Annual Cleaning Schedule
While the same chores on a daily basis do get old and annoying a few simple tasks take only a few minutes a day and will make a huge difference in the appearance of your house. This list is very short; it only includes six tiny items. Are you ready? 1. Make the beds. Ok this is optional, however for those who insist on having beds made daily, doing this first thing in the morning saves some time, and gets something knocked off the daily to do list quite quickly. 2. Put dirty clothes in the dirty clothes hamper, or load the washer. Simple and easy, plus keeps laundry from piling up. 3. Hang up clothes, and put away all clean clothes. If you are like me, you leave stacks of everyone’s clothes in the laundry room and everyone is required to put away their own clothes. This does count under this task. 4. Clean up Spills, this should be a no brainer, as a spill occurs clean it immediately, you will save the time scrubbing a stubborn stain because it had time to set in. 5. Wash dishes, easiest to do if you have a dishwasher, just load it up as dirty dishes accumulate during the day, and start before bedtime. In the morning, you can put away the dishes after they are dry and start the process over again. 6. Wipe down countertops and the stove. That is it a simple, painless and short daily chore list. Split this amongst the household members and your looking at less than 5 minutes a day to make a huge difference.
Now we all know that is not the only tasks around the house, so let us give a good timeline for other cleaning tasks. At least once weekly is a good idea to vacuum the carpets. More often just depends on the abuse and traffic that your carpets happen to receive, however weekly is perfectly fine in most houses. If however, you have an animal that sheds a lot, every day or other day may become necessary to avoid allergies.
Other weekly tasks include: Sweeping hardwood floors, personally I bought a small canister vacuum that is very lightweight and works easy enough that my 4 year old can use it. She is in the process of learning how to clean the floors, so that helps free up my time for other tasks. Other tasks include: dust hard furniture, dusting trinkets, changing bed sheets, cleaning all of the sinks, clean the bathrooms, empty trashcans, take the trash out, and sweeping the porch, patio, and decks.
See, once again short simple tasks that do not take very long to complete but leave the house looking much better. Other tasks that can be done on a biweekly basis include vacuuming the stairs, and dusting the electronics. This is something that typically will not take long to complete. The stairs is likely to be the longest task, depending upon how many stairs you have in your home.
On a monthly basis it’s ideal to vacuum the upholstery, clean make up brushes and sponges, clean hairbrushes and combs, vacuum the drapes, clean mirrors all around the house, dust the ceiling fans, clean the blinds and shutters, clean any cobwebs, wash area rugs, wax hardwood floors needing wax, clean out the refrigerator, clean the front of cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom, clean kitchen appliances, check the furnace or air conditioner filter, clean off entry mats, sweep or vacuum the garage. This can either be done in a single day, or broken up over the course of the month depending upon your schedule.
On a quarterly basis it’s definitely ideal to sweep or wash the driveway, and walkways, change or clean the furnace and air conditioner filter, wipe off light bulbs around the house, flip the cushions on chairs and sofa’s, also rotate mattresses for even wear, finally clean dehumidifiers and humidifiers.
I am sure by now you are cringing over the things you have not remembered to do lately, however the point of this is not to make you think your house is nasty, instead, it is intended to help you maintain a good level of clean around your house with minimal effort.
Items that require a lot less attention are those that need to be done approximately twice a year. Those items include cleaning the oven, I know it is horrible but must be done. Clean the stove hood and exhaust fan, Clean out the freezer; dirt, old food and all. Wash any and all plastic, vinyl or leather furniture that is around the house; do not forget the plastic furniture that is outside. Dust books, and bookshelves, vacuum heat registers and cold air returns, Check and clean silverware as necessary, replace the box of baking soda in the fridge that you almost forgot about, clean out the closets. This makes a great time to get rid of the clothes you have not been able to wear in the last few years.
Finally, there is the annual cleaning list, at least annually, you should dust the walls, wash the walls as necessary, the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works wonders on all stains, walls included. Strip any waxed floors and rewax, wash all windows and screens, wash or dry-clean drapery, move and clean under large items ( deep chest freezer, etc), wash blinds, clean the carpets and upholstery, have the air conditioner checked to make sure it’s functioning properly, don’t forget to check the furnace.
Last few items to do on a yearly basis include: checking the medicine cabinets for old medications, cleaning the kitchen cabinets, clean gutters, wash exterior windows, and clean your chimney if your house has one. Wow, that is a lot of stuff. However, it could be much worse. Now the hard part is the initial cleaning, once it is cleaned well the first time the maintenance will be so much easier for you to handle.
