Summer is over an school is back in session. That means that late summer sleep schedules and lazy, unplanned days have come to crashing halt. It also means that my unorganized summer ways have left my house in a dirty, unorganized mess! I’m kind of looking forward to some structure, and I’m going to kick it off by getting this place in shape. I’m going to focus on one space a day and try to get my life in order … I mean my house!
But before we dig in, I’ll give you some before pictures so you can feel better about your house.
Yeah, pretty embarrassing, but if you’re a mom I know you feel me. It happens. And now I’m gonna explode if I don’t get it under control!
I have three levels of cleaning in my little brain. Which one of the following describes you?
1. There is too much clutter and we don’t know where to put it all. We need a major change.
See: How I organized and simplified my house, room by room.
2. We’ve been out of our normal cleaning routine and have a big mess. Our stuff has a home, it’s just not in it! This post you’re reading now is just for you. This is what I will focus on today.
3. Things are relatively neat and clean. We just need to maintain it.
See: A one-thing-a-day cleaning schedule and pretty printable.
Set the time for 60 minutes!
I get overwhelmed even thinking about where to start so I’m setting my timer for an hour and going to work in one space per day. It really does help to actually set a timer. It just feels more doable to tackle something with a time limit. But ya gotta work hard and quick to get it all done! No dilly dallying!
The order here is intentional. I like to do the kitchen at the beginning of the week so I can also do a meal plan. I cleaned out our closets to donate and organize before laundry day. And I like to do the bathrooms and floor just before the weekend because we like to have people over.
- Monday: Kitchen
- Tuesday: Bedroom & closet
- Wednesday: Kids’ rooms and playroom
- Thursday: Laundry
- Friday: Bathrooms
- Saturday: Floors & home office
Day 1: Kitchen
I had to hustle to get all this done in an hour, but made it happen. If your organizing juices are still flowing after all this, go ahead and plan a menu for the week! And yeah, that’s a disco light up in the cabinet corner. You never know when the evening will call for a dance party.
- Clear off stuff that doesn’t belong on the counter.
- Throw out any food gone bad in fridge.
- Wash and put away dishes.
- Wipe down countertops and sink.
- Wipe down countertop appliances.
- Wipe down oven and stovetop.
- Wipe down inside and outside of fridge.
- Wash front of cabinets.
- Heat bowl of vinegar and half a lemon in the microwave 10 minutes, clean inside and out.
- Wipe down kitchen table.
- Tidy up drawers, cabinets and pantry.
- Take out trash and recycling.
- Extra credit: Use a Brillo Pad to clean silverware with spots, dirty pots and pans and stainless steel sink like this.
Also see: Grocery shopping and feeding a family on a tight budget with printable
Day 2: Bedroom and closet
- Pull out clothing that doesn’t fit or you don’t wear.
- Take out items that don’t belong in the closet.
- Wipe down any dust in the closet.
- Tidy hanging clothes, drawers and shelves.
- Remove things that don’t belong in the bedroom (suitcases, kids’ stuff, projects …).
- Dust dressers, shelves, picture frames in the bedroom.
- Put fresh linens on the bed.
- Extra credit: Mend any clothing with holes or missing buttons.
Also see: Clean house play list to make cleaning a little more fun!
Day 3: Kids’ rooms and playroom
Normally the kids are in charge of picking up their rooms and the playroom, but I’m doing it this time. That’s because I’m getting rid of stuff! They’ve had birthdays and dragged stuff from the donate pile back into the house. We have too much stuff (and furniture) in here! I’m not worried about cleaning the floors or dirty laundry aside from tossing it in the hamper yet. That fun is coming up in the next couple of days!
- Throw out trash/paper and junk toys in playroom and bedrooms.
- Take out toys that are not used, age appropriate or broken.
- Gather like toys in baskets.
- Straighten books on shelves.
- You can even put half the toys in the garage and switch them in a month.
- Tidy drawers and shelves.
- Dust and wipe down surfaces.
- Change sheets.
- Extra credit: Sort through kids’ art work to start the new school year. I do it like this.
Also see: How I organize my house with kids
Day 4: Laundry
There’s no way around this dreadful day. You can wash all the dirty clothes the day before or in the morning — whenever you get a minute — and spent the timed hour folding and putting them away. Not fun, but boy does it feel good when it’s done! I also cleared off the counter space, cleaned out lint in the dryer, wiped down the washer and dryer fronts.
Extra credit: Pull out clothes that don’t fit the kids anymore and make a donate pile.
Also see: Laundry room makeover and organization
Day 5: Bathrooms
- Remove countertop clutter.
- Clean bathtub. (I use dish soap to cut through grease!)
- Clean shower. It should just be a touch up if you do this.
- Wipe down counters and sink.
- Wash mirrors.
- Clean toilet bowl, seat and base.
- Replace towels with fresh set.
- Throw out old products.
- Make a note of products that need replaced.
- Tidy drawers and shelves.
- Restock toilet paper.
- Empty trash.
- Make DIY shower spray to keep that shower clean months!
- Extra credit: Clean stainless steel surfaces with a Brillo pad like this, wipe down fronts of cabinets and wash bathmats.
Also see: 5 best ways to clean your shower (and keep it clean!)
Day 6: Floors & office
- Vacuum all rooms and closets.
- Mop or swiffer all floors.
- Sort through piles of bills on junk mail on the desk.
- Tidy drawers and desk space.
- Extra credit: Clean windows and glass doors.
Also see: Ideas to organize your home office and budget
I did it! I finished my week and actually got it all done except folding a couple loads of my nemesis — laundry. My motivation was hosting a baby shower and it worked. I made a printable for the week because I plan on using it again in the future. Hopefully you can use it too.
Do you have any cleaning routines or tips to share! I’d absolutely love to hear them.
Click image for high-res version.
Let’s connect!
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Check out my Ultimate Planners!
Love this; great plan! My 3 older kids go back to school this week and lately I’ve been letting things go until then…the summer constant mess is getting to me! I’m a weirdo who likes laundry, though; I do a load about every day. Thanks for the printable!
Melanie, my envy of you burns deep, lol! Oh, how I wish I liked doing laundry! Instead I’m always making deals with myself. “If you finish all the laundry, you can sit with your cup of vanilla coffee.” Haha! Glad you like the printable and hope the kids love their new teachers :)
I love this list! Going to try to do it this weekend. And I don’t know anyone who likes laundry. I have to turn on my favorite show, get a glass of wine and shut my bedroom door to get it done ;) thanks for the tips!!
That sounds like a great plan, Savanna! I’m going to do that next laundry day ;)
Wow! I can use this guide as my own checklist in cleaning the house. Great blog!
Great! I’m so happy you like it :)
I like your plan, I have a week of mornings to super clean my home. But what about the lounge and dining room? where do they fit in?
That’s a good point, Linda! I usually keep clutter out of the living room and off the dining room table so I didn’t mention it. Also when I wrote that post our main living space was all one big room! Next time I do a list (which will be soon) I’ll be sure to incorporate them. Thank you for your help!
One small area every day keeps my house clean. Not perfect but also not cluttered and let go. It is important that it feels dooable for me
That’s such a great strategy, Claire! You’re so right, it has to be dooable or I won’t even try.
Thanks for sharing this post…really good information.
So glad you found it helpful, Tangie! :)
This is awesome! I’m loving this blog! It’s so chalk full of useful tips!
I tried to download some printables, and I see they are in jpg I think not in PDF? Is there anyway to get them in pdf? I tried to print it and then I had to resize it and it doesn’t end up looking the same…
Thank you!
PS. I’d gladly pay for the pdf forms if you make them available.
Thanks, Millie! Some people find it prints better after you download it to your desk top (instead of printing straight from the internet). But I’ll see if I can track down the PDF. In the meantime, I do sell a PDF cleaning planner that includes this page in my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/576477860/the-ultimate-clean-house-planner
I’m so sad I can no longer get a copy of your planner. :(
Hopefully you will have more downloads available soon! Great Blog!
Apologies, Amanda! It’s back up on Etsy. Thanks for letting me know, I didn’t realize it said “sold.” I hope you enjoy it.
I hope I can the same thing to my house. Imagine doing those with your kids around.
Bookmarked this already :D. I’ll try this guide of yours and hoping it will work for me!
Hello. Many thanks :) Great article
A weekly cleaning schedule shouldn’t keep you from enjoying your home and the people and pets in it. These are some quick and easy tips to help you get your house (and your life) in order.
It is well-written and contained sound, practical advice. You pointed out several things that I will remember for years to come. I look forward to reading your next informative work. Thank you.
Great post list, I really appreciate your effort. You shared a great guide.
Thanks, Anna! I’m always making lists for myself because I’m not good at staying in a routine, haha!
Thanks For writting helpful blog
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I think it’s the most useful and complete list that exists for overwhelmed people like me! I don’t even have kids but it’s hard to put a system in place when you’re in a relationship and you don’t know where to start! I’m gonna try this while quarantined and see how it goes. Bless you
Thanks so much! I’m not a routine person and have a hard time sticking to anything, but during this time it’s really helping! I hope it works for you. I was thinking about doing this one next week too :)
One small area every day keeps my house clean. Not perfect but also not cluttered and let go. It is important that it feels dooable for me
Makes perfect sense! It has to feel doable to me too :)
Thank You for these quick and easy tips to make our living space clean and organized. It’s difficult to keep a place organized when there a more that one person staying at the same place. I really appreciate your effort, it’s a great guide.
I’m so glad you like the post! I agree, my house is never perfect with five people living in it, haha!
Great post list, I really appreciate your effort. You shared a great guide.
I love this, but I just have one complaint. If your before pictures were messy, I’d hate for you to see my house! I wish my house was as clean as your before pictures! Oh well time to get started!
Haha! It gets worse than that, trust me! I hope you’re whipping it into shape over there. I actually need to do this checklist soon in my house too. Yikes.
Great activity schedule and it’s interesting when it comes to cleaning and organize the house…
I am so inspired by your blog and printable and have started de cluttering and will for sure use the cleaning reigiem. So thank you 😊
Oh I’m so happy you found them useful! Happy cleaning :)
These are some excellent tips and tricks. Very cool 😎
Beautifully organized and decorated space!!!! You have shared a really very interesting and inspiring post.
It is very nice of you to share all of these amazing blogs here! I love reading cleaning blogs and themes about the eco cleaning products. Thanks again!
These tips are really helpful. Thanks! I need to tackle my living room as I just moved into a new home and really feel like I need to up my decor skills. Thanks for the inspo!
I own a high pressure cleaning company, so you would think that my home is spotless all the time. But its funny how my skills always seem to lack and come up short in my own home! Come home from the day and all of a sudden, my house is just as messy as the one’s I just cleaned. These are great tips to post on your fridge, kitchen window, or to set timed alarms on your phone calendar to help remind and create good habits around the house… even if you’re a professional cleaner. Thanks for the friendly reminder.
Such a great article ! I do love reading about home cleaning and organizing.
A week after week cleaning plan shouldn’t hold you back from making the most of your home and individuals and pets in it. So don’t let the residue rabbits win. Smooth out your housekeeping tasks into a memorable simple daily practice with this printable house keeping plan for all week long.
This article provides great tips. Thank you so much for taking the time to be so thorough in providing tips you did to keep a clean and organized house! Now for the hard part, implementing these tips into our daily life, right? haha
I know! I’m not a routine person, so things can get out of control fast. I STILL do this list when things feel overwhelming!
Thanks for sharing with us this informative knowledge with us.
Thank You for your post i really appreciate your contribution
Great Post!
Awesome! Hope this helps me organize things in the house.
Nice. What I usually do is doing the whole thing the whole day.
I want to say that is one of the top notch posts that i’ve perused in all my existence. the whole thing right here is certainly remarkable.
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I love all your great curb appeal ideas! You’ve given me a great list of tasks to add to my to-do list this time!
Really great to have a schedule in place to help keep things organized and on time too. It’s super easy to forget and put things off so having a plan does wonders to any cleaning routine!
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Really enjoyed your article. Cleaning can definitely be overwhelming, but by having a cleaning schedule like yours, it really helps to make the job less stressful. Thanks for the tips!
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I love clean as you go. I started to put things away that I use on a daily basis and it makes a huge difference. Greatsite!
I am so grateful that I found this site. This has been a busy week for me that I have no time to clean and organize my room. Thanks for sharing your experience and also for the great tips here. Keep on posting!
This blog is so aesthetic!
House cleaning is always a great challenge for me because I get scared of the bulk of the upcoming work and just don’t know how to start the cleaning process. Your article is a great guide for such confused housewives as me! Thank you for sharing
Oh my goodness, that’s how I feel too, Melissa! That’s pretty much why I made this printable, I just feel overwhelmed sometimes. Best to you — Kate
Yes, yes, yes! It is important to clean daily especially when you have a child. This is a way to not pile up on cleaning during the weekends. Love your blog!
This is a very great tip! Having a checklist will definitely be a lot of help. As someone from the housekeeping industry, I got to say this is one of the best read I have encountered.
Great List I’ve ever seen!
Wow! I like how you are great in organizing things in your home, as I am when I don’t have any work to do, I spent my entire time to clean our house, and be organized. Thank you so much for sharing it with us.
I would have loved a list for my living room. I have a small2 bedroom apt and currently doing a lot of things like sewing puzzles etc in my living room so it’s always a mess.any suggestions
I am going to look into giving these planners to some of my family as they are hopeless and don’t know where to start. Thanks for the info and the great source.
This is such a great list.
Hi I was wondering is their any chance you can do one of the same list, but for the living room please?
I’m thinking of giving these calendars to some of my family members who are stuck and don’t know where to begin. Thank you for the information and the excellent source.
Awesome! Hope this helps me organize things in the house.
Great information thank you for sharing as it helped me in organizing house.
This is a great post. It’s perfect for anyone who feels like they’re stuck in a cleaning rut or just need some structure to help them get started. Really helpful and make it easy to follow the plan without having to feel overwhelmed! That’s key. Thank you so much for sharing your valuable insight and advice.
Thank you so much to writing this wonderful blog. It’s really worthwhile.
Having a one-week schedule to clean and organize your house is a great way to break down tasks into manageable chunks and make your living space more comfortable and inviting.
I sincerely appreciate your work on this post list.
Maintaining a clean and organized house is a constant challenge, and this 1-week schedule is just what I needed. Breaking down tasks into manageable chunks throughout the week is a game-changer. I’ll be following this plan to streamline my cleaning routine and maintain a tidy living space. Thank you for sharing!
Hey Kate- recently found and love your blog but there’s a bit more I am hoping for.
TRUTH- 1 hour a day and I CANNOT accomplish what you do! No way can I clean a shower in an hour, etc. So I’ve just been doing one big thing a day and focusing on that hour and its helping.
However, I would LOVE some ideas on how to organize a day when you are homeschooling. I noticed you have all your kids in school which majorly helps accomplish what you need to. I also have a small business and need to focus there. Plus we have one kid – which sometimes is more demanding because they want our attention.
Can you offer a schedule for faith/health/clean/family/homeschool/PTbiz?
Maybe also some ideas and a plan for those of us that are slower than you at cleaning.
P.S. Love your blog and will keep up.