Creating Your Own Cleaning Routines

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Having the right cleaning routines in place will not only keep your home clean, but will also save you time and make life so much easier.

But when setting up your schedule or routine, they are not one size fits all. 

Pinterest is full of so many different cleaning schedules and lovely pintables. With so many awesome ideas, how do we choose which is right for us?

For me personally, this has taken a lot of trial and error. It can be downright challenging and maybe even discouraging when things don’t go smoothly. I love routines, but I have three small children. Anyone who has little ones, knows just hard it is when our best laid out plans don’t go accordingly.

But, and this is a big but, once we get a routine that works well for us, life runs so much more smoothly.

I no longer worry about when the toilet is going to be cleaned, the floors mopped, or when the laundry will be completed. Because I have those tasks all on designated days as part of my  cleaning routine.

Here are a few tips that help me to stay on track with my cleaning routines.

Declutter.

This is a continuous and ongoing project around here. I have completed declutter sessions (get started here), but I still look for more.

What is in our home that doesn’t add value?

Can it be repurposed or donated? If it’s taking up precious space in our home and not something that we need or love, I get rid of it.

I think I’m ruthless.

Follow routines.

I even go a step further and have created a regular schedule for my family. Now, it isn’t so restrictive that there isn’t room for things that come up or leaving us without flex room.

For example, our wake up time is anywhere from 4 am – 5 am. First thing that I do is get coffee brewing and sit down with my morning devotions. Then I have designated breakfast and clean up time.

Followed by other morning routines and the start my “business hours”. In between all of that is taking care of the needs of my family.

Having designated times slotted for certain tasks, really helps me to keep my family happy and run our homestead.

Eat the frog.

Have you ever heard that quote?

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.”

– Mark Twain.

Meaning, get the worst things done first. Those projects that we dread, those things that we want to procrastinate on. Getting them done first and foremost, makes the rest of the day run smoothly.

Establish a night time routine.

I like to make sure the kitchen is clean, coffee is set up, and the living room is picked up before we head to bed.

I will also do about a 15 minute declutter session nightly, making sure all toys are picked up and things out of place are taken care of. This sets my morning up to be much more successful.

Create healthy habits.

Put things away in their proper places, put items away when you’re finished with them. My biggest challenge is getting rid of those clutter hot zones.

The kitchen counters are the biggest opportunity around here. I help eliminate these areas from being filled with clutter by keeping them free of too many items.

Appliances are stored in cabinets and off of the counters. The two that I use the most are the coffee pot and my stand mixer. Those remain out, and it doesn’t really look cluttered with a minimal amount of items.

But even my knives and butcher block are housed in cabinets, my cutting board is hung up by the stove and the rest is out of site. Having those clutter free counters, makes it so much easier for me to clean.

When we set up our lists and routines, rather than just thinking of what we need to get done, instead think of how we are going to accomplish it. What are the main goals and how will we accomplish them?

My laundry routine has helped me tremendously because I no longer look at it as just a chore and get discouraged. I have it all planned out and it makes my life so much easier.

Here, I’m going to share how I break my cleaning routines down.

Daily Chore Schedule

Monthly Task Schedule

Note, these are just examples.

I like routines, but maybe you’re a speed clean type of person.

What works for me, may not work for you, but I’m sharing to perhaps inspire you towards organization. There isn’t one right way to clean or organize.

The trick is to find something that works best for you, to be consistent and keep it simple.

To help you get organized with your cleaning routines, check out this post: A Catholic Alternative to Konmari