I would like to start off this post by saying that when my parents read this post, they will laugh. I am far from a neat freak. In fact, as a kid, I was a total slob. Fun fact: my dad actually would make surprise visits when I was in middle school to inspect my locker – it was that bad. It would be piled up halfway and I would lose homework in it. Suffice to say, the fact that one of my 2016 goals is to make an actual cleaning schedule is hilarious, I’m sure.
With another baby on the way, it’s becoming more obvious to me that I’ll need to streamline some things in order for my family’s life to run efficiently. One thing that is non-negotiable in our tiny house is not having the house clean. While clutter and mess can put just about anyone in a bad mood, in a small home it’s amplified.
When I first started thinking about making a cleaning schedule, I knew that while a normal Monday – Friday (or whatever) schedule would work, it wasn’t perfect. I like lists, and I like things to be explicitly spelled out for me. So I decided on 3 separate schedules that would together work as one.
Daily schedule: the cleaning, tidying, organizing and general housekeeping that goes on every day. Think of it as the things that if you only did it once a week you would either be super gross or go insane.
Weekly schedule: this schedule includes things that are kind of redundant to do daily, but dire enough that they shouldn’t wait a whole month.
Monthly schedule: bigger projects, things that don’t get super gross, and a lot of places that get disorganized slowly over time go into this schedule.
If you wanted to get cray-cray you could do seasonal/bi-monthly/every 6 months/yearly, but that’s a little extreme for me and usually I just add those things to my normal to-do list as needed. If you think consolidating these plans (maybe a weekly schedule with each day outlined) will work better for you, go for it! If you want to add a bi-weekly schedule, do yo’ thang. This is just an outline, a manual if you will, for how to create your own home cleaning schedule without pulling your hair out. I’ll be sharing my own down below for inspiration, but don’t think of it as an end all be all, since I don’t live in your house, and you don’t live in mine.
Step One: Designate areas. In my house, my house breaks down as follows: Backroom/pantry/mudroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom, and bedrooms. Think about how you typically break up your house and cleaning and go with that.
Step Two: Write down everything. I’m weird so I kind of found this part fun. First, write down one of the designated areas and underline it. Then proceed to write each and every single thing you could ever need or want to clean in that area. I’m talking floor to ceiling, literally. If you clean the buttons on your remote control, (power to you! My college roommate used to do that. Now I just hope that Ryan or Cooper get it clean enough with their mouths. I kid!) add that to your list. I found it easiest to do this if I sat in the room. That way I could look around and make sure I hit all the marks.
Step Three: Mark each task with a schedule. Do you see how next to “sweep floors” there is a letter ‘D’? That means that’s something I like to do daily because I have gross fur balls and a raisin throwing toddler. Meanwhile, “organize cabinets” happens once a month because for real, how often do I need to do that? Go through your list and carefully think of how crazy you would feel if you only did that task once a month/a week/daily and choose which is necessary, doable and appropriate for your home and lifestyle. You may change your mind on a few, and that’s okay! Once you’re happy with your categories, move ahead.
Step Four: Create your checklist! Now you can easily take each task and move it to a separate list to create your daily/weekly/monthly lists. I added little check mark boxes incase I decided to scan and print them to track my completion (most likely, for monthly or weekly.) You can either hand write these lists or put it into an Excel/Google Sheets document.
And there you have it! Your own cleaning schedule made without the headache. Below, you’ll find a link to a Google Sheets version of my own daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning schedules. I hope this helps you take some of the stress out of your cleaning schedules as well as streamline an annoying and time-consuming task!
Check out my personal schedules for inspiration!
If you want to find out the ultimate tip to maintain your newly cleaned house, check out this post!
Do you follow a cleaning schedule? Do you find it easy to segment cleaning tasks by day/week/month? Let me know in the comments!
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Gretchen | Gretchruns says
I’ll have to link to this when I share my cleaning schedule because this is SO useful! Love how you broke it all down and your hand writing is so nice 🙂
Morgan says
Thanks, Gretchen! I’ve thought about making one a few times but never did because it seemed overwhelming, and I couldn’t find anywhere that broke it down. So I figured I’d do it myself! And thank you! In all transparency, I did try to write super near since I knew I’d be taking pictures of it, hahah!
Heather@hungryforbalance says
I’m not organized enough to have a written down schedule, but I could definitely see how that would be useful! I love the breakdown on this because there are somethings that I don’t have to do everyday.
Cool idea Morgan!
Morgan says
I’m not either, but I’m really trying to be with another babe on the way! Plus, I have a real obsession with crossing things off and that along motivates me to get something done, so I liked the idea of having a written out schedule.
Mary says
Well done. Writing it done a breaking it up makes it more manageable and a feeling of control. When y children were young, I did something very similar to your checklist Time was very limited
Heather @ Polyglot Jot says
I love lists too! That would be my favorite part…haha! This is a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
If you dont mind me asking, what program do you use for your cover photos?
Morgan says
I love crossing things out. Lists are a real addiction! As for photos, I just emailed you because it was getting lengthy!
Sherry@savvyapron says
This looks like something that would help me. I love crossing things our also!
Erin @ Stay At Home Yogi says
This is so helpful! I have tried to do something similar in the past and haven’t really been consistent. I’m going to keep trying! Thanks for the inspiration.
Oh and I was a TOTAL slob as a kid too!
Shelly says
Great cleaning tips! I find writing things down and checking things off helps so much.
Kristy @ Southern In Law says
I feel like it’s so important to come up with a cleaning schedule that works for you as its so easy for housework to build up and get overwhelming!
I’m impressed that you mop your floors every day! Mine don’t get quite so much TLC as I only steam mop the house as a whole twice a week.
Julie says
That’s spooky I started a cleaning chart just yesterday! I’ve only written down, annual, quarterly and monthly tasks so far, I was thinking daily & weekly notice more if they are not done so it’s the not so regular ones I need to keep track of, but now I’m thinking I might write them all down as you suggest.
I’m not sure I want anyone to see mine though, I don;t want anyone to judge us for how frequently I’ve put change the bed linen or wash towels, and my floor definitely doesn’t get mopped every day!
Morgan says
I like writing everything down since i find it easier to keep track of and make sure I’m not missing anything, but definitely go with what works for you. As for mopping, my house is very, very small and I use a Swiffer wet jet which helps. With a small hoise, a dog who goes in and out all day, a toddler, and a husband who wears his boots inside, it’s a bit if a necessity around here!!
Emily says
Stopping by from Titus 2 Tuesdays and wanted to let you know that I love your scheduling suggestions. I even scheduled it to share through my social media accounts over the next few days. 🙂
Angela @ Setting My Intention says
I don’t have a formal list, but I do need one – mainly so I can try and divide up the duties between family members. My kids are old enough to actually participate in housekeeping. I sort of have one in my mind, but that doesn’t help anyone. Like all of the habits that I’m trying to maintain, I’ll have to start small in order to make it last!
Tanya @ Mom's Small Victories says
I made a cleaning schedule checklist in my Plum Paper Planner. I took the Flylady detailed cleaning zones and made them into a checklist so I can check them off as completed. It takes me so long to get anything done but at least it’s all there! Thanks for sharing with Small Victories Sunday Linkup, Pinned to our linkup board.
DazzleWhileFrazzled says
Great ideas! Sharing with my sister, who needs some house cleaning organizing help. Visiting from Party in Your PJs link party.
Kiana Abram says
These are great tips for creating a cleaning schedule. I’ve been really trying to clean more/get more organized this year. This is definitely giving me the motivation I need.
Lou Lou Girls says
This is so awesome! Pinned and tweeted. Thanks for sharing this at our party! I hope to see you next Monday because we love to party with you! Happy Wenesday! Lou Lou Girls
Raki (Outside the Box Mom) says
Great tips Morgan. Your post will be featured at Motivation Monday on 2/14! 🙂
Michelle says
I thought I commented on this last week. Sometimes these comments end up in spam folders. I appreciate you sharing at this week’s Party at My Place linkup. I don’t keep a schedule cleaning, I just clean one day a week and it takes no time at all. That’s the benefit of not having young children at home anymore.
Lauren @ Mom Home Guide says
Helpful ideas! I need a cleaning schedule — there are certain areas of my home that tend to get overlooked! LOL Thanks for sharing this post at Motivation Monday — it was chosen as a feature this week!
Debbie W. says
Great ideas.
Little Wandering Wren says
Dearest ex- total slob, you are a hope and an inspiration all rolled up into one great blog post! There is hope for my teenage girls!!!
Wren x
Natasha says
Such a great way to compile a cleaning schedule! I’ve been putting together a chores list for the kids but having a schedule to go along with it will be most necessary. Thanks so much for sharing.
jess says
So impressive! I am not that organised with the cleaning at all, but perhaps having a schedule up on a whiteboard would help to tick them off each day.
Teresa says
This is something I really need to do. Thank you for your inspiration!
Katherines Corner says
thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things blog hop. I featured you yesterday xo
Karren Haller ♥ Friday Features says
Your cleaning and chore list was featured on our #OMHGFF this week!!
Pinned and share out to Twitter and FB!
Have a great weekend!
Karren
Sarah Eliza @ devastateboredom says
Coming over from the Monday Madness link-up… cleaning is such a pain!! 😛 But being organized about how to tackle it definitely helps. Thanks for sharing your plan!
Lara @MommyKazam says
Keeping a cleaning schedule has been a life saver for me. Before I started utilizing a schedule, there were a lot of tasks that fell by the wayside. I would clean the same things over and over (whether it was needed or not) and completely neglect other rooms/tasks and would feel completely overwhelmed.
Christa says
Thank you for posting this! I had been thinking about doing something similar, but felt overwhelmed by how to even start. THIS is something I can do, and I will do! Easy, straightforward, and beneficial. Keep up the great work!
Amberjane says
I too need a schedule to be tidy and I have to say you writing is definitely the neatest I have ever seen – Thank you for sharing with Pin-worthy Wednesday Morgan
Victoria @DazzleWhileFrazzled says
Great tips! I have three little ones and I’ve finally had to accept that I won’t get a lot done during the day. I like the idea of putting an hourly rate on my time. Of course, it’s now coming up with that hourly wage! Visiting from Thursday Favorite Tings party.
Michelle says
I clean once a week. My home is small so it is easy to do. I save the big stuff for summer when I’m home from school and right after Christmas because well, Christmas seems to make more mess.
Adrian G says
Thanks for sharing at Family Fun Friday. I’ve chosen it as one of my featured posts.