How to Stay on Top of Chores by Creating Cleaning Routines
Inside: Use these nine tips to stay on top of the chores by creating cleaning routines that work for you and your home.
Having a clean and uncluttered home can increase mental clarity and make you feel less stressed. When your surroundings help you to feel more calm and comfortable, you’re able to relax and more fully enjoy and appreciate your space.
Sometimes, however, keeping a clean house can feel a bit overwhelming if not impossible.
Having simple routines in place can help you stay organized and clean more quickly and efficiently.
Creating cleaning routines helps in a few ways. First, it removes overthinking and decision-making about what needs to be done when. This will save you a lot of time and energy.
Second, it means that you’re more likely to get things done consistently and thoroughly. Chores are always easier when they’re done regularly, since messes don’t have the chance to build up.
Here’s how to stay on top of chores by creating cleaning routines for your home.
9 Tips to Stay on Top of Chores by Creating Cleaning Routines
Use these nine tips to stay on top of chores by creating cleaning routines for your home.
1. Choose when you’ll clean.
First, choose when you’ll go through your cleaning routines. If you work from home it can be helpful to have a few spurts throughout the day to be able to get to everything.
For example, you could have them scheduled after each meal time. You could also have a morning session and an evening session.
Or you might choose certain days of the week to focus on cleaning when you have more time to work on it. Ultimately it is about creating cleaning routines that work for you and your home.
The more people you have in your home to help you out, the fewer sessions you’ll need. Since everyone can work on different areas of the home, you can get more done in one session if everyone’s pitching in.
2. Organize the chores into routines.
Decide what daily cleaning habits need to be done and which can be done less often and organize the chores accordingly.
For example, you might have a routine for the kitchen, one for the living room and one for the bathroom. You will likely have different tasks to be done daily, weekly, and monthly.
Make sure to include things like wiping down surfaces, sweeping and vacuuming floors, and taking out the trash. It’s surprising how much you can get done in 15 minutes if you focus!
Here are a few chores to consider for your cleaning routines, but feel free to adjust the lists to work for you and your home.
Kitchen:
- Wipe down all surfaces
- Sweep and mop the floor
- Load/unload the dishwasher
- Take out the trash
Living room:
- Vacuum the floor
- Dust surfaces and furniture
- Put away any clutter
- Change out any throw pillows or blankets
Bathroom:
- Wipe down all surfaces
- Clean the toilet
- Sweep and mop the floor
- Empty the trash can
- Wipe out the bathtub
Entryway:
- Dust
- Sweep the floor
- Put away any shoes or coats that are lying around
- Hang up any jackets or bags that are on hooks or racks
Bedroom:
- Make the bed
- Vacuum the floors
- Dust surfaces and furniture
- Put away any clothes that are lying around
- Fold and put away any clean laundry
3. Assign routines to each family member.
Everyone can help pitch in to get things done more quickly. Assign simple routines to each family member depending on their age and ability. Assign tasks on a rotating basis so everyone can learn to keep all areas of the home clean.
Keep the chores age appropriate. For example, younger children could help with dusting or sweeping while older children could handle emptying the dishwasher or taking out the trash.
Delegate tasks based on interest and ability. If someone really enjoys cooking, let them be in charge of the kitchen routine. If there’s someone who doesn’t mind cleaning the bathroom while everyone else hates it, let them have that routine.
There are likely to be some cleaning tasks that no one is motivated to do. Make sure to keep it in rotation so no one is always stuck with those jobs.
4. Set a timer and get started.
Once you’ve chosen times and organized your routines, set a timer for 15 minutes. This will help you stay focused and on track.
Now it’s time to start going through the routines. Work quickly and efficiently to get everything done in the allotted time.
To be as efficient as possible, work your way around the room doing each task as you move your way across. The less you have to walk back and forth, the quicker you’ll be.
It also helps to do tasks in the same order every time, since practicing the same flow of chores will also help you work faster.
5. Make it fun!
Find ways to make cleaning feel like less of a chore for everyone involved. Put on some music, have a dance party, or race to see who can finish their tasks first.
You can also listen to audiobooks while you clean and learn something new while getting the chores done.
Using the right cleaning tools can also help to make cleaning more fun and efficient.
6. Keep supplies in a convenient place.
Speaking of cleaning tools, keeping them and cleaning supplies close at hand where they’re needed so that you don’t have to waste time looking for them.
Your bathroom cleaning kit could include a toilet brush, cleaner, rags, and gloves. The kitchen kit could have dish soap, a sponge, and a scrub brush.
Your general cleaning supplies could include things like all-purpose cleaner, paper towels, a mop, and a vacuum.
Keeping the right supplies in each area helps chores go more smoothly, since everyone can simply move ahead with their tasks without waiting for someone else to find what they need.
7. Create daily, weekly, and monthly routines for deeper cleaning.
In addition to your daily routines, you’ll also want to have some weekly and monthly routines for things that don’t need to be done as often.
Your weekly routine might include things like:
- cleaning the oven
- scrubbing the shower
- cleaning windows
- vacuuming furniture
Your monthly routine could include:
- deep cleaning the fridge
- dusting ceiling fans
- scrubbing floors
- cleaning out closets
- washing curtains or blinds
Doing these tasks on a regular basis will help you keep your home clean and clutter-free. Plus, if you break them down into manageable chunks, they won’t seem as daunting.
Choose a weekly deep cleaning day to tackle some of those tasks. You can also designate one of those days for the monthly routine. For example, if Saturday is your deep cleaning day, the second Saturday of each month could be the deeper cleaning day when you tackle the monthly chores.
8. Declutter regularly.
One of the best ways to keep your home clean is to make a habit of decluttering. Schedule some time each week or month to go through your things and get rid of anything that you don’t need or use.
Donate items that are in good condition and throw away anything that’s broken or damaged. The less stuff you have, the easier it will be to keep your home clean! Build decluttering into your daily, weekly, and monthly routines.
9. Enlist help from a professional.
If you’re struggling to keep up with the cleaning, or if you simply don’t have the time, consider enlisting help from a professional. A professional house cleaner can come in and do all or some of the deep cleaning for you so that you can focus on your daily routines.
Hiring help is especially useful if you have a large home, or if you’re dealing with health issues that make cleaning difficult. Sometimes you can even get a deal on services if you book them in advance or sign up for a regular schedule.
Staying on top of your chores doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By breaking things down into manageable routines, you can keep your home clean and tidy with just a little bit of effort each day.
What is your favorite tip for creating cleaning routines for your home? Share it in the comments below!
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The thing I find most important is once a major purge or de-cluttering has taken place,
that is the ideal time for a thorough cleaning, breaking it down room by room. I have
always been partial to the verb: Delegate. I believe everyone living under one roof has
a role and responsibility to keep the household functional and running smoothly. Old
mindsets of thinking the woman does all the housework and more is unreasonable and
outdated thinking. Then making habits to last a lifetime is essential, in order to maintain
and keep things pleasant and organized. Now I find that after doing much de-cluttering,
things out of place stand out like a sore thumb. At first glance, when I see something that
is taking up space, but no longer serves, then I keep a bag handy, and drop it in for the
next trip to a thrift store. Thank you Julianna for an excellent article; one I will save, using
all the vital tips!
l clean one room each day, pretty much accomplishing what Julianna suggests. However, I also start on one project in each room before I quit. For example, I may clean my living room AND start deep cleaning my leather furniture. if I only get one chair done, the following week I get the other chair polished. The 3rd week, I will clean the sofa. This method saves me from doing a deep clean or spring cleaning all at once. I actually get more done cleaning this way!
I am disabled. Opening parcels that arrive is a chore. It takes me often a week to open the box. A day to unpack the box. It is how I manage. I don’t stress about it. I have to PACE myself with everything I do. Even if I do one job a day it gets done. I buy gadgets that make life easy. I have a microfibre pad on a pole. I can clean better and less often. Reaches the front of kitchen cupboards. The microfibre pads clean the dust off the shutters very well and tackles the other dusting then just wash the pads for the next time. I have organized my cupboards so I just reach in and pull out what I need. Everything is handy and to hand. I may clean the leather sofa one chair at a time with breaks in between PACING myself. It works for me. I have to have a vacuum cleaner upstairs. One downstairs, and one in the middle of the hall to tackle each area when it needs it as I use 2 walking canes and hoover with one cane in hand and the vacuum in the other hand. I get my food deliveries each week from 2 sources. I label each can or item of food with expiry dates before being put in the cupboard stacked in order of usage so no one in the house can make a mistake using up food items or opening packets and tins. The freezer also has dated packages. I have to sit down at the kitchen counter and peel veg and food preparation. A gadget chops carrots and courgettes, mushrooms, peppers, leeks, celery etc, and put in the freezer for ease of use. When I make a soup everything is handy. This is how I have to run my home being disabled and in crippling pain.
I’m trying to figure out what will work for me. I live alone in a 950 square foot apartment newly decluttered, deep spring cleaned, and redecorated. The daily chores are self evident. In the kitchen, for example:
Run the dishwasher
Wipe down kitchen cabinets and surfaces
Shine the sink
Spray and mop the floor
That said, how often do I clean the oven or scrub and disinfect the refrigerator? When do I straighten pantry items? These things I rarely give thought to until something in the bottom of the oven burns or I make a messy spill in the fridge or I buy too many pantry items.
What about the bathroom? When do I go from cleaning tub and tile to scrubbing grout? And by the way, should I buy products especially designed to clean bathroom surfaces or will something eco-friendly like “Simple Green” do the trick for basin, toilet, and tub? And is a toothbrush the only way to get at grout?
Bedroom? How often do I wash the duvet cover? And by the way, how often do people declutter their closets? Seasonally perhaps?
Carpets? Is vacuuming once a week enough? How often should carpets get shampooed? My 16 month old twin godsons abhor socks. They absolutely refuse. Therefore, clean carpet is not negotiable.
These are the things that popped into my head tonight as my carpet is still damp from its little bath, the wrinkly French linen duvet cover is new, and the plant leaves have been cleaned and shine.
Advice please. For 7 years I outsourced cleaning. Now that I’ve started doing it myself, pride in my home has skyrocketed. There’s something to be said for knowing where the spiders mate.