There is nothing as demanding as the life of a busy mom. Your job, baby, and the household all need your attention. Finding the perfect balance between work and your home isn’t easy. Being a working mom, I had to learn how to multitask. Designing a cleaning routine has helped me to find a balance between my profession and personal life. So, how can you make sure that you effectively do all the cleaning tasks in your household? Well, below are 7 ideas as well as a 7-day schedule on how you can spread out various cleaning tasks over a one week period.
1. Do The Dishes Right After Use
No one wants to deal with a big heap of dirty utensils. Its demoralizing and a nightmare. To ensure that you have a clean household even though you are busy, simply do the dishes immediately after using them. I find this convenient and simple because it only takes a few minutes. Most of the times I clean the dishes by hand because it is less time consuming, unlike the dishwasher.
2. Optimizing the Mornings
Well, mornings for most busy moms simply mean preparing for the day ahead and taking breakfast. But do you know that you can make use of the 10-15 minutes you have in your hands? There is not so much that you can do but you can do something. You can use those few minutes to collect the baby’s dirty clothes and put them in the washing machine and you can wash them later. Additionally, it only takes 2 minutes to mop the bathroom’s floor. Optimize your mornings.
3. Declutter Everyday
As much as I am a busy mom, my house needs to be clutter-free. I need a homely environment that’s clean and organized. To de-clutter, I make sure that I pick up all of my baby’s toys before I go to bed, collect dirty clothes, and place everything where they’re supposed to be. De-cluttering is my everyday ritual and it only takes a few minutes.
4. Have an Evening Ritual
As a busy mum, the last thing that’s on your mind once you get home is cleaning. But still, this is important and it’s not an option. Try to create an evening routine, say 30 minutes, where you carry out minor cleaning tasks. This includes cleaning the kitchen counter, folding laundry, straightening and arranging decorative pillows, collecting trash etc. My evening ritual normally involves tasks that aren’t physically demanding but necessary.
5. Make Use of Dustbins
Being a working woman, I don’t have the time to empty the house bins daily. To maintain a high level of cleanliness, I have invested in multiple dirt bins and they are placed in nearly every room including the kitchen, bedroom, dining room, and all bathrooms. This helps to reduce the cleaning load and unnecessary clutter.
6. Saturdays Should be For Major Cleaning
It’s important to dedicate a day in a week where you do all the major cleaning. I prefer Saturdays because this gives me an allowance to rest on Sundays. Saturday is when I do all the laundry, deeply clean the floors, cabinets, counters, etc. and vacuum the carpets. However, I still do basic laundry cleaning every day to reduce the overall load.
7. Be an Example
Whether you have grown children or a toddler, the best way of teaching them cleanliness is acting as an example. Additionally, you can ask your little ones to help you with some tasks e.g. picking up toys after use, putting their dirty clothes in the laundry basket etc.
7-Day Cleaning Schedule
This a simple but effective cleaning schedule for one week.
1. Monday: Kitchen
- Clean kitchen appliances
- Clean the counter
- Clean out the refrigerator
- Organize the pantry
- Quick vacuum
2. Tuesday: Bathroom
- Clean the toilet and shower
- Clean mirrors and counters
- Change the towels
3. Wednesday: Bedroom
- Change the sheets
- Quick vacuum
4. Thursday: Dining and Living Room
- Quick vacuum
- Dust & polish the furniture
- Freshen the fabrics
5. Friday: Fundamentals
- Take trash out
- Clean all the windows and mirrors
6. Saturday: Thorough Cleaning
- Mop and vacuum all the floors
- Do all laundry
7. Sunday: Rest
- Do the basic morning and evening cleaning routine
Note that there are some chores that need to be done every day. They are divided in morning and evening routines.
Every Morning
- Do the Dishes
- Make beds
- De-clutter the kitchen, living room, dining room, bathroom, and bedrooms
Every Evening
- Do the dishes
- Pick up toys
- Sweep/mop the kitchen
- Wipe the dining table and kitchen counters