Keep your house spotless by creating a cleaning schedule. By keeping a schedule, you know exactly when you should devote time to complete the chores, making the idea of cleaning an entire home less daunting.
In this article, we give you the run-down on scheduling your cleaning, and how to set a realistic cleaning schedule that works for you.
Create a ‘clean room checklist’
First of all, know what you need to get done. Get a pen and paper. Go through the different rooms of your home, and list down your cleaning tasks per room. This will be your cleaning inventory.
Have your cleaning tools ready
Before you start cleaning, check that you have the cleaning supplies and tools you will need within reach. Imagine needing a detergent and then discovering you’ve ran out! That could get quite frustrating. Make sure that you have everything you need and cleaning will be much faster.
Prioritise rooms
Identify which rooms and areas in your home will need regular cleaning. Storage or guest rooms may be cleaned seasonally as they’re not often used. Listing rooms and areas by priority can make you feel less overwhelmed with the cleaning work that needs to be done.
List regular tasks
Once you have identified the room and areas that need cleaning, go to each one and list down the cleaning tasks that you need to do regularly. List items from ceiling to floor, in the same order in which you’ll clean. In this way, you can easily mark tasks as complete or see which tasks are still pending.
Consider frequency
Determine how often you’ll need to clean a room or area of your home. For example, public spaces such as the kitchen or guest bathrooms may need to be cleaned more often than private spaces such as bedrooms.
When deciding on frequency, consider your lifestyle. If you’re working on weekdays, then that means you may only have the weekend for cleaning tasks. If you stay at home while most of your family is away, then you may schedule cleaning work while family members are out.
Decide how you’ll get the cleaning done
What’s your cleaning style? Are you the type to block off an entire day (or two) to get all your cleaning done?
If devoting one or two days for cleaning sounds a bit too much, then try timed sessions where you decide which days you’ll clean and set a timer. For example, set the timer for 45 minutes and then start at the top of your list. Stop when you reach 45 minutes. On the next scheduled day, start the timer again and pick up your cleaning where you left off.
Another option is to decide what days you’ll clean and assign a specific room or area for that day. For example, on Mondays, clean the living room, entry and hallway; Wednesdays, clean the kitchen, laundry and bath rooms; Thursdays, clean bedrooms. When deciding on a cleaning style, opt for one that doesn’t overwhelm you while still helping you be efficient in cleaning.
Have a trial run
Start your cleaning schedule at the start of the month or of the week and see how you go. Consider it as practice! You may see some things that work for you and other that don’t, so adjust as needed. Keep in mind that it takes time and practice before your home cleaning schedule runs seamlessly.
Stay on track
To keep yourself on top of your cleaning schedule, print out your inventory and place it in a plastic protector. Always have it handy when you clean. It may also help to mark your cleaning days in your calendar. As you do it more regularly, you’ll find that they’ll become a natural part of your routine.
Improve your cleaning schedule when needed
Your cleaning schedule is flexible and you can keep adjusting it to fit your lifestyle and needs. Cut yourself some slack if there are days you’re unable to finish cleaning tasks in your list. You can simply continue on your next session. Feel free to test different things and decide what will work better for you.
Include professional cleaning in your schedule
There may be areas in your house that you can’t clean on your own. If you haven’t cleaned your carpet in several months, if your couch or mattress has stains or odours you can’t get rid of, if there are stubborn stains in your bathroom or kitchen grout, or if your air ducts need a thorough clean, it’s time to bring in the experts.
Wizard offers professional steam carpet cleaning, couch and mattress cleaning, tile and grout cleaning, and duct cleaning. Call us on 0438 554 830 and book our professional cleaning services for a thoroughly clean and healthy home.