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 start a load of laundry before I pour my first cup of coffee transfer clothes to the dryer before I get dressed. As I'm making my way out the door for the day, I remove clothes from dryer and immediately fold, when you're in a rush and you only have two minutes it only takes two minutes. Also, I let the clean clothes pile up for 2-3 days before I put them away which eliminates all the sock "onsies."
My two favorite cleaning products are, Barkeeper's Friend & Lestoil. Barkeeper's Friend is a dream to clean stainless steel with and also my smooth cooktop.
Lestoil is an answer to laundry prayers when it comes to getting any stains out.
A big part of keeping a house clean with young kids is teaching kids how to clean and organize. It takes time and patience, but it is definitely worth the investment.
I don't have a chore chart (I'm tempted to try it now though!) but I am a clean-as-you-go kind of girl. I can't handle messes and disorganization so I try to keep things at a manageable baseline and do bigger cleaning jobs as needed.
I do a once a week overhaul of cleaning which eats up my day off and leaves me exhausted. I think the chore chart is genius!
P.S. I am dying to do an organizing overhaul on my kitchen and the container store would be a huge help. xo
My cleaning go to item is vinegar. For organization I just try to keep the "stuff" to a minimum. We also invest in a storage unit for all of our holiday items, old photo albums, paperwork, anything we don't need on a regular basis. For us (our apt is about 800 sq ft), it is totally worth it.
I try to do one load of laundry a day so I don't have a huge pile that takes up an entire Saturday. Now that the kids are older (9 & 13), I have them help with chores, like picking up their rooms or running the dust mop. Thanks for the great chart – this will keep my house clean easily!
Keeping up on laundry- one load a day. Also- getting rid of stuff. I am constantly purging- unnecessary items. Love the basket idea!
15 minutes each night before bed, just tidy everything up! that way when i wake up everything is in its place~
The tip I try to live by is "leave no trace". If I can I'll take care of something immediately instead of leaving it for later.
One load of laundry per day has changed my life.
One load of laundry per day has changed my life.
I'm a big basket fan too. Plus I run the dishwasher & pre-load the washing machine each night. Put dishes away while assembling school lunches. Then run laundry right before walk to school. By the time I get home, clothes are ready for the dryer & then I can put them away after my breakfast & morning emails or chores.
We also set a timer & race to see who can clean up the most stuff in 10 miutes
I could use a chore chart too.
Once every 2 weeks, I lock myself in the bathroom in my skivvies and get to cleaning all the white tile (everywhere). I didn't design the bathroom. . ..
Does anyone else do this? My BF knows to just leave me alone and let me do my thing. And then I take a shower afterwards and bask in all the cleanliness!
One thing I recently started doing is to throw out my dish rack. I hand dry the dish and put them away right away. This leaves my counter clutter free.
I'm the least organized cleaner ever! I invite people over so that forces me to clean everything at one time.
My main cleaning tip is picking up the house every night before bed. I love waking up to no clutter, and keeping things picked up/beds made simply makes everything feel cleaner in the end.
I also have a chore chart, that I found on pinterest! I have to say that doing one thing daily really does make it very manageable. Thanks for sharing and for this awesome giveaway.
I basket clean, as well. Also, by doing a load of laundry each morning, it helps keep the task from becoming monstrous.
Two things I do to keep my life sane:
1) Declutter – just about as much as I LOVE getting new things, I also love getting rid of things. Either through, recycling or donating – I feel like my house is lighter!
2) Storage – I just redid my son's closet (with the Elfa system actually) and now instead of just a long single bar, I have shelfs/baskets so everythign has a home!
I have a cleaning lady come 2x a month to do deep cleaning and maintenance is EASY!
Love your cleaning ideas, and I do many of the same things. I have six kids and I think the real key to keeping head above water is chore charts for the kids. My kids each have a "zone" of the house, which rotates each week. Every night before dinner, they tackle their zone: tidy, run a load of laundry, set the table, whatever goes with their zone. That way, we restore order for the evening.
I need a good schedule ASAP. I do laundry the same day each week, but everything else gets cleaned when I get around to it, usually one long day of cleaning like you mentioned.
I love this chart! What great ideas.
My number one cleaning tip is to never go to bed with anything in the sink…it is the first place you see in the morning and I think it sets the tone for the day. I also, just before be do a clean sweep of my family room, fold blankets, stack magazines and just tidy it up to be ready to be messed the next day.
In addition, I do one load of laundry a day so it does not all pile up and get out of control.
Thank you for the great tips!
Elizabeth
As of right now, I usually leave all of the cleaning for Saturdays, but after reading this post I may have to start using this chore chart! The problem with leaving it for the weekends is that by mid-week it starts feeling icky again. This is a great way to maintain a clean living space all week. Thanks for the tip!
morganstone.blogspot.com
I wish I had a tip to share, but I'm really bad about housekeeping. I'm going to try out your chore chart, but slightly modified as we don't have rugs to vacuum, etc. I think a chart would help me a lot. I have a 2-year old and am pregnant though, so it makes everything that much harder.
No more excuses!
Thanks for the chance to enter your giveaway! We could really use the help over here! :)
wow, I need a routine like this — I might steal yours.. I live in a teeny apartment, and so even a little clutter adds up quick and then I feel completely overwhelmed and have to do a massive overhaul like you said! That basket is awesome — I'm going to have to try that!
Thanks!
I really think that wiping down the bathroom sink and toilet each day makes a big difference. It just feels good to leave the room cleaner than when I entered it.
I think the best thing is to wipe down the bathroom sink/toilet before I leave for the day. It feels good to leave the room cleaner than when I entered it.
Routines are KEY!!! They make my life so much easier!!!
Wiping out any spills in the over each night after doing the dishes saves big smell self clean cycles later.
We have all tile floors throughout the house. Used to have to get down on hands and knees to scrub. Swiffer didn't clean as thorough enough for me. Bought the Shark and Glory Be! Am done cleaning the floors in 10 minutes! No chemicals needed! But my next tip is the best…I make my husband do all the chores.
I clean my shower once a week or so while I'm actually showering (I don't use harsh chemicals so that helps).
thanks for the chore list. Definitely going to try this out to keep organized! With 4 kids age six and under laundry is my biggest enemy. Washing is easy it's the folding and putting away that's a chore. The kids help out when they can.
Thanks for the chore list. Hopefully this will help me stay tidy & organized! With 4 kids age 6 and under laundry is my biggest chore. The kids help out when they can, but you know how that goes sometimes ;)
My favorite cleaning tip is to use your children as slaves :) Just kidding! But it is nice to teach your children basic responsibilites. Right now my children 19 months and 3 years old get to color in little squares that go towards a date with a parent if they see mom and dad cleaning up and start helping without being asked.
casidyanne at hot mail dot com
Game on! Love seeing this schedule – might be time to create one of my own….
I like to set the timer for 10 minutes every night and see how much I get can done in one room. It is amazing how much you can accomplish when you are trying to beat the clock!
Baskets and Mr. Clean's magic eraser are my best friends!
After reading your post I realize my cleaning attempts need help! I am one to run from room to room putting stuff away, but now I am going to do it with a basket! In tune with the sponsor and as a mom of a toddler and new born twins, we have clorox wipes in all central rooms of the house and the bathrooms. I also try to make (and help) my toddler put away her toys before bed–a huge help to the mess! I love the chore chart idea…but does anyone know how well a chart goes over on husbands?!!
Wow, great give away! I'm a big fan of homemade counter cleaner. Mine is the same as my mother's – half vinegar, half water and 1 cinnamon stick. The cinnamon sure takes the edge off the scent. And it never leaves a streak, this stuff is the best!
When I'm not feeling up for cleaning, I set the microwave timer for 10 minutes and say I'm just going to do whatever I can in 10 minutes. Often times I've got enough momentum after that to just finish up, if not, I at least got something done and can do another 10 minutes later.
We all take a look at our Cozi family calendar just after dinner. This helps us to plan for the next day and really has eliminated running late or worse, forgetting something. I get up 30 minutes before everyone else to get a load of laundry started, which also has made life run smoother. This is a fab giveaway. Thanks for the wonderful chore chart. It makes so much sense and I'm implementing it TODAY! I can't believe it never occurred to me prior to reading your fantastic blog. THANKS!
I usually just do all my chores on Saturday morning. I have a small house and I typically wake up before anyone else so it's the perfect time to clean. When I was growing up we had to do our chores on Saturday and I guess that just always stuck the older I got. I also vaccuum every other day in my bedroom and bathroom because my hair sheds so much.
Love the cleaning schedule. I will have to try it out!
You are absolutely right! Systems are working smarter instead of harder and save you tons of time and mental energy. I posted about my system recently here:
http://made-journal.blogspot.com/2012/01/time-to-get-serious.html
at least one load of laundry per night!
Love your blog and tips! I implemented a similar system with my husband to eliminate any guesswork about when chores get done. We decided the things we would do each day, week, month, season and year. We live in a one-bedroom apartment and sticking to this schedule really helps our place feel clean and uncluttered. I'm a neat freak and I love having our own list to refer to!
I always wash my pots, pans, cutting boards, and prep items as i go that way I don't have loads of dishes to wash after dinner, just dinner ware.
I keep the cleaning essentials for each room in a basket in that room, so I never have to search for what I need, it's always right there!