Stone.
I run Rosie the Roomba, while I am cleaning my bathrooms. 2 Birds. 1 Stone.
using a silverwear divider to put the kids' toothbrushes in. Each person has a slot and they don't share germs :)
I don't really have a trick to share for cleaning, but my closet is well organized as I bought and installed the container stores elfa closet system in. I love it. So I can always go hide in my closet on really bad clutter days when I can't keep up with my 2 boys, dog and husband.
My tip is to question everything, especially when buying pretty containers to store stuff. Is that container going to work long-term or will it be easy to outgrow? Is there something you already have that can accomplish the same task. And of course, the age-old question "Do you really need that item?"
I think I'm going to print out your chore chart for my bf ;)
I'm a procrastinator, so my most effective cleaning tip is to invite people over – it gives me a deadline to get down to business! – Kellen
I like your chore chart. I don't have fabulous cleaning tips but I try very hard not to have extra stuff around, if we're not using it, it needs to go. -Barb K
I have to ask–one of the items was "wiping down the walls." Does that mean washing or dusting the walls from top to bottom? Even my German (immaculate) Mom never did such a thing.
We do "room rescues" all during the day. 5 or 15 minutes. It helps keep the house picked up.
This is my favorite cleaning tip for all who have young kids. While my kids are in the bath, I stay in there anyway so why not knock out cleaning the bathroom! I scrub the toilet, the mirror, the counter, and floor, all while kids are playing in the tub.
Wow, your chart is an inspiration! My thing is clean for 10 minutes every night before going to bed, whether it's wiping down the entire kitchen with Clorox wipes or dusting all my books. I find that if I do a little every day, none of the chores become huge tasks.
Oh goodness! Thank you for sharing! I always appreciate when my apartment is clean, but I've always struggled with getting into actual cleaning rituals, which is so crucial. I would also include a paper shredding routine, as I've personally found that this stuff piles up QUICK (between junk mail, old bills, etc) and very soon it becomes so overwhelming.
I'm a big fan of the "basket" idea you mention. It lets me tidy up before guests or bed time, then sort through the toys, clothes, and assorted mess when I have more time.
I like to keep a pot of soapy water in the sink while I'm cooking so that as I finish with utensils, etc, they can go in the water to start getting cleaned.
I put Clorox wipes on my Swiffer and use the sweeper pads to dust my high ceiling fan!
My cleaning tip is to have a cleaning music mix. If I know I can dance a little bit while I scrub, sweep and mop I feel better about doing it.
I have a basket that I keep in the corner of the living room. Everyone has to pick something up off the floor everytime they go through the living room. at night we take turns having to go through it and return everything to it's rightful place and owner.
MIcrofiber cloths and spray cleaner at hand and convenient in each bathroom, the laundry room, and the kitchen. The garage too.
Recently we purchased a dyson vacuum and now I swear, I would vacuum every. single. day. But I know that's a bit too much so on the other days of the week, I like to do laundry on Mondays and Thursdays, clean the bathrooms on Fridays, and dusting comes whenever I can't take it anymore (that's my least favorite activity).
Every night after dinner, I clean the counters, sweep the floor and put away any dishes that were used. Before I go to bed, I clean up the living room, putting everything away, so that in the morning I don't have a panic attack from a messy house.
We live in an itty bitty basement apartment right now, so it doesn't make a huge difference yet, but when we move into a home in the (hopefully!) near future, I would like to keep clorox wipes, windex, and the basic cleaning essentials in every bathroom. Just keeping everything really close and handy at various locations throughout the house I think will just make the entire cleaning process that much easier.
I loathe cleaning! But I find too that if I do a little everyday I can (sort of) keep on top of it!
My tip is: my husband and I each have our designated chores and we stick to them (and only them!) When we finally figured this out and I stopped having to worry about washing (and inevitably breaking) dishes and he never had to worry about cleaning the bathroom or doing the laundry, our house began staying clean and our marriage got happier :)
One thing I try to be really good at is sorting the mail before it even comes into the house. I put junk mail immediately in the recycle bin and then sort and file the rest. It helps (a little bit) with the piles of papers that end up on the kitchen table! Thanks for the tips! I could definitely use some improvement in the cleaning department!
If I could just get the house organized I could keep up with this! Working on clearing out all of the junk we don't need that clutters up our space. My tip for now is go through one room a week and get rid of anything you haven't used in the past year.
I love your basket idea!
I am going to try the basket method of decluttering. I struggle with the clutter. Thank you for sharing the tips. I set a timer to have chore time daily.
wicker baskets… small, large, you name it, they're so handy!
I keep a bag dedicated for Goodwill in my hall closet. I used to come across toys we didn't use and say "some day" I'll give them away. With the bag, once it's filled it gets dropped off. Less clutter=less mess to clean in the first place.
I do a few loads of laundry during the week, that way it doesn't mound up and overwhelm me!
I don't tuck in sheets on the bed, and have a big down comforter that goes on top. Very easy.
Bonus tip: I keep everything that has to go outside (items to car, etc.) right by the door so I am never empty-handed when I leave.
I love the cleaning chart! As a family of 4 with a large dog that includes two toddler boys and living in 850 sq. feet of NYC space, there is one cleaning and organization tip I follow most. Nothing comes into this apartment unless there is a place to stash it and that includes toys. If something new does come in, something else has to go out. Limits unnecessary spending as well! Also gives the boys plenty of space to play, which I feel is more important than "stuff".
My girls are 6, 10, and 12. They always leave socks all over the house. I tell them if I find socks, I take $1 from them! Money( or loss of money) motivates them! Also, Sunday is clean your room day for the kids. It takes the pressure off me and teaches a life skill!
I get all the kids involved, set the timer for 10 minutes and then pick up/clean one room for the entire 10 minutes. Sometimes we turn on some fun music and make a dance party out of it. When the 10 minutes are up, the kids move on to something fun and I continue into the next room for another 10 minutes cleaning session!
My friend told me to divide up the house in "zones" and each day tackle one and make it spotless after I complained that I find our bigger house very overwhelming to keep clean. It helps me mentally not to see the whole house as one big dirty project. I also clean the floors at night in addition to picking up and making sure all things are ready to go in the morning. My 2 girls under 4, 2 90+ lbs dogs, and all of their mess have taught me to lower my standard or I'll go batty. 'Tis the season in my life and I'm trying my best to enjoy it and ignore all the dust.
I've always been turned off by complex cleaning schedules, knowing I need a simple plan that will be realistic for my life. I LOVE yours! As the owner of a house-cleaning business, I'm in many houses that could use the basic yet thorough plan you've outlined; it would make my job much easier to get the deep cleaning done for them! :)
Besides doing a load of laundry every day and picking up scattered objects, I like to use disposable leather wipes on our leather sofa and love seat. They sparkle, smell good and gives the entire room a fresh look. Liz
ces2147@verizon.net
Love your cleaning chart. My only trick is to do a load of laundry every day and put it away right away. Otherwise I will end up spending (wasting) an entire day just on laundry.
I've already talked to my husband about incorporating some sort of cleaning chart in our routine. I think this is really going to help us keep up with the mess, especially since we plan on listing our house this spring — you never know when there might be a viewing. As far as what I do now, I use vinegar as often as possible. I use it to clean the windows and mirrors, in the laundry, and I even keep a dish of it out in the bathroom to suck up any mildew odors.
A solid day of laundry-usually Tuesday. Washer and dryer run constantly for 24 hours. Make my bed every morning. Kitchen counters get done daily, the kitchen tries to stay wiped up. The big secret though is the two lovely people that come in every other Friday and do the "grand slam" clean up. This enables me to keep up with the every day stuff AND do some major organizing.
Thanks for the great chart! There are 5 of us, so I try to do a load of laundry every day so things don't get too crazy.
Thanks for the inspiration. I can really relate to the going back and forth, from room to room. It makes me crazy. I'm going to give your basket idea a try and maybe a chore chart? Too bad it isn't the end of the year as this would make a great New Year's resolution!
Jeanean
I'll have to try this cleaning schedule! After having a baby & going back to work, I haven't really found one that works for me. My favorite tip is to purge your stuff at least 2 times a year. You can donate things to Salvation Army or Good Will, and you're helping others as well as getting rid of clutter!