Becoming a grown-up, owning a home, and having two small kids of my own has given me a whole new respect for my mom’s abilities to always keep our house so clean growing up. Sometimes it feels like a full-time job! I’ve always been pretty good at keeping things tidy and picked up, but tasks like wiping down cabinets and dusting furniture (in other words, the things that make a house feel really clean) can fall by the wayside when life get busy. I’ve found that it’s infinitely more manageable when I stick to a weekly schedule where I check a couple of housecleaning tasks off my list each day. It’s all about habit, right? Today we’re teaming up with Seventh Generation to kickoff a new series that I’m super excited about called Living Green. I’ve loved using the brand’s plant-based household products for years, so they’re the perfect partner to kickoff these new posts that are all about living a clean green life. Click through the slides to see what tasks I try to make happen every week — and download a cute checklist that we created for you to print out and tape to your cleaning caddy!
I’d love to hear — do you have any secrets for staying on top of housecleaning? Do you tend to do a power weekend clean, conquer one room a day, or have some other strategy?
*photos: Kate LeSueur
I’m a list-maker, so I love having a chart that I can stash in my cleaning caddy so I don’t forget any important tasks. Plus, even when I don’t accomplish everything at once, there’s still a sense of satisfaction that comes from checking one or two things off the list. We created a downloadable checklist of the weekly tasks that will keep your house clean all week long.
Download here, then print, cut, and clean!
IN THE KITCHEN…
- sweep and mop floors
- empty trash
- discard expired food in the fridge and wipe down shelves
- wipe down counters, sinks, and cabinets with all-purpose cleaner
- wipe down inside and outside of microwave with all-purpose cleaner
IN THE BATHROOM…
- clean toilets, bathtubs, showers, sinks, mirrors with all-purpose cleaner and paper towels
- wipe down bath and shower doors with glass cleaner
- launder bath mats and towels
- sweep and mop floors
- empty trash
IN THE BEDROOM…
- launder sheets
- dust furniture
- vacuum floors
- straighten bedside tables
IN THE LIVING, DINING, & HALLWAYS…
- vacuum floors
- pickup clutter and purge what you don’t need
- dust surfaces
- wipe handprints from windows and mirrors with glass cleaner
