My deep cleaning & decluttering rhythm with a large family

This one is hard to make happen because who really gets excited about dusting the fans or cleaning the vent screens? 😩 However, deeper cleaning can become a rewarding part of our homemaking, as we move away from just maintenance and start making progress to a clean and well organized home with as little as 10 minutes a day or 1 hour total a week. Your house will be easier to maintain and you will likely begin to notice more time and even a greater sense of calm. I’m excited to share my deep cleaning & decluttering rhythm with a large family in hopes it helps you experience these benefits, as well!

Table Of Contents

Why deep clean or declutter?

I no longer have to do those seasonal big cleaning sprees. I can now spend those weekends at the beginning of each season enjoying some fun outing with my family! My goal with this rhythm is to “keep up” instead of “catch up”. 🙂 This makes my daily and weekly cleaning much more doable and makes sure I get to even those harder tasks I might otherwise forget. Maintaining our home helps it to run more efficiently, find things faster, and even helps things last longer!

What if I miss a day or area?

Routines and systems are not meant to be your master, but to serve YOU. If you have put off trying a new cleaning system or routine because you know you won’t be able to keep it perfectly- that’s not the point. The objective is to make these decisions ahead of time so you won’t waste your time with needless decision fatigue, endless cleaning or procrastination. It really is freeing to have the cleaning in its place. I don’t worry about it or have to think about it too much if I take a day off. I just start where I currently am in my rhythm and keep going because I know I will circle back around to that area next month.

If deep cleaning and decluttering are things you loathe doing, the key I’ve found is to make the tasks bite-sized and doable in 15 minutes or less. Sure, you won’t organize an entire room or an overwhelming closet in that time, but you can do a cupboard, a shelf, under a bed etc. in that time. Once you see SOME semblance of progress it can be so motivating to keep going!

The first step: Designate zones in your home

I designate 1 zone to focus on per week of the month. My 5th zone is for when I have lap over weeks. I split zones 5 and 1. I make zone 5 my bonus rooms that don’t require as much attention. If that just made your eyes cross, please don’t leave yet! 🙂 All that means is that I break my home up and stick to a certain area for 1 week. This ensures I get through my whole house each month, doing at least a little to make some forward momentum with deep cleaning or decluttering.

How I group rooms in my home into zones

I group the rooms that are close to each other or used at similar frequencies. For example, kitchen & dining, or exterior rooms that are used less frequently like office and guest rooms. This is also helpful for the children. They have their own zones to maintain and clean weekly, as well. It is their zone of responsibility.

Here’s how I break up the zones in my house by locality and use:

Front porch, living room, hallway
Kitchen, dining room, pantry
Bedrooms
Bathrooms
Bonus rooms: office, laundry room, garage, storage rooms

I usually spend 10-15 extra minutes each day (for 4-5 days a week, which amounts to about an hour a week) in that zone doing some deeper cleaning tasks that relate to my weekly cleaning You can break this up several ways. For example:

Do extra tasks that pertain to your weekly cleaning tasks each day
Set a timer and just go for it doing whatever you can on the days you have more time or energy
Start with the biggest pain point or the easiest job- whichever appeals more!
Do a longer chunck on the weekend

Bonus tip: Larger or more cluttered rooms should be their own zones. Try to keep each zone from being too overwhelming of a size to manage. Don’t forget to include your porch, garage or other outdoor areas you want to work on– or delegate them to a child or spouse.

You might find these posts helpful:

Deep cleaning: dusting & wiping

The key to developing this as a habit was to not make it so complicated, you don’t have to do it perfectly with a fine tooth comb. Just do a bit real quick! I like to literally race to see not HOW detailed I can be but how MUCH I can do! Quantity over quality over here. This adds up real quick though. If you’re doing this every month, you’ll notice a huge difference in how clean your home stays! Goodbye dreaded spring cleaning!

Dusting & wiping ideas

Wipe doors & trim
Wipe down cabinet faces
Dust fan & vent covers
Clean an appliance filter
Deep clean one appliance
Dust out light covers
Dust baseboards and trim
Wipe sticky spots on baseboards & walls
Wipe light switches
Dust / wipe blinds
Dust hard to reach decor & tchotchkes
Dust fans and high spots on ceiling
Dust or wipe under furniture
Check and replace central air filters

KEEP IN MIND- YOU WON’T DO ALL OF THESE EACH MONTH! Work in your week’s zone and just pick one or a few or set a timer.

Dusting & wiping tips and tricks

Wash your dryer lint vent under hot water (soap can build up that blocks it that you can’t see!)
Tie a damp flour sack towel onto your broom and run it over your baseboards
Use a vacuum attachment to “dust” the hard to reach nooks
Race around for 5 minutes like crazy reaching whatever you can with an extended duster
Remove all vent covers in the area and throw them in the sink with hot water and some dawn, rinse and replace
Use a flat surface mop to clean your walls
Use a disposable disinfecting wipe to quickly go over all of your light switches and handles
Place a pillowcase over your ceiling fan blades to trap the dust inside while you wipe down
Run an empty load with hot water and vinegar or bleach to deep clean your washing machine
Run an empty load in your dishwasher with descaler on the heavy duty cycle
Empty one area of your fridge or freezer, vacuum and wipe down throughly

Bonus tip: Buy a cleaning spray and dishcloths you enjoy using. A pleasant smell can trigger positive emotions around cleaning. I love the geranium Mrs. Meyers concentrate. It makes 32 spray bottles!

My favorite dusting & wiping products

this feather duster– traps the dust (shake outside or into trash can when finished)
favorite microfiber cloths
flat surface mop for walls and ceilings
the spray bottle I use
this extendable duster
concentrated cleaner that makes 32 bottles (I also like the peony and honeysuckle)
this duster for blinds works faster than anything else

Deep cleaning: glass cleaning & polishing

I like to take an extra 10 minutes on the day I’m already doing glass cleaning to also do polishing in my zone for that week. I just set the timer and work through a master list, or what I can see right in front of me that needs to be done. This saves me time from getting cleaning products out on a separate day, but also keeps me from getting carried away doing too much until I’m tired. I just do a bit each week and it makes alot of progress without me dreading it or getting overwhelmed and too tired.

Glass Cleaning & Polishing ideas

Clean high glass or ceramic decor
Polish wood decor
Polish wood furniture and cabinets
Polish metal brass or copper items
Wash inside of windows & tracks
Wash outside of windows
Deep clean sinks, tubs and toilets
Clean shower doors and tracks

Glass Cleaning & Polishing tips and tricks

Time for the toothbrush! Get the toothbrush out to clean in the grooves of your windows tracks quickly. Run the vacuum wand over them first.
Get some wood polish on your cloth and run around polishing all the wood surfaces in your zone as fast as you can.
Toothpaste can work in a pinch to polish metal- or ketchup!
Put ceramic decor from the kitchen that has developed a greasy layer in a sink of hot water with some Dawn and let soak while you do your other cleaning. Then rinse or wipe off!
Put a dishwasher pod in your sink drain and pour boiling water over it for a quick drain deodorizer
Spray heavy duty soap scum remover in your tub or shower to soak in while you work in other areas
Scrub your shower while you shower! Use an old loofah sponge and some old soap or shampoo, then just rinse. This regular maintenance can keep the soap scum from building up.
Keep one designated cloth for wood polishing in your cleaning caddy. You won’t get an oily build up on your other cloths and you can grab just your cloth to do a quick polish.

(This post contains affiliate links. For a more detailed disclosure please read more here. Thanks for supporting my blog!)

Some of my favorite products for polishing

Bonus tip: Keep all of your cleaning supplies in a caddy, bag, basket, or roller cart (like me). This saves time running back and forth for different products or tools.

Try it? Tell me what worked!

Deep cleaning: Floors & upholstery

If we keep our daily tidying routines going, and maintain a weekly floor cleaning of just the walking areas in the main rooms, then monthly cleaning shouldn’t be a huge burden. I use this time to clean upholstery that needs it as I have my vacuum out anyways. On my sheet laundering day I check whatever extras need to be washed in that week’s zone– slipcovers, curtains, pillow covers. Note- I just CHECK. That doesn’t mean I actually wash those things every week, I just check for what is visibly dirty or stained and throw it in with the sheets.

YOU CAN CHECK OFF FROM A LIST EACH TIME YOU REVISIT A ZONE OR JUST LOOK FOR WHAT’S MOST NEEDED

Deep cleaning floor & upholstery ideas

Roll up rugs and vacuum underneath them
Do a slow vacuum over your carpets and rugs
Clean under furniture
Treat and spot clean carpets and rugs that need it
Clean grout and tile
Wash slipcovers or pillow covers
Wash curtains when needed
Vacuum or wipe down upholstered furniture
Polish leather furniture or decor
Wash shower curtains or bathroom rugs
Clean vacuum parts and filter

Floor & upholstery cleaning tips and tricks

Sprinkle baking soda over carpet in high traffic areas, let rest 15 minutes and vacuum up
Go over carpeted areas more slowly with a larger vacuum
Soak slipcovers in an oxiclean load overnight to brighten or whiten
Remove and collect pet hair quickly with this nifty gadget

My favorite floor and upholstery cleaning products

Bonus tip: If it feels like too much, then scale back to a manageable amount! Just do one thing that feels doable. Make it more fun by listening to your favorite music or audiobook, and a reward when you finish. You CAN do this even with limited energy and time. Just do something!

Declutter and beautify

I define organizing as removing unneeded items to find a better fit for the needed items in a space. This is more commonly referred to as decluttering. But the term “decluttering” can have negative connotations because it can often be associated with minimalism and the dreaded decision making about what to keep and what to get rid of.

However, if we just keep moving around the same amount of inventory, we really won’t make much progress to a more orderly home. Simplify your “organizing” to just getting rid of the unnecessary and rearranging what’s needed. That’s it. You don’t have to purge everything!

Anytime something feels unorganized or cluttered, it is usually because there are too many items in that designated space. More often than not, there is literal trash in there that will need to be tossed, if nothing else. Begin by tossing what’s expired, empty, broken or trash, then rearrange things for a better fit. Then next time you circle back around, if the area feels disorderly again, try to find a better solution to make the items easier to find and access.

I also love to spend a little bit of time beautifying something in the zone, as well. It’s a great morale boost! Sometimes it’s just making a list of wanted items to budget for, or creating a board on Pinterest for that space. Other times its rearranging or hanging new art. But even small steps accumulate to big impact over time.

Bonus tip: When beginning to organize an area begin at the macro level, i.e. think of grouping large categories together. Then you can refine down from there if you want to later.

Decluttering & beautifying ideas

Empty a drawer, wipe out, toss trash, rearrange
Tidy one cupboard
Tidy one shelf
Find 5 items to donate you are no longer using
Toss 5 items that are broken, stained, or ripped and make a list to replace the ones needed
Move items used less frequently to a storage area that is less trafficked
Toss all trash in that zone (look in drawers and cupboards)
Create a Pinterest dream board for that zone or room
Add some greenery or flowers to highlight a favorite area
Declutter 5 books you wouldn’t read again or share with a friend
Touch up paint where needed

Decluttering & beautifying tips and tricks

Only keep items in high traffic areas that have high traffic use
Arrange things by use instead of type. Group things together that are used together
Touch up paint with a small paintbrush or this nifty gadget
Place pretty bowls or baskets to “catch” items that commonly clutter a surface
Use clear containers when organizing items you want to see the contents of
Store small clothing items in drawers inside of inexpensive plastic shoe boxes
Use inexpensive plastic shoe boxes to organize your fridge
Store sheets or seasonal clothing in shallow lidded bins under your bed
Move unorganized items into large category containers (you can move to a smaller system next time if desired) I.E.” Painting supplies” first; afterwards “brushes”, “paint”, “tools” etc.
Place cosmetics, vitamins, medicines, spices in a clear plastic lazy Susan caddy
This list could be endless… you get the idea 😉
Checkout the Clutterbug to help find your organizing style

Decluttering and beautifying products I use and love:

This line of small affordable bins
clear circular spinning caddy– I find mine for cheap at TJ Maxx
zipped pouches to decant puzzles or games to save space
clear lazy susan for spices, under the sink or medicines
Under the bed storage
Clear stackable totes
this nifty paint touch up gadget

My deep cleaning & decluttering rhythm with a large family

Why deep clean or declutter?

What if I miss a day or area?