A Practical Cleaning Schedule for Working Moms

Inside: A practical, easy-to-follow home cleaning schedule for working moms plus a printable checklist and extra tips for a clean home. 

Keeping a home clean is a lot of work.  No matter how often you sweep, wipe and put away – it continues to get dirty!  There is not a lot of time in the day to clean, especially if you are a working mom.  It is challenging in this season of life to keep your home clean while managing all the other family and life responsibilities too.

However, cleaning the house is a requirement for healthy, intentional living.  While it doesn’t have to be perfect; you do want a clean, tidy home that is a pleasant, functional place for your family to be.  

Even if you are not a mom, or you kiddos are out of the house, life is still busy…so how can you keep your home clean on a tight schedule? Below are tips on a healthy mindset for cleaning house plus a full checklist of daily, weekly and seasonal chores.

Mindset Around A Cleaning Schedule

First, let’s discuss a healthy mindset around a cleaning schedule for working moms.  Setting the stage for what is realistic and reasonable is important to keeping our sanity with this mundane chore.

Set reasonable expectations

Start your “clean home mindset” with reasonable expectations.  Running a busy household and enjoying quality time with your family takes priority but you can find a sweet spot for cleanliness.  Homes get messy, this is a fact.  Following a cleaning routine as a working mom will help keep you on track and maintain expectations of what is important.

Avoid perfection 

Seeking perfection is futile.  Your home will likely never be “perfect” nor should it be!  Life is about balance and progress, not perfection.  The images on social media and in magazines are difficult to attain and nearly impossible to sustain.  Avoid the perfection trap by reminding yourself that progress is better than aspiring to a state of being that causes stress and exhaustion.

Avoid comparison

It is easy to look at someone else’s life and think to yourself, “She’s doing it better than me.”  I am guilty of this myself and social media reels certainly don’t help.  But the truth is everyone has their own way of doing things and their own standards, remember, comparison is the thief of joy…what works for your neighbor or best friend or a social media influencer, may not work for you. As a busy, working mom you can adapt the cleaning schedule below for how it applies to your day-to-day life; not anyone else’s.

Establish habits

The best way to apply a cleaning schedule is to stick with it.  Having a checklist is a valuable way to stay on task and get into a consistent routine. If you can establish daily, monthly and seasonal cleaning habits they will become second nature and be more quickly accomplished.

Time block

Rome wasn’t built in a day.  Don’t put pressure on yourself to do clean all at once, this is why a cleaning schedule for working moms is so helpful.  Keep it simple and to the point by time blocking small batches for the daily clean.  These small habits will compound into results very quickly.

Delegate

When possible, delegate cleaning chores to family members.  I struggle with this as sometimes it’s just simpler to do things myself, but it teaches a valuable lesson to your children and even your spouse or partner. 

You don’t need to take on every cleaning task, you can still follow the working moms cleaning schedule and also delegate what is necessary.

Declutter

One of the best ways to maintain a clean home is declutter regularly.  Pinpoint your clutter hotspots and focus on them a few times a week or utilize a ten minute chunk of time to declutter a small shelf, desktop or paper pile.  

Cleaning Schedule for Working Moms

Now that we’ve covered the foundation to keeping house, check out the cleaning schedule below for working moms, or anyone, to maintain a clean, tidy, healthy home.

Daily Cleaning Tasks

• Make beds
• Unload / reload dishwasher
• Clear off and wipe down countertops
• Empty main kitchen trash and recycling
• Sweep / vacuum floors
• Do one load of laundry (wash a load and transfer to dryer before heading to work so the load will be ready to remove once home, use the speed cycle for a quick turnaround).

Weekly Cleaning Tasks:

• Empty all trash cans
• Wash and/or replace bedroom linens
• Wash and/or replace bath towels, washcloths
• Clean bathrooms
  • Speed clean: go from top to bottom – wipe down mirrors, countertops and solid surfaces (toilet and shower/tub), clean toilet bowl, replace toilet paper, Kleenex, etc., sweep floors
• Sweep / vacuum floors
• Dust flat surfaces (tables, lamps, bookshelves)
• Wipe down kitchen counters and appliances (dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave)

Monthly Cleaning Tasks:

• Deep clean bathrooms (follow steps above for simple clean but add mopping floor, heavier tub/shower clean, wash toothbrush holder, wash bath mats)
• Declutter and wipe down inside of refrigerator
• Declutter pantry and wipe/brush off the shelves and floor
• Wipe down kitchen cabinets
• Do a washer tub clean (using bleach or white vinegar)
• Wash throw blankets
• Dust ceiling fans
• Dust window blinds/shades

Seasonal Clean/Declutter Tasks:

• Spring: gutters, outdoor spaces, patio furniture, house windows, carpets, indoor area rugs, windows and window sills
• Summer: garage, area rugs, lawn equipment, pool equipment (full list of summer declutter items)
• Fall: fall decor, have carpets professionally cleaned, appliance and plumbing checks, fireplace/chimney sweep
• Winter: Christmas decor, outdoor equipment check (i.e., snow blower), HVAC system, post-holiday declutter

Extra Tips for Cleaning

• Keep a room spray / freshener handy for smelly rooms
• Open windows whenever possible to air out your house
• Do daily load of laundry (laundry management tips)
• Run toothbrush holders in dishwasher occasionally
• Wash a load of dishcloths weekly
• Use a checklist (free printable below)

Life is busy and cleaning house is not very fun, yet can be very satisfying. Following this cleaning schedule for working moms (or anyone who needs some help) will hopefully streamline this necessary chore and help you manage your household tasks along with everything else you do!