10/23/2009
Filed In: Housekeeping & Cleaning
A cleaning routine is a great idea to have for anyone. No matter how much cleaning you do or don’t it’s a good idea to have a schedule in order to make sure everything gets done and to prevent yourself from getting burnt out by spreading everything out evenly.
Here is a list of what my rooms are. Obviously, every home is different so yours might vary accordingly.
There also isn’t a specific way you have to order this list, I like to order mine from one side of the house to the other because we have a great room that has our Kitchen, Dining Room, and Living Room all connected so I will probably do some chores on combined days.
So write down EVERYTHING, small and large, that needs to be cleaned throughout the house. Here is a basic list of what might need to be cleaned, although you might have more or less items on yours. Be sure to be thorough!
Outside
Whole House These are things that need to be done throughout the whole (inside of the) house so that they don’t need to be repeated in each of the lists below.
Garage
Mudroom/Laundry Room
Mudroom Bathroom
Kitchen
Dining Room
Living Room
Hallway
Hallway Bathroom
Master Bedroom
Guest Bedroom
Office
As you can see the “Whole House” Items list covers the majority of the major chores for each room. Just to clarify, the “Organize/Purge” item will be different for each room. For the kitchen it would count for organizing/purging items from the cabinets, hutch, and pantry. In addition, for the bedrooms it would count as organizing/purging items from dressers/closets.
Break things down into four general categories: Daily, Weekly, Bi-Weekly, and Monthly for the most part.
De-clutter
WEEKLY
This is one thing that should really be done daily. By this I mean you can reduce this item dramatically by simply looking around each room before you leave it and put everything you used away. This will make this pretty much obsolete and so much easier on yourself!
Organize/Purge
MONTHLY
This can generally be done once a month. Take the time to go through everything and simplify. Decide what you don’t need and donate or sell items you don’t use anymore. Like I said above too, this would count for different areas depending on the room you’re referring to.
Clean Floors
WEEKLY
This could be different for each room. Everything should probably be swept, mopped, and/or vacuumed at least once a week but for the Kitchen and other well used areas you might need to at least sweep once a day or every other day as needed.
Wipe Down Surfaces
WEEKLY
In this case you want to get every surface at least wet. This will prevent dust from building up. I like to use the cleaning wipes that come in the tubes. These are great for this purpose. You could also just use a surface cleaner or just a damp cloth too.
Windows
MONTHLY
Some people might like to do this more often but I think once a month is good personally. Be sure to not just clean the surface of the windows but also the frames to prevent dust from building up there too.
Window Treatments/Drapes
MONTHLY
On a monthly basis I like to take down the drapes and put them through the wash. Then, also wipe down/dust the blinds as well. Some people might like to do this more often if your house gets more dusty but it’s all personal preference.
Light Fixtures
BI-WEEKLY
Change light bulbs as you see them go out but on a bi-weekly basis dust over and/or wipe down light fixtures to prevent dust and dead bugs from building up on/in them.
Now, as I said above, each of these will vary based on your needs but this will give you a basic idea of how to break it down. It really is personal preference and how often you see dust building up. The idea is to keep that from happening, right?
You can either break each day down by Room by keeping all the items for each room to be done on the same day or by Time. If you break it down by time then you would designate, for example 1½ hours per day to cleaning. Then you would take the general times you have designated each chore will take and do as many on each day that will add up to 1½ hours.
I do it by time. I do 1½ hours per day and then on Saturdays I do a little bit more for whatever is left over.
However, here are some links to some other cleaning routines and cleaning routine tips that I’ve found in my research around the web. Also try Google-ing “Cleaning Routine” and other like keywords to find more to get you going. There is SO MUCH information on this out there to help you. Good luck and feel free to leave any questions or concerns you have!
Break Down Your Rooms
First make a list of all the rooms in your house. This will make it easier to think about what needs to be cleaned because you can visualize the room (or walk into it) and think about what in that room needs to be cleaned at some point or another.Here is a list of what my rooms are. Obviously, every home is different so yours might vary accordingly.
- Outside
- Garage
- Mudroom/Laundry Room
- Mudroom Bathroom
- Kitchen
- Dining Room
- Living Room
- Hallway
- Hallway Bathroom
- Master Bedroom
- Guest Bedroom
- Office
There also isn’t a specific way you have to order this list, I like to order mine from one side of the house to the other because we have a great room that has our Kitchen, Dining Room, and Living Room all connected so I will probably do some chores on combined days.
What Needs to be Done
After you’ve listed which rooms need to be cleaned you need to make a list of all the things around the house that need to be cleaned and make sure to note what room they’re for. Some things need to be done throughout the entire house no matter what room, but most of the time it is easiest to break everything down by room.So write down EVERYTHING, small and large, that needs to be cleaned throughout the house. Here is a basic list of what might need to be cleaned, although you might have more or less items on yours. Be sure to be thorough!
Outside
- Windows (Outside)
- Sides of House
- Lawn (Mow, Rake, Shovel – Depending on Season)
Whole House These are things that need to be done throughout the whole (inside of the) house so that they don’t need to be repeated in each of the lists below.
- De-clutter
- Organize/Purge
- Clean Floors
- Wipe Down Surfaces
- Windows
- Window Treatments/Drapes
- Light Fixtures
Garage
- Above “Whole House” Items
Mudroom/Laundry Room
- Above “Whole House” Items
- Laundry
Mudroom Bathroom
- Above “Whole House” Items
- Sink
- Toilet
- Shower/Tub
- Walls (Tiles)
Kitchen
- Above “Whole House” Items
- Dishes
- Counter-tops
- Cabinets (Outside)
- Sink
- Fridge
- Microwave
- Oven/Stove
Dining Room
- Above “Whole House” Items
- Table
- Chairs/Chair Pads
Living Room
- Above “Whole House” Items
- Furniture Slipcovers
- Pillows/Throws
- TV
Hallway
- Above “Whole House” Items
Hallway Bathroom
- Above “Whole House” Items
- Sink
- Toilet
- Shower/Tub
- Walls (Tiles)
Master Bedroom
- Above “Whole House” Items
- TV
Guest Bedroom
- Above “Whole House” Items
Office
- Above “Whole House” Items
As you can see the “Whole House” Items list covers the majority of the major chores for each room. Just to clarify, the “Organize/Purge” item will be different for each room. For the kitchen it would count for organizing/purging items from the cabinets, hutch, and pantry. In addition, for the bedrooms it would count as organizing/purging items from dressers/closets.
How Long?
Next determine how long each chore will take you to complete. This will help later on if you plan to break down your chores by the “time method” below. You can do this by timing yourself while doing each chore or you can do this in general terms and then adjust accordingly if it seems to be taking longer or less time than you anticipated.How Often?
Now go through the above list and decide how often each item needs to be done in your home. I will go over how often I clean each of the “Whole House” items above but will leave the others for you to decide. Pretty much how often do you notice it getting dirty? This is a good indicator of how often it should be cleaned.Break things down into four general categories: Daily, Weekly, Bi-Weekly, and Monthly for the most part.
De-clutter
WEEKLY
This is one thing that should really be done daily. By this I mean you can reduce this item dramatically by simply looking around each room before you leave it and put everything you used away. This will make this pretty much obsolete and so much easier on yourself!
Organize/Purge
MONTHLY
This can generally be done once a month. Take the time to go through everything and simplify. Decide what you don’t need and donate or sell items you don’t use anymore. Like I said above too, this would count for different areas depending on the room you’re referring to.
Clean Floors
WEEKLY
This could be different for each room. Everything should probably be swept, mopped, and/or vacuumed at least once a week but for the Kitchen and other well used areas you might need to at least sweep once a day or every other day as needed.
Wipe Down Surfaces
WEEKLY
In this case you want to get every surface at least wet. This will prevent dust from building up. I like to use the cleaning wipes that come in the tubes. These are great for this purpose. You could also just use a surface cleaner or just a damp cloth too.
Windows
MONTHLY
Some people might like to do this more often but I think once a month is good personally. Be sure to not just clean the surface of the windows but also the frames to prevent dust from building up there too.
Window Treatments/Drapes
MONTHLY
On a monthly basis I like to take down the drapes and put them through the wash. Then, also wipe down/dust the blinds as well. Some people might like to do this more often if your house gets more dusty but it’s all personal preference.
Light Fixtures
BI-WEEKLY
Change light bulbs as you see them go out but on a bi-weekly basis dust over and/or wipe down light fixtures to prevent dust and dead bugs from building up on/in them.
Now, as I said above, each of these will vary based on your needs but this will give you a basic idea of how to break it down. It really is personal preference and how often you see dust building up. The idea is to keep that from happening, right?
How to Break Down
When you’re scheduling everything the important thing to do is to SPREAD EVERYTHING OUT THROUGH THE WEEK. This will prevent it from getting very overwhelming on one day. However, if you find that you work better by just tackling everything one day out of the week, then that’s fine too.You can either break each day down by Room by keeping all the items for each room to be done on the same day or by Time. If you break it down by time then you would designate, for example 1½ hours per day to cleaning. Then you would take the general times you have designated each chore will take and do as many on each day that will add up to 1½ hours.
I do it by time. I do 1½ hours per day and then on Saturdays I do a little bit more for whatever is left over.
Other People’s Cleaning Routines
I personally keep my cleaning routine in an Excel spreadsheet so transferring it over would be a bit of a pain. It’s also pretty new. I didn’t used to have one so I’m not sure if it’s the most efficient cleaning routine yet. Therefore, I’m not going to post it right now (maybe at a later date).However, here are some links to some other cleaning routines and cleaning routine tips that I’ve found in my research around the web. Also try Google-ing “Cleaning Routine” and other like keywords to find more to get you going. There is SO MUCH information on this out there to help you. Good luck and feel free to leave any questions or concerns you have!
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