I’ve been scared straight. The house has gotten a little out of control lately, especially recovering from election day and a brutal sinus infection. I knew I needed a deep cleaning day soon, but had been kicking the can down the road with Thanksgiving hosting looming in the not-so-distant-future. But today we had a surprise guest, my best friend from Florida and her adorable baby we met for the first time. It was an absolute delight, but as soon as she stepped in the door, *cue the psycho music,* all I could see was the doom piles, dirty dishes, and semi-sentient dust bunnies.
Now slightly more embarrassed than before, I am truly housekeeping scared straight. It’s time to revamp my old Cleaning Schedule and get this dang house back on track!
Brief Reset – The Speed Clean
One thing I didn’t include last time was The Reset. We’ve all done it, things get a little out of control, but where do you start? Get the basics going, the steps to get your home back to functional
- Start a load of laundry
- Start a load of dishes
- Take out the trash
- Replace your sheets
- Clear one surface per soom
Clearing one surface per room sounds vague, but it’s just restoring a few sanctuary spaces to make each room functional. That means a small counter space for food prep, a place to sit and eat, a room to sleep, and a space to wash your hands in the bathroom.
Daily Cleaning
Daily cleaning is the hardest for me. Nothing is harder than coming home from a day of work to cook and clean. My goal is to take some time in the mornings to get this cleaning done, just because these tasks can so so easily get out of control. The hardest for me is keeping the floors clean, especially with two dogs who’s favorite hobby is rolling in the dirt.
- Make the bed
- Sweep the floors
- Run a load of laundry
- Run the dishwasher
- Put away clothes
My goal with the laundry is put a small load in the washer in the morning, flop to the dryer in the evening, and then fold and put away before bed. Keeping the loads small will help make putting it away a whole lot easier.
Weekly Cleaning
My last version didn’t have any major weekly cleaning tasks, but that’s definitely not working. With two dogs in the house now, the dust-gathering surfaces and windows are getting gross much quicker than they used to.
- Wash towels, washcloths, and bathmats
- Clean the bathroom – toilet, tub, shower, and sink
- Dust all the flat surfaces
- Empty the trash and recycling bin
- Vacuum floors and rugs
- Wipe windows
- Change and wash sheets
- Review the mail and papers from the week – take care of or toss!
- Vacuum furniture – couches and chairs
- Clean kitchen surfaces – counters, oven, sink, and fridge
Monthly Cleaning
This is where I struggle, if I have one day of deep weekly cleaning, when do I fit in the monthly tasks? These deep dives are harder to make time for, but I think the key is going to be spreading it across each weekend instead of one big deep dive day.
- Clean machine washable rugs
- Wash duvet insert and mattress protectors
- Wipe the inside of medicine cabinets
- Wipe baseboards
- Dust shelves and hidden surfaces
- Clear the fridge and freezer
- Wipe switch plates
- Dust ceiling fans
- Wipe doors and trim
- Mop floors
- Cleaning cycle on washing machine and dishwasher
Seasonal Cleaning
Most of the tasks on the I-should-do-that list. A lot of these are difficult or long tasks, but they’re not too bad to only do a few times a year.
- Machine wash pillows
- Vacuum mattress
- Wipe out oven, fridge, and cabinets
- Wipe walls and ceilings
- Clean baseboards and moldings
- Clean faucet filters
- Cycle seasonal clothes and clean out closet
- Donate old clothes
- Clean out expired makeup and skincare
- Wash curtains and blankets
Annual Cleaning
Now these are the PITA tasks, things I hate to deal with. But also all of these are on my shortlist to do before the holiday. At least this way I can check them off for the next year.
- Empty & clean interiors of kitchen cabinets and fridge
- Deep clean oven
- Clean behind appliances
