Keeping your house clean feels like a never-ending task. Life is busy, making it easy to fall behind on regular household cleaning. Before you know it, you feel like you need to dig yourself out of constant clutter, grime, and pet hair. The state of your home can impact your mental health, and a messy home creates a feeling of overwhelm that can permeate into every aspect of your life.
Who isn’t burdened with keeping toys corralled and toilets scrubbed without forgetting to wash the sheets? Keeping up with household chores is hard, and most people struggle to stay on top of it all.
(RDNE Stock project/pexels)
This is where a cleaning schedule enters the chat. To take charge of the state of your home and find the control you crave, you need a plan. And a cleaning schedule does exactly that.
Downloading a cleaning planner printable makes it incredibly easy.
A cleaning routine will change the way your home functions in a variety of ways:
- You will tackle household tasks in small, manageable chunks.
- Every area of your home will get a thorough weekly cleaning.
- Consistent work will result in a tidier home overall.
- Cleaning will become easier over time because nothing has collected clutter and grime for weeks on end.
So, let’s get started on the path to a tidy home. When you are ready to begin, download some cleaning list printables to start the ball rolling.
1. Make a List
All great things start with a list. Walk from room to room and write down every task you need to accomplish in that area to clean it thoroughly. Next, you will take all of these tasks and categorize them.
Daily
Daily chores are the things that you must stay on top of. These quick, manageable, intentional chores will help you maintain a baseline of tidiness. Picking up clutter, loading the dishwasher, wiping the counter, and making your bed are great examples of daily chores.
Weekly
Weekly chores are things that need regular attention. These things don’t need daily attention but are what your house needs to feel clean. Washing the sheets, cleaning the bathrooms, and mopping the floors are all great examples of weekly chores.
Monthly
Monthly tasks are maintenance items. These tasks need regular attention but aren’t crucial to keeping your home clean. Washing the windows, changing air filters, and cleaning the baseboards are all great examples of monthly chores.
2. Break it Down
Your next step is to take the list you’ve made and break it down into manageable chunks. Consider how much time you have in a day to dedicate to your home and try to spread out your chores accordingly.
Remember that this doesn’t all have to fall on you, so don’t forget to assign chores to everyone in your household. This is an all-hands-on-deck overhaul for your family. Chores are an excellent way for kids to learn responsibility; even the smallest hands can contribute.
Daily
Your daily chores should not be time-consuming. Plan for 15 to 20 minutes in the morning and evening to stay on top of these things.
Weekly
It is often most intuitive to break weekly tasks up by room. For example, Mondays can be bathroom day, and on Wednesdays, you deep clean the kitchen.
Monthly
You can work on monthly items as needed. You could take one Saturday a month to complete all of your monthly maintenance chores.
3. Get to Work
Consistency is key. They say it takes 30 days to solidify a habit, so commit to the first 30 days. At the end of that month, you will be shocked to see how your home has evolved.
Daily
Every person in your home should know what they are responsible for daily. Use a tracking system, and consider an allowance or reward for a job well done.
Weekly
If there is a parent who stays at home, weekly cleaning may fall heavily on them. But if everyone is busy with work and school all week, this might need to happen in a big chunk during the weekend. You can make this fun by turning on music and working together.
Monthly
Monthly tasks are the easiest to forget, so consider setting reminders on your phone to trigger an alert when they are due.
Once you have settled into a routine, you’ll know how comfortable you are deviating from your schedule. You’ll likely notice that having a cleaning routine allows you the flexibility to miss a day here or there while still having a clean home.
Maintaining your home doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Getting started is the hardest part, so I created some printables you can download to take the guesswork out of the process. You have two options: fill in the tasks yourself or use one I have already filled in with common household chores.
If you’d like to take a deep dive, you can take this one-hour master class, which will teach you how to expertly declutter your home. When you finish, you will feel empowered and confident, with a plan to have a home you are proud to show off.
While starting a cleaning schedule does create a shift in your family’s routine, you will likely find that the predictability and order it creates allows everyone in your home to thrive.
Video
Infographic
Maintaining a clean house can feel overwhelming. Many struggle to keep up with chores, but a cleaning schedule can help. With a plan in place, you can regain control of your home. Learn more in the infographic.
