One of my New Year's Resolutions was to make a house cleaning schedule and STICK TO IT! Thus far, I've been able to do just that (it helps that I'm only working part time right now). I thought I'd share what my cleaning looks like on a daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis. Also, I love to test out homemade cleaning products (the goal is, after all, to clean the house on a budget). I also include home organization and decluttering in the cleaning process because a clean home is an organization home. I've gotten ideas for cleaning schedules from many other places and have simply personalized it to my own house and time schedule. Basically, I do the same daily cleaning 5 days a week and then pick different rooms of the house to do "deep" cleaning once a week. My daily cleaning schedule looks like this:
1. Make beds
2. Declutter rooms (put everything where it's supposed to go)
3. Quick sweep bedrooms, living room, and kitchen
4. Wash dishes
5. Clean out the cat litter (my favorite)
6. Wipe down counters and table (my cat likes my kitchen surfaces)
7. Quick wipe down of sink and toilet
This routine can take me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on what day it is (the house is always messier after the weekend) and how many dishes I have to clean (which is usually a lot because we don't eat out often). The "declutter rooms" step always seems daunting to people, but it you do it every day, it really doesn't take much time.
Also, since today is Thursday, the master bedroom and guest room get "deep cleaned." I put the quotations because it's not like I'm on my hands and knees scrubbing, they just get some extra attention. So their "deep cleaning" includes
1. Mopping the hardwood floors (with my spray mop)
2. Vacuuming the rug
3. Dusting the dressers, night stands, and desk
4. Wiping down the mirror
5. Disinfecting
See? Not much extra work for a clean room if you've done the daily tasks right before.
