My new cleaning schedule

I have already posted some about my efforts to get my life in order, with some new printables, checklists, and a makeover of my home management binder. I updated my cleaning checklists as part of that home management binder makeover, and now they are getting another touch up as a part of my "organizing your new year" spree. We have been following along with a New Year Resolutions challenge on the clean mama blog. Recently she has posted her Clean and Organized 2013 schedule, and ya know, I think she might have something there. Her cleaning schedule makes sense, and I am going to try to merge my cleaning routine with hers.
Each day has different tasks assigned, and there are certain tasks that are performed everyday. Very easy to follow along with. If you are the calendar type, hop over to her blog and grab her clean and organized January calendar, if you are the checklist type, stop back Friday for my freebie.
This is what my new cleaning regime is going to look like:

I wish I had a fun and pretty cleaning caddy, but for now all my supplies live in a tub under my sink.

Mondays are for cleaning the bathroom(s). This means cleaning the shower, toilet, counters, and mirrors. This also means removing any left over dirty laundry or towels and putting them in the proper location. The floors and counters would also be checked as part of the everyday tasks and mopped on Thursday.  This is also a good time for taking a quick peek into the medicine cabinet and closet, just to make sure they haven't gotten out of control. A once a week tidy should prevent any major meltdowns.
{See clean mama's Monday tips here}

Tuesdays are for dusting.  I am so not a fan of dusting, so I am hoping that by putting it on the schedule and making myself do it, it stays under control and becomes a maintenance task. Dusting for me also includes using my Pledge multi-surface spray to wipe down our  TV's. They gather just as much dust as wood products, if not more! We don't have a lot of wood furniture in the house- coffee table, dining table, a few end tables, and my headboard and bed frame are all wood (I like to give them a wipe down too, just so they stay nice and clean)
{see clean mama's Tuesday tips here}

Wednesdays  are for vacuuming.  We only have adults living in our apartment, but if there were small babies and small children this would obviously need to be done more than once a week. So if you have little pumpkins, adjust your cleaning schedule accordingly. I also try to make sure that the floors get swept completely today, in preparation for floor washing on Thursday. That way I can just quick touch anything up if I need to before mopping. Cleaning the living room and writing the grocery lists are also Wednesday tasks for me. The newspaper will all the grocery ads comes on Wednesdays, so I like to tackle that as soon as I get it, that way it is done and ready so that I can do my grocery shopping Thursday, Friday, or Saturday-whichever works best with my work schedule. Cleaning the living room isn't a huge task since there's really not that much in there. My desk does reside in there though, so getting a handle on that situation is a big part of it.
{see clean mama's Wednesday tips here}

Thursdays are for washing floors. Wednesday prepared them so Thursday is a quick task.  We only have two spaces that need to be mopped in our apartment, the kitchen and the bathroom. Neither is very  big so this is super quick and easy for me. I like to try to do my grocery shopping on Thursday if I don't have to work at my part time after school job (that makes me sound like a high school kid doesn't it??). If I have to work Thursday night, then I usually do the shopping on Friday ( I rarely work both nights).
I also like to give the bathroom a quick clean again on Thursday's. I'm kind of a freak, and I live with messies. (defined=people (mainly men) who leave a trail of mess behind them) So a quick wipe of the shower, sink and toilet with an antibacterial wipe keep me feeling sane and clean.
{see clean mama's Thursday tips here}

Fridays  are catch all days. This means anything that for any reason didn't get finished, or a space that needs a little extra attention. On Fridays I also clean the kitchen. For me this is giving the counters, stove, and sink a good scrub. I also put away or maintain the small appliances too. This could be wiping down the coffee pot and toaster or putting the pizza pizzazz away for the 4th time. I swear we cook everything on the pizazz. (pizza, pizza rolls, mozzarella sticks, fries, quesadillas, garlic bread..) If we could only have one appliance, that would probably be it. I also give our bedroom a quick tidy on Friday too. This usually isn't too much work. Make the bed pretty again--adjusting sheets and blankets that got out of place during the week. Pick up and throw away any random water bottles left in there. Put away any clean laundry or wardrobe choices that got changed at the last minute and tossed aside.
{see clean mama's Friday tips here}

Saturdays are for washing sheets/bedding and towels. Depending on my work schedule (one of my part time jobs I work 11am to 11pm) this may or may not get done completely. If I work out of town, then I try to get a load of towels done before I leave and put one in on my way out for the bf to finish. He can also help out with sheets. When I was sheets I don't put the same set back on. I have two sets of flannel sheets for winter and two sets of jersey sheets for summer. When I put one set in the washer I put the other set on to the bed immediately. That way it's done and taken care of right away and I'm not left with putting sheets on my bed when I get home at 11pm, because that is not a fun time.  My sheets are stashed in a big zip lock tote that lives on the shelf above our washer and dryer. I think having them in the tote is actually easier than just on the shelf. The tote is much easier to pull down- no falling piles of sheets. I'm only ever taking a set of the top and later putting the clean set on the top. When I switch from winter to summer sheets I simply switch the other around in the tote so that our current sheets are on top.
{see clean mama's Saturday tips here}

Sundays are for relaxing and family time. I try not to do any really serious cleaning projects on Sundays-(unless its a blog project).  If I missed any tasks during the week that need to be done, I will do those quick on Sunday. I like to try to do some blog and life planning on Sunday evenings. I like to plan out my wardrobe for the week and hang them up with my weekly closet dividers so that I am not scrambling to find something in the mornings. Sunday is also the fun day when the refrigerator gets a clean out. Give the whole thing a wipe down and check the status of the leftovers, toss anything that's questionable.

This is what I envision that I look like.

Everyday tasks are just that, tasks to be completed everyday. These are simple things that help to maintain cleanliness and order in your house. Everyday I pick up clutter, do a load of laundry, check floors, and wipe counters. None of these tasks take very long but go a long way in saving sanity. Pick up clutter is simple, if something does not belong in the location you found it in-put it away, where it belongs. Do that for each room in your house. A basket or tub could be helpful for this if you have a big house, toss the lost things in as you go from room to room and put away things from your tub as you come to the correct room. I don't really need a tub since our apartment isn't that big. Laundry is another simple task that pays off. Complete a full load, that means washer, dryer, fold and put away, each day and it will do so much to keep the laundry monster under control and you from pulling your hair out! This is something that I need to do better with. I don't have a problem getting the laundry done, its the getting it put away part that I hate. So I just keep putting it off until I convince myself that I will do it tomorrow. This is going to be a goal for me. Anyone else in the same boat? The next everyday task is check your floors. This is just a quick once-over. Pick up any big (visible) dirt things (you know what I mean right??) for carpeted rooms and make sure hard floors are clear, give a quick sweep if you need to. And the last everyday task is to wipe your counters. This is every counter top in your house- kitchen, bathroom, laundry, mudroom, whatever rooms you have. For me this is just the kitchen and the bathroom. The kitchen counter gets wiped down every night after I've finished and put away supper, then I quick pop into the bathroom and wipe down my 6 inches of counter space in there.
All of these tasks keep your home tidy and prevent huge cleaning disasters from happening. If you are maintaining your "cleanness" everyday, that's all you need to do-maintain.


I also redid my cleaning checklists and popped the new one into my home management binder in the home maintenance section.
They now look like this:

Next up in my cleaning department is spring cleaning. Which probably means a fun new spring cleaning and maybe deep cleaning printable? What are the vital cleaning tasks that would need to go on a deep cleaning or spring cleaning list for you?

Check back with us Friday for your own cleaning checklist FREEBIE!