THE PERFECT DAILY CLEANING SCHEDULE: 8 STEP GUIDE & FREE PRINTABLE

I BET YOU DON'T LIKE HOUSEWORK.
 
I don't like it either, but boy do I like the results! Today I've not only got a Free Printable Daily Cleaning Schedule, I've also got my eight step guide to making it work for you!

Now, to many people, this would sound trivial, but for all us mums, there's nothing better than waking up in the morning to a clean house!

I'll be lying in bed, half asleep, thinking about the day ahead, and then it will hit - the house is clean! I cleaned it yesterday!

Yay, yay, yay!

And I could just leap out of bed, punch the air a few times, put my hands to my heart and break into a tuneless rendition of 'We Are The Champions'... but I don't. Because that would wake Missy, and the disintegration of all my hard work would start again!




So, instead, I go and make myself a cup of coffee in my clean kitchen, sit down on the sofa in my clean living room and just savor all the cleanliness and order.

Lol.

Housework tends to be the bane of most women's lives - no sooner do you make it clean, than it gets dirty again, and you're back to square one. Over and over, everyday. For years. Decades.

It's hard enough keeping up with the daily stuff, let alone all the 'extra' things you should be doing every week/month/season. And the more you do, the more you see that needs doing. Ugh.




But there is a secret to having a wonderfully clean home all the time; it's very simple, but not so pretty.

You have to clean everyday.

Yep, after I finish my lovely cup of coffee in my lovely clean house, I go and do more cleaning. Just running around tidying things up makes a huge difference - you can see my Daily Housework Routine below.


Now, whenever the house looks like a bomb has gone off because I've let things go (normally after a busy week followed by a busy weekend), it can take about 4 hours to get through this list, not including the evening stuff.

What an incredibly painful way to spend a Monday morning! But then if I do it everyday, it doesn't take hours, just 15 to 30 minutes...

The moral of the story is - the more messed up your house gets, the longer it takes to clean it, so clean everyday!

Below is a blank Free Printable Daily Housework Routine for you guys - I've made it a little different to mine, so there's enough hand writing space, and each page will last for a fortnight of chores.


MAKING YOUR OWN PERFECT DAILY CLEANING SCHEDULE: 
 
And here's my step by step guide to putting together your own perfect daily schedule - it'll take about the same time as it takes to have a cup of tea :)

STEP 1: 
 
Put the kettle on, grab a notepad and pen, (yes, right now, you won't regret it) start walking through each room in your house and jot down the things that need to be done daily.

STEP 2: 
 
Now, as you make your tea, think about all the 'hot-spots' where clutter tends to accumulate, and add clearing these to your list. My list has 'tidy buffet' on it because this is where Dan dumps the contents of his pockets when he comes home everyday, and it very quickly fills up with coins, receipts and random stuff that has no home. Clearing these spots everyday makes a BIG difference!

STEP 3: 
 
Now, sit down and sort out which room you will clean first, second, third etc. This is important. Notice I clean the laundry after I do the bedrooms and bathroom? By the time I get to the laundry, I've picked up all the dirty clothes in the house, so when I start the machine,  I've got all the items that need to be in that load in there.

STEP 4: 
 
What order should the individual tasks in each room be done? On my list 'Make the bed' is pretty obvious when cleaning a bedroom, but its also a reminder to do that first, because I always sit clothes on the bed when I'm sorting out what to hang and what to wash, and it's heaps easier if I've made the bed first.

STEP 5:  
 
Speaking of reminders, some items on my list, like 'Wipe Desks' I don't do everyday. It's a reminder to simply look and see if they need wiping. If they do, I do them. If they dont, I don't. But, I find that if it's not on my list, it never ever happens. So, you might want to include a few of those on your list too - they aren't big jobs, just random little ones that are easily missed.

STEP 6: 
 
Ok, keeping in mind that some items will just be reminders, have a sip of that lovely cup of tea, and think about how much time you actually want to spend cleaning every day. And don't say none lol! I can be a bit overly ambitious - trying to be superwoman and putting way too much on my list, then wondering why I never complete it all! Don't do this. Think about what level of cleanliness you are happy to live with - 80%? 90%? 60%? Now cull all those perfectionist items you put in that you really don't have to do. I spend about two hours a day (not including evening stuff) on housework, and I do my daily stuff first, then any extra stuff (see my next post for details).

STEP 7: 
 
You're ready to write everything in! You'll probably need two copies of the printable for a normal sized house and in my opinion, if your list spreads over four pages, it's too big to be done daily (unless you really are superwoman or know a secret I don't - if so, please share!).

STEP 8: 
 
Try it out. See how your routine goes for a fortnight before changing it. Then tweak it every time you write out a new one. You'll probably find that things you do daily during school terms are different to school holidays, and your winter routines are different to summer ones. Please remember though, it will never be perfect.

Your family, and therefore your home, are constantly changing, and this list will evolve too.



See? That didn't take long at all! I hope that helps everyone get their housework a little more organized!

This post was going to have a whole handful of printables in it, but it became so long that I've broken it up into two posts - you can find the rest of my housework printables here: Housework Planners & 30 Day Routine.

To download these printables, simply scroll down to find the download links

All the best,

Eliza.