Clean Your Home In Less Time With This Cleaning Routine

 

I’m going to share with you a simple weekly cleaning routine that will help you stay on top of housework. Tips will also be given to you along the way so that you can do things as quickly and efficiently as possible. My simple cleaning routine consists of a short morning routine, after dinner routine and 15 minutes a day on a large chore. 

 

Cleaning doesn’t have to be complicated and can even be enjoyed. 

 

Start implementing this simple, weekly cleaning routine and you will see a positive change in the way your house looks.

 

Tools to Make Your Cleaning Jobs Easier

 

• Grove Collaborative will keep you stocked up on natural cleaners at the best prices (plus when you use my link to sign up you get a 5 piece gift set for free)
• Microfiber cleaning cloths
• Toilet scrub brush
• My favorite budget and pet-friendly vacuum
• Spray Mop with extra pads
• Robot Vacuum (not a necessity but I let this little guy pick up the mess each day so that I don’t have to)
• DIY Glass Cleaner
• DIY Dryer Sheets With and Without Vinegar

 

For A Cleaning Routine To Work, You Must Declutter First

 

A weekly cleaning routine will work for you no matter what state your home is in, but for it to really truly work… you may need to declutter.

 

If you are constantly spending your time picking up things, you will have less time to actually clean. Clutter is the enemy here my friend.

 

So before you get serious about a cleaning routine check your house for clutter.

 

I have a lot of posts that you can read that will help you declutter your house.

 

Or if you want to save some time and find it all in one place, you can purchase my Declutter Handbook.

 

 

House Cleaning Routine Overview

 

Here is how the KatiesKottage House Cleaning Routine works.

 

I have a daily cleaning routine that I have split into a morning routine, and evening routine, and then one large chore for each day of the week.

 

The idea is that when you keep up with your chores you won’t have to spend hours doing them.

 

An easy cleaning routine will help you be a more productive person.

 

You can get a copy of the KatiesKottage Cleaning Routine Checklist from my printables library below. You can also join my free Facebook group and join a community that will help you keep up with your cleaning routine. 

 

The library also holds my free ebook, Simplify Your Life With A Cleaning Routine.

 

 

My Daily Cleaning Routine

 

Let’s go through the tasks I do each day and then I will show you how I do a large chore each day in only 15 minutes. 

 

Morning Routine

• Unload the dishwasher
• Clean up breakfast dishes
• Start 1 Load of Laundry (use these DIY dryer sheets if you need a more natural option)
• Make Beds
• Vacuum/Sweep if Needed (This is necessary to keep the house clean with my two large dogs.)

 

Evening Cleaning Routine

• Clean up after dinner
• Load and run the dishwasher
• Fold and put away laundry

 

Related:

How a Daily House Cleaning Schedule Can Simplify Your Life

Morning Cleaning Routine

Nighttime Cleaning Routine 

The One Habit That Keeps My Home Consistently Clean

 

Weekly Cleaning Routine:: A Chore For Each Day

 

This weekly routine is what makes my house cleaning schedule really work.

 

I try not to spend any more than 15 minutes doing each of these tasks.

 

The trick is to work as fast as possible. You can even time yourself to see how fast you can get the job done. Or if you short on time, set a timer for 10, 15, or 20 minutes and get as much done as you can.

 

The timer is very important. If you are trying to dust everything in your entire house, every Wednesday, you are bound to get burnt out and completely stop doing the routine. 

 

I am always surprised at how little time it takes to clean. The hardest part is getting started. Once you get going this cleaning routine becomes a habit.

 

It will take no time at all and you will always love the way your house looks.

 

Another good thing about having a house cleaning schedule is that it’s not a big deal if you miss a day.

 

Need to skip dusting one week? No big deal! You dust every week so it’s not like things will get out of control if you can’t do it for a week.

 

Just make sure you don’t lose all motivation and keep skipping it.

 

 

Monday  – Jump Start Monday

 

I call this Jump Start Monday and I have a list of tasks that I try to do every Monday. Pick two from the list and get your week off to a good start. 

• Make your bed
• Straighten up the living room by putting everything back where it belongs.
• Put all dirty laundry in hampers and put one load in the washer.
• Make sure all clean dishes are put away and the dirty ones are in the dishwasher.
• Sort through any mail/paperwork. Throw it out or file it away. If any paperwork needs to be dealt with, put that task on your to-do list.
• Put important meetings and goals for this week on your calendar.

** you will notice that printable says to grocery shop on Monday. I still do this and do recommend this but I understand it doesn’t work for everyone. Regardless of when you vacuum you should have a “jump start Monday” whether it’s Monday morning or Sunday evening. It will set you up for a better week. 

 

Tuesday – Toliet Tuesday

 

Give all of your bathrooms a quick, but thorough cleaning. Use my bathroom cleaning tips to ensure that you can get this done quickly.

 

My favorite microfiber cloths and toilet brush make this job super easy.

 

Wednesday :: Dusting Day

 

Grab your favorite micro-fiber cloth and dusting spray and race around the house, dusting as fast as you can.

 

Dust from top to bottom. I occasionally add in mirrors and other glass on this day. For this, I use my DIY glass cleaner. 

 

What about the dust that falls on the floor? You want me to just leave it there?

 

Yep! Since this is part of your regular routine now, there shouldn’t be any huge dust bunnies floating about.

 

To save time, you need to throw out the idea of dusting and vacuuming on the same day. (You can also cheat and get a robot vacuum as I did.)

 

Also, about once a month, when I have extra time, I pick one space in the house and “deep dust.” I dust every little thing in one room of the house, such as blinds or air vents.

 

 

 

Thursday – Vacuum/Sweep

 

On Thursday vacuum all of the floors and sweep whatever floors can’t be vacuumed.

 

Just like I do with dusting, I pick one room a month to really “deep vacuum.”

 

For example, I vacuum around the baseboards, under the furniture, or under the couch cushions. This keeps me from having to do one large deep clean of the house.

 

The Shark Navigator is my favorite vacuum. It’s the best budget-friendly vacuum for pet hair.

 

Friday – Mop

 

On Friday, mop all of the hard floors in your house. I find it is easiest to do this with my spray mop.

 

I have one that I can fill up with any cleaner that I like. It makes mopping super fast and easy.

 

I’ll let you in on a little secret, sometimes I go all out and mop the whole house and get every little corner.

 

 

Then other weeks I just spot mop and get the high traffic areas. My house has all hard floors so this can be a big job.

 

Remember, if you only have 15 minutes, then set your timer for 15 minutes and get as much done as you can.

 

Saturday – All Things Kitchen

 

This is the day to clean out the refrigerator and get ready for the food that will be coming in on Monday.

 

I actually do minimal cleaning on Saturday’s but it does make the week easier if I take time to throw out old food.

 

Get rid of any leftover you didn’t eat and anything that is old. Wipe down the refrigerator or pantry if they need it.

 

This is also a good time to take a mental note of the food you have left and should use up in the coming week.

 

My Kitchen stays pretty clean throughout the week due to these 12 Kitchen Cleaning Hacks.

 

Sunday – Jesus, Family, and Meal Plan

 

I do even less cleaning on Sunday than I do on Saturday. On Sunday’s on focus on spending time with Jesus and my family.

 

However, because we are still human and make messes I do stay on top of a few things.

 

Sunday Chores

 

• All dishes including loading and running the dishwasher before bed
• make the beds in the morning
• vacuum the living room (I have two large dogs and do this every day no matter what.)
• meal plan for the upcoming week

 

I use Sunday to prepare for the upcoming week, which makes it a perfect day to meal plan.

 

I have a ton of tips on meal planning so make sure you read those.

 

My tips will teach you how to save yourself a ton of time and money with meal planning.

 

My meal planning post also includes a free meal plan and grocery list. You won’t want to miss out on that.

 

Let Me Convince You Why You Need This Simple Cleaning Routine

 

If you have gotten to this point you may be feeling overwhelmed. If you think about it too hard it can seem like no fun and like something that you don’t want to do. 

 

But let me convince you otherwise. 

 

Before I had a cleaning routine I was just lost. I was a full-time teacher and I coached all year long. Then I had a baby, plus my husband and two large dogs… all in a very modest sized home. 

 

I would come home from a very long day and just want to crash on the couch. But the kitchen was a mess, our dirty laundry was falling out of the closet, and the couch was covered in dog hair. Plus, we had clutter coming out of every closed door. 

 

Coming home from work was supposed to be relaxing and all it did was stress me out even more. 

 

I can’t pinpoint the exact time in which I decided enough was enough. I’ve always been kind of neat freak but at the time I just couldn’t seem to stay on top of things. Taking care of the home that God gave me had always been important to me but it seemed to have fallen to the wayside. 

 

Then a couple of things happened that lead me to where I am now. A coworker mentioned that he and his wife cleaned their bathrooms every Tuesday and called it Toilet Tuesday. Isn’t that such a good idea?!

 

I had family coming over every morning to watch my newborn while I went to work and I couldn’t stand the idea of letting them sit on the couch covered in dog hair. 

 

I was never getting the laundry done. It would all get stacked up in hopes that I would get it done on the weekend. But that never happened because I had cross country meets on Saturday and church on Sunday. 

 

All of these combined forced me to come up with a system that would help me take care of my home. 

 

 

I could have made excuses (I did plenty of times) and said, I don’t have time. I’m too busy, it’s okay if I let the housework go, but I knew that wasn’t right. I just needed to find a system and routine that worked for me. 

 

After some trial and error, I came up with the cleaning routine that I shared with you today. 

 

My House Is Now Consistently Clean

 

I have been able to stick with the cleaning schedule for a long time. Sometimes I miss days but it’s really easy to get caught back up. 

 

Please remember that your routine needs to work for you.  If you try my cleaning routine and it doesn’t work for you, then change it up!

 

But don’t let it not work because of an excuse. Let it not work for you because you live on a different schedule and need to move around the days or time of day in which you do a chore. 

 

Keeping a clean home is important for your health, your family’s health, and it pleases the Lord when you are a good steward of the things that God gave you. 

 

Taking care of your home is taking care of you. It gives you a peaceful place to rest and be yourself. 

 

Also, please remember that it is not about being perfect. You don’t need to have a perfectly clean home all of the time. That is not the goal. That is an impossible goal so it’s okay to let go of that mindset. You and your family are making memories in your home and it will get messy and that is okay!

 

Strive to have your home 80% clean, 80% of the time. 

 

I get it. I’ve been there. I’ve been overwhelmed by the mess and just wanted to crawl in bed and hide on the covers. And possibly sleep for a week. 

 

But let me tell you that it can be done and once you build the habits it will become second nature. Give the routine a try for a solid 3 weeks and see if it makes a big impact on your home and your stress levels. 

 

Get to Work On Your Cleaning Routine

 

That’s it! Use this easy cleaning routine and people will think you hired a maid. If you need some more motivation I found these really interesting statistics about cleaning.

 

 

Grab Your House Cleaning Routine Checklist

 

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Clean Your Home In Less Time With This Cleaning Routine