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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!!
I vacuum our main living areas, (carpet and hard wood floors and tile) every other day. With a dog and a baby this is super helpful–it means I have to keep things cleared off the floor, it gets the fur before it accumulates too much, and it keeps dust from building up. I feel like a nerd vacuuming so often, but I work from home and the cleaner the house is, the better I feel. :)
The first thing I do when I come in the house each day after work is run through the main rooms (kitchen, living room, bathroom) and collect things that are out of place/clean up any catastrophes and start a load of clothes. We are not morning people, so we tend to be rushing around to get out the door, which leaves things to be done when we get home. I have been playing with the chore chart idea for awhile now, as the all-day Saturday cleaning is just not cutting it. I think you have convinced me!
I have started enrolling my kids in the chores. They get distracted so I give them a lot of time, but they have 10 basic rules to follow on week days and cleaning is one of them
Starting the dish washer before bed and unloading it first thing in the morning seems to jump start my day.
Amy D
chickiwawa(at)hotmail(dot)com
I don't have any great tips to add, but I do try to do a little cleaning each day to keep things from piling up.
I do the same thing…a morning and night routine and then I pick one area of the house to focus on that week and do a chore a day in that area. when I keep up, my house is sparkling! I get a lot of my ideas from the Flylady
I work full time and so does my husband so we try to clean on Saturdays when we can… It is an all day thing for sure so I love the chore chart! It is so helpful. I think the biggest thing for us is that we try to put things back in their places. It's a small thing but it makes a huge difference! This way we won't get buried under all of our junk throughout the week… Yikes!
I have two dogs, one of which sheds like mad! I purchased a small hand held vac from Black and Decker that has a pet attachment and soft dusting attachment. I walk around the house and not only do I suck up pet hair but quickly run it over window sills, lamp shades and any other crumb laden or dusty surface. I knock out more then I ever intended with this handy dandy appliance:)Worth the $60.
I have a similar cleaning schedule, execpt one day is dedicaded just for laundry. Since I've began my cleaning schedule, my house is so much cleaner and I feel less stressed about getting everything done. I'm going to add the 'swing' day to my schedule, love that idea!
I like to put 10-30 minutes on my kitchen timer (depending on how much time I have that day) and see how much I can get done in that time. I'm always amazed by how much I manage to squeeze in!
I like to put 10-30 minutes on my kitchen timer (depending on how much time I have that day) and see how much I can get done in that time. I'm always amazed by how much I manage to squeeze in!
I do the basket trick to corral random clutter too…but I also keep a few pretty blankets around to throw over the top of it! I also keep different scents of febreze to spray around my home so it just smells fresh, not the same in every room though.
The key to keeping the rest of the house clean (for me) is keeping the kitchen clean. It's all about upkeep. If I go to bed at night with all dishes done, counters wiped, table cleared & wiped – it doesn't matter what the rest of the house looks like, I will wake up calm and feel like things are manageable. If the kitchen is dirty, I feel so behind the next day. Everything else is a snap if you keep up in the kitchen.
That's an awesome chore chart. My mom always had a sparkling clean house, but i feel like i never saw her cleaning. hm….
My cleaning tip is to make sure everything is in it's place. Everything needs to have a place and be in it!
I spend about 30 mins a day doing dishes and light cleaning. On the weekends when I have more time since I work full time, I do more dusting, and deep cleaning. We live in an older/smaller apartment and without upkeep it looks cluttered and dirty really fast. My husband and I also split chores on the ones that we like and don't like. I love folding so he is in charge of getting them clean so I can fold the laundry. We both take turns doing dishes and unloading,but he loves vacuuming, etc.
jessicarwarfield at gmail dot com
I actually utilize cute baskets and other containers as well. It helps me corral random clothes (I like to change outfits too often), dog toys, scarves, etc. that have been strewn about during the day, and that way things still look put together until I can thoroughly reorganize over the weekend.
Space bags work well to compact clothes for storage.
Love this chore chart!
Two things that I do everyday to make life easier- Start a load of laundry everyday (after my shower!!) this keeps laundry from creating a mountain and its much more fun to fold a small load every day than a 20 large loads if I put it off too long! I also make sure all dishes and shinanigans in the kitchen are cleared away so the kitchen is sparkling every morning.
Lastly, and you made me happy with the photo above, I use a Miele vacuum! It makes the biggest difference to me to have a great vacuum that is easy to carry around!
Organized? What does that look like?! Maybe winning this giveaway would help with that!
Do a little each day..
I have a binder with all the important paperwork I have. Tax returns, owner's manuals, medical records, etc. When I get new paper bills I replace them with the prior one. I'm proud that I can always keep it organized!
Magic Eraser is truly my favorite thing!
Love this list and would LOVE to win this giveaway! My cleaning tip is similar to what others have said – doing a few loads of laundry during the week definitely frees up your weekends even more!
I try to file papers right away. Love your chore chart!
I try to file papers right away. Love your chore chart!
A cordless vacuum is the handiest piece of cleaning equipment in the home.
I have one for both up and downstairs and use it often.
I love this schedule! I'm a stickler about the kitchen and do a deep clean every morning after breakfast. :)
Two words: Fly Lafy
Her technique and tips are too good. But, like all good tips they don't work without being used!
I spot clean throughout the week and do deep cleaning on Friday nights so I can enjoy the weekend :-)
I recently discovered "mint" for my apartment on the UWS, it's changed my life ;).http://mintcleaner.com/
I love mint for everyday hardwood floor cleaning…
http://mintcleaner.com/
I love to use Murphy's Oil Soap & water mixture> I spray it on my wood floors & use my swiffer to pick up dust & dirt. It leaves my floors looking beautiful!
I like to keep cleaning supplies in each bathroom. Have one laundry day for bedding, but towels & clothes I keep up with throughout the week!
What a fantastic giveaway! I'm organized from head to toe and am contantly cleaning more than I should be.
I love this chore chart and plan to print and incorporate it immediately! I've wanted something similar for awhile and everytime I try to find one it always seems way to overwhelming, this seems simple yet effective.
I often do my bathroom cleaning while my youngest is in the tub, she has epilepsy so can never be left unattended even for a few seconds and the cleaning up gives me something productive to do while she plays a bit and I'm still right there.
I have also been doing a bit of a rotation here lately but instead of a set rotation schedule like you have, I've just kinda picked something that needs doing and I assign one to me and one to my teen.
Of course the house still always seems a mess to me, I've seen worse so I can't complain much, but I still would love to never be worried if someone just pops over unannounced.
An easy tip for cleaning the microwave: Before cleaning, put a (microwavable) bowl of water & lemon in it. Zap it for 2 or 3 minutes. After that, any dried-on food is easier to wipe off.
I just stumbled across your blog and this post just made my day (I'm a total nerd, yes)! Thanks!
I love your tips. My little guy is seven months old and not yet mobile, so I'm still able to knock all of the cleaning out in one day. We have a tiny house, so it takes me about 2.5 hours to clean everything, including scrubbing the bathrooms, mopping the kitchen, vacuuming, dusting, polishing, etc. I like getting everything done in one day (Tuesdays, for me) so that I know the WHOLE house is clean.
I recently started using a chore chart. I'm still working out the kinks and trying to figure out what works best. I've found that doing 1 load of laundry a day really helps me save time during the week. I don't have to spend as much time sorting and it makes laundry a lot less of a pain.
Thanks for the cleaning chart!!! That's a great idea. I also use baskets to pick up messes quickly.
I recently started using a chore chart. I'm still working out the kinks and trying to figure out what works best. I've found that doing 1 load of laundry a day really helps me save time during the week. I don't have to spend as much time sorting and it makes laundry a lot less of a pain.
I recently started using a chore chart. I'm still working out the kinks and trying to figure out what works best. I've found that doing 1 load of laundry a day really helps me save time during the week. I don't have to spend as much time sorting and it makes laundry a lot less of a pain.
I have a "cooking/cleaning" marathon day, where I make about 2-3 meals for the week. The kitchen is a disaster, but then I get all my big cooking in one day and can clean everything up. While the food cooks, I clean up the kitchen and the house.
Just like you I love baskets. They're simple easy and portable.
I like a checklist, When you do a task,Try writing it down on your calendar based on when it should be done again. I know my toilets are due to be cleaned on Fridays (ready for weekends )And Vacuuming is done Monday mornings (Because of weekends). When it's done it gets marked off and its behind me and on to next task. By spacing these task out over a period of a week it does not seem like such a huge task to tackle and I stay on top of keeping the house in order.
with a toddler at home, we pick up together before nap time and before bed, it helps our whole house from kid toy clutter day after day. we also clean bathrooms while she is taking a bath. two birds with one stone!
can't wait to try our your cleaning list!
I NEED a chore chart, or nothing will get done. Truth be told, not much gets done anyway, unless I have people coming over, so I try to schedule coffee dates etc on a regular basis :-)
However I may hate cleaning, I am an organizing freak. I declutter shelves and wardrobes on a ragular basis and re-organize everything. I make a complete mess during, but it all looks soooo much better after!
fitmomeb@gmail.com
Totally am going to use this chore chart!!! Love it! My cleaning trick is pick up time before nap nd bed so I don't spend my downtime picking up a million toys!
I love your cleaning schedule. I just had a baby in December and was back to work in January and there is no time for cleaning. It drives me crazy! I thought my husband would get the hint and try to jump in and rescue me but the man is clueless, so I finally jotted down a job chart. Having a big day of cleaning isn't fun. Its so much easier if you can keep up on things. I'm going to have to tweak my chart since I like yours so much!