My Weekly Cleaning Schedule

I don't know how some people do it.  Their homes are beautifully clean all of the time.  Even people with kids (which I don't have!) have absolutely spotless homes and still have time for their day to day lives.  Sometimes, I felt like if I were to have my home be that clean, I wouldn't have time to do anything else in my day.  Then, I realized it wasn't about everything all the time, it's about doing a little every day.

After reading up on home management while trying to find a system that works for my little family, I discovered the genius idea of having a weekly cleaning schedule.  I tried a couple different methods at first, finding free printable schedules from various blogs, but they just weren't working for me.  Often times, the schedule accounted for kids (again, not something that I need) and a much larger home than our small apartment.  So, back to the drawing board I went.  I came up with my very own schedule, tailored to fit my needs, but general enough so that anyone could use the system.

Some of my homemade all-natural cleaners that I use

My cleaning schedule is based on a simple rule: do a little bit every day.  Each day has its own room to be tackled, a load of laundry to be done, and there is a small list of daily tasks.  I've found that if I stick by this schedule, cleaning takes almost no time at all out of my day - maybe an hour at the most.  The beauty of this system is that, if it is truly followed, keeping up with housework is incredibly easy.

Here's how I break down my week in cleaning:

• Monday - Kitchen - Laundry: clothes
• Tuesday - Bathroom - Laundry: Towels
• Wednesday - Living Room - Laundry: Clothes
• Thursday - Bedroom(s) - Laundry: Bedding

One of my favorite parts of my schedule is the laundry.  I am not at all a fan of doing laundry (especially when I don't have a washer/dryer in my apartment and have to walk all the way to a different building to get it done).  But, in keeping with my "a little bit every day" mantra, doing one or two (never more) loads four days a week keeps dirty laundry at bay and makes it easier to lug the laundry across the parking lot!  If there needs to be more laundry done, I'll do it on the weekend when there is less "other" housework to be done, but that doesn't happen often.

As I said before, our home is small so my list is not long and I have the three day weekend to relax and spend time with my husband and friends.  Of course, daily chores are still completed on the weekend, but there is no "intensive" cleaning during the weekend (which my husband appreciates more than I do, I think).  It's nice to have a clean home on the weekends when you want to have friends or family over - there's no frantic 10-minutes-before-they-get-here cleaning.

My daily chores are very simple and take almost no time from my day: spot sweep/vacuum, wash dishes, make the bed, and tidy up (which is really just decluttering anything that has been left sitting out and not put where it belongs).  If you keep up on your weekly cleaning chores, the daily tasks are a breeze.

My cleaning schedule printable in my home management binder

My cleaning schedule, as well as my all-natural cleaning product recipes, are part of my home management binder which I plan on sharing with you all very soon!  Do you have a cleaning schedule or do you just clean as you go?  What kind of cleaning "system" do you use?

xo,
C