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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 tip is to stay on top of clutter – go through old toys, stay on top of incoming mail, school papers, bills that need to be filed, etc. It's so much less overwhelming to tackle cleaning a decluttered house.
And you seem to be so on the ball, I can't imagine that your house is ever less than in tip top shape! Thanks so much for this opportunity!
I love your chore chart inspiration and can't wait to incorporate into my household! Might even make one for my kids! :) I try to empty my kitchen sink every night
ten_krist@hotmail.com
Oh cleaning…how I loathe thee!
I am a newly wed (like 2 week newly wed), and and I just moved into my husband's one bedroom apartment. It's the perfect size for us with only one problem…storage. We have no pantry, one little closet, and entirely too many wedding presents! I have started implementing the baskets. I LOVE them. The only problem is we don't have enough! If I won this giveaway I would invest in some serious baskets and a hanging storage rack for a makeshift pantry.
As far as chores go, we have an ongoing laundry cycle (it never ends), but other than that we also clean one thing a day for sanity purposes. We both hate cleaning, but when we tackle it together, little by little, we manage.
I always just try to keep on top of things – dishes, laundry, mail, etc. so that nothing piles up. Also, I typically have a few things I set to accomplish on the weekends.
courtney.allisunfair (at) yahoo (dot) com
We take about 15 minutes after supper and "tidy" up ….I need a much better way for organizing though!
wow! I wish I could be so organized. My husband and I both travel 4-5 days a week, so I always feel like all I do when I'm home is clean. Seriously, where does the dust come from when no one is home to make it?!
I've taught my sons to do laundry, cook meals, and clean every room in the house. We each take a chore a night. If I cook, my husband cleans the kitchen, one son sweeps the floors, and another one does a load of laundry (or cleans the bathroom, living room, etc.). And we rotate so no one has to do the same chore over and over again.
The thing I do that makes the biggest difference in cleaning and staying organized is staying on top of laundry! It's such an annoying chore but usually if that is taken care of promptly, everything else seems to fall into place more easily. I do have a similar system to yours as far as a daily chore chart, but you gave me some great ideas I might incorporate. :) Crossing my fingers!!
I love having things organized in totes with pictures and words so my little boy can help put away in the right bins.
Meyers Cleaning Products are by far the best smelling products on the market. They give your entire house a fresh scent just by cleaning the kitchen counters alone. I also like to air out my house on cleaning days, so open a window while you dust and vacuum.
I use a short (no-show) athletic sock that has lost it's mate for dusting. Turned inside-out, the terry cloth inside really traps dust! I just spray the sock with furniture polish, slip it on my hand and dust away! You can rotate the sock around your hand to use up each side. When finished, I go outside to shake out the excess dust, and toss it in the wash. To store your "dust sock", just slip it over the top of the polish can. I love that I don’t have to buy disposable duster replacements, and I have a use for single socks. Plus, it’s an easy way to swipe baseboard and when I use furniture polish it doesn’t get on my hand the way it would with a typical dusting rag.
When our house gets too out of control I plan a dinner party. It whips us into gear and gets the house spotless.
I am thrilled about this chore chart, it seems soo doable! One thing I do, is store all my extra sheet sets in their own clear tub. That way I always have the set together and never have to go searching for what matches.
I don't have a method, which is why I was so happy to find this! I try to do dishes every day & a load of laundry every other day, & then do the big cleaning on Saturdays as a family. My toddler loves to earn dimes for dusting!
Every time I leave a room I grab one item that is misplace and go put it where it belongs. It's a very small step but by the end of the day the tidying up doesn't feel so huge.
ugh, my cleaning schedule is awful! but, i do like to put away the laundry right after it's done! if i don't it never gets put away and just sits in baskets then gets dug through. i really need a chore chart though, maybe i'll try yours!
We have a "donation box"… as I pick up kid items throughout the day, I put them in the donation box. The kids know they have to empty the box frequently and put their things away. If they don't and the box gets full… everything inside gets donated. (I usually give one warning that it is 'getting close to full').
I make sure the trash is out, the dishes are done, and the sink is empty and disinfected every day. Those are the biggest sources of unpleasant smells in the home!
My husband and I make a playlist anywhere between 30-60 minutes long. We team up, turn on the music, and clean until the playlist is over. No cleaning any longer than the music plays! It's a fun way to get a little motivation, dance, teamwork, and organization in the mix!
I have tried to teach my kids from a young age that keeping the house in order is a family affair! We love to blast dance music in the evenings and work together to straighten things before bed.
Thanks for the chance at a great giveaway!
I always wipe down the mirror and sink after brushing my teeth. It's a small and quick step that keeps it looking clean all the time.
Also, clear plastic containers from The Container Store are amazing. Perfect sizes for tons of different organizing purposes.
My "tip" is just an inspirational mantra–I read somewhere ages ago that putting an item away takes an average of just *seven seconds* longer than not putting it away! Whenever I'm tempted to leave something out, I'm shamed by that mantra into just doing it right that second. Amazing how much more stuff lands in the right place the first time because of this.
Anne B
I Live in a small space and it seems obvious but I try to not buy anything unless I really need it and have room for it.
For my large family it is extremely important that I do at least two loads of laundry a day.
For my large family it is extremely important that I do at least two loads of laundry a day.
I light clean during the week and set aside a few hours on Saturday to catch up clean
ryanac32 at yahoo dot com
Crank up the tunes and only work on one room a day. That way I'm not spending a whole day cleaning the entire house but each room gets cleaned every week.
My best cleaning tip is to have 2 sets of cleaning supplies. 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs. This makes it much easier to hit the high spots on a daily basis.
I have a basket of cleaning supplies upstairs and downstairs. It makes them easily accessible.
I've bookmarked the chart, thank you. I find, the less stuff I have, the easier it is to keep things tidy and clean.
We rebuilt after a house fire in which we lost everything. I have been very thoughtful about what I replace and yet I've been astonished at how quickly things pile up.
This is Exactly what I needed to get myself re-motivated ;-) I leave for work by 6:30 in the morning and there are some late nights during the week. By having such a realistic plan that focuses on one task/chore a night it is much less overwhelming. When I come home to a "dirty" house and feel like it will never be clean, it's too much to even think about that Everything gets pushed off until the weekend. Thank you for these fabulous tips! Question – any suggestions on "mopping" hard wood floors?? Suggestions greatly appreciated :)
Have a trashcan (or recycling bin) at your daily entry door. The daily car trash or excess school papers or loads of unnecessary mail can go in there BEFORE you enter your home. And shoes off too … do you know how much dirt we save by doing that!!!!
I work at a busy downtown hotel and never felt like I had time to clean when I get home. Long hours and little pay. But your list is so simple and easy to follow. I usualy empty the dishes while my coffee brews at 4 AM (My usual wake up time) Then head off to the bathroom to Un-zombie myself. I could definitely take your schedule and work it into my routine. I hate cleaning like most people, especially working in a busy coffee shop and having to clean non stop to stay ahead there. But I too feel so much more relaxed when everthing is clean and organized. Thank you so much!
i just have one cleaning day a week on monday. i just suffer through it in one day and call it good…of course I have to tidy through out the week but I feel better just getting it done in one day and having the rest of the week to not worry about it!
I try to keep my kitchen clean, and my beds made. :)
I have three girls like you, and they are all still home with me, ALL DAY! Aughh!! Housework is such a challenge for me, so thank you SO much for this list, and thanks to my friend Crystal for referring me to your blog. One trick that I manage is to clean my bathrooms while my girls are in the tub, since I'm in there anyway. The only thing is that I try to be a little more careful with cleaning products since I know they will be breathing them in while I use them!
I homeschool my 4 children, so I have found ways to incorporate them into the clean routine. We do all clothing laundry on Mondays and put away on Tuesdays. Then I do towels and sheets on Fridays. My children are assigned rotating days to empty the dishwasher as well as wash the table and sweep the kitchen floor after meals. They also clean (de-clutter, sweep and dust) their rooms every Saturday. Probably the best cleaning idea I use is a "job jar." The job jar contains slips of paper with jobs and points written on them. If my kids want to earn media time during the week, they choose 1 point worth of jobs for every media hour. A job like sweeping (and edging) the family room counts for one job, while washing a bathroom counter (with Clorox wipes :) ) counts for 1/2 a job. Once the job is completed and checked, I set it aside so it doesn't get repeated for a week or two. Of course, there is still plenty of work to do and I love the idea of this chore chart for myself for the jobs that don't get chosen very often and the jobs I don't put in the jar (like scrubbing tubs).
corral, corral, corral! then corral the little corrals into the big corrals!
One of my favorite tricks is to limit cleaning to 30 minutes a day. You would be surprised what you can accomplish in that amount of time AND you'll more than likely finish way before 30 minutes is up.
My favorite tip: Do a little bit of cleaning and dusting everyday- keeps allergies down and makes the big tasks seem less big.
This is just what I was looking for! I recently started staying at home with my daughter and have no clu where my day goes! My house honestly was cleaner when I worked all day :) a big no no in our house is laudry baskets. They ate banned from kur home. If you do laundry you must hang it up and put it away. Go tired of wondering if the baskets were clean or dirty not to mention the awful wrinkles!
Having a dog to vacuum up anything that falls to the kitchen floor doesn't hurt!
Right now I'm living in a shoebox-sized (really…it's about 14 square meters…) apartment, so anytime anything is out of place, it looks a mess! One rule I try to keep is NEVER go to bed with dishes in the sink. It helps that I have exactly one sink to do all the things a person needs….yikes!
Found your blog through Pinterest and I love the cleaning chart! I don't even have kids yet, but having a schedule like this will be a great habit to already have when we do!
And for a tip? Just do it now. You will be so much happier getting the dishes done before bed than waking up to a sink full of dirty ones.
We have six children so keeping all the winter gloves/hats organized can be a chore. We got one of those shoe organizers that hang on the back of a door and labeled spots for each of the children. Now they don't have to dig through the winter bin to try and find their things.
My best item is a timer. I set it and clean as much as I can in each room for 15-30 minutes, however much I have available. This keeps me focused, I am a bit ADD when cleaning and will go from room to room. Because of the time ticking I go a lot quicker and I and get more done because I stay focused. Love your Chart and looking forward to implementing it.
I do a load of laundry every day when I have a full load of darks/colors or a half load of whites. If everything else in the house falls apart, I know everyone will at least have clean socks and underwear. Also, my rule is that the load isn't done til it's put away. When i know I only have to put one load away, it's not so overwhelming. No more saturday laundry marathons.
My tip is to put away daily clutter EVERYNIGHT (mail in the inbox, food back in the pantry, clothes hung in the closet, shoes tucked away in their cubby, etc). The mainpoint is to have all floors and surfaces clear everyday.
I find if things pile up even for 2 days, it becomes overwhelming.
It sounds overly simplistic, but the best cleaning tip I have is to cut off clutter and dirt before it builds up.
I try to wash dishes as I cook, and put my used plates and silverware in the dishwasher right after I eat, rather than piling them in the kitchen. Same thing for the rest of the house: If I don't put my clothes on the floor, then I don't have to pick them up later. If I put stuff in its proper place, then I don't have to move them a second time.
I'm also a big fan of cleaning while you have a minute. When you walk into the kitchen to get something to drink, take three minutes to put away dishes or scrub the stove quickly. As you pass through a room on your way to the bathroom, pick up a thing or three. If you keep an eye on it, you can really keep things much cleaner! I hate giving up my Saturdays to clean!
Your chore chart is amazing! I might switch it around a bit because of our recycling/trash/yard waste day and incorporate a bit of outside maintenance, but yay! Clutter's our nemesis, but I find that having Roomba vacuum our main living space every other day cuts down on the amount of cat fur (we have two cats and wood floors). Plus, we never pile anything on the floor.