If you follow my cleaning routine you know that I vacuum the floors on Wednesdays and wash floors on Thursdays. (You can find my FREE cleaning routine calendar here.) Just this division is confusing for readers and new followers of my routine so I thought I’d answer some questions and clear up any confusion. Ready?

DAILY MAINTENANCE

Every day of the week I have ‘check floors’ as part of my routine. This means that after meals we check the kitchen floor and sweep or vacuum as needed. If I see something on an another floor in the home, I do a quick sweep or vacuum. This checking of the floors is something that I do, my husband does, and the kids will also grab a broom and help out. It’s not intended to be a full-on floor sweeping or vacuuming, it’s a daily dirt clean up. With 3 kids and a dog, this is necessary. I will say that our dog barely/rarely sheds so that’s definitely helpful and she does nab food that spills if we aren’t quick enough.

WEDNESDAY | VACUUMING DAY

Why do I vacuum on Wednesdays? Because I dust on Tuesdays. Dust settles and vacuuming it up is the best possible way to clear it from your home. Find a vacuum cleaner that works for your budget and home. Whatever vacuum cleaner picks up the dirt and keeps your floors clean, use it and implement it in your weekly cleaning routine. I also like to use a broom or sweeper in between vacuuming to keep the floors clean in between weekly vacuuming.

THURSDAY | FLOOR WASHING DAY

I wash floors on Thursdays because all the hard floors were thoroughly vacuumed the day before on Wednesday. I realize that it would be even more thorough to vacuum and wash floors all on the same day, but that takes so much time, don’t you agree? So, years ago when I was developing my cleaning routine, I split it up and vacuum on Wednesdays and wash floors on Thursdays. Do I have to re-vacuum on Thursdays? No. I do CHECK FLOORS before I wash the floors but rarely do I need to re-vacuum. Any re-vacuuming is minimal and it is usually in the kitchen under the kitchen table or around the island.

 

IF THIS DOESN’T WORK FOR YOU, WHAT CAN YOU DO?

By all means, make my routine work for you. If you can’t get past the delay between vacuuming and floor washing, here are a couple ideas for making it work for your schedule and cleaning preferences.

  • vacuum late in the day on Wednesday and wash the floors early on Thursday
  • vacuum + wash the floors in one half of your home on Wednesday and in the other half on Thursday (this could be split up by levels or rooms)
  • vacuum and wash bathroom floors on Monday (when you clean the bathrooms) and split the rest up either by day or by room

Tell me? Are you getting used to the routine? What adaptations have you made? Share in the comments! New here? Here’s my Start Here page and my Cleaning Favorites page – welcome! And if you haven’t checked out what’s in my cleaning closet, go here!