My 15 minute weekly cleaning rhythm

I’m excited to share with you the plan that has helped me accomplish my weekly cleaning with our nine children through many different seasons and energy levels. Here is my 15 minute weekly cleaning rhythm. This plan is flexible but still gives you a solid framework to do in a day or over the course of a week.

Usually when we begin a new cleaning routine it is because we are feeling behind. Our first round of cleaning reveals all of the areas we’ve been neglecting and it’s easy to get carried away and even get lost in reorganizing and detail cleaning. Before we know it, we’re exhausted and ready to throw in the towel on the whole idea. Then we let a lot of time pass until we try again and lo and behold it’s still as dirty as last time. Rinse and repeat. Sound familiar? I’ve been there, too!
The solution is to ONLY do a small bit of maintenance cleaning regularly and leave the deeper cleaning and declutterring to a monthly task. 
Follow along as I break down my weekly cleaning tasks to just the essentials that take less than 15 min. or less EACH! I’m sharing tips for when I’ve had low energy and busy seasons such as pregnancy and postpartum, as well.

See my post on the 5 daily tasks for a tidy home here

Day 1 or step 1: Dust and wipe surfaces

The first thing I do is dust and wipe surfaces. If I am doing my cleaning all in one day, or spread out over the week, I still do this first. This ensure I don’t spread dust around after I’ve cleaned the floors. I usually do this task after I’ve tidied, to save time not moving things around as I go.

If you are just beginning:

Begin with the main rooms or most impactful areas first. The key here is to not get carried away with deep cleaning. This is not time to move everything off the surface and polish the wood furniture. 😉 Just wipe the exposed flat surfaces with a dusting spray and microfiber cloth, and dust the visible decor items with a duster. Hard to reach spaces and nooks and crannies can be saved for a monthly or seasonal tasks.

Steps:

• Carry your supplies with you
• Work your way around the room
• Dust ceiling to floor
• Use an extendable duster like this one

My favorite weekly dusting & wiping supplies:

• this feather duster– traps the dust (shake out when finished)
• favorite microfiber cloths
• the spray bottle I use with homemade dusting spray recipe below
• this extendable duster

My favorite natural dusting spray recipe:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• a few drops of lemon essential oil
• drop of dish soap
• water to fill the bottle
• Shake well while using

For seasons of low energy set a timer for 5-10 minutes and just work where you can reach starting in one place and working around the room. You’ll be surprised what a difference this little bit can make when done weekly. You can do this after you’ve tidied or just bring a basket with you as you go to collect things that need to be put away later when you have more energy.

Try it? Leave me a comment below!

Day 2 or step 2: Glass clean

If you prefer to group your cleaning tasks, it’s still better to clean all glass after you’ve dusted and wiped as your dusting spray can leave a residue on glass surfaces. You can decide which rooms are important to do this in regularly. Rooms used less often can be done monthly or seasonally.

Cleaning the glass is one of my favorite cleaning tasks. I think it’s so satisfying. 😄 I only clean the inside of windows and glass doors if they get dirty regularly. Otherwise, I just clean glass surfaces and obviously dirty glass areas. The rest I do on a seasonal rotation. I also clean the TV and computer screens this day.
Remember to keep it simple. If the task seems too easy and insignificant, great! You’ll be more likely to succeed in regularly maintaining it then. That will leave you more time and energy for important deeper cleaning and decluttering while still being able to keep up an easily maintained home.

My favorite weekly glass cleaning supplies:

• fine microfiber dusting cloths in this pack
• glass spray bottle with the homemade spray recipe below
• the best streakless ammonia free glass cleaner

Glass cleaning recipe:

• 1/2 cup rubbing alchohol
• 1/4 cup distilled vinegar
• 10 drops of this essential oil
• water to fill spray bottle

For season of low energy and limited time, pick one-two rooms, dust, wipe and glass clean all at once. Keep a cleaning caddy nearby and work your way around the room. This preserves energy and time if needed. Rotate rooms weekly.

Day 3 or step 3: Clean bathrooms

If you follow your daily maintenance wipe down fairly regularly, cleaning the bathrooms shouldn’t take more than 5-10 min. each bathroom.
I prefer to empty all of our trash bins while I’m already emptying our bathrooms’. Bonus is that it’s trash day the day we clean our bathrooms.
We keep at least one trash container in every bathroom so it doesn’t accumulate too fast. Kitchen gets emptied daily, of course. 

This is weekly maintenance cleaning so, once again, don’t get carried away doing deep cleaning or scrubbing grout. I don’t even move things and wipe under them. I save that for monthly cleaning. This is just a quick clean to keep it maintained to a manageable level. I set the timer and quickly run through these:

1. Clean the mirror (sometimes I do a quick dust- or not)
2. Wipe the counters and cabinet doors (only where I can see toothpaste or something)
3. Scrub the sink & faucet
4. Thorough toilet clean
5. Vacuume and quick mop floors
6. Empty all trash bins.
7. Each week rotate: spray and wipe down a shower or tub

My favorite weekly bathroom cleaning supplies for tough jobs:

• Sink and tub cleanser
• Spray and wipe heavy shower and tub cleaner
• My toilet bowl cleaner
• Streakless foaming mirror cleaner

Bonus tip: For seasons of low energy and limited time just set the timer and start with the toilet. Then at least you know the most important task has been done if you run out of energy or time. 🙂

Day 4 or step 4: Kitchen focus

This is the area that is the easiest to get carried away in because it can get so dirty so quickly! But doing this weekly clean and tidy can keep it from becoming an overwhelming job. But remember, this is to keep up and not “catch up” so I don’t get carried away doing monthly tasks like: decluttering, cleaning underneath things or appliances, those can be done monthly. Instead I focus on the following list:

1. Tidy fridge and toss old food (quick wipe of shelves if there is an obvious spill)
2. Quick tidy and sweep pantry
3. Wipe cabinet faces and thoroughly clean around surfaces on counters
4. Wipe down trash can
5. Clean and polish sink
6. Sweep & quick mop floors

Bonus tip: For seasons of low energy or limited time, I just make sure I get the fridge tidied and old food culled. This has the most positive impact on my week.

Day 5 or step 5: Clean main room floors

I know this is the one I used to procrastinate on the most! Because I used to try to clean all my floors in one day. However, when we moved into our current 4,000 sq. ft home, I could no longer keep that up! Now I focus only on the main rooms weekly, and I rotate through the exterior rooms monthly. The kids are in charge of their own rooms weekly. If cleaning your floors is something you dread, try biting off a smaller chunk at a time and stay focused to the most impactful areas.

I don’t use a fancy cleaner for my floors, just my favorite all purpose concentrate to clean my floors because I have laminate flooring in my main rooms.

This is the easiest chore I can get my kids to help with. Especially since I’ve purchased a lighter cordless vacuum and an easy to use mop. I use this as an incentive chore or a pay chore. Most are more than willing to help out, and my older kids do this regularly enough without being asked because it’s fun to use the vacuum and mop we have. Sometimes all we need is a new tool for the job to get motivated!

Bonus tip: For seasons of low energy and limited time just vacuume the main rooms and mop the kitchen/dining. Better yet, have your kids help! Most kids don’t mind mopping and vacuuming so much. 😉

Tools we love and use regularly for our floors

• The lightweight spray mop we love
• Our cordless vacuum

More posts you might enjoy:

• How to find your priorities as a mom
• Our homeschool room makeover and organization
• Our daily tidy routine

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I hope you’ve found my 15 minute weekly cleaning rhythm helpful and encouraging that you CAN maintain a clean home even in seasons of minimal energy or time, friend. I’ve been there. 🙂 If you try any of these tips please be sure to come back and leave me a comment if you’ve found them helpful and please share your own favorites with me in the comments below, and as always PIN to save and share with a friend!

Subscribe for updates on my follow up post coming soon- my monthly and seasonal cleaning routines! 

Thanks for being here in my little corner of the interwebs!