A Brilliant Busy Mom Cleaning Routine
Busy moms everywhere need to know my clean house hacks and how I keep a weekly cleaning schedule that’s pretty simple for anyone to follow. While not every mom will love this schedule, I am hoping that my routine can help at least one momma out there!
I do like my home to be clean but when things start to pile up, my anxiety kicks in and nothing gets done at all.
That’s basically analysis paralysis. When things get out of hand like this, I recruit my husband to help in the evening after a long day of work. It’s only fair, I BOTH work hard, one just works outside the home.
I tried every cleaning schedule I could find and printed out binders full of routines and motivational quotes to help me get my butt into cleaning gear and that kind of overwhelmed me even more. That’s when I had the idea to create a new schedule. One that worked for ME.
And once I was a to come up with a solution that was tailored to me and my life, things became more simple. I can now keep up with my housework, my kids, and my work-at-home routines.
This article isn’t just about the perfect daily cleaning routine, it’s about making a routine that works for you, however, you need to make it work to clean your messy house.
I don’t have time to check 25 different detailed tasks off lists each and every day, and to check that all my deep cleaning weekly tasks are all finished either. A good deep clean of the house is terribly difficult to do on a monthly basis too because I simply do not have a lot of time!
I really do need to and want to keep the house clean and tidy, but the dirty floors and the dirty baseboards sure do creep up and make the entire house seems dirtier than I like to keep it.
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My Cleaning Routine (As a work from home mom)
I work from home for 8 hours a day. I also have 3 children, one who is in school full time, one part-time, and one who is just a little toddler who runs around and makes a giant mess everywhere she turns. I call her my little tornado. This is honestly the most realistic cleaning schedule I’ve been able to keep on any day of the week.
I like to use my all-purpose cleaner for most surfaces and then the pink stuff for really tough messes.
Daily
Morning
These are tasks I like to do first thing in the morning (I’m not really a morning person at all), and they make a huge difference in how productive my entire day goes. If I have the time and energy I like to do my monthly cleaning tasks, but only if I can manage it.
- Make bed
- Wash up breakfast dishes
- Straighten Up Living Room
- Clean Bathroom
- Complete A Load Of Laundry (Folded Too)
- Wash The Floors
- + Bonus if time/energy complete one monthly task.
Evening
- Dinner Dishes Washed Up
- Kitchen floors swept
- Coffee Pot Clean And Ready For Morning
- Pick up Toys And Tidy Up Living Room (Recruit the kids to help with this if you can)
- Wipe Down Bathroom Counter After Getting Ready For Bed
Weekly
My weekend is pretty much spent having fun with the family, I don’t worry about cleaning at all, but I do make sure these tasks are completed before I go enjoy my young children.
- Landry should be all caught up but catch up if you need to.
- Wipe down bathrooms (mirror included)
- Vacuum / SIep floors ( I do it all at once with my handy dandy Crosswave) Read my Crosswave review here!
- Disinfect doorknobs and light switches and remote controls.
- Spray disinfecting spray on toys
- Dust as needed
Monthly
I try to complete one task every couple of days so this doesn’t end up getting completed on the last day of the month. If this list is simply too much stuff, take out the things that aren’t important for you and tailor it to my life!
- Wash curtains
- Wash bedding
- Disinfect Toys (Especially Bathtub Toys)
- Organize something that is out of control – hallway closet, Tupperware cabinet etc.
- Scrub grease off kitchen cabinets
- Wash walls
- Scrub Bathtub / Clean Shower
Benefits Of A Clean Home
Living among the mess, dirt and grime can literally make you want to hide. A common thing that people do is ignore the mess and move on to an activity that is more desirable. That’s why I like to do small tasks to keep the house clean whenever I have time blocks that allow it.
A Clean Home Is A Healthy Home
A messy, dirty home can spread dangerous bacteria and make my other family members sick. Dust particles can aggravate asthma symptoms and make it harder to breathe. Fresh air is so important.
It is also a good idea to use safe non-toxic cleaning agents around my whole home. I tend to make my own when it comes to cleaning supplies.
Feelings Of Happiness
An added benefit to having a clean home all the time is it makes you happy.
Do you feel happy in a cluttered home?
I find when my home is clean, my mind is calm and I can focus on more important things like keeping my kids occupied with fun activities or baking something I’ve never tried before.
Visitor Ready
You’re always ready for company! Imagine my parents stopping by to say hello without calling you first and it was a big deal because my home is ready for a visit at all times.
my children can feel comfortable bringing friends home after school if the home is clean and tidy, a luxury I did not have when I was growing up because my house was always a disaster.
Simple household chores can help you keep the mess at bay, even if it’s not as tidy as you’d like, at least it’s not dirty.
Impact On The Environment
Did you know that when you keep a clean home, you can also help support the environment?
I find that when my clutter gets out of hand, I tend to toss everything and anything into the trash. I don’t think about it, I just toss.
When I have some tidying to do and not a mass clean-up, I have time to think about the full landfills and how sad that makes me.
When I come across items that I can donate, or give to a friend, I choose to do so when considering throwing something in the trash. My green cleaning products are also something I recycle rather than trash as you would with harsh chemicals such as bleach.
A clean home also makes it so much easier to do the big cleans in the spring and fall!
There are so many benefits of keeping a clean and tidy home, a my daily and weekly cleaning routine is second nature to me, it doesn’t even feel like a chore!
How To Create A Cleaning Schedule (That Works For You)
If you are so overwhelmed that you think you might need to ask for help, and that’s ok!
If my home does get into an overwhelming state of disorder such as dealing with a crisis in the family and depression takes over or you simply have a newborn, you can ask for help if you need it.
Concider Decluttering
Decluttering does take time and a lot of effort, and it’s not for everyone. I sometimes binge watch shows like the “Home Edit” and get inspired to declutter and organize, and sometimes that kind of stuff overwhelms me, especially when I have trouble staying on top of cleaning.
Here is the process of creating a simple cleaning schedule that works for you.
Prioritize
The first thing you’ll want to do when making an easy cleaning schedule is figure out what is important to you. Is it important that my living room is clutter-free, the bathrooms are clean or the laundry be done daily?
Every household will be different since I all have different homes, different family dynamics, and different habits.
For me, my biggest priority is keeping the kitchen clean and tidy. I do not own a dishwasher so I have to work extra hard to make sure those dishes don’t pile up, even though sometimes they still do.Another priority of mine on the daily cleaning schedule is to keep the living room presentable at all times. I personally like sitting on the couch and not having to look at garbage and mess around me.
When my kids are in bed, I do make it a priority to straighten out the living room just so I can relax.
I do also try to do a load of laundry daily, but that doesn’t always happen. The key thing is to try and stay on top of the washing as much as possible.
In order for you to create a schedule that works best for my family life, you’ll want to figure out what my cleaning priorities are.
Clear Clutter
Clutter is a huge distraction when it comes to cleaning the house and it can get in the way of a good house cleaning schedule.
Sometimes it seems so out of control, I wonder where the heck all those papers on the kitchen table even came from and why are there 6 bowls on the coffee table?
When I can keep the clutter under control, the whole house just feels cleaner.
I find going through my home daily and clearing strange clutter away, helps me mentally with anxiety and motivates me to keep the house clean.
I was looking at photos of my firstborn the other day, and as cute, as my little man was at 2 months old, the house behind the cuteness really made me upset. I know that in that season of life, keeping a clean house isn’t as top priority.
Babies keep moms busy, and it’s OK to let the clutter pile up at the point, but if you can and have the energy, try to keep that extra mess put away.
I’ve also started to throw things out more often.
I used to think that maybe I’ll need this random screw one day, and no I’ll toss it out. This helps keep the junk drawer/cubby at bay too.
Make List
Now that you have my priorities straight, it’s time to create that cleaning list.
At the end of the day, this is just a list, not a schedule, so what you’re going to do is write down all the things you want to do on a daily, likely, and monthly basis.
The first three items on my list should be “needs to complete.” I only ever have 3 things that I need to complete on a daily basis because life gets busy and I don’t want to make myself upset by putting too much on my homemaking plate.
Here are some example lists.
Daily
- Make Beds
- Wash Dishes
- Wipe Down Bathrooms
- Vacuum/SIep Floors
- Complete 1 Load of Laundry
Weekly
- Dust From Top To Bottom
- Vacuum Floors
- Mop Floors
- Scrub Bathrooms (Deep Clean)
- Clean Out Old Food From Fridge
Monthly
- Disinfect Light Switches And High Traffic Areas
- Wash Bath Mats
- Clean Out Car
- Wash Bedding (Covers And Duvets)
- Disinfect Toys
The items on this list are MY priorities, mys may look different. You may even have time to do more than that daily, likely, monthly.
I know I can complete my daily tasks in 20 minutes a day, so that makes me pretty darn happy.
If I get behind on my daily to-do’s and my husband is around, I will for sure recruit him. He lives with me too, he of course needs to spend some time cleaning! I always give him easy tasks such as drying dishes or putting away dirty clothes, and I’m very lucky that he’s always happy to help.
Do Daily Maintenance
I have a morning and evening routine, as well, most homemakers help keep up with those pesky daily cleaning tasks.
I really like to wash up breakfast dishes right away so they aren’t sitting in the sink or on the counter until I’m ready to wash them in the afternoon.
After the kids go to sleep, I like to take a minute and wipe down the bathrooms. I have two boys so I just do a quick spray and wipe of the toilet which takes two minutes and then quickly wipe the sink.
Another thing I do daily is during my morning shower, I use my DIY Daily Shower Cleaner which is just a spray and leave solution. I do like to rinse it off eventually, but I’ll forget, and it’s not a big deal.
Each evening I’ll straighten up the clutter in the living room and put things back in “order” as they should be. This takes no more than 5 minutes and really just quiets down my anxiety.
Finish Tasks
An important thing to keep in mind when keeping my home tidy is to try my hardest to complete the tasks that you start.
If you start dusting the house, try to finish all the rooms so that you don’t have to start all over again when you have time.
If you started laundry, make sure to dry it and fold it, and put it away that day too.
Basically just finish what you started, even if mom life gets the better of you and you get distracted, try my best to come back to the task and finish it off and you’ll notice a big difference in how clean my home stays.
Schedule
The final step is to create the schedule.
You’ve created a list of tasks that are important to you and maybe you have an idea of what you should do each morning and evening to keep up with the tidiness of the home, now it’s time to schedule.
Look at my list and decide how long it will take you to complete the tasks. This will look different for everyone because I all have different homes, a different number of rooms, and different families.
I have included an example of what my personal routine looks like, just in case you need some ideas..but remember it’s not going to be the same for you (probably)
Staying On Track And Creating Good Habits
If you make cleaning my home part of my everyday routine, it will become habitual and you’ll start to have a clean home without really having to try to keep it clean.
It’s pretty easy to stay on top of my cleaning if you do a little bit each and every day and cleaning doesn’t become this big chore you have to tackle on the weekend.
The biggest tip I can leave you with is, to get my kids and husband involved in keeping a clean home. After all, you all live in the house, shouldn’t you all contribute to its cleanliness?
