My cleaning schedule

Cleaning. UGH! No one really enjoys cleaning…or do they?

I consider myself a clean freak. You can even say I have borderline OCD. I think it may have been passed down from all of the women in my family. I grew up watching them always taking care of their homes and being proud of it.

It gave them a sense of accomplishment if you will.

But I know the stigma around women who cook and clean is often negative. We are looked at as old fashioned and without ambition. But I disagree. I worked full time until  my daughter was two and a half. She was in day care while I managed my career and home. But I was laid off and took that opportunity to expanded my family. So just because I am a stay at home mom now, does not mean I am no longer driven! I have ideas, I have plans, and I am constantly reinventing myself. All while being a housewife and a mom. I choose and can do it all.

Most of the households in my neighborhood seem to have a cleaning service. I do not. I do not think they are any less of a mom, dad, wife or husband if they do have a cleaning service. It is their prerogative. If they can afford it or they really dislike cleaning then it is a nice option to have. For me, I do not mind cleaning, for now. Ironing, that is a whole different story, but cleaning can be therapeutic. Don’t get me wrong, I rather resort to retail therapy versus cleaning therapy but it gives me a similar type of high. Weird, I know 😉

I have somewhat of a cleaning schedule. I have it memorized so it is not necessarily written in stone anywhere, until now. It is part of my weekly routine. But if I don’t do it, it’s  not a big deal. However, I do try my best to stay on task. Like the ladies it my family, I have adopted the feeling of accomplishment when the house is in order.

I am sharing my schedule with my followers and maybe someone else has something to add or use it as inspiration. After all, we all tend to learn from each other.

Everyday – Beds–> every morning before we go downstairs, we make all of the beds. However, if someone is still sleeping then their bed gets made after breakfast.

Toys – if you are done with it, put it away. That is the rule in my house. However, that rule doesn’t always resonate with my little people on daily basis. In that case, we make sure that all of the toys are put away before bed time. We all partake in this activity and it makes for a quick cleanup!

Monday – main cleaning day. This is the day that the weekend “stuff” gets put away. The day I clean my floors, dust and vacuum every room, and clean the bathrooms.

By vacuum every room, I mean just the upstairs and the stairs. We have a Shark IQ Robot Vacuum which is scheduled for cleaning every other day. So that saves me a ton of time when cleaning my first floor.

Tuesday – put away laundry [see Friday] and any extra dishes that have been piling on the counters and/ or the dishwasher. I involve both of my kids in folding and hanging/ putting away their own clothes. They actually like to help.

Wednesday and Thursday – touch up days. Kitchen cabinets, stove, and baseboards get a quick wipe/ dust down. Kids help pick up all of the trash because Thursday is garbage day. If the floors gets super sticky or the carpets need a refresher, I do it. If it does not, then we enjoy the days off.

Friday – laundry day. This is the only day that I will wash everything. I am also that mom that just piles it up in the baskets and leaves in the my closet until “put away day” [see Tuesday]. Bed sheets – I change those every or every other Friday morning before I make the beds.

Weekends – we are too busy to do any cleaning on the weekends. But if the yard needs to be cleaned up, if decorations need to be put up or taken down, filters changed, garage swept… I use my husband for all of that. 😉 His job is also to vacuum the upstairs on Sundays if I know I will have a busy Monday and won’t have time to do it.

If you spread it out and put things away as you see them, then cleaning does not get out of control. But as soon as you miss a couple of days or weeks, then it can be hard to catch up. But it is not impossible. So even if you have to use a cleaning service to get you started, you can start your own schedule and it wont seem so much of a chore.

I also do not spend the whole day cleaning. I give myself an hour in the morning to focus on that day and that is it. Sometimes it takes longer depending on what I am doing but definitely not all day. I have too many things to do with kids, activities, crafts, parties and such to spend my day immersed in cleaning products. No thanks!

TIP: Do not forget to use your kids and spouse. They live there too and should help. 👌

What does your cleaning schedule look like? Share please!

Also, check out how I get rid of Soap Scum. My worst enemy!

x, Dijana