This free printable cleaning schedule will help you stay on top of household chores
Keeping the house clean and organized is a never-ending job.
Unfortunately, when it comes to cleaning, your mom was right: Forgoing cleaning for even a day or two can make the job infinitely more difficult, so it’s best to stay on top of it by doing a little bit every day.
If you have trouble keeping track of all of the cleaning tasks a typical household requires, the website Freebie Finding Mom has an amazing tool that you’ll definitely want to take advantage of: a weekly cleaning schedule.
Here’s just a glimpse:
Not only does the schedule include all of the cleaning maintenance tasks that are easy to forget (wiping out the microwave, anyone?), but it comes in a handy checklist form, so you can print it out at the start of the week and keep track of your cleaning progress as you go.
The best part? It’s totally free and available to download as many times as you like, right here.
“This printable cleaning schedule breaks up all those pesky household chores over the course of six days which makes everything seem a lot more manageable,” says Kelli of Freebie Finding Mom. “Cleaning still isn’t fun, but with the help of the printable cleaning schedule I feel less like Cinderella and more like someone who gets stuff done (sorry, not sure which Disney princess that is).”
Kelli also created a customizable version of the schedule that comes in a Word document, so you can alter it to fit your preferred schedule, or add or delete cleaning tasks.
The great thing about using a visual cleaning schedule like this is that it makes it easy to get kids and family members involved in the cleaning process. Assign chores to family members and let them check off each one as they’re finished.
Check out these time-saving cleaning methods to make housework even more manageable:
1. Cut The Clutter
Anytime we clean or organize (or reorganize) our desks or kitchens, we remove the obvious first, like the biggest messes.
“This removes the temptation of just wiping around these items or picking them up and immediately placing them back down on a wet surface, which can leave ring marks,” said Maria Stickney, the Housekeeping Manager at the Radisson Blu Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota, to Good Housekeeping.
2. Bring A Toothbrush… For Cleaning, Of Course
We all know that a cloth or sponge or other cleaning instrument cannot reach little areas we need to get clean, so a toothbrush is a handy and inexpensive cleaning tool.
3. Use Microfiber Cloths
“Microfiber is the best,” said Agustin Canongo, the Director of Housekeeping at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.
Something 100 percent cotton will work, too, she said, or an old pillowcase or tee-shirt. But NOT polyester or terrycloth.
4. Do The Bathrooms Last
I like to do these first, to get them over with, but Stickney said to do them first, to avoid cross-contamination. Although, if you use different rags in the bathroom like I do, I think this is irrelevant and I’d still opt to do it first!
5. Use Cleaners… They Work!
I love using lemon juice and/or vinegar to clean, but you may like a store-bought solution. No matter what you use, Good Housekeeping says to spray… then let that spray set. You can go clean something else in the meantime – and I’m sure there are other things to be done. By letting the spray soak in, it should be easier to clean said surface. Makes sense!
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