Over the past few weeks, a few people have asked me how I keep my home clean and organized. Just like most people out there, I get so busy with day-to-day life and don’t want to spend the majority of my day off doing house chores. I have to admit that I am one of those people who enjoys cleaning and gets such satisfaction afterwards. Although, that doesn’t mean that I like it taking up too much of my time.
If one of your New Years’ resolutions is to get organized and maintain a clean home in 2019, well then this one is for you. I will be sharing with you my routine on how I keep my house clean without having to spend a full day cleaning. This routine has especially become handy in the past few months since I went from a townhome to a house. The routine is set up on a weekly schedule and broken down to specific rooms in the house. I try to follow this as much as possible but if I can’t do a specific cleaning day due to whatever reason, I just add the task to another day or push it to my flex day. Just a word of advice, don’t stack more than two rooms in one day or else you’ll end up spending too much time cleaning.
My Weekly Cleaning Schedule
EVERYDAY
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Wash dishes or place dirty dishes in the dishwasher
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Wipe counters (including kitchen and bathrooms after use)
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Quick pick up (for me this usually means putting away my clothes and dog toys from around the house)
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A load of laundry (if needed)
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Take out the trash/recycling/compost
MONDAY – – – Living Room
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Dust
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Vacuum
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Straighten items on shelves/coffee table
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Wipe down remotes
TUESDAY – – – Kitchen
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Clean sink, counters, stove
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Sweep/mop floors
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Start and empty dishwasher (if needed)
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Reorganize and wipe down cupboards (if needed)
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Reorganize pantry and throw out any expired items
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Wipe down the fridge and throw out any expired items
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Wipe down microwave
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Add missing items to the grocery list for the week
WEDNESDAY – – – Bathrooms
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Clean sink and mirrors
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Clean tubs/showers
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Scrub toilets
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Vacuum and mop floors
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Reorganize shelves/cabinets (if needed)
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Wash or change towels and bath mats
THURSDAY – – – Bedrooms
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Wash bedding (wash pillows and duvet every other week)
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Flip Mattress (every other week)
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Reorganize clothes and put away laundry (if needed)
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Dust
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Vacuum
FRIDAY – – – Flex Day
SATURDAY – – – Halls, Basement, Dining Room
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Vacuum
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Dust
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Mop Hallway floors
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Reorganize Basement (if needed)
SUNDAY – – – Choose one or two of the following tasks that need attention
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Vacuum under couches
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Wipe down baseboards
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Clean blinds
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Clean windows
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Wash curtains
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Deep clean of tiles/grout
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Wash pillows, throw pillows and throw blankets
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Clean / dust vents
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Clean under fridge / oven
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Wash out garbage bins
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Wipe down doorknobs and light switches
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Wash small appliances
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Clean and dust Vents
These daily lists might seem like a lot but some of these daily routines should only take 10-15 minutes (or less), while some might take up to 30 minutes. Point is that if you spread it out, you still get time to enjoy the rest of your day/evening without feeling overwhelmed by tackling a full day of cleaning. Also, it is way more rewarding since you are maintaining a clean home throughout the week without ever getting that discouraging feeling of having a messy or unorganized home.
Wishing you a clean and organized 2019!
Christopher is a food and lifestyle expert, recipe developer and the content creator behind May Eighty Five. With over 6 years of creating recipes for your favourite food brands, he also shares tips, tricks and how to’s that he has learnt over the years. Every week, he shares quick, simple and mostly healthy recipes along with some home and entertaining tips. You will find flavorful cocktails, delicious appetizers, tasty mains and some indulgent desserts.