Make a Cleaning Routine That ACTUALLY Works For You

The thing I probably dread the most as a homemaker is cleaning, so I’m no pro. I just haven’t known where to start. After being overwhelmed for far too long, I finally get my house clean and before I know it, it’s a mess again and I’m overwhelmed all over again. After having my second baby almost a year ago, it’s gotten worse and I was to the point of binging cleaning podcasts & blogs because I just didn’t know what to do to get on top of it. Every morning when I’d wake up and see what mess was waiting for me, I immediately wanted to go climb back into bed and forget about it.

So if you’re in the same boat, WELCOME ABOARD! We’re on this journey together!

One system I tried was from a blog called Clean Mama. The basis of it, is that there are tasks that get done every day and then there are tasks assigned to certain days of the week. I tried that system for a couple weeks and just couldn’t stick to it. I hated that if I missed one of the weekly tasks one day, I felt behind and like I needed to do double the next day.

So I took it upon myself to make my own routine that works for me, my family, and our home! And it can work for yours too!

Here’s how to do it!

First, write down all of the tasks that you would like to have done every day. Some ideas are: make the bed, 1 load of laundry, start the dishwasher, pick up the living room, sweep the kitchen, etc.

Then, make another list of tasks that you want to do weekly. Like dust, clean the bathroom, clean the bedrooms, dust, and I even included cleaning out my car.

After that, think of the things that don’t need done EVERY week, but would probably be good to be done every other week! Maybe wash the windows & tracks, clean out the fridge, wash all the mirrors in the house, or wash bedding.

You could even make a fourth list with things that would be done every three weeks if you have anything that you could do there!

Then make your own calendar, or download the free one that I made by filling out the form below. You will need a Canva account to edit it, but it’s free!

Add in all of your daily tasks to each day. Adjust them if needed. I took laundry off of my Sunday list of tasks to make that day a little more relaxing. So do what works for you!

Then in the “Weekly Tasks” column, put all those things that need done every week. Then take your list of tasks for every two weeks and put half of them on the “weekly tasks” for week 1, then the other half for week 2, and repeat with the rest of the weeks on your calendar. Do the same thing with the “every three weeks” tasks, but breaking them into three and spreading them out over three weeks.

That’s it! You’ve made your calendar and are ready to go! Just print it out and stick it to your fridge for you to see your progress as you cross things off.

Now here are some tips to make sure you have the best chance of actually following through with it. Because if you’re like me, you’re great at starting things and then not really following through with them.

• Don’t start on a Monday! I know, new week, new routine. But starting on a Monday gives you five or more days to mess up and fail. While there’s nothing wrong with messing up a new routine, it does mess up your momentum and makes you a little discouraged to keep going. So start on a Wednesday or Thursday, even Friday!

• Start simple. If you find yourself easily overwhelmed with everything that needs done(like I was), then start with just doing the daily tasks. Once you feel like you’ve got that under control, add in those weekly tasks.

• Involve your kids! If you have young kids like I do, then nap time is precious time! It’s the only moment of silence I get all day and the last thing I want to be doing during that time, is cleaning. And yes, some things just have to be done when the littles are sleeping. But for everything else, involve them! Hand them a rag, have them hold the dustpan, let them fold the wash cloths and pick up all the toys at the end of the night. Not only are you saving yourself from cleaning while they sleep, but you’re hopefully instilling in them a love of keeping their home clean and helping you. And just maybe, they won’t be as overwhelmed as you are about cleaning when they are an adult.

  • If you have older kids that want to be involved(or you want them involved), make them their own calendar with things to check off! Making their bed, emptying their backpack, feeding the dog, bringing their laundry to the laundry room, etc.

• Cross off those tasks! Grab a bright pen and cross those puppies off when you complete them! Seeing your progress is motivating and builds that momentum to keep going!

• Get those weekly tasks done early in the week. If you put them off until the end of the week, either something will come up, or you’ll just be too overwhelmed on a Saturday afternoon when you see that you still have 5 weekly tasks on top of your daily tasks to complete. Get them done early in the week when you can and thank yourself later!

• Give yourself GRACE! Some weeks and phases of life are just crazy! And that’s okay! If you didn’t get to something today or this week, then try again tomorrow or next week. Your house will be okay if it doesn’t get dusted this week or if you didn’t have time to load the dishwasher before you went to bed. Life happens!

Now I know there’s more things that need to be done to keep a house in order. Feel free to add another list for things that need done even less often, cleaning the oven, inventorying the pantry, packing up outgrown clothes, etc. But this will help keep you sane!

You can always go in and change something that isn’t working for you!

Side note, if you’re looking for an awesome vacuum, we’ve had this one for over three years and haven’t had to cut hair off the roller once! And that’s saying something considering I have a ton of hair and have gone through postpartum hair loss TWICE! I’m amazed every time I vacuum because of everything it picks up and the canister is super easy to clean out!

Good luck!! I hope this system is what does the trick and gets you into a good routine!

Let me know how it goes! Tag me on Instagram @morgantaylerathome in your stories so I can see and cheer you on!

xoxo Morgan

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