After sharing back in October of 2013 about my inability to find an effective cleaning schedule, I quickly learned that many of you shared the same struggle!
My solution was to develop a cleaning schedule that was unique to my needs. My biggest quibble with the cleaning schedules I had seen previously was that they had various cleaning tasks assigned to specific days of the week. This didn’t work for me because sometimes things came up (e.g., medical appointments, errands, delays while grocery shopping) that encroached upon the time I had available to clean. This would cause me to get off schedule and I would have trouble getting back on schedule.
Consequently, I developed a rotating schedule where various cleaning tasks were outlined in a specific order, but were not assigned to specific days. This has allowed me to progress through the tasks as I have time. I developed a second schedule that allowed me to take care of “spring cleaning” tasks a little at a time throughout the year. Many of you appreciated these concepts and have downloaded and customized my schedules to meet your own needs. Click on the images below to view the original versions of my schedules.
A lot has changed since 2013. We’ve moved from a 3 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom house that was 1,200 sq. ft. in size to a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house that is 2,300 sq. ft. in size. We’ve added a member to the family (and are due with another in July). As you can imagine, I’ve had to make some adjustments to my cleaning schedule to address my changing needs.
I’m going to share my revised schedules with you today. I’m extremely pleased to also be able to feature a few of your customized versions! So many of you have shared in emails or in comments about how the rotating schedule has helped bring order to your homes. Hopefully these examples will provide inspiration for many more individuals who are attempting to find a way to stay on top of housecleaning tasks.
My revised schedules
Here’s my schedule for everyday cleaning tasks:
(Click on the image below to view and download a larger, printable version of the schedule. Click on the text link beneath the image to download an editable version of the schedule.)
Editable Daily Cleaning Schedule
Here’s my schedule for deep cleaning tasks:
(Click on the image below to view and download a larger, printable version of the schedule. Click on the text link beneath the image to download an editable version of the schedule.)
Editable Deep Cleaning Schedule
Customized versions
Ana liked having days of the week included in her schedule, so she added these when she created the following version:
Denise, who blogs at frazzled JOY, made a few small changes to my original schedule when she created the following version (you can read more about it on her blog):
Lynda split her tasks up by room when she created the following version:
Aren’t these great? I love that this simple concept can be adapted by each of us to meet the needs of our households. If you would like to customize schedules for yourself, click on the text links below my revised versions in order to download editable versions.
Now it’s your turn to share. Do you use a cleaning schedule? Why or why not? If you do, what features make it helpful?
Shared at the following link parties:
Inspiration Spotlight, Motivation Monday, Creative Gallery, Titus 2 Tuesday, Tuesday Talk, Coffee and Conversation, From House to Home, Handmade Tuesdays, Tuesdays with a Twist, and Weekend Wind Down.
These are great! I need this kind of organization in my life! Thank you!
Hi Gwen,
I hope they benefit you!
You did a lot of work on this. Great tools to use and stay organized. Featuring this on my Tuesday Talk party next week. Well done!
Hi Michelle,
It did take a lot of work initially to develop the schedules, but they save me time now that I have them!
Thanks for featuring them!
Hi Michelle,
Many thanks from the UK; from a depressed and disorganised person trying to get her life and surroundings back in order! Your schedule is the simplest one I’ve seen, and it doesn’t tie me to a particular day, so it isn’t overwhelming and I don’t feel I have failed if I have an off day. I have customised and printed two of the daily lists in fact; one regular cleaning shedule, and one for projects, creative hobbies and the accounting I never seem to get around to! Both are helping immensely, thank you so much.
That’s wonderful news, Zoe! I’m so glad to hear that this concept has benefited you.
I love that you are using it for projects, hobbies, and accounting in addition to cleaning. What a great way to make it suit your needs!
I love the rotating schedule! I have two toddlers and I’m lucky to get my daily tasks done, so some things get forgotten until it’s gross. I have a lot of decluttering that needs done, so I’m going to find a way to incorporate that. I could do a rotation schedule for just laundry loads too!
Hi Amanda,
This is certainly the approach I have found to be most helpful. Decluttering would be a great thing to include…less clutter means it is easier to keep things clean!
As a teacher I’m gearing up for having zero free time as of August 25th. In the past everything has been put off until a school holiday, which then feels wasted when I clean all day. When I clean all day I can’t get ahead of my school things so I have no free time to clean! (Do you see a vicious cycle anywhere?) Anyway, I’m going to try this method and I greatly appreciate that you’ve already put in the grunt work. Thanks!
Hi Victoria,
I’m so pleased to share it with you! I hope it helps.
Thanks for diligently teaching those kiddos all school year!
These are awesome!! I have been searching for something for me (and my family) – Kids have their daily chore charts, this will help me have mine!
Thank you, thank you!
You’re very welcome, Tamara! I hope you benefit from the schedules.
I try to keep things organized. I have found beneficial information on several organizational sites, including this one. I have spent my life making lists to live by. But some days I feel as if I’m going in circles – with a husband who clutters the kitchen counter with mail and smelly work shirts, and 2 grandsons who wait weeks to put away clean clothes – nothing feels organized. Most days I keep a time log of what I have accomplished just so I feel as if I didn’t spend the day spinning my wheels. So when you ladies look at your nice, neatly organized homes, think of me. LOL Happy organizing.
Hi Brenda,
Keeping a time log would make me feel better, too!
Just because I have a cleaning schedule doesn’t mean my house is always in perfect shape. Believe me, it’s not. Right now there are baby socks all over the dining table waiting to be put away, ribbons all over the kitchen counter from a wreath I’ve been making, and toys strewn all about the living room floor. I use this schedule to keep me on track, but life still happens.
I have young kids, so I’m thinking it’ll be 18+ years before my house is truly neat and organized!
I just downloaded the editable version and have filled it out. I’m looking forward to trying it out. What I love about this is that it is so simple and straight-forward. No fluffing about with turning pages and finding a list to tick off. I will put this up in my command center. Easy! {Now for the doing it!}
Hi Sarah,
It is straightforward and, as long as you follow it, it works! I keep mine in my command center, as well.
I hope it helps you as much as it has helped me. 🙂
Thank you. This schedule is perfect- easy and simple! Thank you very much.
You are very welcome, Maria. I’m so glad you found it and I hope it is a great help to you!
Really like your organizers! I like that if you miss a day for some reason you just start where you left off.
That is why I had to make them, Martha. I just couldn’t make those that had tasks assigned to specific days work. I’d get behind too often!
I hope they continue to work for you. 🙂
I found your blog about six months ago because I was searching for a realistic cleaning schedule. I’ve been using your schedule since then, and I love it. It has changed my life for the better! I love how there’s no day tied to each task because I sometimes have commitments at work or church that prevent me from cleaning on a certain day. I also added laundry to my schedule, rotating through a load of whites, darks, towels, etc. each day. Thank you!!!
Hi Frances,
I’m so delighted that this works for you! Adding laundry is a great idea. In fact, I may need to add laundry to my schedule in the years to come.
Thanks for letting me know that this has benefited you!
When do you clean the fridge?
Hi Amanda,
I clean the fridge on the days where the chart indicates to “Tidy fridge and pantry” (the lighter purple colored squares). I guess “tidy” doesn’t clearly indicate that I’m cleaning it, but I’m tossing out anything that needs to go and wiping down all of the interior surfaces of the fridge.
When do you clean the laundry room?
We don’t have a laundry room (our washer and dryer are out in the garage), so I don’t need to clean one. 🙂
Hello there Shannon, I’m trying to organise a similar schedule for some of my clients to organise for themselves and I would like to ask you if and how do you manage to keep track of you schedule? Do you still follow it to this very same day? Thank you
Hi Dmitri,
Great questions! Yes, I am still using this schedule. I have it hanging in my command center in a sheet protector. When I complete the tasks in one square, I draw a line through that square. Then, when I’ve made it all the way through the schedule, I wipe the lines off the sheet protector and start again. I know some people keep a copy of the schedule on their refrigerators and they use magnets to indicate which tasks they need to complete next.
These look so helpful! Could you tell me what program I need to be able to use the editable versions? I am a Mac user. Thanks so much! Will be checking out your other checklists and scheduling printables!
Hi Marnie,
Both of the editable versions are in Microsoft Word documents.
What do you usually use for word processing? If you use Microsoft Word, then you should be able to download and open the documents (use the text links under the images of the schedules). Though Microsoft makes a version of Word for Macs, you may not have it. If this is the case, then you could install a free program like LibreOffice (https://www.libreoffice.org/), which comes in a version for Mac OS. I don’t know for certain, but you may also be able to open it with the Pages program that comes on Macs.
I hope this helps! Please let me know if you need additional help.
I have just discovered this post and what a great way to start 2018!! Clean and tidy home coming up!! Thank you all.
What a great time to begin using it, Nancy. If you keep at it, it really works!
Happy New Year!
I just found your site today and I am thrilled! This is exactly the kind of cleaning schedule I need. I have struggled so much with getting behind on other styles of schedules I’ve tried. I’m so excited to try this. I downloaded the editable versions and while the monthly one comes up no problem, the daily one is blank when I open it. Would you be able to email a copy? I would so appreciate it. Thank you and God bless!
Hi Karen,
I’m so glad you found the site and that you think these will help you. I intentionally left the daily schedule blank because it seems that everyone has a different approach they would like to use. However, I will email you the copy I use and you can then make adjustments as needed.
I hope you end up loving it!
When do you manage to tackle the monthly/yearly tasks?
I can complete some of them quickly enough to just do them after I complete a daily task. For ones that take longer, I usually complete them on Saturday mornings when my husband is home to help watch the kids. I also sometimes attend to them after the kids are in bed. Hope that helps, Lauren!
I printed your rotating schedule 6 years ago and have stuck with it ever since! It is so much easier than any other schedule I tried before. Thank you for sharing.
Hi Tammy,
Thank you for taking the time to stop by and share this! I’m so glad that this rotating approach has worked for you. I continue to use it, as well, though with a few small changes (we’re in a different house now).
Shannon, thank you so much for this rotating chart! I printed the 2013 version years ago and have used it ever since. I like that even if I miss a day or two in a row, there is no stress or guilt. I just start right back where I ended. My daughter who recently had a baby and has her hands full asked me today how I organize my daily cleaning and I sent her the link to your site. I also downloaded the editable version of the chart so I can make myself a fresh, updated copy. The chart that has been hanging inside my kitchen cupboard all those years looks pretty well-used. Thank you again for sharing this great idea!
Thanks for taking the time to share this, Ann. I’m honored that my simple idea has helped you.
After all these years, the rotating approach is still what works for me. Like you said, if I miss a day, I just pick up where I left off.
Enjoy your new grandbaby!
I love the monthly cleaning chart. Thank you for helping me not feel so overwhelmed when cleaning.
I’m so glad it has helped you, Michelle!