Daily Cleaning Checklist For Busy Moms
I had my third baby a year ago, and I spent the first 9 months of his life completely feeling like I was scrambling. People always talk about that feeling of survival mode and the idea that you have to sacrifice certain things when you are in that place. For me, it was my house. The necessary chores like dishes and laundry got done. Things were deep cleaned every so often. But that was it, that was all that I could manage. I kept falling into this cycle of trying to get every square foot of my house spotless, and then being so tired from doing that that I couldn’t maintain any sort of cleanliness once I was done. It was exhausting and frustrating on so many levels.
One of my goals for 2024 was to get back into a rhythm of cleaning daily, and not just cleaning, but cleaning well.
I’m an avid reader, and anytime that I have a problem or a resolution or an idea, I turn to books. I’ve read so many books on organization, and a lot of it has stuck, even through survival mode. But this time I needed a book about cleaning dirt and dust. I stumbled on Cleaning on YOUR Schedule by: Katie Berry and absolutely devoured it and immediately began to put her ideas into place.
Since the beginning of the year, my family has faced a stomach virus, multiple weather day school cancellations, a teething baby, and the Mardi Gras school break. But through all of those disruptions to our regular schedule we’ve been able to keep up with our daily cleaning. Even now, I’m sitting at my kitchen table which is full of Valentine’s day party treats and a handful of crumbs, and I have peace, knowing that it’s going to be picked up before the day is over.
I took what I read and applied it to our daily routine. I am a high school teacher, my husband works full time out of the home, we have one school-aged child and two kiddos in day care. A lot of the cleaning falls to the two of us.
Here’s what my daily checklist looks like:
Bedrooms:
-
- Make beds
- Pick up all clothing off the floor
- Put everything away that is on nightstands
- Vacuum or dry mop floors as needed
Bathrooms:
- Wipe the sink basin clean
- Buff water spots from mirror and faucet if needed
- Wipe toilet seat and rim with disinfecting cloth
Kitchen:
- Unload dishwasher
- Load dishwasher
- Spray and wipe down counters and appliance fronts and table
- Corral any clutter into a neat pile and deal with it before bed
- Use a damp cloth to clean any splatters on the floor
- Sweep the floor
- Scrub sink
Living Room:
- Straighten all pillows and blankets on the sofa
- Tidy furniture surfaces
- Wipe down coffee table/end tables
- Put all dishes in the dishwasher
- Vacuum messes if needed
This alone does not cover every single room in my house, but something that I’ve had to let go of is the expectation that every square foot of my house is going to be perfectly cleaned every single day. That’s unrealistic. And so far, no one has walked into my house and run a finger over my baseboards, or commented on the toys that are out in the playroom. With this, I’ve been able to keep my house clean and functional, keep my sanity, and enjoyed being home.
The baseboards get cleaned. The toys get picked up. But they aren’t daily problems. And that has been totally and completely freeing.
