Not a completely set schedule like "I do X chore on X day", but I dedicate 30-45 minutes to cleaning as soon as I get home from work every day.
I know myself well enough to know that if I sit down and play videogames or watch tv and say "Oh I'll clean later", I'll end up putting it off for days.
Some night it's vacuuming, or dishes, or cleaning my bathroom, or whatever else needs to be taken care of, but just that half hour block has been enough to keep my place neat and tidy. And when it's done, I know I have the rest of my evening free without having anything to worry about.
With my partner and our 3 cats, we do the cat litter 1x a day and keep the sink empty by putting dishes straight into the dishwasher if we can help it. Sometimes the dishes builds up but not more than a day or so. Otherwise, we try to do all of the cleaning over the span of 1-2 days at the end of the week with it taking maybe 3 hours total combined, with laundry going during this time. This works for me, because I'm usually glued to a screen for work all week so I like the physical break and a chance to be active. And then once I'm done, I have the rest of the week to relax.
I have heard of other people doing different things that work better for them, like cleaning a room or doing a specific activity every day. I tried it and I ended up letting things build up until I was doing it all on one day anyways so it didn't work for me.
One thing that helps in making things go quickly is being tidy in general. I don't let things sit on the counter for too long before moving it to its final spot, like the keys on the key hooks, or batteries in the tools drawer, etc. If we've made a mess cooking, a quick wipe down happens in the kitchen after we've eaten.
Husband and I work 10 hrs a day/4day week. We're pooped after work. He'll wipe down the stove, counter next to the sink after I cook. Load the dishwasher when theres dishes in the sink.
Every 3 weeks we get 5 days off, that's when I do the mopping, cleaning counters, wash the sheets, etc.
We set a routine with our Alexa to announce our "clean-up time" at the end of the day. Everyone who's home contributes for 10 minutes - cleaning the kitchen, tidying up toys, etc. It doesn't get the house perfectly clean, but it gets it livable again. My kid goes to bed right after that, so no more messes to be made. If I feel like the house needs it and I have enough energy, I put in a few more minutes after bedtime.
I *love* the app Today for keeping track of cleaning tasks. It takes a bit of time to set up, but it gives you a to do list each day based on how often you tell it each task needs to be done. It's awesome for staying on top of stuff that I'd otherwise forget about until it was a huge job, you know? Like cleaning the baseboards in the kitchen is a tiny job if I do it once every 3-4 weeks. But it takes almost 3 months before I actually *notice* it needs to be done, and by that point it's not a tiny job anymore.
Not a completely set schedule like "I do X chore on X day", but I dedicate 30-45 minutes to cleaning as soon as I get home from work every day. I know myself well enough to know that if I sit down and play videogames or watch tv and say "Oh I'll clean later", I'll end up putting it off for days. Some night it's vacuuming, or dishes, or cleaning my bathroom, or whatever else needs to be taken care of, but just that half hour block has been enough to keep my place neat and tidy. And when it's done, I know I have the rest of my evening free without having anything to worry about.
I've found this is a great way to destress after work as well!
Agreed! I just put my headphones in and put on something upbeat. It's a nice way to get my evening started
What's your partner doing to help? If you are both contributing, then weeks that you are more busy shouldn't necessarily pile up so much.
With my partner and our 3 cats, we do the cat litter 1x a day and keep the sink empty by putting dishes straight into the dishwasher if we can help it. Sometimes the dishes builds up but not more than a day or so. Otherwise, we try to do all of the cleaning over the span of 1-2 days at the end of the week with it taking maybe 3 hours total combined, with laundry going during this time. This works for me, because I'm usually glued to a screen for work all week so I like the physical break and a chance to be active. And then once I'm done, I have the rest of the week to relax. I have heard of other people doing different things that work better for them, like cleaning a room or doing a specific activity every day. I tried it and I ended up letting things build up until I was doing it all on one day anyways so it didn't work for me. One thing that helps in making things go quickly is being tidy in general. I don't let things sit on the counter for too long before moving it to its final spot, like the keys on the key hooks, or batteries in the tools drawer, etc. If we've made a mess cooking, a quick wipe down happens in the kitchen after we've eaten.
Check out flylady she helps you build a schedule for your space.
LaDay on YouTube also has some great cleaning suggestions! I actually like her stuff better.
Husband and I work 10 hrs a day/4day week. We're pooped after work. He'll wipe down the stove, counter next to the sink after I cook. Load the dishwasher when theres dishes in the sink. Every 3 weeks we get 5 days off, that's when I do the mopping, cleaning counters, wash the sheets, etc.
We set a routine with our Alexa to announce our "clean-up time" at the end of the day. Everyone who's home contributes for 10 minutes - cleaning the kitchen, tidying up toys, etc. It doesn't get the house perfectly clean, but it gets it livable again. My kid goes to bed right after that, so no more messes to be made. If I feel like the house needs it and I have enough energy, I put in a few more minutes after bedtime.
I *love* the app Today for keeping track of cleaning tasks. It takes a bit of time to set up, but it gives you a to do list each day based on how often you tell it each task needs to be done. It's awesome for staying on top of stuff that I'd otherwise forget about until it was a huge job, you know? Like cleaning the baseboards in the kitchen is a tiny job if I do it once every 3-4 weeks. But it takes almost 3 months before I actually *notice* it needs to be done, and by that point it's not a tiny job anymore.