Every Sunday, my husband and I would fall into the trap of frantically cleaning our home – our whole home. When we lived in our 600 square foot apartment, this really wasn’t an issue. I mean, honestly, I could stand in the kitchen and mop the bedroom. -Tiny- However, since moving into our much larger home and now anticipating a life with little ones running around, we needed to figure out a house cleaning system that doesn’t require a full Sunday investment.
After some brainstorming, we decided to give a day-to-day cleaning schedule a chance. I’ve never done housecleaning on a specific schedule, outside of laundry on Sundays and when to water plants (those poor plants). However, the hope is to divide up the work through the week so the house doesn’t fall into complete disrepair because we’re busy during the weekends. Plus, aren’t the weekends meant for fun?!
As I do, I did some research. I found a few suggested weekly cleaning schedules online but this one was my favorite. The division of work made the most sense to me but the order didn’t quite work for us. Instead, here’s what shaped up for us.
Sunday
- Meal Planning, Grocery Shopping, and Food Prep
- Yardwork (mow the lawn, pull weeds, rake leaves)
- Bathe Jax
- Water Plants (outside planters and indoor plants)
Monday
- Vacuum (carpets and rugs)
- Mop (tile and wood floors)
- Check Mail (we’re very forgetful about this…)
Tuesday
- Dust (furniture, electronics)
- Disinfect (countertops, door handles, refrigerator door handles, microwave)
- Water Plants
Wednesday
- Throw Out Expired Food (refrigerator and pantry)
- Straighten Up and Toss (bathroom trash, junk mail, catalogs, magazines)
- Check Mail
- Take Out Garbage Cans in the evening
- Thursday is trash pick-up day for our neighborhood so we need to do our “toss” day right before. Otherwise, gross food smells will permeate throughout the house or fester in our trash cans and we know how delightful that can be.
Thursday
- Toilets
- Showers
- Mirrors
- Water Plants
Friday
- Laundry (clothes, linens, floor mats)
- Check Mail
Saturday
- Projects (craft, DIY, household)
- And enjoy the day!
To ensure we build a habit and stay on top of tasks, we bought a weekly whiteboard to hang in our kitchen. This is the exact one we purchased – only $10! We know some days we won’t get to everything on the list or miss the day entirely but at least we’ll be able to steer ourselves back on course. Fingers crossed this an effective solution for us.
How do you manage your household tasks? I’m interested to hear different perspectives and methods.
This blog post was not sponsored but contains links as part of an affiliate program I participate in. Meaning, if you click through and purchase, at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission. I have student loans to pay… help a sister out.
