A good cleaning schedule will help you keep things manageable by cleaning a bit on a regular basis instead of letting things get out of hand. This free printable cleaning checklist will keep your home clean with minimum effort.Â
We offer many more free chore chart printables on this site.
Keeping your home clean is one of the most frustrating tasks, particularly if you have young kids. It seems like everything gets dirty in less time than it takes to clean it.
You get those people who clean everything every few days. I’m not quite sure how they do it, but they do prioritize cleaning more than I want to. Of course, I want a clean home, but I don’t want to devote my life to it. If you want a clean home but don’t want to do more than you have to, then you will find this printable cleaning schedule template handy. It lists all the tasks you need to do to maintain a clean home without doing more than you need to. When it comes to cleaning, that is my goal – a clean home with minimum effort!
Weekly Cleaning Checklist
This weekly cleaning schedule divides all chores into seven days so you clean a bit every day instead of a lot on any one day. A house cleaning schedule rotates chores so that everything is clean over a week but not all at once. It’s perfect when you don’t have time to spend a whole day cleaning or don’t want to waste a full day. Each day, check what needs to be done that day and get it done. There is also a daily cleaning schedule in the bottom right corner with daily chores.
This is a house cleaning schedule. It includes a yard and garage.
This printable home cleaning schedule does not include a yard and garage. Instead, the chores in the kitchen and bathroom are divided into two days instead of one.
Deep Cleaning Checklist
This checklist for cleaning the house includes the areas you clean once, twice, or four times a year as well as those you clean on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. You can also use it as a spring cleaning checklist to include those items you clean annually.
If you want to make changes to this cleaning routine, then choose the Word cleaning schedule template and move chores around, add, or delete. Make the cleaning calendar work for you and your family.
To create a daily cleaning checklist, you can laminate the schedule and mark each chore once complete. At the end of the week, you can wipe down the laminated weekly cleaning schedule and start fresh the next week.
Tips for Keeping Your Home Clean
Here are some tips that will help you clean your home as quickly as possible and keep it clean with minimum effort.
- Print a copy of the cleaning list template and put it somewhere where you will see it every day. When you complete a task mark it off. This will keep you accountable and it is so satisfying 🙂 Make an extra copy to keep in your planner in case it gets lost or come back and print another copy when you need one.
- Stick to the daily house cleaning schedule so you divide chores over the entire week. This way you will never find yourself overwhelmed on any specific day. If there is a day when you have more free time, then rearrange the schedule so you do more chores on that day. It is easy to get everything done when you are organized and do a bit every day.
- Make your bed every morning. It takes only 1 minute and sets the tone for the rest of your day. If you have too many cushions, then get rid of them. If it takes too long to make your bed, then get rid of extra bedding and put it back on when you retire or have more time on your hands.
- Utilize waiting time. If you put something in the microwave for 2 minutes and you are waiting for it, use that time well. Do you know how much you can get done in 2 minutes when you speed clean? Waiting for a pot to boil? Use that time to clean the kitchen. While brushing your teeth, you can wipe the sink with your other hand. You will be surprised how much you can get done during these short time slots.
- Spend 10 to 20 minutes a day cleaning. I like to spend about 10 minutes each day cleaning instead of a few hours each week. You get more done when you spend 10 minutes six times a week than you do in one hour. Of course, you don’t get to that stage when your entire house is clean at one time, which only comes when you spend hours cleaning on the same day. However, cleaning is so much easier and doesn’t take up a huge chunk of any day. Who wants to spend half a day cleaning their home?
- Find a solution for the washing. Try to do one load of washing a day, if you have one so you don’t find yourself with a huge pile of washing which is simply overwhelming. The time-consuming part is usually the folding and not the washing. There are many possible solutions to save time. Fold washing when you watch TV or make a house rule that whoever sits down to watch TV must fold laundry while watching. You will not only get your washing folded but you will notice how screen time is reduced drastically. You can also divide the laundry up and ask each child to fold their own clothes as part of their daily chores. Another option is to get your child to fold the washing as a paid chore. This will free a lot of your time and make cleaning your home much easier. Your clothes might not look like they do when home organizers fold them on TV. You have to let go. Focus on the important stuff. If having each closet perfectly organized is something you feel is important, then skip this step and either fold everything yourself or have someone come in to help if you can afford it.
- Invest in a robot vacuum cleaner. To me, this is one item I cannot live without. My robot vacuums my floors every day. When I clean the floors, it is so much easier when there is no dust or hair on the floor. If you have your robot vacuum every day and you wipe spills as they happen, you can wipe the floor down once a week it will look clean all week with hardly any effort at all!
- Put dishes straight into the dishwasher and not in the sink unless they have food on them. If they do, discard the food and rinse them. Don’t clean your dishes for your dishwasher. I never clean dishes before I load them into the dishwasher and they rarely come out dirty. On the rare occasion that they do, I usually soak them in soapy water and wash them by hand or return them to the dishwasher for the second time. Trust me, it works!
- Clean the inside of your microwave: Fill a microwave-safe bowl with 1 cup of water and a few tablespoons of vinegar. Heat on high power for a few minutes. Let it cool for a few minutes and then open the door. Remove the bowl and wipe the inside of the microwave. It is magic!
- Make sure that there is a storage space for everything in your home. Everyone has an area that seems to look like a war zone most of the time. Try to find a solution for the things that land up there. If it is a pile of shoes by the front door, then invest in a storage solution for shoes. If you have a table that is always full of junk, then try adding some pretty storage bins on or under the table, or get a table with drawers. There are many creative storage solutions online. To be organized, everything needs to have its own place.
- Try to clean up after yourself and get other family members to do the same. If you spill something, clean it there and then. If you take off your shoes, put them in their place. Put everything in its place and your home will be tidy. Your kids will do this too if you set a good example. This comes naturally for many people. For me, it doesn’t but I make a conscious effort to do it even if my instinct is to “do it later”. It makes a huge difference.
- Your home is used by all family members and they all contribute to the mess and dirt. Cleaning your home should be everyone’s responsibility. Teaching your kids to do chores and help clean your home has many benefits for them as well (see the benefits of chores for kids).
- Get your children to do age-appropriate chores (chore charts for kids).
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