Looking to start my cleaning routine but aren’t sure where you start? Start with the DAILY TASKS!  I recommend adding a little bit at a time to gently introduce the routine into your life. It’s not that it’s difficult, but I find that if you add too much it can be overwhelming and it’s more important to keep going and really make the routine work.  If you feel like your home is in a constant state of chaos and that you’re always cleaning, you might need to put a little order in the mix. These five daily tasks will help you maintain a clean home with minimal effort.

If you think you are too busy to do a cleaning routine, I will disagree and tell you that you’re too busy not to do a cleaning routine. Try it out this week with me and I think you’ll find that just starting with the daily tasks brings order and calm to your home. If you work outside the home and are still skeptical, read this post and come back here.

What are the 5 DAILY TASKS?

MAKE BEDS
CHECK FLOORS
WIPE COUNTERS
CLUTTER
LAUNDRY

Three Ways to Start:

  1. Start with one every day for a week and add a new task every week – make beds for a week and then the add check floors to the next week, and then the third week add wipe counters to make beds and check floors, continue until you have all five tasks incorporated.
  2. My preferred method is to start on a Sunday and make your bed, then on Monday, make your bed and check floors.  Then on Tuesday, make your bed, check floors, and wipe counters.  Continue through the week until you have incorporated all five DAILY TASKS.
  3. If you’re used to do a cleaning routine and just want to try something different, start with all of them at once.

MAKE BEDS
Set the tone by making your bed daily. It will instantly make your bedrooms look more put together and in reality it takes under a minute to complete. Teach your kids to make their beds and this job is even easier. I find that by keeping the bedding simple this makes it really easy for even the youngest family members.

CHECK FLOORS
Most days I need to at least do a quick sweep of the hardwood floors on our first level. Sometimes I grab the vacuum cleaner and do a little touch up, but most of the time it’s just a quick once-over with my broom or a microfiber floor duster. My kids are in charge of crumb clean-up under the kitchen table with the broom and dustpan or the vacuum cleaner if necessary. When my kids were smaller, they loved this little broom and dustpan.

WIPE COUNTERS
I wipe the kitchen counters after each meal and I check the bathroom counters daily and give them a quick wipe if they need it. I use this method for kitchen counter clean up and keep bar mop towels in a cute jar for easy access and great wipe-down capability.

I have a little Nightly Sink Scrub ritual that entails making sure that the counters and sink are clear and then I finish it all off with a little DIY sink scrub.  People always ask why I don’t clean the kitchen in my cleaning routine and I have to chuckle because I clean it every day after each meal and then do a little sink scrub at night too.  Daily kitchen cleaning falls under WIPE COUNTERS.

CLUTTER
Clutter can be toys on the floor, stacks of mail or papers to file, or just stuff that should be put away or tossed. Some things that work for us: toss any flyers or unnecessary mail at the door, open and file any bills that need to be paid, and bins and file folders in a filing cabinet for kid papers. In our house we toss (recycle) most worksheets and keep the special artwork and papers. Clutter is different for every person and family. Every day we take care of the daily clutter by doing a quick clean up before bed and by making an effort to put things away as we are done with them. If you have a big clutter problem you could use this item on your list to get some decluttering done every day. Make a list of all your little clutter areas and then every day spend 10-15 minutes checking them off your list. For me, I use this time to sort through daily mail and papers. I need to deal with paper clutter every day to keep up with it and not let it get out of control. If you struggle with paper clutter, check out this post for how I organize paper and keep the piles away.

LAUNDRY
I do at least one load of laundry every.single.day. I know it sounds annoying and monotonous, but for me it’s the only way to stay on top of the potential piles and piles of laundry. What’s the key to making one load a day work? Actually starting AND finishing a load of laundry every day. Don’t let it pile up in a corner or on a table or couch or bed or outside the laundry room. Start and finish it. It’s a great process to master because you will have clean clothes at the ready at any time and you shouldn’t have to iron as often or at all if the clothes are put away right away. If laundry every day sounds daunting, check out this post for more ideas on Laundry Day vs. Laundry Every Day. If you have kids, check out my post on teaching them to do laundry.

If you are trying to get into a cleaning routine (or better yet, my cleaning routine) and are just struggling with the daily stuff, clutter, and mess, stop the cleaning routine and work on these things until you feel like you’re getting on top of the dailies. Are you following me on Instagram? I post my weekly cleaning routine there every day!

Looking for a simplified and safe approach to cleaning and homekeeping? Make sure you grab my latest book – Clean Mama’s Guide to a Healthy Home!