Life is busy. We all have a million things to doand only a few hours each day to get it done. Cleaning house can be one of the
most time consuming activities on our to-do list. As a result it may go undone
until our homes are in such disarray that it can no longer be ignored.
Vacuuming under the couch, dusting hard to reach places, and mopping our
floors? How often does the deep cleaning need to be done, and how long can we
get by on an easy clean job?

Here are a few thoughts inspired by professional
home organizers and clean home specialists to convince you that a cleaning
schedule may be the smartest thing you can do to keep your home safe and clean
for your whole family.

A Little Goes a Long Way

One of the biggest steps to a clean home is to
do a little bit of cleaning everyday instead of one major overhaul once a
month. Wipe down the fireplace mantle, dust the TV stand and clean the
breakfast nook on a weekly basis. This consistent, yet quick attention to
detail, will keep bigger messes from accumulating which will call for a longer,
harder clean job.

While a lot of us balk at creating a cleaning
schedule because it seems almost impossible to stick to, consider creating
something that you can glance at daily in order to make it easier to complete.

Here are a few daily chores that can add
up to a consistently clean house:

– Wipe down kitchen counters
– Make the beds
– Wash, dry, fold and put away at least one load
of laundry
– Pick up random dirty clothes and place them in
designated hampers
– Take out the garbage in the kitchen
– Clean out the kitchen sink and scrub the
surface
– Pick up family room- remove clean clutter like
toys, old magazines, and random items
– Sweep the kitchen floor

Here are a few weekly chores that can add
up to a consistently clean house:

– Vacuum carpet and rugs- especially in high
traffic areas
– Clean bathrooms
– Change and clean bed linens
– Dust furniture
– Clean kitchen counters (remove everything from
the counter tops)
– Wipe down the inside of the microwave

Why Minimum Maintenance is Better than “Spring
Cleaning”

Deep cleaning has its place, but it is more
important to stay consistent with your minimum cleaning on a daily and weekly
basis in order to keep your home, clean, happy, and livable.  If you find
that you have run into a road block with your minimum cleaning schedule- you’re
working longer hours, you have an illness in the family, or you go on vacation-
then consider shortening your list to these 4 things to keep yourself on track:

– Clean the dishes after every meal
– Do necessary laundry to completion
– Do a once-a-day pickup and a weekly cleaning
on your bathroom and kitchen
– Make sure to get all bills paid and organized
on time

No matter what your schedule allows, create some
kind of daily and weekly cleaning schedule which will put your home and your
family in a routine that will benefit everyone for years to come.