Time was, when our mothers and grandmothers would spend hours a day cleaning the house, just to get ready for cleaning day.
Times have changed, families have changed, standards have changed, and it’s not deemed necessary that once a week, every nook and cranny of our homes is squeaky clean.
Yet we all want to live in a fairly clean house. Toilets and sinks need to be scrubbed, the dog hair can’t stay on the carpet all week, and the dust needs to be removed from the glass table top every so often, even if no one ever goes in the formal living room.
By doing a little bit of cleaning each day, you’ll avoid the dreaded cleaning day, but have the satisfaction of knowing that your house is clean.
Keep supplies where you’ll use them
Instead of keeping all cleaning supplies in one place, keep them in a cabinet in the room where you’ll be using them. Cleaning is quicker when you don’t have to tote supplies from place to place.
Do a ‘quick cleanup’ daily
Simplify your cleaning by having the house generally straightened up every day. Have your children put their dirty clothes in a hamper and make their beds every morning. Empty the garbage and recycling every night after dinner. Go through mail and school papers as they come in, deal with them, file them or toss them, daily.
Involve the whole family
If every family member does a little bit each day, your cleaning schedule will lighten considerably. Even young children can do simple chores around the house.
If you have a dinner clean-up schedule for your children, bravo! If not, make it a general rule that no one leaves the kitchen after dinner until everything is cleaned up. If someone is clearing the table and wiping off counters, and someone else is rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher, you’ll be free to do a quick scan of the refrigerator to empty out old containers, shake a rug, or so other once-in-a-while projects that otherwise wouldn’t get done.
Try this weekly schedule for a clean house all week long:
MONDAY – As each family member gets out of bed, have them take the sheets off their beds and drop them in the laundry room. Gather up dirty towels and launder all linens. Include any washable throw rugs or mats. Make this a big laundry day.
When the laundry is done at the end of the day, have the kids help you take sheets and towels back to the bedrooms and bathrooms; make up the beds before bedtime.
TUESDAY – Clean bathrooms. Scrub sinks, tubs and showers, wipe down counters, clean toilets, spray and wipe mirrors, and wipe up floors.
WEDNESDAY – Dust, sweep and clean up bedrooms. The bedding is already clean. Tell your children that they are to pick up their rooms, clear off dresser tops and desks, and put everything away. You follow with cleaning supplies and wipe off surfaces, dust and run a quick vacuum.
THURSDAY – Concentrate on the kitchen. When cleaning up the breakfast and/or lunch dishes, do a quick clean-out of the refrigerator, straighten the insides of anything that needs to be cleaned – pantry, cupboards, microwave and oven.
When cleaning up from dinner, wipe down the outsides of the cupboards, refrigerator door, any doors or windows that are fingerprinted and smudged. Before turning in, wipe up the kitchen floor.
FRIDAY – Dust and vacuum the main living areas – living room, family room, dining room, computer room or wherever your family spends most of its time.
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