For me, there are lots of reasons a clean house is important to me. But the biggest reason is the sense of clarity and purpose in my day-to-day life when my house is clean. Over the years tons of people ask how I keep things tidy and organized most of the time in our home. So, at the risk of being labeled a crazy, OCD-prone minimalist I thought I’d share my 1-hour morning cleaning routine.
While 1-hour may seem like an arbitrary number, it’s not. I tend to spend, on average, about an hour each morning making my house sparkle. This means I spend roughly about 5-7 hours a week cleaning, nearly one work shift, per se. And though this is still a significant amount of time, it’s not nearly the 2-3 hours a day I spend as a newlywed and caretaker! However, for me, it’s totally worth spending 5-7 hours a week cleaning in order to have a house that is pretty tidy on any given day. The simplest way to do this? Just staying on top of whatever needs to be cleaned.
You see, I am a list kind-of-gal, so I actually have a daily checklist that I use each day, created before bed, to help me structure my next day. I keep my list in my kitchen and before I start cleaning, I always check my list!
And when it comes to cleaning itself, I always make a point of being prepared. To save time and money (and a trip to the store), I generally make my own cleaners. And before anyone says ain’t nobody got time for that, hear me out. I make cleaners because they are cheaper (literal pennies on the dollar), scents can be customized using essential oils, they help me limit the chemicals I expose my family too, and DIY cleaners are designed for multiple uses (which require me to store far fewer bottles on-hand). In the time it takes to put the family in the car and go to the store I can make a dozen cleaners at home!
With this in mind, a few of the cleaners I make are:
- Wooden Furniture Balm
- Grapefruit Countertop cleaner
- Natural Orange Cleaner
- Electronic Spray
- Soft Scrub
- Window Spray
- Organic Daily Shower Cleaner
- DIY Swiffer Cloths and Solution
- Customized Pine Floor Cleaner
General Outline:
- Usually, I start cleaning my Master Bedroom and work my way through my home.
- I use a large laundry basket to collect items such as toys or clothing that need to be returned to a different room as I work. After you have finished tidying every room, take 5 minutes to put away the gathered items.
- Save sweeping/mopping and vacuuming until the end, making sure to dust (as needed first) and then do it all at once. We have hard surface floors (hardwoods and tile), so I use an industrial dry mop from Sam’s Club to dry mop the hardwoods and a steam mop to clean the tile floors daily. I shake or vacuum floor rugs as needed.
- I also perform spot checks on the glass doors, mirrors, chrome, and windows at the end of the hour.
- I keep daily shower cleaner in both showers and spray down and squeegee after each use.
- I also add bleach to our toilet brush containers; replace the bleach once a week. This allows for easy cleanup, and for tough toilet stains, I use a pumice stone from the Dollar Tree.
- I carry a time from room-to-room to keep me on schedule while cleaning.
Laundry:
- I put in one load of laundry.
- I remove laundry from drying racks or outdoor line and put away.
- 5-10 minutes are spent cleaning each.
- I always make each bed, I’m picky that way.
- I then quickly pick up any clothes, toys, or dishes laying about.
- I dust off surfaces, including the headboard, footboard, and closet doors.
Bathroom(s):
- 5 minutes are spent on each.
- Squirt toilet bowl cleaner around the rim of each toilet first; let sit.
- Disinfectant sinks, tub, and shower with rags and surface cleaner.
- Use the toilet brush to quickly scrub toilet, rim, and seat.
- Wipe down the toilet seat, space behind the toilet, and surrounding floor.
- I change out hand towels, as needed.
- Replace and re-stock toilet paper, as needed.
Laundry:
- I remove laundry from washer and place in dryer.
- 10-15 minutes are spent in each room.
- I quickly pick up any shoes, dishes, toys which are put in a basket to be put away later.
- Use rags to quickly dust all surfaces.
- Quick wipe down on furniture, table(s), and chairs.
- Quick tidy on our desk area; all paperwork and mail is filed, if not already done so.
- Lysol sitting surfaces.
- 10-15 minutes are spent in the kitchen.
- I pick up any items that don’t belong in the kitchen and place them in the basket.
- Gather any dirty dishes and put them next to sink.
- Hand washes dishes and place dishes in the dishwasher, as necessary.
- Wipe down all counter tops with disinfectant spray.
- Wipe down stove top.
- Dry and put away any hand-washed dishes.
- Clean out and dry sink; clean dish drains as needed.
- I check to make sure everything is in order in my fridge and coolers; I wipe the surface fronts as I go.
- Finishing up takes 15-20 minutes.
- Next, starting in the back of the house to the front, I dry mop all my hard floors.
- I steam mop my tile floors, as needed.
- I shake my kitchen rugs and front door mats.
- I shake my dry mop heads out and sweep my front porch.
- I clean glass surfaces and mirrors, as needed with a lint-free rag.
- I pull laundry from dryer, fold, and put away. Making sure to unplug my washer and dryer.
- I place all cleaning rags in my cleaning rag hamper for once-a-week cleaning on Friday’s.
- I put all my cleaning tools and cleaners away.
- I then put away items collected in baskets while cleaning.
- Lastly, I take out my kitchen trash and check my recycling bins.
So, that’s it, folks. That’s my morning cleaning routine.
Now, this list works for me because my home doesn’t need a truly deep, deep cleaning. If this isn’t the case in your home, no worries! Just start out a 1-hour cleaning routine after you have finished Spring Cleaning your home.
While it may take a little getting used to, once you are in the habit of a 1-hour routine each morning, you will be done in no time and freedom to enjoy the rest of each day! And if you have any suggestions on how you clean your home in a better way, I’d love to hear about it below!
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