*I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.*
I love organizing but gosh do I really dislike cleaning. Anyone with me? And yes there definitely is a difference between organizing and cleaning. I can organize my pantry all day long but steam my kitchen floor, uggg. I’m a procrastinator at heart too so I’m constantly putting cleaning chores off because really where is the fun in vacuuming? Unless of course you hear the sounds of dirt being sucked up. Somehow that is deeply satisfying, haha.
Some of you may not love doing organizing projects either (it’s okay we can still be friends), I get it. However you look at it though, these organizing & cleaning chores have to get done eventually. Since I’m aware of my natural tendency to put things off I have had to add systems and routines in my life to make sure my cleaning chores actually get done. Basically I have to trick myself. Because while cleaning a toilet is nobody’s idea of fun (right?!) it is highly necessary. As are all the other organizing projects and spring cleaning chores that need to get done to keep our homes clean and tidy.
Here are 6 things to try to make the cleaning chores all the more manageable and much less overwhelming.
1. Follow weekly/monthly cleaning schedules
The least overwhelming way I know how to get stuff done is by using a schedule. This keeps me on track and reminds me of what needs to be done when. I also like to spread out the organizing and spring cleaning tasks (the ones that I can anyway) throughout the year. I don’t just wait until a certain time of the year to clean, organize and purge. Doing spring cleaning chores all year long saves my sanity. It really works and I never have to come up with extra time in the spring to fit in additional tasks. To avoid having to do a huge list of cleaning tasks every spring I incorporate these things into a weekly and monthly cleaning schedule. This helps spread everything out week to week and keeps me from feeling overwhelmed with having so much to do all at once.
Here’s a list of cleaning chores and a monthly calendar to help you schedule everything. Assigning a task to a date is key. Print off the calendar and write in a task or two per day to help you stay on track. For personal use only.
Free Printable Spring Cleaning Calendar
Free Printable Spring Cleaning Checklist
(the checklist will say it failed to load but if you go ahead and click on the download button on the top right hand side the pdf file will open correctly)
In addition, I also have a 100 Organizing Tasks to Tackle Checklist that you might find helpful. These printables below are FREE only to subscribers of my blog.
Easily become a subscriber by signing up below and the printables will be emailed right to you 🙂
2. Get your kids involved
I believe so strongly about this one. I think it’s so important for kids to have daily and weekly chores and to contribute to the running of the household. Everyone makes the mess so everyone helps clean it up. It’s that simple. Start teaching them young and by the time your kids are teens you’ll have worked yourself out of a job. It’s brilliant really. Here are some free printable responsibility charts for kids to get you started. Kids can most definitely be taught to help out around the house, you shouldn’t be the only one doing all the work. Here is an age appropriate list of chores for kids chart that you can print off if you need some direction in this area.
Also your kids need to be taught how to organize because organizing is a skill like any other. This step by step post on How to Teach Your Kids to Organize outlines how to go about it.
And while you’re at it, teach your kids to cook to so eventually you won’t have to cook yourself. You can thank me later, ha!
3. Set up a donation station and purge weekly
If you want to clean less, you need less to clean! Get rid of the clutter. Make purging a regular part of your day, week, month. It makes no sense to only purge once or twice a year. Doing this only leads to piles of clutter that you’ll just be tripping over. What if you had a donation station set up in your home that provided you somewhere to put the stuff you no longer need but don’t know what to do with in the meantime. It’s easy, grab a big box, find a space somewhere for it (mine is in my linen closet) and as you find things that are no longer loved and used, toss them into the box. THEN it’s about getting into the habit of regularly making thrift store drop offs of your stuff. Please read this post for more information on How to make weekly household purges happen.
4. Clean as you see a need
Here’s the thing, we tend to put off doing something because we think it’s going to take too long and we just don’t have the time. So we put it off thinking we’ll get to it eventually when we have more time. What I’ve come to realize though is that “more time” just never magically appears and the task we’ve been putting off never actually takes as long as we think it will. So when you see some cobwebs floating around on your ceiling why not just grab a broom right then and there and wipe those cobwebs away. If you see some dirt on your walls, grab a cloth and clean it. Better yet, hand some wet wipes to the kids and let them do it. Young kids love to help especially if they think it’s fun. We won’t tell them any different will we? 🙂
5. Daily Routines
Finally daily routines are so important especially if you are a procrastinator like me. Routines done in repetition day after day become a habit that you no longer have to think about. I’d be lost without my daily routines and my house would be a mess. No joke. Small daily habits like my morning routine and never leaving a room empty handed are life savers that completely keep my home from falling apart.
6. Let Go of Perfection
Perfection is a unicorn, it simply doesn’t exist so your attempts at getting there will actually never happen. And that’s okay. Set expectations, yes, but don’t set them so high that they are unattainable. That is what will lead to stress and overwhelm, time and time again. Let me give you an example. Most everything I’ve ever read says to change your sheets weekly. We don’t do that around here and I’m totally okay with that. Also, now that I have older kids, I no longer steam clean my kitchen floor every week either. Unless of course there is a need for it, see point 5 above.
So I’ve relaxed my expectations in these areas which balances out my higher expectations in other areas. Piles on my counter raise my anxiety so I stay on top of those. Give and take. Do what works for your family and the stage of life you are in right now. If you can’t relax about chores in one area, then figure out where can you give a little in others. Don’t chase perfection ideals based on what someone else says you should achieve or is doing. Life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful.
So there you have it, 6 steps to help you get those dreaded organizing & cleaning chores done. If procrastination is an issue for you, or you just don’t have the time to fit it all in, why not give these strategies above a try. Then when you hear everyone else going on and on about all the spring cleaning they have to do, you can just sit back with a nice cold fruity beverage in your hand and smile.
Ultimate Cleaning Guide:
One of the most comprehensive books I’ve read on the topic of cleaning and how to get it all done is The Ultimate Cleaning Guide by Living Well, Spending Less (affiliate link).
This 116 page eBook is full of in-depth information to:
- Identify your biggest motivators for cleaning, then translate those into a practical action plan and cleaning schedule that works for you.
- Discover which cleaning supplies and tools will make your life easier, as well as which ones won’t help at all. Plus get natural cleaning recipes.
- Clear the clutter and create organized systems for your home that will keep things tidy longer.
- Deep clean your home from top to bottom in an easy-to-follow plan
- Learn how to get–and keep–your kitchen sparkling clean through our special kitchen cleaning system.
- Develop smart strategies for helping your kids keep their own spaces neat, clean, and clutter free.
- Contains 18 awesome printables to help you clean and organize every area of your home including 4 printable pages of family cleaning chore cards! These are absolutely amazing. Cut them out to divide up amongst your family members.
Hope that helps you get it all done friends in a less stressful and less overwhelming way!
Laura xo
- *Please note that affiliate links are included in this post to make it easier for you to find what is being referenced. A small commission is made should you purchase product using these links, but this is at no extra cost to you. As always, any and all opinions are genuinely my own – or the author, in the case of posts by my guest contributors. Thank you!*
Pat says
I’m trying to print one of the lists on cleaning and I get a message saying can’t display link.
I really enjoy the blog.
Laura Wittmann says
Sorry Pat, Dropbox is being difficult. I tried uploading the link again. Let me know.
Bea says
The Spring Cleaning Checklist does not work. Link takes me to 404 page. Is there another way to download the file?
Laura Wittmann says
So sorry Bea, can you try again? I uploaded the link again but Dropbox is giving me problems.
Brenda says
I’m getting a 404 error when I click on the cleaning checklist… is there another link maybe?
Thank you for this great post btw!
Laura Wittmann says
Okay I tried to upload it again. Not sure why Dropbox doesn’t like that file???
Sarah M Kressaty says
I am still unable to open the cleaning checklist. Any suggestions? The suggestion you gave didn’t work
Laura Wittmann says
So sorry, I tried to upload again. Let me know if it works for you.
meryl says
I have a weekly routine to try to keep us going. It has been revised over the years as what we do and who we are changed. It was all much easier when husband went out to work everyday and did not spend his all time with me. (It is well worth my time to help him warp his loom for an hour or so as I will have time in the house alone while he weaves.)
Now my time is his time. We basically do what he wants to do when he wants to do it unless I have something which really needs to be done.
No children (and if we did they would be out giving us grandchildren). I have tried to have him cook dinner – he is a better cook than I am – but I end up having to be there the entire time and then have more pots to clean than if I made dinner.
I am trying to get rid of stuff by donating it – or tossing it. I used to do this with no problem. Now he says that everything is needed, so I have to do this without him realizing it – and I don’t mean his things, he thinks we need everything of mine. I have one day a month that I go to a club meeting and sneak the stuff out to the car the night before so I can get rid of it on “my day out”. It snowed two of these days in a row and the next one was his birthday so I am tripping over the stuff hidden behind my desk waiting for next month.
Cat says
LOL I have a husband with the same problem. It is really hard to get rid of anything except actual garbage. It’s a struggle. We’re both packrats, but I at least purge my stuff and get rid of things I’m not going to use. Never-ending battle…married 44 years. Our poor kids!
Cat says
I gave up trying to print your spring cleaning chores list…it will finally open and I can see it, but my printer can’t find it. Strange.
Laura Wittmann says
I’m so sorry Cat, I’ll email it to you separately.
Marieke says
While there’s the fringe benefit of having them take over so you won’t have to later, I think it’s important kids learn to clean and cook so they know how later when they’re out on their own.
I think these are essential life skills everyone should know, because it’s a lot harder to learn these habits when you’re older, and a shame to miss out on a love of cooking, which I definitely got growing up in a household where my mom cooked a lot and we were allowed to help and bake cakes and treats on our own. (Not to mention that convenience and take out food gets expensive and isn’t as healthy).
I certainly don’t relish cleaning, but I appreciate that I learned how to do a wide variety of tasks by having to go help my grandma (even washing exterior windows and beating rugs, it was very old school, haha!), and made extra money cleaning my traveling uncle’s house while he was away.
Thanks for the printables!
Laura Wittmann says
You’re welcome! And yes I absolutely agree. My son with all the food allergies, spent this past year at his first year of University and didn’t have one problem cooking all his own food. It made me so happy!!
Nancy Neumann says
Laura,
I am unable to down load your spring cleaning calendar and checklist. Please advise. I would love to use these useful tools to help me with my spring cleaning! Love your blog and book. Many thanks for all your help and inspiration!
Heartfelt Thanks,
Nancy
Laura Wittmann says
I will email you Nancy!
Paula says
I’m unable to print the spring cleaning list too!. I was so excited to review it and use it. I am always looking for useful tips. Yours is the only blog I read. Thanks for what you do!
Laura Wittmann says
Well how nice is that, thank you! I just tried the link again and it did work for me but it took a bit for Dropbox to load it up where you can download it. In the top right hand corner click on the “open with” drop down box and then click on download. Then it opens directly as a PDF file. Hope that helps!
Gail Johnson says
I’m not able to print your Spring Checklist. I know it isn’t
Spring, trying to get prepared! Thank you!
Anne-Cathrine Nyberg says
I am unable to down load your spring cleaning checklist. Email it to me? [email protected]
Laura Wittmann says
Email sent 🙂