Who has the time and energy to clean? The last thing busy moms and tired working couples need is a pile of dirty dishes and a date with the vacuum cleaner. And besides, even if we did have a few extra minutes on our hands, wouldn’t we rather spend it watching DVD’s or having quality time with our family?
Here’s a way to get those housekeeping tasks under control. You will find a checklists of the things you need to do (cleaning, washing, etc), how frequently you really need to do it. By creating a housekeeping system, you can either schedule your tasks or neatly split the chores among family members.
Bedroom Cleaning Checklist
Every day: Clear the night table of clutter and trash (like chocolate wrappers from last night’s binge!). Return slippers and shoes into their proper place.
Every three days: Check the clothes hamper and launder. (Tip: Keep two hampers, for whites and coloreds, so you don’t waste time sorting. You can also hang a small bag—a shoe bag will do on a cabinet hook—for delicates like underwear that need to be handwashed.)
Every week: Change beddings (check this for more tips on taking care of beddings), put clothes into the closets (Tip: it’s best to have a cabinet system—shirts together, pants together, etc) so you don’t waste time looking for what you need. Vacuum.
Every two weeks: Change curtains, especially if you live in a dusty area. Wipe windows.
2. Kitchen Cleaning Checklist
Every day: Wash dishes. Empty out the garbage. Wipe the sink with disinfectant. Rinse sponge in disinfectant (it’s one of home’s hidden germ hotspots!)
Every three days: Check the refrigerator for any leftovers hiding in the back. Serve or throw away.
Every week: Make a weekly meal plan and list what to buy. Check the pantry too, for items you need to restock. (Tip: to save on multiple trips to the supermarket for forgotten items, keep a piece of paper on the refrigerator and immediately write down the name of a product when you run out of it.) Wash and disinfect garbage bins. Clean the oven.
Every month: Do a thorough cleaning of the kitchen, disinfecting even hidden corners. Defrost and clean the refrigerator and freezer.
Every six months: Go through your kitchen tools. Throw out broken pans, rusty kitchen tools, expired spices, worn out kitchen rags. You may also want to prune down your kitchen accessories—if you have too much you may have trouble finding what you really need. (See our list of essential pans).
Bathroom Cleaning Checklist
Every day: Disinfect and clean the toilet bowl. Get a disinfecting spray or get a disinfecting pill that you hang in the toilet bowl and is activated each time you flush. This helps prevent the build up of deep stains.
Every week: Scrub the shower tiles/bathtub. Use an old toothbrush to get at hard to reach corners. Check your stock of beauty products/hygiene products so you know what you need to buy when you go to the supermarket. Replace towels.
Every month: Purge your bathroom counter, medicine cabinet and makeup bag of empty bottles and expired products.
Living Room Cleaning Checklist
Everyday: Sweep the floors, dust the shelves and surfaces with a feather duster. Empty wastebaskets.
Every three days: Mop and vacuum.
Every week: Wipe the windows.
Every month: Change the casings of throw pillows. Air the pillows in the sun to get rid of the musty smell. Change the curtains. Move furniture, book cases so you can vacuum in places that have a lot of wires, etc and normally can’t reach. The dust can accumulate there.
Every six months: Hire a professional cleaner to remove dust mites, etc in sofa, carpets, etc. This is very important if you or your family have asthma, allergies, or keep pets.
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