Easy Cleaning Schedule for Busy Moms (+printable template)
If you hate to clean and feel overwhelmed at the thought of cleaning your whole house, a cleaning routine is just what you need! Get this free printable cleaning schedule template to help you make cleaning manageable. Keep your home clean and tidy the easy way!
When my husband and I first got married we lived in a teeny tiny apartment over a two-car garage. Half of it was made up of two bedrooms and a bathroom. The other half was the kitchen and living room.
Our washer and dryer were in the kitchen, and they often had to double as countertops because we only had one counter with the sink right in the middle. Our bathroom was only as wide as the tub, and our bedroom barely fit our full-size bed.
I could clean the whole thing in just a few minutes.
As the years passed, our homes grew with more rooms and (thankfully) more counter space! Our family grew, too, which meant more laundry, more stuff to put away and there were always, always, crumbs on the floor.
Of course, I still wanted to keep a clean house, but the tasks seemed overwhelming. I needed a way to keep a tidy home, while still living my real life–which involved a lot of chaos!
When I learned about cleaning routines, I was a bit skeptical at first. Is it possible to spend only minutes a day cleaning my house, and it actually be clean?
After using my simple house cleaning schedule for over 10 years now, I can tell you, it works. I used it when we bought our first little house, in our nightmare split-level, and even when we lived full-time in an RV for over a year.
Having a cleaning routine is a great way to keep a clean home without spending all of your time (and sanity) cleaning your house.
Daily Cleaning Schedule vs. Whole-Day Cleaning
When I was growing up, my dad worked during the week, and we spent most of the day on Sunday in church. That left Saturday for us to clean. And we often spent several hours on one free day of the week cleaning our whole house.
That was the only way I knew to clean. And that may be the best way for some busy moms to clean. But I’ve found that it didn’t work for me.
Instead of trying to have a whole day spend cleaning every room, I prefer cleaning a little bit every day. I break my cleaning schedule up into three parts.
1. Daily tasks. These are the things I need to do on a daily basis to keep my home tidy.
2. Weekly tasks. These tasks need to be done once a week to keep my house feeling clean.
3. Seasonal tasks. These are cleaning jobs that only need to be done a couple of times a year.
Once you set up these cleaning habits, your home will be cleaner than you imagined possible. And you’ll have plenty of time left over to enjoy the things you love!
Cleaning Routines for People Who Hate to Clean
Cleaning my house is not my favorite thing to do. I would rather do just about anything else.
But I do love the satisfaction that comes from clean countertops, freshly folded laundry, and crumb-free floors. Using cleaning schedules and routines helps me keep my entire house mostly clean in less time.
I’ve found that spending just a few minutes completing daily tasks makes a huge difference in my house. Plus, it gives my mental health a boost and helps me feel more productive.
The End of the Day Rule
As a homeschooling mom with kids always underfoot, my house almost never feels tidy during the day. So, I’ve given myself a rule that says everything is clean and tidy by the time I go to bed.
This allows me to go to bed knowing the house is clean and everything is put away. It also gives my family a fresh start in the morning with no clutter in our way.
This doesn’t mean I do all of my chores at the end of the day. That would be too overwhelming.
Instead, it means I don’t stress out about toys, homeschool curriculum, or crumby floors all day. I do what I can when I can, and know that it’ll all work out in the end.
Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Cleaning Schedules
The most important thing about using a cleaning schedule is starting new routines that become new habits. Now that I’ve been using my routines for several years, I don’t even have to think about it anymore.
The key is to break it down into easy-to-manage segments that help you clean the easy way!
Daily Cleaning Tasks
Daily routines are the foundation of a clean home. They are the little things that keep a home looking tidy. Daily chores only take a few minutes and may need to be done more than once a day. Once you get in the habit of doing them, your life will become much simpler and far more tidy.
Daily Cleaning Checklist
- Make the beds
- Empty the dishwasher/wash dishes
- Wipe the counters
- Sweep crumbs on the floor
- One load of laundry
- Put away shoes
- Wipe out sinks
- Tidy living spaces
I often tackle these chores randomly throughout the day. I try to make the beds first thing in the morning. (My boys make their beds as part of their kids’ chore chart tasks.)
We empty the dishwasher first thing in the morning before we start our school day. Wiping counters and sweeping crumbs happen multiple times throughout the day. And I try to put away our shoes before we go to bed.
Overall, I spend anywhere from 10-30 minutes doing these daily tasks, but not all at once.
Weekly Cleaning Tasks
My weekly cleaning checklist involves one larger job that takes around 30 minutes to complete. I do different tasks each day on a rotation. This helps me to stay on top of each room and area of my house.
Weekly Cleaning Checklist
- Monday–Clean the bathrooms
- Tuesday–Dust the furniture
- Wednesday–Vacuum/sweep all floors
- Thursday–Mop floors
- Friday–Wash bedclothes
- Saturday–Makeup day
- Sunday–Rest day
When you do these jobs consistently, you’ll be amazed at how much cleaner your home will be. You can do these tasks no matter the size of your home.
Miss a day? That’s okay! You can always make it up on Saturday, or just do it next week.
Monthly Tasks, Seasonal Cleaning, and Deep-Cleaning Tasks
Some tasks don’t need to be done every day or week. Of course, you can always wait to clean those ceiling fans until the dust is an inch thick on the blades. (Guilty.)
Or, you can have a simple schedule that tells you when to get these tasks done before they’re overwhelming.
These tasks include:
- Clean ceiling fans
- Clean baseboards
- Deep clean refrigerator
- Deep clean freezer
- Wash blinds
- Wash curtains
- Clean light fixtures
- Clean windows
- Wash outside of house
- Replace air filters
- Clean gutters
- Wash walls
- Clean out pantry
- Declutter closets
- Clean under beds
- Clean bathroom fans
- Clean and declutter storage spaces
- Clean linen closet
Make Your Cleaning Routine Easier
If you’d like to make your cleaning routines even easier, here are a few tips to make it happen:
Keep your cleaning supplies hand in each room.
This one simple step for cleaning changed my life. Not exaggerating. Keeping the cleaning supplies where they are needed makes it so much easier to actually do the daily chore. For instance, I keep everything I need to clean the bathroom under the bathroom sink.
When it’s time to clean the bathroom, I don’t need to run around the house gathering my supplies. It cuts down on my cleaning time, and it helps me to stay focused on the task at hand.
Get your kids involved.
My life improved at least 75% when I assigned chores to my kids. They each have chores they do every day, as well as a weekly chore that’s different each day. Not only does this take some of the burden of cleaning the house off of me, but it teaches them responsibility, too.
Let go of perfectionism.
I’ve concluded that I will never have one of those spotless homes like you see in the magazines. My family lives in this home.
I want us to be comfortable here. If I’m always focused on making sure everything is perfectly clean and tidy, it’s miserable for all of us.
Our home isn’t perfect. But it’s clean and mostly tidy. When I gave up my expectations of the perfect home, my family got happier, and my home became much more comfortable for us all.
How to Make Your Own Cleaning Schedule
There are different ways to go about making your own cleaning checklist. Keeping it personal to you and your needs is the key to a cleaner house. Download the free printable cleaning schedule template, and fill it out yourself to make it work for you.
You can use my ideas as a jumping-off point, but add in the tasks that apply to your family and household. Keeping your house clean doesn’t need to be a full time job. Creating successful routines is the secret to maintaining your home without losing your mind.
