After my daughter is off in bed (8:30 PM) I begin my "Power Hour" rather than hitting the couch. This also helps me get in my steps each day, because working a desk job, doing college work and blogging, I spend a lot of time sitting on my butt.
With my routine I have found that I clean minimally on the weekends which means more time to enjoy my family. I only do what I can get done in 1 hour, and now that I've been doing this consistently it barely takes me 30 minutes to complete it all.
M/W/F - 1st floor
T/R - 2nd floor
F - Basement
Every night - Dishes & vacuum hard floors.
My first floor consists of 5 rooms:
- Kitchen
- Living room
- Dining room
- Bonus room (and hallway)
- Half bathroom
My second floor has 7 rooms
- Master Bedroom
- Master Bathroom/Closet
- Adam's Office
- Gwen's Playroom
- Gwen's Bedroom
- Gwen's Bathroom
- Laundry room/closet
My basement has 5 rooms
- Living room
- My craft room/office
- Bathroom
- Bulk Storage
- Holiday Storage
M/W/F Plan - #1, 2 & 14 are done every night
- Load the dishwasher (should have been unloaded in your Morning Routine)
- Wash by hand anything that doesn't fit in the dishwasher and set aside to dry while you finish the rest of your routine
- Wipe down the stove, including the bottom of the inside if you baked anything tonight
- Wipe down all counters
- Wipe down the outside of the refrigerator and dishwasher
- Do a quick scan of the cabinets and wipe down any visible mess
- Go through the living room and pick up any dishes/clothes/things that don't belong
- If it goes upstairs drop it in the transportation basket on your stairs (if you don't have one you need one, check out my post on it here)
- Clean off & wipe down the dining room table putting everything back where it goes (this is quick for me because we don't eat in our dining room)
- Bonus room is just yard sale storage right now so I just ignore it
- Check the half bath for any needs (i.e. toilet paper) and do a quick wipe down of the toilet, sink and mirror.
- Off to grab my Ryobi cordless vacuum, this thing is amazing and so much better than a Dyson or Shark (in my opinion) because we have all Ryobi cordless tools so there is always a battery fully charged waiting for me (we have 8 total batteries)
- Also grab the small spray bottle of rubbing alcohol and a microfiber cloth... you'll see why in a minute
- Vacuum the entire downstairs which is all hardwood floors.
- I'll usually do a quick sweep of the couch as well for any crumbs
- Use the rubbing alcohol and microfiber cloth to clean any spots on the couch, just spray it on and scrub softly with the cloth and your couch is like new (test in a small inconspicuous spot before doing in an obvious location to ensure you have true microfiber)
- Using my wonderful O-Cedar Spin Mop I add super hot water and just a small cap full of Spic & Span and quickly mop my entire first floor. With the spin mop the mop becomes just barely damp so I don't have to worry about it ruining my hardwood floors.
T/R Plan - this routine is done half while my daughter takes a bath and half after she's in bed, and during my Morning Routine I start laundry on a delay so it's ready to go in the dryer as soon as I get home from work so that it's ready to put away during my Power Hour.
- Quickly go around picking everything up off the floors that would be in the way of vacuuming, since I do this regularly there is very little to pick up.
- Vacuum the entire upstairs (which is all carpet)
- Gwen is responsible for keeping her room & playroom clean but I still do a quick walk thru just to ensure that things are picked up and nothing is in there that she forgot about. After she is in bed I will continue on with step 4.
- Wipe down her tub, counters and toilet
- Use my Ryobi cordless vacuum on her floors (it's so quiet it can't be heard in her bedroom)
- In the master bathroom wipe down the tub, counters and toilet. I clean the inside of the shower every other time I shower with a handled scrub sponge filled with half vinegar and half blue dawn, keeps the soap scum at bay.
- Vacuum the master bath floors.
- Quick pick-up in the master closet and put away any of my make-up or other items I've left out on my make-up table
- Put away any laundry that needs put away
F Plan
- Clean the living room, gathering dishes, folding blankets, fluffing pillows.
- Check the mini-fridge to see what needs restocked or what has gone bad
- Check the snack drawer for what needs restocked
- Clean off my desk including scanning in all papers that need processed from the week
- Vacuum the living room & craft room floors
- Wipe down the bathroom sink & toilet
- Vacuum bathroom floors
- The shower only gets cleaned once a month, no one uses it, but cleaning it keeps the spiders out
- Vacuum the storage room
- Take inventory of what needs to be purchased on my next shopping trip
- Put back anything that wasn't properly put away throughout the week
- Vacuum the holiday storage room
- Some weeks I'll also prep for the next holiday decor change out by pulling out the proper totes and setting them aside.
I hope this helps you get a quick simple nightly routine down to help keep your house as clean as can be.
What is your favorite cleaning tip that has ever been shared with you or that you figured out on your own?
Just remember, with planning and organization, you CAN do it all.
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