A 20-Minute Five Day a Week Cleaning Schedule

Let's face it. You're busy. You are trying to do a million things at once. Aren't we all? Has your home cleaning schedule fallen by the wayside and you're too embarrassed to let people past your front door?

I think I've finally found the answer. After spending time searching the internet, I've found the best of the best cleaning tips and methods, and mixed them together to create the ultimate cleaning schedule for the busy person. I mean really, who likes cleaning all day on Saturday? I should mention, these cleaning tips are for someone who doesn't have to search for the floor in their living room. If you have a lot of extra stuff lying around, you may want to check out flylady.net. After you've "decluttered," check back!

I've organized my home cleaning schedule monthly, weekly, and daily. Within one month, my home is completely clean, and I'm ready to start my schedule again. All it takes is 20 minutes a day to tackle the tough stuff.

Daily 

Every morning when I get up, and right before I go to sleep, I have a routine that I stick to. It really doesn't take up much time, but doing this can help speed things along. Although this is not included in the 20 minutes, this takes no more than 10 minutes a day, and easily can become second nature. I've put these cleaning tips in order of how I accomplish them during my day.

Make bed - 30 seconds 
Put away clothes and jewelry from night before - 30 seconds 
Swipe toilet (I only clean out the inside if it looks dirty) -30 seconds 
Wipe bathroom mirror with Windex wipe -15 seconds 
Wipe bathroom sink with GreenWorks Wipe -15 seconds 
Spray shower with shower spray - 5 seconds 
Wipe fingerprints off table in living room - 5 seconds 
Wash, dry and put away dishes -5 minutes 
Sweep floor - 1 minute

The longest part of this list is obviously washing the dishes. If you are severely pressed on time, you can always use paper. I've found the easiest way to keep the dishes in control is to wash them as you use them. Otherwise, by dinner time, you can wind up with a big, uninspiring pile.

Second Nature 

Some parts of my home cleaning schedule, are things that I don't really think about, but just do. These also help to cut down on clutter and allow you to spend only 20 minutes a day cleaning.

As I mentioned already, wash the dishes as you use them 
Wash laundry on the go (either throughout the day over the week, or all at once at a laundromat) 
Pick up your stuff whenever you leave the room 
Sort the mail as soon as you get it

These are all a part of my daily routine. As for weekends, sometimes I do them, sometimes I don't. I enjoy sleeping in on the weekends, and generally have found my home cleaning schedule to get in the way. Home cleaning can be enjoyable, and even a bit Zen-like, but there are so many fun things to do. Who wants to clean all the time?

Weekly & Monthly

Okay, here come the biggies, my Weekly and Monthly home cleaning schedules. For the week, I have my days divided like this:

Monday-Home Sprint 
Tuesday-Special Room(s) Day 
Wednesday-Bills 
Thursday-Home Sprint 
Friday-Declutter

As you can see, Saturday and Sunday are not here. Why? Because I don't like cleaning on the weekends. Monday thru Friday, I organized my home cleaning so that I only need to spend 20 minutes to keep my home sparkling. You can too! Let me explain what each day means.

Home Sprint 

Monday and Thursday are my Home Sprint days. On each day, for 20 minutes, I focus on completing ALL of the following:

Cleaning the Fish Tank 
Dusting 
Wiping all mirrors with a windex wipe 
Wiping all door handles and light switches with a GreenWorks wipe 
Wet Swiffering the kitchen floor 
Emptying the trash 
Watering the plants 
Vacuuming

In only 40 minutes a week, I can race through all of these. I bet you can too!

Special Room(s) Day 

Every Tuesday is Special Room(s) Day. This is actually my entire monthly schedule, right here! Each Tuesday of each week, I focus on a different section of my home, for a total of four sections.

Week 1: Porch & Kitchen 
Week 2: Bathroom & Study 
Week 3: Living Room 
Week 4: Bedroom

For 20 minutes, I'll focus some particular parts that need a deep cleaning, like the inside of the kitchen trash can, or polishing the silver in the living room. For busy people who have more rooms, you don't have to just limit yourself to 4 Weeks, take a few extra if you need. The idea here is to only clean for 20 minutes and then STOP. You'll be surprised at how much of a focused home cleaning you can do in just 20 minutes. If you need a more in depth list on how to clean these areas, check out Flylady.net. She talks about something called "Zone Cleaning" which is similar to this idea, and she has detailed cleaning lists and cleaning tips that are great for people that aren't sure where to start.

Bills 

Every Wednesday is Bills Day. I consider paying my bills to be a part of my home cleaning schedule, as it is simply another home chore that needs to be done every week. If I don't have bills to pay that week, I may take those twenty minutes to focus on budgeting, or researching financial advice. Most folks wouldn't include this with their cleaning tips, but it's a vital part of having a home!

DeClutter 

Every Friday is DeClutter Day. On this day, I basically run around my home throwing stuff away, or putting stuff back where it belongs. However, because I'm constantly on autopilot (see above) there really isn't all that much to declutter, and 20 minutes a week is all it takes for cleaning schedule!

I promise you, if you stick to these cleaning tips and home cleaning schedule that you will never again have a messy home. You may find over time you will need to adapt these cleaning tips to fit your own lifestyle, but make sure that you find something that is doable for your busy self! Good luck!

By incorporating some of these cleaning tips into your everyday routine, it is possible to maintain a perpetually tidy living space even with a hectic life. Many people who have not read these cleaning tips will overestimate the time that it takes to wipe down a counter or apply shower spray. Once you have created a complete schedule from the above cleaning tips, your day will no longer be bogged down by attempts to catch up. Better yet, you will no longer have to spend any time cleaning on the weekends!

Perhaps the best part of the above cleaning tips is that the schedule may beadapted to any calendar or lifestyle. Depending on the scale of your living space, twenty minutes per weekday may even be excessive for maintaining a spotless house.

Still feeling overwhelmed by a dirty home? The Maids are here to help those who do not have time to clean. If you would like to learn more about our maid services or would like to hear more cleaning tips, please contact us.