Keeping a clean home is easier said than done. There is no denying the fact that living in a clean house feels good. The good feeling of a clean home is a part of our human nature. This has passed down through generations from ancient civilizations. Busier schedules, larger living spaces, and more appliances all have made cleaning more difficult. Our goal is to provide you with a realistic daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning schedule for home.
We will provide you with a daily, weekly, and monthly, cleaning checklist by room. Keep in mind everyone’s home is unique and varies in size so some items may not make sense for your home. Our cleaning schedule includes two sections: “realistic” and “sometimes”. The realistic section will include everything needed for a clean house. The “sometimes” section includes things you don’t need to do every time but rather sometimes.
Table of Contents
Making Time For Cleaning
Hopefully someone out there needs to hear this: no one likes cleaning. Cleaning probably is more annoying for some people than others. The reality is, cleaning is something that needs to be done and can get easier over time. Cleaning is a habit that once formed, will become part of your routine. It also consists of easy repeatable tasks that can allow your brain to “zone out” and focus your thoughts. Our personal favorite part about cleaning? (maybe it’s the only good part) it is a perfect time to listen to a podcast, audiobook, or even watch Netflix.
Making time for cleaning is a challenge that most people face. If you can implement and follow a cleaning schedule for your home, it actually will add time to your life. Our cleaning schedule requires the following amount of time:
- Daily cleaning session – less than 10 minutes
- Weekly cleaning session – less than 30 minutes
- Monthly cleaning session – 30 minutes – 1 hour
(These times may be adjusted based on the size of your home)
Printable Cleaning Checklist
Daily Cleaning Checklist By Room
The top objective of your daily cleaning tasks are to emphasize and maintain the deeper cleaning that you do during your weekly and monthly cleaning sessions. It should not be anything more than maintenance and damage control of large messes. As a good rule of thumb, for a 3-5 bedroom house, you shouldn’t be spending more than 10 minutes cleaning (if it’s a day without any major messes or spills)
Bathroom
The daily cleaning of your bathroom should be minimal. The easiest time that we’ve found to clean the bathroom is at night when you’re brushing your teeth. Just a quick tidy is really all you need on a daily basis.
Realistic
- Tidy vanity (put stuff away)
- Flush toilet
- Wipe any major mess
Sometimes
- Wipe toilet
- Wipe sink
- Change/wash towels
Kitchen
The kitchen is where you will spend most of your daily cleaning time. It is the room where the mess level is the most, let’s say, volatile. Your kitchen is one of the hardest rooms to stay on top of. This cleaning (depending on the mess level of course) should only take between 5 and 10 minutes.
Realistic
- Put away all food
- Clean all dishes (at least get them in the sink)
- Sweep, Mop, or wipe any spills
Sometimes
- Wipe countertops with disinfectant
- Get all dishes done
- Clean cooking surfaces (stovetop or microwave)
Bedroom
The bedroom can be an uphill battle to keep tidy. Clothes are the hardest thing for most people to keep clean and organized. It’s important to practice the “one touch” rule whenever possible. This means that you should never need to touch something twice to put it away. For example, if you leave clothes on the ground, you will have to touch them again to pick them up and put them away. If you commit to cleaning daily this should take no more than 2 minutes.
Realistic
- Put away all clothes
- Make your bed
Sometimes
- Declutter
- Fold and put away laundry
Living Areas
You will need to be creative to adapt the cleaning list to your living areas. Every home has a different layout with different furniture. Everyone uses their living spaces differently. If you have kids for example, cleaning toys every day might be a priority. If you have a home office you can adapt this list to meet your needs.
Realistic
- Tidy surfaces (tables, desks, etc)
- Take everything off the floor that isn’t supposed to be there
Sometimes
- Vacuum or sweep
Weekly Cleaning Checklist By Room
If you’re able to clean for 5 minutes a few days a week then your weekly cleaning tasks will be much easier. The purpose of your weekly cleaning is to get a deeper clean and reset your home for another week. The best practice we have found is to do your weekly cleaning on the same day every week. For example, we like to do our weekly cleaning on Tuesday evenings. We get food to go so we don’t have to spend time cooking (also as a reward for cleaning) and dedicate the saved time to cleaning.
Your weekly cleaning should only take about a half hour. This is taking into account everyone living in the home is helping. More people in the home = more to clean. More people that help clean = less time cleaning per person. Get your kids involved! This is an invaluable habit that can help them the rest of their lives.
Bathroom
The time you spend on your weekly bathroom cleaning will be determined by how much time you spend cleaning during the week. This cleaning session should only take you 5-10 minutes. One thing that helps speed up your cleaning: make sure to have all your cleaning supplies with you so you don’t have to walk back and forth to get different products.
Realistic
- Clean Toilet
- Scrub Tub/Shower
- Wipe Counter/Sink
- Mop
- Wash bath mat
Sometimes
- Clean Mirror
- Empty trash
- Dust top to bottom
Kitchen
The kitchen will be a quick stop during your weekly clean. It should take you about 5 minutes to clean everything and then a few minutes to do your dishes (depending on how many there are). Try to put away as many dishes as you can!
Realistic
- Clean Stovetop
- Clean all dishes
- Scrub Counters & Sink
- Wipe appliances
Sometimes
- Organize Cupboards/Pantry
- Throw Away Expired Food
- Dust top to bottom
Bedroom
A weekly cleaning of your bedroom may seem insignificant, but can make a big difference in your day-to-day life. Having a clean bedroom when you wake up is a great way to start your day. No matter what happens during the day, good or bad, coming home to a clean room brings peace into your daily routines. This shouldn’t take too long, but if you spend 5-10 minutes of real cleaning and organization every week it will go a long way.
Realistic
- Vacuum or sweep
- Put all clothes away
- Declutter
Sometimes
- Dust top to bottom
- Wash sheets
Living Areas
Your weekly cleaning schedule for living areas is going to be determined by the size and layout of your house. The biggest thing to keep in mind with living areas is that the goal is to organize and tidy. Clutter builds up in living areas faster than anywhere else in your house. Staying on top of them with a weekly reset can save you hours of future cleaning.
Realistic
- Disinfect/Wipe high-touch items
- Put things away
Sometimes
- Sweep or Vacuum
- Mop
- Dust top to bottom
Monthly Cleaning Checklist By Room
Once a month on a day that you do your weekly cleaning tasks, plan to spend an extra 20 minutes or so going the extra mile for a deep clean. We like to do this on the first Tuesday of every month just because it is easy to remember. As with any cleaning the goal is to limit future cleaning so that you never have to spend more than an hour at one time cleaning. Use this monthly cleaning as a chance to reset your entire home. This reset will trigger an increase in motivation and a desire to maintain cleanliness around your home. Use this motivation and desire to form a long lasting habit of keeping your house clean.
We like to plan the first monthly clean of each quarter as a reminder to do important maintenance around the house. Things such as checking smoke detectors, swapping the air filter, and washing the walls. We also like to use this time for any exterior cleaning or yard work that needs to be done around our home. This keeps us on a good schedule to make sure that we don’t miss anything important.
Bathroom
During your deep monthly clean you should try to clean the small things that get missed during other cleaning sessions. It might seem crazy and excessive but scrubbing fixtures and faucets can save you a lot of money over time. Making sure that things stay clean is one of the best ways to ensure that everything will last a long time.
Realistic
- Wash shower curtain
- Clean light fixtures
- Deep clean shower head/fixtures
Sometimes
- Organize drawers/cupboards
Kitchen
Like the bathroom, use this time to really think outside the box. Try to think of things and places that hardly get touched. As mentioned above, the kitchen gets the most messes. Cleaning any residue or small areas is the most important part of your monthly cleaning to make sure that you get that full “reset” on your home.
Realistic
- Clean inside of microwave
- Wipe inside of fridge
- Clean coffee maker
- Deep clean sink faucet
Sometimes
- Clean inside of oven
- Clean top of appliances (range hood, fridge, etc)
- Clean dishwasher & garbage disposal
- Wipe off inside cupboards and drawers
Bedroom
Your bedroom won’t require much of a deep clean on a monthly basis. Try using the time set aside for your monthly cleaning to organize and declutter your things. We like to use this as an opportunity to see which things in our closets and drawers we haven’t touched during the month. This can be a good test to see what can be donated or thrown out. Creating space and purging your things is a liberating feeling.
Realistic
- Dust from top to bottom
- Sweep & Vacuum
- Clean blinds or curtains
Sometimes
- Organize closet, dresser, or nightstand
- Clean & rotate mattress
Living Spaces
During your monthly clean, it’s a perfect time to really clean your living spaces. A lot of what you do during the month is merely maintenance and tidying. This is your chance to actually clean furniture and the space as a whole. Don’t forget to try and get under and behind furniture where possible!
Realistic
- Dust ceiling fans
- Vacuum sofa
- Wash throw blankets or pillows
Sometimes
- Wash baseboards
- Steam clean rugs
10 Cleaning Tasks Most People Forget
Don’t you hate the feeling that you are missing something? We can’t stand feeling like that. This list includes things you might forget to clean that could come back to haunt you.
- Light Switches (and other high touch items)
We touch our light switches everyday without fail. Try wiping one off with a clean rag and you’ll see just how dirty they are. Don’t forget to also clean your garage door opener!
- Door Tracks (window tracks too)
If you have a sliding door you’ll know just how dirty these can get. It is one of the most difficult places to clean. It will take a few passes with a rag or q-tips to make sure you get all the dirt out!
- Behind Appliances (kitchen and laundry)
This may take some heavy lifting, but cleaning behind and under appliances is so satisfying. Getting under the oven, fridge, and laundry machines is a gold mine of dirt build-up.
- Tops of Doors (and door frames)
This is a part of your house that you may not actually ever see but spreads dust throughout your house. Give the top of doors a wipe and then wipe off the rest of your door frame while you’re at it. You’ll be surprised how many fingerprints are on door frames!
- The Trash Can Itself
Even if you use a liner in your trash can it still probably gets some build-up over time. Wash out all trash cans from every room in your house and you’ll see just how bad they can get!
- Windowsills (and window frame)
Windows let light into your house and sadly, sometimes other dirt and dust. It is easiest to do this when you’re cleaning the windows themselves.
- Picture Frames (and other decorations)
Picture frames and other decorations make our house look nice and feel comfortable. Their job is to sit in place and look nice. This make it easy to gather dust and other dirt! Wiping down these objects will make them look even more beautiful.
- Closet Floors (including the pantry)
Take everything out of your closet or pantry floor and you’ll be surprised at how much there is to clean. Keeping these high traffic areas clean can make your floor and carpet last much longer (especially where you keep shoes)
- Air Filters, Grates, and Returns
These vents are a paradise for dust and dirt. Cleaning these off makes the air you breathe better and can also help keep the rest of your home dust free!
- Ledges, Mouldings, and Baseboards (oh my!)
Make sure you wipe off these dusty areas. This will also help keep the rest of your house cleaner! Banisters could also be added to this list.
Bonus: Washing Machine/Dishwasher Filters
We always forget about these things. Make sure that you clean these out regularly and it will make a huge difference for your clothes and dishes. Not to mention it will help your dishwasher and washing machine last much longer.
Other Resources
Let’s be honest, cleaning isn’t anyone’s favorite thing to do. We are trying to give you ideas and resources to make cleaning a little easier and more bearable. Check out some of our other articles below:
How to Disinfect the Carpet (Carpet Cleaning Advice)
Eco-Friendly Ways to Keep a Cleaner Bathroom
Eco Cleaning Hacks: How to Make Eco Friendly Cleaning Products