Weekly Checklist for Housecleaning

Long ago, when I had more than six children in my house at once, I learned that it was much easier to clean my house a little at a time on a weekly schedule, rather than perform an Olympic one-day-per-week housecleaning session.

Making a weekly checklist for housecleaning can be as simple as using paper and pencil, or as elaborate as using an Excel spreadsheet or Word document. Using any method, comprise a weekly checklist by sorting tasks as to their importance:

• Daily tasks requiring the most attention
• Large tasks requiring attention several days a week
• Tasks requiring weekly or monthly attention

Whether you work outside of the home 40 hours per week, or are a stay-at-home parent, you can schedule tasks daily to fit within your schedule. Start by making a list of chores that need to be performed, and then categorize them as to their frequency. Your list might include:

Your list will most likely include many more chores. Once you've completed your list of chores, and their frequency, assign the chores to a daily list. Make six lists, Monday through Saturday, leaving Sunday open for family time. When you see that you have only three chores to perform on Monday, your weekly cleaning schedule seems less daunting, and provides incentive to complete your list daily, instead of leaving all chores for a weekend.

If your chore list for each day has many entries, and if you have a large family, you could assign chores to each person, and post your list on the side of your refrigerator. As each person completes their assigned chore, they can check off their chore from the list. Doing so provides a visual affirmation of completed assignments—with the added benefit that your home remains clean at all times.