How Often Do Our Homes Need Cleaning?

Are you feeling overwhelmed with keeping your house clean?  Or are you just not sure where to start and how to get on top of everything?

First, let me clarify that a weekly cleaning routine will look different for everyone depending on:

• number of people living in your home
• pets or no pets
• how much time people spend at home
• who else helps out with cleaning the house
• your personal preferences/ tolerance levels etc.
• any health issues, allergies etc.

So how often do our homes need cleaning?

House cleaning is important for several reasons.  This include aesthetics, our rooms just look better when clean.  Removing dirt regularly prolongs the life time of the structure, furniture and decor of our homes.  For some of you, the most important reason, improving your health or that of family members as well as preventing sickness.

If that’s the case, there are certain areas in the home that should be frequently cleaned to kill germs and moulds.  In the kitchen, the following items need cleaning often, either as they are used or an daily basis.

• cutting boards
• coffee maker
• refrigerator, especially areas in contact with uncooked and unwashed food
• kitchen sink and bench tops

Other areas in the home that we not think about, but need weekly cleaning are:

• bathroom light switches
• refrigerator handles
• stove knobs
• microwave handles

How I organise weekly cleaning of my home?

I choose to break the jobs up and have a different task for each day of the week.  That way, if I miss a day’s task or two, my house still gets some love & attention on the other days of the week.  See the above weekly list for what I aim to do each day!

Here’s what I am currently doing for the following areas:

Laundry

A load a day helps me keep on top of the washing in our house.  It then gets hung out to dry, no clothes dryer here.  Putting clothes away happens about 2 times a week as I do several loads at the same time.

This year I have started using the Kon Mari method of folding for our clothes drawers.  It is working great so far!!

Bed linen is changed as needed or about once a month.

Ironing, not often enough.  Once every 2 weeks I try to get the ironing pile down to zero.  This one is a bit random.  Mostly I am ironing some of my clothes and my daughter’s dresses.

Kitchen

Dishes get done 1 to 2 times a day.  I currently have no dishwasher.  When the kids were younger I put a dishwasher in the laundry next to the washing machine, as there is no connection or room for one in the kitchen.  At that time, it was a lifesaver for keeping on top of dishes.

At the end of they day I make sure all the dishes are done and the sink is clean.  It’s so much nicer being greeted by a clean kitchen in the morning than a sink full of dirty dishes! While this has become a habit, leaving dishes for the next day still happens occasionally and that’s ok.

Tip: Shine your sink, including your taps.  There is something lovely about looking at a shiny, dry sink!! It’s a great motivator for further cleaning!  And it takes less than a minute to give it all a wipe down at the end.

Kitchen benches and table are wiped as needed.  Surfaces get cleared of clutter by the end of each day or everything gets put back in its spot.

The kitchen and dining room floor is swept at the end of the day. all floors swept 1 to 2 times a week. Would love to mop tiles once a week but happens every 2 weeks!

Tip: Don’t have time or energy to mop your whole floors? Grab a damp cloth and do a spot clean.  Simply wiping off the dirty marks on the floor can make it look a whole lot cleaner and for a fraction of the time and effort.

Bathroom

I like to clean the toilet and bathroom sink at least twice a week.  More often with messes which are still common in our household.

Tips: Keep cleaning cloths handy under the bathroom sink to wipe it down when it gets grotty or really wet.  A quick 30 second task!

Towels are washed every 1 to 2 weeks depending on how many showers we have been having.  In winter, I like to make sure they get really dry in between uses.

Bedrooms

Make beds every day!  Kids are responsible for making their own beds.  We are working on consistency with this one!

I don’t have a routine for the kids tidying up and cleaning their rooms.

Other

I aim to sweep outside the front door once a week.  I find that if the front entrance to the house is clean (no piles of leaves and spider webs), life feels better! 🙂

Dirty kids hand prints on the back glass sliding door are similar!  Looking at clean glass lifts my spirits! While a grubby glass back door feels like a constant reminder that there are jobs I need to get to.   And really it’s a 5 minute job or less!  Bonus, this is one the kids love to do!

Let us know how often you aim to clean your home.  Do you use a weekly cleaning list?