This Daily Cleaning Routine Knocks Out Clutter in Just a Few Minutes a Day

I’m not tidy. Someday I’ll figure this cleaning thing out and have a tidy house at all times, but that day is not today. To help keep my house from total chaos, I’ve developed some simple daily cleaning routines to beat back the clutter. 

I do have a cleaning service that comes every other week, so I don’t do a deep cleaning. But your house can get plenty dirty in two weeks! You have to do many cleaning chores daily, and that’s why it’s important to have a realistic cleaning schedule that will work for you.

It’s Critical to Have a Realistic Cleaning Schedule

I’m a mom of two, and I work full time. Let’s be real here. There are people in my house who are constantly making messes. And, hey, those two people can also help clean up those messes. Even young kids can help with basic daily cleaning. Don’t forget to pull them into the process.

At the same time, be realistic about how much you can accomplish. I’ll share my home cleaning routines for morning and evening, but you can move chores around depending on your schedule and lifestyle. 

Morning Cleaning Routine

In the morning, we usually have a good amount of time. My kids wake up at 6:45 and are usually ready for school with daily breakfast eaten by 7:30. Since their bus doesn’t come until 8:30, I make the most of the morning time. 

While I usually spend some time working in the morning, I also do an easy daily cleaning routine. Ideally my morning cleaning routine is:

• Empty backpacks
• Discard scrap paper, junk mail, worksheets
• Start a load of laundry
• Make the bed
• Wash any pots left soaking from the night before
• Wipe down the counters
• Empty the dishwasher (with kids’ help) and reload
• Pick up random dog toys that are strewn around the house
• Fold blankets on the couch if I’m really motivated
• Put away adult shoes/coats that are lying around

The kids usually help a bit with their own chores:

• Make their bed
• Spend a few minutes cleaning up toys
• Help empty the dishwasher

Evening Cleaning Routine

In the evening, we’re all usually tired and the kids often have activities after school. I can usually do chores at night, but it’s not a good time for the kids to participate in the daily cleaning routine at our house. I do ask them to do a few basic things, though, to prepare for the next day.

After dinner, I try to do a few tasks to keep things flowing:

• Switch the laundry if someone hasn’t already
• Empty/load/run the dishwasher (I haven’t come up with a cadence for this so I just do what is necessary)
• Wash pots from dinner
• Wipe down counters
• Put away clean kids clothes during kids’ bedtime routine

When we’re home in the evening, the kids:

• Help with the dishwasher
• Wipe down the kitchen table
• Clear their snack plates and cups, load them in the dishwasher if it’s not running
• They used to sweep the kitchen, but then we got a dog 🙂
• Put away shoes and hang up coats

After the kids go to bed, I usually do a few more chores:

• Finish any washing up from dinner
• General tidying up – pick up stuff on the floor, etc
• Fold laundry while watching TV

Keeping Your Cleaning Routine Simple

There are a few ways you can keep your daily cleaning routine simple enough that you might actually stick with it. It’s important to know yourself because you’ll abandon something that is too hard or doesn’t work for you. I have a few tricks to keep myself going:

• I know I’m low energy at night so I keep the laundry for nighttime since I can do it sitting down. 
• If you really don’t want to tidy up, just start with five minutes. I often promise myself I only have to do five and then I end up doing more. 
• Think about pockets of time where you can do a little. For example, I try to tidy up the kitchen or empty as much of the dishwasher as I can before the kettle boils or while the coffee is brewing. 
• Remember to get your kids involved. The older they get, the more they actually help. Experiment with different reward systems. My children are highly motivated by the stars they get at taekwondo for doing chores at home, so that’s what they do. But you could try chore charts, or even an app like Greenlight to encourage them! 
• I find cleaning incredibly boring, so I save my favorite podcasts for cleaning time. If I can keep my brain engaged on something else, cleaning doesn’t seem so bad. I like talking on the phone while I clean, too. 
• Spot clean if you need to. The other day, I opened the attic to get out our Christmas decorations and was showered with wood chips. We had our roof replaced a few months ago and this was apparently the result. Yippee. So I had to vacuum. I don’t usually vacuum between cleaner visits, but if the dog tracks mud in or I get a wood chip shower then I do that. 
• Create a daily cleaning routine checklist with the bare minimum of chores you need to finish. For me it might be: load/unload dishwasher, clear table and counters, run a load of laundry. That’s it! Keep your daily cleaning routine checklist short enough that it feels doable. 

Weekend Cleaning Routine

I actually find weekends the hardest times to keep the house tidy. I think it’s because we’re home more than we are during the week. Maybe we’re also less motivated to do chores. 

My philosophy is that weekends should be for relaxing, so I don’t do much housework on the weekends. I do try to keep up with the basics, though, so the house isn’t a total mess come Monday morning:

• Keep the dishwasher routine going with kids helping
• Wipe down the kitchen table and counters at least once
• Run laundry since we’re home more
• Do some decluttering if I have a free chunk of time

Even just a little cleaning over the weekend will help you feel better going into the following week! 

Cleaning Routines That Work

Remember that a simple cleaning routine (that you will actually stick with) is better than no routine at all! Try to come up with a simple daily cleaning schedule that works with your energy levels and other commitments. Then do whatever you need to do to stick with it – enlist the kids, bribe yourself, bribe your family, clean at 5 am, whatever. The cool thing about sticking with a daily cleaning schedule is that it makes your house nicer to live in and it reduces the amount of time you spend cleaning.

Don’t beat yourself up if your house isn’t perfect. If you’re a parent, kids will make messes and they can be lightning-fast about it. The best you can do is accept that you will never achieve perfection (even after they go to college) so just try to do the best you can. 

If you find yourself continually overwhelmed by cleaning and chores, you might also consider decluttering. After all, when you have fewer possessions you spend less time caring for them. Donating unused items might be just the mental lift you need. 

Choose a cleaning routine that works for your life, stick with it, and I guarantee you’ll have a happier – and tidier home.