The Ultimate Weekly Cleaning Checklist, According To An Expert

Here's how to have a sparkling clean home every week.

At the end of a long work week, the last thing you want to think about is cleaning your home on your day off. But, as any homeowner knows, the house isn't going to clean itself.

"Cleaning and organizing your home every week is easier to maintain and sets the tone for the week. A clean, organized, and clutter-free home feels less chaotic and stressful and makes it easier to relax in your home," says Tina Priestly of Ready, Set, REFRESH.

Having a weekly cleaning checklist makes it easy to keep your house organized and sanitized, which are essential for a happy and fresh-smelling home.

Meet the Expert

• Tina Priestly is the Owner & CEO at Ready, Set, REFRESH.

If you're stuck on knowing what to jot down on your weekly cleaning routine, or want to double-check that you're already cleaning the right areas, here's the ultimate weekly cleaning checklist according to an expert.

Benefits of a Weekly Cleaning Routine

"Maintaining a weekly cleaning checklist helps to minimize the stress of attempting to do everything at once and also helps homeowners become more aware of maintenance needs, helping to preserve the home's condition," says Priestly.

Cleaning is part of the responsibility that comes with owning a home or apartment, so sticking to a weekly–even daily–checklist is going to provide you with a world of benefits. Namely, a sanitized space and a routine that saves time by strategizing what you're cleaning and when.

Though many homeowners dedicate part of the weekends to cleaning the home, wiping down a few areas throughout the week is a great strategy to open up more of your Saturday.

While there's common areas you can clean daily and weekly, we recommend also adding deep cleaning to the schedule at least once a month or every other month. Deep cleaning ensures extra areas and items don't get left out of the sanitization and preservation process.

Related: 8 Household Items You Probably Aren't Cleaning Often Enough, According To Experts

Before Getting Started

One of the best tips Priestly suggests when getting started with your weekly cleaning routine is to have daily cleaning tasks in the mix to save time at the end of the week. "We suggest creating a daily task for the weekly routine so that we are not overwhelmed with the cleaning process. We also keep cleaning supplies in each bathroom and kitchen to alleviate the need to go get the supplies, which sometimes leads to putting it off altogether."

Some households need to set aside a certain amount of time at the end of every week on Saturday to clean every room, and that's fine too. If this is the case for you, here are some tips to put into practice that makes the cleaning process more efficient and easy before you start:

• Gather all of your supplies: Know beforehand what you'll use to clean each room and have a bathroom shelf or under sink organizer stocked with your cleaning essentials in one place for a quick and easy grab.

• Create a schedule: Stay organized by creating a weekly cleaning schedule that lists out each room and area in the rooms you plan to clean. If you clean an area daily, plan for one room or task every day of the week.

• Set realistic expectations: Don't overwhelm yourself with trying to deep clean your entire house in one day. Instead, clean realistically by wiping down and sanitizing the most-used areas of the home that you know you can clean in a reasonable amount of time (hint: not all day).
  

Our Weekly Cleaning Checklist

For a larger breakdown of a daily and weekly cleaning checklist, here's what Priestly recommends cleaning in every room of the house.

Kitchen

Daily tasks:

• Countertops

• Empty/load dishwasher

• Stovetop

• Sink

• Doorhandles

Weekly tasks:

• Discard expired food from the refrigerator

• Wipe out the inside of refrigerator

• Sweep and mop the floors

• Clean mirrors and windows

• Dust blinds

Bathroom

Daily Tasks:

• Countertops

• Wipe down the toilet and its handle

• Sink

Weekly Tasks:

• Dust baseboards

• Scrub shower doors

• Sweep and mop the floors

• Deep clean the toilet

Living Room

Daily Tasks:

• Fluff pillows and blankets

• Wipe down tabletops

• Pick up toys or extra items

Weekly Tasks:

• Sweep or vacuum

• Clean mirrors and windows

• Dust ceiling fans, tables, blinds, and entertainment centers

• Spray fabric cleaner on upholstery

Bedroom

Daily Tasks:

• Make the bed

• Put away laundry or clothes on accent chairs

Weekly Tasks:

• Dust nightstands and dressers, plus clean the off

• Vacuum

• Clean mirrors and windows

Other Areas

For other rooms like the laundry room, game rooms, or bonus rooms, always wipe down door handles, vacuum or mop, light switches, and tidy up the place. Rooms like the garage won't require as thorough cleaning, but it's always a good idea to sweep out the floor and practice garage organization for a tidy space.

Tips for Efficient Cleaning

Give Kids Tasks

Don't let yourself have all the fun, get the kids involved too! Not only is getting your kids to clean setting them up for life practices later on, it also allows the process to go quicker. "By assigning tasks to children, they are taught to take care of their things and share responsibility," vouches Priestly.

If you feel like rewarding your little ones for their contribution, you can always set up chores to function as an allowance or provide a special treat for later on.

Use Time-Saving Tools

Gone are the days of doing everything by hand... sort of. One of the best tips for efficient weekly cleaning is to utilize tools that still ensures sanitization without all the elbow grease. For instance, we love extended shower scrubbing tools like this one that prevents you from hurting your back when scrubbing the shower walls and floors. Another big time-saving tool we can't forget is the robotic vacuum you can run while you're tackling other chores to cut down on cleaning time, too.

Organize Materials Beforehand

As we already mentioned, storing your cleaning essentials together keeps your materials all in one place so you always know where things are. Priestly recommends keeping essentials for high-traffic rooms in an easily accessible place so you're not having to remember where your tools are when it comes time to use them.

Related: 5 Things A Professional Cleaner Will Always Do When Deep Cleaning Their Own Home

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Read the original article on Southern Living.