A Helpful House Cleaning Checklist

By Robert Smith

Using a house cleaning checklist makes cleaning day easier for everyone. A daily routine will make weekly chores go faster. Everyone in the family should be willing to help. Even toddlers can learn to pick up and put away their toys at the end of the day. Below, you will see a list of daily duties, followed by a list of weekly and occasional chores.

Daily

• Make beds
• Do dishes
• Clean counters
• Sweep the kitchen floor
• Put away toys, school papers, etc.
• Take out the trash

Put a small laundry basket in each bedroom and bath. Make it a rule that dirty clothes go in the basket and not on the floor. Keep a larger basket in the laundry room, in case someone’s small one becomes full during the week. Keep a separate basket or bag for dry cleaning. Post the daily house cleaning checklist on the refrigerator in the kitchen where everyone can see it.

Weekly

Start at the top of the house and work your way down. Use a bucket or basket to carry cleaning supplies from room to room. Keep a toilet brush, bathroom cleaner and glass cleaner in each bathroom. It keeps you from running all over the house for supplies.

• Dust bedroom furniture
• Change bed linens
• Empty small trash cans into a large trash bag, to be kept in a central location as you are cleaning
• Transfer laundry from small to large basket
• Clean bathrooms working from top to bottom, i.e. do mirrors, shower stalls, walls, sinks, top and back of toilet first. Do tubs, toilet bowls and floors last
• Carry laundry and trash to lower level of the home, vacuum top floor and steps
• For homes with wood flooring, sweep, mop and polish
• Dust, sweep or vacuum lower levels
• Do laundry

You can save the weekly house cleaning checklist on your PC or laptop to be printed out, only if necessary.

Occasional

These are chores that will need to be done once or twice a month.

• Wash the windows
• Clean air intake vents (dust or vacuum)
• Dust ceiling fans and light fixtures

You may need to add other things to your house cleaning checklist for specific items that you have in your home. For example, keeping the hot tub or pool cleaned might be one of your family’s responsibilities. Whatever the chore, remember the old saying. “Many hands make light work.”