Whether it’s the start of the school year or planning for family to stay with you over the holidays, life is busy and cleaning is hard! Having an organized, easy way to clean your house- and keep it clean!- can make all the difference. So check out these ideas for how to clean your house on autopilot- weekly cleaning schedule!
In my postpartum survival post, I mentioned that I have a routine for my housework, laundry, and such. I thought I would share it with you too. Why not share my wealth of knowledge with the world?
Haha just kidding! I have no wealth of knowledge, just a schedule that helps me stay on top of things and be able to enjoy my time more.
Without further ado, here ‘tis.
Monday Cleaning Tasks
- Sweep floors
- Swiffer floors
- Do white laundry
- Take out trash at night (Tuesday morning is our trash day, so adjust that to your trash day if need be.)
Tueday Cleaning Tasks
- Dust all rooms
- Clean microwave if needed
- Bring in trash cans
- Do colored laundry
Wednesday Cleaning Tasks
- Bathrooms (my least favorite thing!)
- Kids laundry
Thursday Cleaning Tasks
- Clean out fridge if needed
- Meal plan (make my grocery list based on the meals I’m making for the next week)
- Do the towels (all the towels. Bath towels (adults and kids), hand towels, washcloths, rags used in cleaning, dish cloths, dish towels, etc.)
Friday Cleaning Tasks
- Vacuum
- Grocery Shopping
- Do sheets (Again, kids and adults)
Saturday Cleaning Tasks
- Maintain (minor picking up and wiping down and such)
- Kids laundry again (because they go through a lot of clothes!)
- Grocery shopping (AGAIN?! Didn’t’ you just do that yesterday? Well, I have it on both days just in case Friday is a little too crazy, or other things come up. Especially with 3 kids, sometimes it’s easier to wait until Saturday when I can go alone, and my husband can be home with them.)
- Clean out the car (I try to throw away trash as soon as we get home after each trip, but kids like to leave things in cars, so it’s nice to have a day dedicated to getting it clean again) Check out more of our tips on cleaning cars here.
Everyday Cleaning Tasks
- 1 load of laundry at least, more if needed (like if my son decides to take his diaper off during his nap and poop in his bed.)
- Unload dishwasher
- Help my daughter pick up her toys
- Make bed (this has helped me soooo much! I feel much calmer and productive throughout the day if I get up and make my bed in the morning.)
Every Night Chores
- Wipe down kitchen counters
- Sweep kitchen and living room
- Pick up toys
- Start dishwasher
My daughter also has chores every day since she is old enough to help out. (She is 9 now, but started having a schedule and chores around age 3). Every day she has to make her bed and do one other chore. We have a small vacuum that she uses on the bathroom floors, and she helps dust (she does her toy box). She also does “Disneyland Chores” throughout the day to earn money for her fund to go to Disneyland. And my son is supposed to help clean up his toys. Some days that works great! And others not so much haha.
Is there anything that I need to add? Let me know in the comments!
-Tara
Want some other ways to simplify your home, schedule, and life? Join us in our 30-Day Refresh Your Fall minimalism challenge!
This is actually a pretty great schedule. I find that singing songs while I work really helps
Great schedule! I think I should do my own version too soon. It’s really convenient.
A housework schedule is something that I really need to stick with. With two young boys with me all day it is hit and miss. Getting them more involved in helping is another thing I need to work on.
I’ve never scheduled my housework but as the kids get older and can pitch in, I can see how this would be a fantastic idea for assigning jobs to different family memembers!
Having a cleaning schedule is a great idea. I usually end up procrastinating my chores and end up having to do them all on the weekend which is a total bummer.
This is such a great schedule to go off of! I do laundry every day with five people living here. It’s a never ending nightmare!
Wow! This sounds a very adorable and nice schedule for working for house hold chores. Will share with my mom and aunts.
Thank you so much for this schedule. Suddenly cleaning looks easy and the house is no more leave me with the feeling “how much i have to do….” Thank you! God bless you.
Great list! And I am with you on making the bed…no matter how clean the rest of my house is, if I don’t make my bed it all feels messy. It IS 80% of the room!!
I was going to put together a list simliar to this to help me keep on top of everything at home! And I agree – making my bed first thing helps set the day.
This is such a great list and I’m sure it really helps you to not get overwhelmed with having to clean so much at once! I definitely need to try this!
I love your schedule. I have a similar one that I try to stick to but always screw it up somehow. But at least the chores get finished by the end of the week! haha.
Music makes the world go round, and so do schedules! Thanks for the helpful ideas.
Great schedule! Mine is similar, although with eight kids, a bit more intense. I have to do laundry every single day, along with cleaning bathrooms and I sweep the kitchen/dining area after every meal. Or we would live in filth. My kids do help with lots of the cleaning, though.
Such a great schedule! Making a list of what needs to be done and determining when to do it ahead of time is always a way that I am able to easily keep myself accountable! Having things to check off of a list instead of just looking around and thinking “OMG this place is a disaster” is SO helpful! Thanks for posting this!
This is such a great tip! I just moved and am trying to get settled into a new cleaning routine.
This is very helpful! Will try to take your advice.
What a great schedule. I don’t really have a set day for certain tasks but I do try and schedule some things. I will be implementing some of your schedule techniques.
I am going to try this. It’s so hard when you have kids playing baseball and baseball games last forever!! I guess I need to get up earlier…lol
Good idea. What do you do about the binds and baseboards? It seems that mine need this more often than I actually do them (:
I thank you so much. I have been struggling with the cleaning for awhile and now I have a manageable schedule.