How to Make a Cleaning Schedule

Often times, I feel like I get behind on cleaning around my house. Whether it's the floors, dusting, or the bathroom shower, more times than not, I realize there's cleaning that needs to be done. It never ends. It all tends to pile up and every few weeks I would find myself scurrying through the house to do all my cleaning in one day - which is exhausting. Since having children, it has become even more evident that a cleaning spree once or twice a month just isn't going to work.

I recently came to this crossroad realizing my time is getting too limited to get behind on cleaning. And rushing to clean the whole house in one day is not something I want to keep doing. My first thought? Hire someone to clean - and earlier this year I did just that. I had a lady come every two weeks; she was very reasonably priced and it seemed like it would solve my problem. However, after a couple cleanings, I began to realize she wasn't cleaning the way I hoped. Beggars can't be choosers, right? But I was paying her. She wasn't bad, but I consistently found areas of the house that were missed or that I didn't feel were adequately clean. So I stopped her services and was back at square one.

I'd always considered the idea of a cleaning schedule, but had never given it a try. A few weeks ago, I asked on my Instagram Stories if anyone had a cleaning schedule that worked for them. Unfortunately, I didn't get any response to the questions, but I did have several people reach out and ask me to share what others were saying about cleaning schedules (yay, I wasn't alone!!). Since I had nothing to share, I decided to go on a mission to find that perfect schedule.

As I sought out to find a schedule I could use, I quickly realized none were prefect for me. I wasn't going to be able to grap one off the internet and immediately start using it. No one has the same house, schedule, job, life, or children - so why would one type of cleaning schedule work across the board? I had to change what I was looking for and began looking at schedules as templates.

I'd pull what I liked from one schedule and combine it with what I liked from another. I listed all the areas of my home that needed continuous cleaning and delegated them to a day that worked best for me. I divided things up so that it all gets done in a week, but no particular day is overly exhausting with work. I considered things I needed to do daily - and things that don't have to be done on a weekly basis. I then used all that information to make a rough draft cleaning schedule. I used it for a couple weeks and tweaked things as I needed or as I found they didn't work for a particular day. And after using the schedule and modifying it as needed, I finally had one that worked for me!

During the process of creating the schedule, I used the Notes application on my phone when I was making lists of what needed to be clean (and if it was a weekly or biweekly item). I then began delegating them to days and preferred this app during the trial and error part of making the schedule since it was so easily edited. 

I've been using it consistently for a couple weeks and I can't say enough good things about having this schedule! It was a bit of trial-and-error and some extra work, but completely worth the effort. Each day I know what I need to get done and I don't have to worry about other things in the house because I know they will get done as the week goes on.

So here is my advice in finding YOUR perfect cleaning schedule:

• Go on Pinterest or Google (or wherever!) and search for cleaning schedules. Just check them out, see how others set up their schedules, and see what you like (or don't like!).
• When you're looking at schedules, consider what spaces/rooms/things need to be cleaned in your home.
• List out what needs to be cleaned in your home on a daily, weekly, or biweekly basis.
• Consider your day-to-day life and your weekly schedule and assign items to days that make sense for you - without making any one day overly busy with cleaning.
  Example: Our trash pick up is on Fridays - so I empty all the trash cans in the house (bathrooms, laundry room) and clean out our fridge on Thursdays. We also stay pretty busy on the weekends going in and out of the house and Chris cuts the grass on the weekends - causing a lot of grass and dirt to be tracked in. So I clean our main entry/living floors at the beginning of the week rather than later in the week. (I learned this the hard way when I first cleaned the floors on a Friday). I also assigned daily laundry as it makes sense for what's being cleaned that day - like washing towels on the day I clean the bathrooms.
• Use the list of what needs to be cleaned to assign those items to days that makes sense for you. Try it out for a couple weeks.
• Make any adjustments or rearrange days as you find that things aren't working (or might work better).
• Then make yourself a pretty little schedule and keep it on your phone or on your fridge and be STRESS FREE about a clean house! 

Even after using the version I am posting here, I have made a couple changes/additions - and honestly, it will probably continue to be adjusted as needed. And that's ok! I'm just so excited to have a schedule to follow each day and week. I know my house is clean! And if I miss something one day, it's not a big deal because I know it was cleaned a week ago and can't be that dirty.