Can we be honest for a moment? Keeping a house clean is hard. Every day, high-traffic areas are filling up with clutter, dirt, and dust. Without regular maintenance, it's easy to find yourself drowning by the end of the week. This weekly cleaning schedule emerge out of desperation. A need for order in the chaos.
This weekly cleaning schedule has been a lifesaver for me, and it's truly something anyone can stick to. With a daily room focus, you'll be able to see your progress and appreciate the freshness daily. The free printable weekly cleaning schedule will guide you through everything you need to maintain clean, clutter-free spaces. Also, it's really cute.
Oh - and if you've already got a good rhythm going, the cleaning schedule template is also completely customizable. The printable comes in two options, one filled with the sample schedule I use, and the other blank & ready for your input!
In this post, we're going over the best cleaning method to stay motivated (lifechanging), how to use the printable weekly cleaning schedule, AND how to create your own ideal and custom schedule if this one isn't your thing!
how to keep your house clean all week
The biggest obstacle to cleaning in my experience isn't time, but motivation. Don't get me wrong, finding the time isn't always easy - but using it well can be more challenging.
The worst part of cleaning is that it's never really done. There's always more that could get done, another area or appliance to be wiped down. How do you know when to stop?
I've found that the best cleaning method for motivation and consistency is a) sticking to a schedule and b) focusing that schedule on one room/area at a time.
By tackling your home space by space, you actually get to see and experience the results on a daily basis. Resetting an area entirely is so encouraging and refreshing.
It also gives you a hard end point for the day - which allows you to actually plan accordingly, and if you miss a day, you know exactly what needs to get done to get back on track.
closing the kitchen
If there's one thing you do on a daily basis - make it this.
I started closing my kitchen every night about a year ago, and when I tell you it changed everything, I mean it. This is probably one of the most important habits I've ever built.
Every night, before going to bed, I've made it non-negotiable that every dish gets washed, the dishwasher gets started, anything on the counters gets puts away & surfaces get wiped down.
The kitchen is such an important spot in our home - it's where we prepare meals, gather, start and end our days. When it's cluttered and chaotic, we feel it. When it's clean and inviting, we feel that too. This is the only item that shows up daily on the weekly cleaning schedule, because I think it's so important.
weekly reset
My other cleaning schedule staple is a good weekly reset. This has become a beloved ritual for me. Every Sunday, I reset our home & space by washing our linens & towels, remaking the bedroom, and giving our whole a bit of a once-over - vacuum, declutter, etc.
This isn't a deep clean or huge project, but a 20 minute - 1 hour space to just get back to ground zero. I usually put on a good podcast, light some candles, and make it a moment. Not only is it kind of a fun little chance to get ahead, but it makes waking up on Monday morning that much easier just knowing that the house is clean and set up for the week.
how to use the printable weekly cleaning schedule
This weekly cleaning checklist is pretty straightforward, but I wanted to give you a quick overview before you click print.
To recap - I'm a big believer in working an area at a time. I think it's the best option for many reasons. I didn't add every item possible to this list, because this is intended to be more of a bare-minimum, this is what has to get done than a daily-deep-clean. The only item repeated every day is closing your kitchen every night, because as probably the most high-traffic area of your home, it's key to keep it clear and fresh.
Saturday's list is pretty empty intentionally. First of all - it's the weekend. And this is often a really busy day for people. But it's also a great chance to catch up on anything that didn't get done throughout the week. You can be the most organized, on top of your weekly cleaning schedule person in the world, but life still catches us all off guard, and a catch-all day can keep you from falling behind.
Weekly Cleaning Schedule (at a glance):
- Monday: kitchen focus
- Tuesday: bathroom focus
- Wednesday: living areas focus
- Thursday: bedroom focus
- Friday: entryway + outdoor focus
- Sunday: reset
how to create your perfect weekly cleaning schedule
If this layout of the house cleaning checklist isn't your thing, fear not - the blank version of the weekly cleaning schedule template is just as easy to use.
To create a sustainable weekly cleaning schedule, especially if you don't want to follow a room by room method, the best place to start is to make an honest list of all the things that have to get done in a week.
K I T C H E N :
- Load and run dishwasher
- Take out garbage and recycling
- Organize & put away any groceries that haven’t been yet
- Clean out fridge (throw out anything that’s gone bad)
- Clear off clutter
- wipe down counters
- Sweep kitchen
- Swiffer floor
- Refill soap/paper towel
- Clean coffee maker
- Clean sink
B A T H R O O M:
- Clear off clutter
- Dust any surfaces
- Clean mirror
- Wipe down counter surfaces
- Clean out sink
- Use toilet cleaner
- Wipe down toilet
- Take out garbage
- Refill toilet paper holder
- Refill soap
- Sweep
- Swiffer floor
L I V I N G R O O M
- Clear out clutter
- Put tablecloth/ blankets in the washing machine
- Dust surfaces
- Sweep
- Swiffer floor
- Clean mirror
B E D R O O M
- Make bed
- Start washing any clothes
- Put away clean laundry
- Clear away clutter
- Sweep
- Swiffer floor
- Clean mirror
- Take out garbage
Once you have your list of weekly tasks, it's divide and conquer time.
This is where your schedule & priorities come into play in a big way. Maybe you host a group of friends every Tuesday night, and you want to make sure your bathrooms are clean every time, or you can't enjoy the weekend unless everything's done by Friday night.
I personally like to work from most-important backwards. Start slotting in house tasks or categories based on priority, especially if there's a particular deadline time of week attached.
You'll notice the weekly cleaning template only has 6 action slots a day. I get that that won't work for everyone, but condensing actions down to a shorter list that encompasses more can make large tasks feel a lot more attainable and manageable, even in crazy chaotic seasons.
I'm currently working on a Monthly Cleaning Reset schedule (stay tuned for a free printable on that one too) to balance the tasks that don't need to get done every week, but you don't want to leave to quarterly cleaning. You can of course eyeball this as you go, but if you're like me and didn't grow up knowing how often to clean what, I gotchu. My early adulthood has been a lot of learning how, when, and what to clean.
The weekly cleaning schedule for your home isn't designed to cover every base and square inch, but to help create a maintainable system that protects you from clutter-build up and chaos.
MAKE IT EASY ON YOURSELF
A huge part of keeping your space clean is keeping it organized. The best tool I’ve found for keeping cleaning simple is to simplify my organization systems. If you’ve ever seen/read The Home Edit, think Clea & Joanna. My bathroom closet houses four white bins from IKEA which contain any and all beauty products, skincare stuff, hair tools, towels, and anything else I need to store there. Each bin has a designated category, and given that I did a big “edit”, everything fits.
Decluttering literally just means throwing things back in the bin. Sometimes I take the time to stand them up perfectly, so they’re all aligned, and sometimes I just chuck them in there. But when I’m done, it looks intentional, neat, and clean.
More in-depth cleaning tasks can be saved for monthly or quarterly cleans — we’ll talk more about that in a future blog post!
WEEKLY CLEANING SCHEDULE PRINTABLE
I’m a big believer that if you can’t find the right thing, make it. When I couldn’t find a weekly cleaning schedule I liked, I created this one — the ultimate printable weekly cleaning schedule. It’s customizable, aesthetically pleasing (it matters!), and extremely effective at helping you break down your cleaning into a doable schedule.
This is what a typical week for me would look like! You can edit the text in or print & write it out, whatever you prefer. I have options with & without the days labelled, because your main cleaning days may not be the weekends.
This printable is designed to help you stop making random notes on your phone that you’ll never remember to check, setting reminders you’ll ignore, and feeling guilty over forgetting to get stuff done. An easy, guilt-free way to stay up on things!
To download this printable, put your email in below to have it delivered straight to you!
Your weekly cleaning schedule doesn’t need to take your whole week — in fact, it’s perfectly okay to make it a small part of your routine. Breaking it down will help you stress less, feel more in control, and allow you to focus on what really matters.
If adulting, intentional living, and figuring out your way through life is something you’re in the middle of now — welcome to the club. I’m blogging here on AnikaGreen.com all about relationships, lifestyle, and cultivating a purposeful existence, and I’m so glad you’re here.
