CLEANING SHEDULE FOR CLEANING, 2

Cleaning Schedule Makes for a Happier Home

The quickest and simplest route to a clean house is to schedule cleaning tasks on a daily, weekly, monthly and seasonal basis.

• Excerpted from Houseworks, by Cynthia Townley Ewer
• Filed under: Cleaning, Housekeeping, Organization

Weekly Cleaning ChecklistChange bed linens and bathroom towels
Clean bathrooms
Clean kitchen counters and wipe inside of microwave oven
Wash or dust hard-surface floors
Dust furniture
Vacuum carpets and rugs
Check entryway or porch; sweep if needed

• The Case Against Spring CleaningIn Grandma’s day, spring cleaning was mandatory. It marked the end of the heating season, when the entire house was scrubbed clean of the smoky film given off by older heat sources. With today’s heating technology, this rationale no longer applies. Modern lives, too, cannot sustain an old-fashioned cleaning marathon.
  
  So how do we replace spring cleaning? With a workable household cleaning schedule. Homes cleaned according to schedule stay reasonably clean all the time. A cleaning schedule integrates seasonal cleaning chores into daily or weekly cleaning sessions, and no task goes too long without being done. Result: a clean home all year around.
  
  Minimum MaintenanceEven the best-run households experience rocky patches from time to time. Illness, special work assignments, absence of a family member, or volunteer commitments can throw a monkey wrench into the workings of a home. There’s a solution for busy times: a minimum maintenance shortlist to keep your home running smoothly. Think of it as a Magic Minimum: those essential tasks that must be done come hell, high water or soccer playoffs.

Every family has different needs, but most Magic Minimums provide for:

Basic accounting chores (bank deposits and bill paying)
Meals and menus (clean dishes, grocery shopping)
Laundry (necessary clean clothing)
Home management (once-a-day pick-up, weekly cleaning of bathrooms and kitchen)