I am always finding ways to make my life less stressful and more organized. Cleaning is one of those things I don’t mind doing but I don’t want to be doing it all day long, every day. While I was at University, I used to have a bit of a problem with obsessively cleaning my entire apartment every day. Probably because I was at home all the time and it was a great way to procrastinate from doing the work I should have been doing.
Now that I am working from home often, I want to make sure I do not go back to these old ways. I also don’t want to waste my time on decision fatigue; knowing what I need to get done each day saves me time and mental energy. I know when each task was last done so I am not over or under cleaning my space.
I want to focus my time on my job and this blog, so cleaning for hours every day is not an option for me. There is only myself, my partner and my 2 cats at home so I do not need to clean as often as some families.
Knowing Your Cleaning Priorities
Depending on whether you hate cleaning or you clean too much, it is important to really think about how often certain tasks need doing. There are some things that should be done everyday such as making your bed, washing dishes, taking out trash etc and some that could be done on a weekly basis. If you have a large family, you might need to do your laundry or clean your bathrooms more frequently. You might not care about making your bed every day either which it totally fine. Work out what is important for you.
Consider your own Needs and Personal Commitments
Use this weekly timetable planner to time block all your weekly activities. It is a good idea to get some perspective on your free time so you can plan more time consuming/challenging cleaning tasks on days where you have fewer commitments. Or you may want to think about scheduling your time so you have a day off every week from doing anything responsible. Once you have done this, you can start time blocking cleaning tasks into your week. Here is what my week looks like:
Your Weekly Cleaning Tasks
What you need to do during the week or over a month will look different to each person. You might have children, pets, lots of house plants or hobbies that require extra cleaning time. I have a list of cleaning tasks to trigger your memory of tasks you need to complete.
Plan Out Your Weekly Tasks:
Now you have an idea of what you should be doing when, write down each task for each day of the week. For tasks that require doing less frequently, I have a “swing day” where I rotate a monthly task each Sunday.
You can download the scheduler here
Free Notion Template Cleaning Schedule
If like myself, you also like to organize your tasks on Notion, you can access my free template HERE.
I hope this guide makes your life a lot less stressful and you find more time to do enjoyable things in your life while having a clean and tidy home.