If you struggle with keeping your house clean day-to-day, this realistic cleaning schedule is the perfect routine to help you maintain cleanliness in your home with minimal time spent on housework. Try this simple everyday cleaning routine to keep your house clean without sacrificing all of your free time!
When I was a university student, I had a serious problem keeping my space clean.
I would leave food rotting in the fridge, I would hoard used cups in my room, and I had piles of laundry sitting around on the floor.
In my third year of university, things got a little better thanks to my roommate. She was all about keeping a clean space and she would hold me accountable for my messes. When she noticed that I was dropping the ball on some of my tasks, she’d tell me to get on top of it and clean up. Once a week, we’d do some weekly chores together to make sure nothing got forgotten in the home.
And honestly, I had never realized how much I loved a clean home until that point. Ever since then, I have made more of an effort to not just clean every once in a while but to maintain a clean home whenever possible.
When someone visits my home now I don’t have to scramble to hide a bunch of messes that I’ve created. Instead, I can welcome people into any part of my home, knowing that it is all clean and comfortable.
But here’s the thing.
Though my house is way cleaner than it used to be, I don’t actually spend more time cleaning than I used to.
In fact, I think it’s possible that I spend less time cleaning.
Because I put effort into doing small, daily tasks, I don’t have to spend extra time catching up on cleaning tasks that have gotten too big to manage.
For example, back when I would hoard dishes in my room, I would have to spend extra time hunting for random dishes around the house before washing a pile of dishes that were coated with dried-up milk and juice.
Now, I just wash the dishes quickly and move on with my day. Most of the time, I barely even notice that I’ve done any cleaning!
The daily housecleaning checklist I’m about to share with you is quick and effective. It’s a great realistic cleaning schedule that even the busiest of you out there can manage easily!
Before we jump in, I’d like to quickly note that I still have cleaning tasks that I do on a weekly and a monthly basis, as well. These daily cleaning tasks are the things you do that should only take up about 30 minutes of your day. Other areas of your house will eventually need your attention. But if you just do these checklist items each day, your house will be comfortable and clean in the ways that matter.
If you want the weekly cleaning checklist to complement your daily cleaning routine, you can sign up for it for free below:
A Simple Everyday Cleaning Routine to Keep Your House Clean for Good!
Morning and Evening Cleaning Routine to do Daily
First, let’s establish what chores need to be done every day in order to maintain a clean home.
This list may look different for you depending on what you do for work. It will also depend on whether you have kids, pets, or (ahem) messy roommates.
However, the tasks I’m about to share with you should cover the needs of the average household.
Morning Daily Cleaning Checklist (10-15 minutes)
The tasks on this part of the checklist should not take long at all. These are all items that just help your house feel more put-together before you start your real work for the day.
Task #1: Do a quick walkthrough of the house
This is such an easy task but it makes a huge difference in the overall cleanliness of your house.
All you have to do is walk through your house. While you do, keep an eye out for anything that is out of place. Maybe a toy or electronic that isn’t where it’s supposed to be or a dish that needs to be brought to the kitchen.
If you do this every day, then this step shouldn’t take you any longer than five minutes.
Task #2: Do a load of laundry
It’s only me and my husband living together right now, so truthfully, laundry is one of our weekly tasks.
But as more people get added to the family, laundry quickly turns into a daily task.
Because it is something that takes time, it is a good idea to get a load started in the morning if your schedule allows. Otherwise, you can save it for later.
Task #3: Make the bed
This is such a quick and easy way to make your room look clean! Fluff your pillows and arrange your bed how you like it then move on!
Task #4: Do any dishes
After you’ve finished your first meal of the day, you should try to do a quick clean of the kitchen.
I’ve noticed a big difference in the days that I opt out of this task. If you start your day off by staying on top of the dish pile, you will find it a lot easier to keep up with it throughout the day.
Of course, I know this task is a hard one if you are in a rush to get to work in the morning. If that is the case, you could try to get up earlier so you have more time. You might also save the dishes for dinner, or wash them immediately when you get home from work.
Related Post: How to Wake Up Early in the Morning: 7 Unique Solutions
Evening Daily Cleaning Checklist (10-20 minutes)
The evening has slightly different items to tackle but a lot of the tasks are the same as before. Again, this shouldn’t take you too long. When you’re finished, your house will feel clean and comfortable enough for you to truly relax into your night routine.
Task #1: Do another walkthrough of the house
This walkthrough is the same as the one in the morning. You are simply taking a quick check that everything is where it’s supposed to be.
Task #2: Do the last of the dishes
I like to call this task “closing the kitchen”. You’re doing the dishes for the last time today, so just make sure you get them all and you won’t have to touch another dish until breakfast!
Task #3: Wipe Counters
I mainly do this for the kitchen and the bathroom. However, if there are other areas of your house that get messy then wipe those down, too.
It should be a quick process, though. Simply grab a cloth and a spray and do a quick wipe of all of the cleared counters.
Task #4: Check the floor
Unless I spilled something that day or had a really messy meal prep, it is not often that I have a lot to clean on the floor.
Personally, a weekly sweep and mop are pretty much all that is needed to keep the house clean. It is still good to check daily for any specific areas that need cleaning, though.
If you do find a spot that needs cleaning, sweep or mop as necessary.
Related Post: Try This 5-Step Simple Weekly Cleaning Routine for a Sparkling House
How to implement your new daily housecleaning schedule
Now that you know what you need to do, it’s important for you to actually plan how you are going to get those tasks done every day.
When you have a plan and a goal in place it is a lot easier to stick to it.
Step 1: Decide how much time you want to set aside to do your daily cleaning routine
I gave a suggested time frame of fifteen minutes in the morning and fifteen in the evening to accomplish these tasks.
However, you know best what amount of time you need.
If your house is bigger and you do all of the cleaning by yourself, you might need ten minutes alone just to make all the beds in the house. If you’re in my situation, you only need about two minutes.
You will need to determine what your specific needs are. They may be different than what I suggest.
Step 2: Decide when you want to take the time to do your daily cleaning routine
This is another step that I can’t really give an answer to.
What I do with my time might not be what you need for your schedule; it’s just a matter of what works best for you.
I like to do my cleaning right after eating breakfast in the morning and after eating dinner in the evening. However, if you have a time that works best for you, then go for it!
Step 3: Write down your intentions for your daily cleaning schedule and aim to stick to them!
Whenever you create a new goal for yourself, it helps to write it down and make it official!
Write your goals on a piece of paper that you can post on your fridge. Do this so you won’t forget what you’ve decided to work towards.
Bonus Step: Enlist members of the household to help!
If your situation allows, turn this time into a household activity. During this block of time, get everyone living with you to tackle one of the tasks on your everyday cleaning checklist. This way everyone can be a part of maintaining cleanliness and comfort in the home.
Related Post: Plan for Success: How to Prepare for New Goals
Simple Cleaning Habits that can make your realistic cleaning schedule even easier to manage
At this point, you might be thinking, okay, Genesis, this does sound like a pretty nice cleaning routine, but there is NO WAY I can get all my cleaning done in such a short amount of time.
Depending on your habits throughout the day, you might be right.
I mean, if you don’t clean up after yourself throughout the day then the walkthrough to tidy any items lying around is definitely going to take a lot longer. And if you don’t wipe up spills when they happen, you’ll end up having to clean the floors a lot more often.
There are habits that you can adopt that will help you to leave less of a mess behind throughout the day so that you don’t have to set aside much time outside of that to clean.
Cleaning Habit #1: Be choosy about what you let into your house
I used to own a ton of clothes and random items that would fill up my room and have it feeling constantly cluttered. But a few years ago, I took a long look at my belongings and got rid of anything that didn’t bring me absolute joy (thanks, Marie Kondo!) Now, my house is much emptier but it is much cleaner and cozier because of it!
Simply put, the more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to take care of.
If your house is too difficult to take care of right now, it might be worth getting rid of some of the stuff that is making it hard for you to manage.
Related Post: 10 Youtubers That’ll Make you want a Minimalist Lifestyle
Cleaning Habit #2: Play the one-touch game!
This has been my absolute favourite strategy to save time in my daily cleaning schedule.
The basic premise of the game is to put items back in their place in only one touch.
For example, stop putting mail down on top of a random paper pile and moving it every time you need the space. Instead, put the mail where it’s supposed to go the first time you touch it so you never have to touch it again.
Want to know more about this habit? Read How to Make Cleaning Up a Task of Simplicity
Cleaning Habit #3: Have organizational systems for the messier categories
I think you know what I’m talking about when I say messier categories.
I’m talking about those random paper piles that seem to just accumulate over the course of a month. Or those bags and purses that slowly collect at the front door until you’re tripping all over them. You get it.
When you create an organizational system that makes sure that these items stay clean and organized it makes it easier to keep on top of the other stuff.
Related posts about organizational systems:
- How to Manage Your Paper Organization Like a Boss!
- How to Keep Your Purse Organized
- 3 Simple Steps to Organize Your Email Without Stress
Changes you can make to your house to make your everyday cleaning routine easier
Along with habits that you can change, there is a myriad of physical changes you can make to your house’s design that will make cleaning easier.
They might be worth a try if you are finding that cleaning your house daily is still too difficult to do.
Change #1: Keep the decorations on your bed minimal
So many people design their beds to look extravagant and fashionable. But how much of those furnishings do you actually use? Do you need all of those pillows? What about the extra blankets?
For my own bed, I’m only using one blanket and two pillows. I don’t add anything to the bed’s decor because, for me, it takes up extra time and space I’d rather use on other things.
Now, for some people, I know that a well-decorated bed brings them joy and comfort. If that is the case, then, by all means, keep it! But if you are not one of those people, then keep it simple and save yourself some time and money!
Related Post: A Simple and Minimalist Way to Make Your Bed in the Morning
Change #2: Keep things off the flat surfaces when you can
I currently love my kitchen setup, mainly because it is so easy to clean!
I put most of my appliances away in cupboards. That way I don’t have to move a bunch of stuff just to get to the counter when it’s time to clean.
When you can, try to keep your counters and tables empty so that cleaning will be a breeze. I like to stick to a few simple things here and there so that I don’t have to move stuff around.
Bonus tip: If you want some stuff on the counter but don’t want to have to take a ton of time moving the stuff every time you clean, display it all on a tray that goes on the table. This way, you can simply move the tray with everything on it, saving you time and energy.
Change #3: Give absolutely everything a home
When I was a kid, one of the biggest reasons my room was always a mess was that I hadn’t given all of my belongings a home.
I’d end up stuffing random items in baskets and bins where they would pile up and make an even bigger mess.
When you give every single item a place to go, cleaning will get a lot easier for you.
Make sure that it is not hard to put anything away and that everyone in the household knows where the items belong.
Additionally, don’t be afraid to move the items if you’ve realized there is a better, more convenient place for them!
Editing the layout of your home will help you maintain a cleaner home over time.
Related Post: 10 Simple Habits that will help you stay organized
Change #4: If something is annoying to clean, get rid of it!
I was watching a minimalist YouTuber one time when they were explaining that they were going to be getting rid of a bedside table in their room. They explained that they liked the look of the bedside table but they hated having to move it every time they vacuumed.
At the time, I thought it was a bit of a strange reason to get rid of a piece of furniture. But I don’t think so anymore.
If a piece of furniture is more of an annoyance to you than a help, then why are you keeping it? If you are only keeping something for its decorative purposes, it’s really not worth keeping.
So if there is something in your house that you loathe cleaning, consider getting rid of it!
What to do if you fail to keep your daily cleaning schedule
If you’ve explored this site at all before, you will know that I am a big fan of finding freedom in our failures.
You don’t ever need to let failure defeat you. In fact, it can be a great learning tool to help you get to a better place in life.
In this case, failure to clean your house every day doesn’t mean that you will never be able to keep your house clean.
I am living proof that this isn’t true.
So if you are experiencing a bit of a bump in the road with your daily housecleaning checklist, then you can read some of these tips. They will help you see how the failure can benefit you.
Count on others to pick up the slack
Maybe failing to stick with the daily cleaning schedule is just a sign that you shouldn’t be doing it alone.
For myself, I have a huge weakness when it comes to laundry. I get really nervous to clean clothing because I don’t want to mess it up.
I have since learned how to do it properly. But because it is my least favourite chore and my husband doesn’t mind it, he is in charge of laundry.
This gives me more energy to do the chores I really like to do and still accomplishes the entire cleaning checklist.
Look at your own cleaning schedule. Decide if you can get help from anyone who might be able to make things a little more manageable for you.
Let this teach you that nothing falls apart if you don’t clean every day
Missing a couple of days of the cleaning schedule will definitely make your house messier. But it also won’t cause any real catastrophes.
If you fail to meet your goal, practice patience for yourself and let yourself notice that nothing bad happened.
Like many things in life, you can just pick yourself up and try again another day!
See the accumulating mess as an opportunity to do a cleaning session that will lift your mood
Cleaning up huge messes is definitely more satisfying than cleaning up a basically clean house.
When you finally tackle such a big mess, it feels so good to see it all disappear. It’s sort of therapeutic for most people, I think.
So if you see a mess accumulating in your house, don’t feel disappointed that you couldn’t keep the house clean. Instead, focus on how good it will feel to get the mess all cleaned up!
Your difficulties might be a sign that you need to readjust your daily cleaning routine
Just because I’ve said this is a realistic cleaning schedule doesn’t mean it’s a realistic cleaning schedule for everyone out there.
Maybe there is a piece of this cleaning routine that is causing you to struggle.
Failure to meet your goal might be just the push you need to take a look at your routine and figure out what you can change to make it more realistic for you!
Maybe you need to cut some of the less important tasks. Maybe you need to readjust the time that you had planned to clean each day. Make changes you think will help and try again.
Be a scientist of your own life!
Related Post: 7 Reasons You’re Failing Your Goals You Can Fix Now
Frequently Asked Questions about Daily Cleaning Routines
What cleaning should be done daily?
The main items that should be cleaned daily are the things you use daily.
If I had to pick just one item that should be done absolutely every day, I would say dishes. You need those dishes repeatedly throughout the day and have a limited amount.
Most other tasks can be done on a weekly basis without causing too much trouble. Dishes, however, should really be a chore that you try to include in your everyday cleaning schedule.
How much time should you spend cleaning each day?
I would recommend one of two options.
For option 1, I would recommend a daily cleaning routine that blocks out 15 minutes in the morning and 15 minutes in the evening PLUS a weekly cleaning routine that takes about 2 hours.
For option 2, you will spread out your weekly cleaning routine throughout the week. This means that you would add about another 20 minutes to your daily cleaning schedule for a total of 50 minutes of daily cleaning.
I personally prefer option 1 because I find that finding 2 hours sometime in the week is a lot easier than finding an extra 20 minutes every single day of the week. However, if 2 hours of cleaning sounds like the worst thing in the world to you, then option 2 is ideal.
How can I clean my house when I work full time?
The nice thing about this routine is that it can be done in small pockets of time throughout the day.
If you work full time, I would recommend doing a block of cleaning before work and another block after work.
This will help you stay on top of things without feeling like you have no time for yourself at the end of the day.
Is it better to clean by room or by task?
Typically, it is more effective to clean by task because you won’t waste time getting out all of the different materials more than once.
Additionally, it is more efficient to start with the tasks that are higher off the ground first.
For example, clean the counters before you clean the floor. That way if something falls from the counter it doesn’t mess up your clean floors.
A Daily Cleaning Printable to help you keep track of your daily cleaning goals
I’m a huge believer in writing down my goals and setting up plans that will help aid my success.
If you are the same, then this daily cleaning printable is exactly what you need! It comes with a list of daily cleaning tasks that you can do every day to maintain a clean home plus a few goal-setting questions to help you identify what you want to achiev.
You can print it off to track your habits or even laminate it so that you can reuse the same page every day!
And the best part? It’s completely free!
So what are you waiting for? Grab your free daily cleaning printable and apply what you’ve learned to keep your house consistently clean and comfortable from now on!
Finding a realistic cleaning schedule can be a difficult task to manage but with the tips provided, you will be able to develop a simple everyday cleaning routine that is actually possible to commit to. Don’t forget to download the free daily cleaning printable for more help!
I love a clean house so having a daily and weekly routine is essential. It only takes a few minutes every day.
Exactly! I used to think that cleaning every day would make me feel like I’m ALWAYS cleaning but it actually did the opposite! Now I feel like I can enjoy a clean house without having to put much effort in.
I LOVE throwing in a load of laundry in the morning. It’s so easy to do, and it feels good to get something going right away. I also agree with getting any dishes done in the morning. I’ve found that if I make a pan of hot, soapy water in the morning, I’m more likely to do those morning dishes!
Wow, that’s a great idea! I think I will start doing that, too! It definitely feels like you’re starting off the day on the right foot when you’re able to get a few chores done early 🙂
I should probably take note of all these great ideas, but I hate cleaning the house! so I have it cleaned by someone who loves to clean every two weeks!!! LOL
Haha that’s understandable! Honestly, though, that’s a pretty great solution when you don’t like cleaning!
What a comprehensive post! So many great tips. Sure, I wish the fairies would take care of this while I slept! For me going more minimalist helps with this. Just owning less stuff makes it so much easier to stay on time of cleaning.
I agree, Yolanda, simply owning less stuff makes cleaning a home so much easier! It makes sense, though- with less stuff, there’s simply less stuff to clean!
My boyfriend is great about staying on top of the cleaning. He’ll unload the dishwasher in the morning or throw in a load of laundry. We try to clean as we go, so we rarely have one big cleaning day unless we’re deep cleaning. Like you, I’ve grown to love and appreciate having a clean space!
That’s awesome that your boyfriend is good at maintaining a clean space. It seriously makes such a difference when you have support in the home. I feel like when you’re left to clean all alone it can be a lot harder to stop burnout. That’s great that you both like to stay on top of cleaning!
So many great tips. Having different tasks daily and weekly is something that has really helped me keep things clean.
Agreed! It is just so much more manageable when you have the cleaning tasks portioned out throughout the week. It’s not as overwhelming this way and can actually be enjoyable!
My goodness this was thorough! And, I loved every part of it! With my husband and son home full-time the last year, we had to make some serious changes in habits. We have a handful of chores that have to get done daily, every other day, weekly and bi-weekly, so I created a two week schedule with all of it listed out. It’s laminated and stuck to the fridge. So…when someone has a free moment, they can check the list and get an item crossed off (and that someone doesn’t always have to be me!).
That’s an awesome solution in a family! I love the idea of including every family member in the maintenance of a clean home. I think it helps everyone feel good about contributing to the cleanliness. I love that you laminated the schedule and placed it in a common area for people to take charge and communicate easily. What a great idea!
There’s so much excellent information about cleaning in this post! I pride myself on being a very tidy and organized person, so cleaning has never been something I slacked on. My husband, on the other hand… well, he’s another story haha! I make sure to do dishes after every single meal I eat and again before bed (I hate leaving a full sink) and I always wipe down the counters at night as well. I don’t have easy access to laundry, so that’s honestly the hardest chore to accomplish regularly. Otherwise, I do a full home clean every other week and minor tasks in-between 🙂
I totally get what you mean about leaving dishes in the sink. I don’t exactly enjoy washing dishes but I really don’t like seeing dirty dishes sitting around! That’s awesome that you are proud of your cleanliness; it truly is a skill that one should be proud of! I feel like a clean house can really bless the people living in it. It’s like a little gift to the other people in your home! 🙂