Cleaning plan
The perfect cleaning routine for a clean home
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“Order is half the battle,” as the saying goes. Sometimes that’s easier said than done! We’ll tell you here how best to organize yourself and your cleaning schedule.
Do you feel like you’re never done cleaning? Are you dreading spontaneous visits? We’ll show you how you can create a cleaning plan that will always make you feel completely comfortable at home.
The perfect cleaning plan? Here’s how to create it
What is the secret of people who always look perfectly neat and clean? They probably follow very simple rules: they are responsible for cleaning routine made and they have one overview about what happens when.
For this you should follow two things:
- Create a weekly/annual cleaning plan
- Clean by task, not by room
To do this, you should first be aware of what tasks are involved
- daily,
- weekly,
- monthly,
- quarterly,
- semi-annually or annually?
It is important that you create a cleaning schedule that you stick to. For this purpose, it is helpful fixed times to have, for example you do one task each morning and evening. So you can take out the trash on Monday morning, mop the floors in the evening, clean the bathroom on Tuesday morning and clean all the mirrors in the evening – and so on.
Why divide tasks by day of the week? Many of us probably know it: the weekend is coming up and we use it for shopping, tidying up and cleaning. And Monday is just around the corner again. With a Daily cleaning routine takes the stress out of cleaning of everything that occurs in a single day. This way you can spread out individual tasks over the week, maybe even keep the weekend free, and everything will still be clean – we promise!
Plus, it helps you Divide by tasksfor example wiping on Fridays, to save time. Otherwise, when you’re mopping the kitchen, you would prepare everything (putting everything aside, sweeping, making water for the mop) and then when you clean the living room another day, you have to prepare everything again.
Tip: Bathrooms and kitchens are frequently used rooms that need more hygiene, so it is advisable to clean them as a whole and not just according to task. We have put together a sample plan for you (see the Weekly Plan Template section).
Tips for cleaning according to plan
- Make one detailed plan of all tasks that need to be done and divide them up frequency on (daily, weekly,…)
- Create one using this overview Weekly plan (You can find the sample plan below). You can use this weekly cleaning plan over and over again or create a new one for each week. Also include tasks that are due once a month so you don’t have to do everything at once.
- Create an additional one Annual plan (for example, use a large wall calendar in the kitchen) and enter tasks there that arise monthly or quarterly.
- Bring routine to your cleaning activities and stick to it fixed times.
Cleaning plan: What tasks need to be done?
Here you will find the most common household chores, sorted by how often you should do them. If necessary, add tasks that you still have to do around the house.
Daily
- make bed
- Provide shock ventilation in the rooms (see also ventilate properly in winter and ventilate properly in summer)
- Clean up (dispose of newspapers, put away toys, etc.)
- Sort clothes (here you can find tips on how to store worn clothes)
- Wash and hang up laundry (if your household is small, once a week may be enough)
- Clean animal bowls
- Do the basics in the kitchen: sweep the kitchen, load/unload the dishwasher, clean work surfaces and ceramic hobs, take out the organic waste so that annoying fruit flies don’t have a chance
Every two to three days
Weekly on the cleaning schedule
- Clean the bathroom (and guest bathroom): clean the toilet, clean the sink and fittings and the bathtub/shower
- Change towels (you can find tips for washing towels here)
- Wash cleaning rags
- Clean door handles and switches (one of the biggest germ traps, especially during cold season)
- Clean mirrors
- Clean the carpet/sweep and mop all floors and stairs (people tend to forget: also clean under the bed)
- Dusting: shelves, cupboards, house corners, door frames, window sills, picture frames, televisions etc.
- Take care of plants (pay attention to the care needs of the plants, some need more water, others less often)
- Dispose of used glass
Monthly
Quarterly on the budget
Half-yearly
Clean annually
Miscellaneous
- Clean out your wardrobe: It really depends on how much you own! However, the change of season (e.g. from winter to spring) is a good time to look at what you really want to wear. If this is too frequent for your property, you can set an interval of up to two years.
- Sort out children’s rooms/toys: How often you clean out children’s rooms should be decided individually, as various factors play a role. The following questions will help you sort things out: What do people really still play with on a regular basis? What has emotional value and should therefore be kept?Do all of the clothes still fit? Is something finally broken and can be thrown away?
Tip: For your planning, you can download the tasks here in the form of a checklist.
Weekly plan template
Your weekly cleaning schedule could look like this:
- Monday: Dusting, taking out the trash
- Tuesday: Clean floors, change bed linen
- Wednesday: Change towels, clean door handles and switches, clean mirrors
- Thursday:Take care of plants, empty trash cans, clean refrigerator
- Friday: Clean bathrooms
Then there are the daily tasks. You should include the monthly ones spread out, like in this example. For example, you can pick two to three tasks per week. Anything that needs to be cleaned at a greater distance still needs to be done additionally. You can then simply leave out another task, for example cleaning the windows instead.
Home remedies, all-purpose cleaners & Co.
Depending on what you want to clean, you need the right equipment.
- Orange cleaner: The all-purpose cleaner is suitable for cleaning in the kitchen and bathroom.
- Vinegar essence: Vinegar is also a true all-round talent for the bathroom and kitchen. It can also be used to remove blockages in the drain and as a mold remover on certain surfaces.
- Baking powder or baking soda: These home remedies are suitable, for example, for cleaning stainless steel, cleaning the oven, cleaning carpets or removing burnt-in spots on the ceramic hob.
- citric acid: A perfect descaler! For example, to descale the shower head or descale the faucet. Together with detergent and water, it also becomes a universal cleaner.
- Microfiber cloth: The cleaning rags are very popular, but should not be used on all surfaces as they can cause scratches. These include mirrors, oiled wooden surfaces, soft plastic surfaces, high-gloss fronts and surfaces made of precious metals, silver and gold.
Did you know already? You can find the most practical ones on Pinterest Household tips collected and you can remember the best ones on your own pin board!