I’ve kind of come to terms with the fact that I’ll never have a spotless, squeaky-clean house.  Why?  Well, A) Because I have a dog, and B) I just can’t be arsed.  I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love a clean, fresh-smelling home – of course I do, who doesn’t? – but I’m no Hincher; I don’t enjoy cleaning and if I can get away with not doing something then, mate, I just won’t do it.

Until recently I was devoting one day a week to getting all of my weekly cleaning chores done and dusted.  I’d do a top to bottom sweep of the house – from kitchen to bathroom – and that would be it.  Job done.  Thing is, I’d rush through it, end up doing a half-arsed job of it and feel absolutely knackered once I was done.  And if I got lazy and missed a week?  YIKES.  After getting Bungle the house slowly went from palace to pig sty and it became very obvious that my cleaning routine wasn’t working.  So I decided I needed to switch things up and come up with a way to keep on top of the cleaning in a more manageable way, and since then things have been so much better!

The basic idea is to tackle one room every day, whilst completing a few daily “once over” tasks to keep the place ticking over.  That way, you get the cleaning done in easy, hour-long chunks (usually less) and if you end up missing a day it’s not the end of the world – plus it’s much easier to catch up.  It also means you’re more likely to thoroughly clean each area rather than just wipe over the surface, and by scheduling in monthly tasks for each space you can also keep on top of those extra, must-do jobs.  Like cleaning the oven (ugh, snore).  Is the house perfect?  Hell no.  But it’s clean and mostly tidy and that’s all I care about.

So, let me break it down and show you how it works…

Everyday Jobs

Having a dog means that there are a few jobs I can’t really get away with avoiding every day.  Bungle goes for a walk twice a day and so tends to bring in muddy paws twice a day – argh!  He’s also a ball of fluff who sheds, so if I don’t put the hoover over once a day, balls of blonde fur would roll across my floors like tumble weed.  So, every day – without fail – I do these three things:

✓ Hoover Upstairs and Downstairs
✓ Wipe the kitchen counters (and obviously do the washing up)
✓ Make the bed

Monday: Kitchen

Monday’s the day I do my weekly food shop, so it makes sense to tackle the kitchen too. Once I’m back from the shops, I spend a little time clearing the fridge out – getting rid of any food that’s past it and mopping up any spillages – before I put the haul away. Then, it’s cleaning time!

To Do List…

✓ Dismantle “Drying Rack Jenga”: If you’re a bit lazy like me then your drying rack’s probably piled high with pots and pans. Now’s the time to put it all away.
✓ Clean the sink and draining board: Take everything off and out and thoroughly clean and disinfect the sink area. To stop your sink holes stinking either pour down a little bleach or, even better, use coffee grounds!
✓ Wash the bins: My food bin especially gets pretty grimy over the course of a week, so I always give it a good wash.
✓ Clean surfaces and appliances: Move everything off the counter tops and give them a good clean. Wipe down the kettle and toaster. Clean the inside of the microwave and scrub food stains off the hob.
✓ Wipe down the kitchen table: Don’t forget to wipe down the legs and the chairs too!
✓ Swap out your cloths and towels: Depending on how much you’ve used them in the week and whether you’ve got a dishwasher or not, you might want to do this step twice a week.
✓ Hoover and Mop The House

Once a Month…

✓ Thoroughly clean the fridge
✓ Wipe down and polish the cupboards
✓ Clean the oven

Favourite Products…

♡ Method’s Rhubarb Anti-Bacterial All Purpose Spray
♡ Method’s Apple Orchard Steel Spray
♡ Astonish Hob and Cooktop Paste
♡ Zoflora Twilight Garden
♡ Bin Buddy Fresh

Tuesday: Lounge

This is an easy one! The lounge is where Sunny and I (and Bungle!) spend most of our time, so it can get pretty grubby if one of us forgets to clean it. But, it doesn’t take long to have a quick sweep around and keep it tidy and smelling fresh.

To Do List…

✓  Dust and wipe down surfaces: Where the hell does the dust even come from?! Time to get the duster out and  give the coffee table, window sills and TV table a good wipe.
✓  Hoover the sofa: Oh yes, especially if you’ve got a dog who likes to cuddle.
✓ Dust any pictures: If you’ve got a gallery wall like mine then you need a feather duster in your life.
✓  Clean any pet bedding: Once a week I always change Bungle’s blanket and switch out his toys.
✓  Hoover

Once a Month…

✓ Wash blankets
✓ Wash cushion covers

Favourite Products…

♡ Tesco Fox and Ivy Topaz and Amber Diffuser
♡ Tumble Dryer Sheets (TIP: pop them in your cushion covers to keep them smelling fresh)

Wednesday: Bathrooms

I HATE cleaning the bathroom, but hey, it’s gotta be done. Once a week I knuckle under and spend an hour  getting it done and then usually reward myself with an epic soak in my squeaky clean tub. 😉

To Do List…

✓ Clean out the bin: I also like to give them a bit of a wipe.
✓ Wipe down the sink: This step’s especially important if you live in an area with hard water because limescale will ruin your chrome taps and plug hole.
✓ Wipe down the shower/bath: Don’t forget to clean the glass screen, and if you’ve got a shower curtain, it’s time to pop it in the wash. If you’ve got long hair, you might want to tackle your plugholes with some unblocking fluid, or bleach.
✓ Wipe the mirror: All that steam and toothpaste will have left your mirror looking streaky, time to give it a scrub!
✓ Thoroughly clean the toilet: That means more than chucking down a bit of bleach and hoping for the best! Wipe the WHOLE thing, but don’t flush the wipes – even if they claim to be flushable.
✓ Switch out your rugs and towels.
✓ Hoover and Mop.

Once a month…

✓  Wipe down the skirting boards.
✓  Clean the grouting between the tiles.

Favourite Products…

♡ Bloo Foamaroma
♡ Viakal with Frebreeze
♡ Method Daily Shower Spray

Thursday: Bedrooms

Thursday is bedrooms day; which for me basically means dusting and tidying away my floor-drobe and cleaning up my dressing table.  If I’ve got time, I also like to make it a “clothes day”, i.e. a day for ironing, washing and putting away freshly cleaned clothes.

To Do List…

✓  Tidy away “floor-drobe”
✓  Put away clean clothes
✓  Put on wash load
✓  Dust and wipe surfaces
✓  Tidy dressing table (clean makeup brushes!)
✓  Ironing
✓  Hoover

Once a month…

✓ Hoover the mattress
✓ Hoover behind the bed
✓ Wipe down skirting boards

Favourite Products…

♡ Dyson V8
♡ Lenor Gold Orchid Conditioner (TIP: Pour a little into a spray bottle with some water and use it to spritz your bed sheets, curtains and soft furniture to keep things smelling fresh)

Friday: Hallways

Fridays are an easy day that I use for tidying the hallways and stairs, and sometimes I catch up on monthly cleaning tasks or anything I’ve forgotten to do in the week. 🙂

To Do List…

✓  Dust pictures
✓  Wipe down surfaces
✓  Hoover
✓  Hoover the stairs with crevice tool
✓  Water plants
✓  Refresh diffusers
✓  Mop

Once a month…

✓ Wipe down skirting boards
✓ Wipe down doors and handles
✓ Spot clean carpets
✓ Spot clean walls

Favourite Products…

♡ Ecover Washing Liquid: (TIP: This stuff is great for spot cleaning carpets – just add a little to a cup of warm water and gently work it in.  Because it’s gentle, it won’t bleach your carpet)
♡ Dulux Tester Pot: (TIP: These are great for touching up scuffs and smudges on your walls – especially as they’ve got a roller tool attached now.  When you paint a room, don’t forget to stock up on a few pots for emergencies!)

Saturday and Sunday

Saturdays and Sundays are generally non cleaning days; hey it’s the weekend, who wants to be stuck doing chores? But saying that, there are a few things I do like to keep on top of on a lazy Sunday afternoon. 🙂

To Do List…

✓  Hoover
✓  Change Bedding
✓  Meal Plan and Shopping List

And that’s it! If you fancy downloading a printable pdf of my cleaning schedule to use yourself, just click here.  And let me know how you like to tackle your weekly cleaning chores, or any cool cleaning hacks you have in the comments below!  Have a great week! 🙂