A Weekly Cleaning Plan

Do you have a friend that you just look up to and it seems like everything they do is perfect? You just love how they play with their children, how their house is always in order, how they make the yummiest meals and still somehow have time to serve others and be a good friend to you? Well – I am excited to feature a mom that seriously does ALL of those things I just mentioned. Somehow between taking care of three children and a husband, she is still so organized and keeps her home in check.

I went over to her house a few weeks ago and saw this incredible chore chart and asked her if I could share it with all of you today. Without hesitation, she said I could and not only that – she wrote detailed information for each of you and even has a FREE PRINTABLE for her weekly cleaning plan at the bottom so we can ALL get organized together!

I present to you my beautifully talented friend, Crystal:

After my third child, I seemed to never be able to keep my house clean.  I was lucky to get a shower in, let alone do the dishes before I crawled into bed for a meager few hours of sleep.  Toys were permanently scattered throughout the house.

Then two things happened. A little girl walked in my house and said, with all the sass and dramatics of a six year old, “Wow, your house is a MESS!” Then my best friend came over to hang out and ended up scrubbing my stove clean for me. I realized I needed to reclaim my house!

Naturally, I turned to Pinterest! If you search “Cleaning Schedule” on Pinterest you will be bombarded with so many great schedules and ideas! I couldn’t find one that fit exactly what I wanted (i.e. boxes to check off, morning/evening jobs, daily/monthly jobs, all on one easy to reference page) so I decided to make one myself.

 

 

Nothing fancy or eye-catching because I tried to get everything onto one page and really, I just don’t have an eye for proper embellishments (so if someone wants to fancy this up please do and send it to me! 🙂 )

I laminated it (using one of my all-time favorite purchases – Scotch Thermal Laminator 2 Roller System (TL901)
) and use a dry erase marker to check things off.  Then I am able to wipe off the morning/evening marks to start each day or week off with a fresh slate.

This is what mine currently looks like:

Obviously this is tailored to my house, and everyone is different, so you are welcome to change the words/format in the download. Note: In the download I changed the font to Arial since it would be compatible with most computers and the margins are set to minimum.

Explanation of items:

I am very much a check-off list kind of gal. It makes me feel so accomplished!

Yes, I like to check off that I made my bed, took my vitamins, and brushed my teeth in the morning. Basically because being a SAHM, without somewhere to go, I sometimes forget to brush my teeth in the morning – please tell me I’m not the only one!

I also like the reminder to start a load of laundry if needed. Having a designated laundry day has never worked for me. So every morning I just check to see if whites/towels/colors/darks need to be done and do them when needed. Then my laundry doesn’t pile up too much and seem daunting.

For the Evening Time, it seems like a lot of things to check off, but I’ve been surprised at how little time it takes! So many nights I have looked at the pile of dishes in the sink and just wanted to go to bed (and some nights I have gone to bed, which resulted in starting off the next day grumpy walking out to a dirty kitchen). But, I have learned that if I just dig in and work quickly, it rarely takes more than 10-15 minutes to have a clean house to wake up to!

I added a place to check off water, because basically, I don’t drink enough water. Ever. For my body I need to drink about 72 oz. a day which makes 9 boxes to check off if I drink water in 8 oz. (1 cup) increments. I feel so much better now that I am getting enough water in me!

Monday-Saturday have certain jobs to check off. Basically you can mix and match any jobs and days, but I like having Monday and Friday as easier days. Saturday is basically free since that’s pretty much the only day I get to hang out with my husband.

Some days I have everything checked off by 9am and some days I am cleaning the bathroom at 9 at night! And then some days are just nuts from beginning to end, and I don’t cross off anything. But I start anew the next morning and do the jobs I missed on Saturday.

I also have a list of “Once a Month” and “Every Six Months” jobs which I choose which one to do on Monday each week.

The first 2 weeks of implementing this plan was a lot of work because I had to deep clean a lot. However, now that I have been doing it for 2 months, it rarely takes more than 30 min because it’s simply staying on top of the dust and clutter!

I hope this helps at least one person to reclaim their house! I know it has helped me!

Click here for a FREE PDF – Weekly Cleaning Plan Printable.

Click here for a FREE Weekly Cleaning Plan Word Doc for you to edit yourself.

AND don’t forget to PIN IT on Pinterest so you can print it out later!

 

Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day!

February 19, 2014 by Danielle Davis | 7 Comments