How to Create a Weekly Cleaning Schedule | Hacks & Free Printable

How to Create a Weekly Cleaning Schedule + Free Printable | I’m gonna be honest with you. I’m not a neat freak. Cleaning, in general, does not “spark joy” for me. Don’t misunderstand — I love having a clean house. Walking in and seeing an organized entry way, clear kitchen counters, and an inviting living space is a wonderful feeling. It’s the getting-it-there that I’m not so hot on.

The last few months, I’ve been developing the perfect weekly cleaning schedule. It’s easily tailored to your schedule, and has been life changing for me. I’m happy to share if with you now to let you in on my secret — and I have a free printable too that you can download! I actually recommend laminating it & sticking it to the fridge — you can use a dry erase marker to write/erase anything from it!

If you’re ready to start living a cleaner, more organized life, while investing minimal time, this is the post for you. I gotcha.

How to Create a Weekly Cleaning Schedule + Free Printable

What are the daily tasks that need to get done?

All right, first up, make an honest list of the daily tasks that have to get done. Not your I’d-like-tos, but the have tos.

These will vary slightly for everyone, but basic, daily tasks will probably look something like this:

• load/unload the dishwasher
• put clothes/laundry away
• clear off clutter

This is your every day list. It’s a lot less intimidating than you’d think, right? That’s three things — just three things you have to do everyday. On your busiest days, you do that, and you’re done. You win. Congrats. I put these tasks at the top of my weekly cleaning schedule, because I know that I have to get them done everyday.

Pick 1-2 weekly cleaning days

Pick 1-2 days in your week that you know you’ll have a bit more time — be it all day or just a couple hours, this will be your game time. You can keep it the same every week, or change it up to fit a flexible schedule.

List & divide what needs to get done by priority.

Again, I’m not a cleaner for kicks — and while I obviously keeping neat home, I don’t believe in missing out on life in order to keep a perfect one. That said, make your list of tasks by their importance. If you don’t get everything done, it’s okay.

My list is even broken down by rooms in order of priority, the first being the kitchen. Not only is it the room I spend almost the most time in, but its function requires cleanliness. If my kitchen isn’t clean enough to use, it’s no good to me. Hence, it’s the first priority for me. Next, the bathroom. Fairly self-explanatory, but it’s another high traffic area. It also gets dirtier than most rooms. Following that is the living room, and finally, my bedroom.

I am the only one who sees my room, and while I’d love it to always stay perfect, it won’t. If one room in my house is going to be messy, it’ll always be my bedroom. And honestly, I’m okay with that.

My list looks like this:

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

It looks long, but doing everything on that list probably takes me around 2.5 hours, give or take. If you split that up to twice a week, that’s an hour and 15 minutes twice a week — which is definitely doable.

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! (Don’t want to miss out? Sign up for my email list to never miss a blog post here!)

my favourite organization products

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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.