Realistic Cleaning Schedule to Always Keep a Clean Home

It’s easy to get overwhelmed with daily household chores and cleaning tasks on top of the demanding day-to-day realities. But sticking to a cleaning schedule can not only help you consistently keep a clean home, it also gives you mental clarity and peace.

We all have days where we just don’t feel like we have time to make the bed. But that unmade bed just adds to the hectic feeling of the day. When you allow yourself to skip the daily tidy of the living room and unload the dishwasher later, it grows and grows to eventually become a mountain of tasks you’ll have to tackle later on.

If you’ve read my other posts, you know I’m a believer in the idea that living your best life starts at home. This is a perfect example of this idea. Cleaning, decluttering, and organizing your home will reduce anxiety and have a positive impact on your mental health.

Realistic Cleaning Schedule

Even though I actually do enjoy cleaning my home and caring for my space, I’ve been guilty of leaving all the cleaning tasks for the weekend. Nothing is worse than ending the workweek with a huge list of tasks to accomplish on your days off. Well, actually, it’s pretty bad when your mother-in-law makes a surprise visit and your living room and kitchen are a complete mess. Believe me, that’s embarrassing and never feels good.

Finding a rhythm, cadence, or routine to your cleaning schedule is the best way to be realistic about always keeping a clean home. When you break it down, there are a few daily cleaning tasks you should be doing every day. Things like making the bed, loading and unloading the dishwasher, and wiping your counters and sinks should be completed each day.

Then there are weekly cleaning tasks that can be split up and assigned certain days of the week. For example, you should dust your furniture and shelves at least once a week. You could decide to do this task every Monday. Whether it’s first thing in the morning as you drink your coffee or after you end your workday, spend just 10 to 20 minutes and knock this off your list.

Then take the other weekly cleaning tasks like vacuuming your floors and assign that task to Wednesdays. And maybe you clean the bathrooms on Fridays. Pick a schedule that works for you, and soon enough it will become a ritual you look forward to sticking to.

What's You Cleaning Mindset?

When you look at cleaning as a boring chore, a waste of time, or a dreadful task – you won’t ever want to do it. You’ve formed your mindset around cleaning as a negative act.

But the truth is cleaning, decluttering, and organizing can actually improve your mood and release endorphins just like exercise does. Bonus – you can burn calories too. Win win!

I once heard someone describe cleaning as an act of self-care and it completely changed my mindset about cleaning. Now I think of the tasks on my cleaning schedule as important activities that will make me feel better in the end.

This might get a little too woo-woo for some of you, but stick with me. I think of laundry and hanging up my clothes as caring for my items with care and respect. I think of loading and unloading the dishwasher as maintaining our dishes, silverware, and glasses with love and attention.

Changing your mindset around cleaning from being a negative chore to being a helpful task that supports the life you want to live is LIFE CHANGING! Seriously, mindset is everything.

The Impact of a Clean & Organized Home

We all know a clean, tidy, organized space feels so much better than a messy, cluttered space. Why is that true?

One reason is that visually, a home that has everything in it’s place with clean surfaces naturally and subconsciously feels good to us. Seeing clutter and messes brings up feelings of stress and overwhelm. As humans, we crave order and calm.

Our homes are an extension of our lives. So if you have a home that feels chaotic, your life will be chaotic. If you have a home that feels calm and carefree, your life will be calm and carefree.

Another reason is the physical act of cleaning, tidying, and organizing brings us a sense of control and accomplishment. You know that feeling after you have freshly washed sheets on the bed, dusted off nightstands, and vacuumed floors in your bedroom? It makes you feel like you should get an award for the great sleep you and your husband are going to get during the nights ahead.

Taking the time to declutter and cleanse your space has a profound impact on the way you take on the day. There’s no denying that. When you’re feeling a little anxious, overwhelmed, or out of sorts – start a cleaning routine and watch your mood boost.

Start a New Cleaning Routine

It’s never too late to start a cleaning routine. Your baseboards might be overdue for a dusting and your throw blankets may not have been washed in months, but that can change today. You have to start somewhere. Start your new cleaning routine today, and soon it will become a normal part of your daily, weekly, and monthly routine.

I suggest starting small. Start with just doing the easy, small daily tasks. Get into this routine before adding in some of the weekly tasks. Make your bed for a week straight. Then make it every day for a month. Believe me, it feels like a big achievement to just accomplish this one task consistently.

Then start adding in cleaning toilets every week. Then start adding in your seasonal and yearly tasks as part of your routine. It sounds like a lot. I get that. So to help make it easier, I’ve developed a Cleaning Schedule Checklist you can print off and keep handy.