It's almost the end of May, and the end of Green Cleaning Month. Now that you've invested time and energy into deep cleaning your house, set a schedule for keeping it clean. Regular maintenance will cut down on the "ugh" factor. After all, one-hour cleaning increments are much easier to deal with than five-hour cleaning marathons. Jump below for some of our schedule guidelines:
This is taken straight from Maxwell's Eight-Step Home Cure:
Daily Schedule:
- Make Bed.
- Wash dishes.
- Put clothes away.
- Sort mail.
- Clear answering machine.
- Clean all kitchen surfaces
- Take out full garbage.
Weekly Schedule:
- Clear all surfaces (put odds and ends away).
- Wash clothing, take in dry cleaning.
- Take out recycling.
- Change sheets.
- Water plants.
- Clean bathroom and kitchen.
- Quick-vacuum all floors.
Monthly Schedule:
- Vacuum, sweep, or mop all floors.
- Flip mattresses.
- Clear out refrigerator.
Every Three Months:
- Wash windows.
- Declutter refrigerator, front door, bulletin board, etc.
Every Six Months:
- Spring cleaning (April or May)
- Fall Cleaning (October)
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Hello, anyone have a comment?
I like this list, very simplified. I've been learning that lists for everything work very well for me these days. I often end up with a stack of mail on the counter and get behind rather quickly!
This is a perfect summary. It should be made into a magnet and put on the refridgerators of rental suites.
Printing this to see if I can keep on top of it!
I think this list is good, for a starting place - I can only see it really working for a single person with no pets. (maybe 1 pet, if shedding isn't too bad). And it doesn't even mention dusting, which I have to every day.
I have to wash a load of clothes on a near daily basis. We don't have air conditioning, so our house is always open - it leads to more dust inside, which means more cleaning. And with two young sons, bathrooms and kitchens need cleaning more often. I can't imagine what my floors would look like if I only vacuumed/mopped once a month!
But like I said, the above list is a very good starting point - just build on it to fit your own situation.
Yeah, I wish I could vacuum or mop once a month! I sweep our kitchen twice a day, mop once a week (but really it needs it twice a week), and vacuum twice a week. I do have a small dog and two small children, so of course that meas more dirt on the floors.
I agree that vacuuming needs to be done more often, especially with two cats and a border collie. I try to vaccuum once a week. Our hard surface floors don't get mopped often, though; just swept.
Who changes their sheets every week? That's really not necessary, in my opinion. Ours get changed every 2-3 weeks, which seems to be good enough.
2 cats and no kids = sweep 2x every day, mop 1x week, dust 1x week (but needs it 2 or 3x). I also cook a lot, so I clean/declutter my fridge and cabinets about twice a month, if not more. And by clean I mean take everything out, wipe everything down, and replace/reorganize. Also goes for the one drawer I have in my kitchen.
I only vacuum once a week but lately our puppy has started shedding his puppy coat and getting his adult fur so it's become a daily thing... I hope it's realistic to go back to the once a week all over the house and maybe a room or two a night schedule.
I also admit I only change the sheets every two weeks or so - but change pillows more often.
I would also have to add wash the curtains on the every few months because we have drapes and sheers - which can collect a lot of dust.
I have a cleaner that comes once every 2 weeks, I still have to steam clean my kitchen and main floors every 2-3 days. children (esp boys) need to come with goverment cleaning warnings on them!
I tried a cleaning schedule and I did it for just over a month and couldn't keep it up, life and kids got in the way.
Oh I dream of a completely clean, organized and decluttered home.
I follow FlyLady with her control journal and emails with daily tasks. It helps keeps me on track and assists with keeping the house clean. Having my control journal follows all the necessary things to keep my house presentable for friends and family. It's great to have my shiny sink with a shiny house in the end.
I have two cats and hardwood floors and tile and I have to vacuum the floor everyday. It takes 20 minutes to do five rooms. I don't have any area rugs so it is very fast. I also clean the kitchen counters, stove top and table everyday sometimes twice a day. I also spray the bathroom counter everyday. I don't let anyone keep anything on the counters in the bathroom everything goes in a cabinet or drawer. I empty the clumps from the litter box everyday. Roommates empty the garbage and recycling though not without my reminding them so it seems like its my job too. I do at least two loads of laundry everyday sometimes more. I mop the kitchen and bathroom floor once a week. We all take showers so I wash the tub every few months when it gets dull looking. The hardwood floors are mopped every few months. The window glass is washed and the house dusted whenever I noticed that they are dirty or dusty, months can go by before I notice. We have a Goodwill bag in the closet where we put things in good condition that we don't want anymore. I bring it to Goodwill whenever it is filled. The only clutter that builds up is on my bedroom desk I tackle it once a month.