Simplify your cleaning routine

What about your cleaning routine? As daunting as it can be to realize you have an hour to wash and dry your hair, make up on, eyebrows, nails, and get out the door, it can be even more daunting to suddenly learn you’re going to have company over and look around at your disastrous home!

I like to keep my home clean and organized, as does my partner, but even we struggle with this when things get too busy. This is how we simplified our cleaning routine to now have (almost) always a nice, clean, organized home.

• Divide and conquer. We live in a one bedroom apartment so it’s not huge. We also are equally busy so it made sense to divide it equally. Maybe you work part time and your partner works 2 jobs, then you should do more. You’ll have to divide it up fair for your situation.

Divide even more! Since we decided to be equal it came to this -

• Do you want the bathroom or the kitchen (since those require the most scrubbing, garbage removal, etc) he picked kitchen so I got a bathroom.

• Do you want the bedroom or the living room (mostly removal of clutter, organizing, and straightening) he picked bedroom so I got living room?

• Do you want the entryway or the balcony? (both small and require washing of a window/mirror and vacuuming and that’s basically it) He picked entryway so I got a balcony.

• Make sure that you divide like we did- based on jobs needed for that area. Having to scrub the kitchen, do the dishes, garbage out, scrub the bathroom, garbage out, wash mirror, etc while the other person vacuums and straightens up is not going to make for a very happy person.

• If you have kids you can get them to help too- clean their own rooms, throw laundry in the wash and dryer (supervised but you can be cleaning up elsewhere in the same room)

• Pick a day a week to do each room. I like to have a morning task, so since (if you read my simplifying beauty routine you know) I do my nails Monday morning, my eyebrows Tuesday morning, I clean the bathroom Wednesday morning, the living room Thursday morning, and the balcony Friday mornings. Each job is quick then and not overwhelming.

• Figure out whatever supplies you need to clean and buy them. My partner picked the dish soap, garbage bags, and kitchen scrubbers and cleaners that he wanted to use because that’s his job. I picked the bathroom stuff I wanted to use because that’s my job. It makes you happy knowing you have the supplies you want to do the job well. (We split and he picked the vacuum and I picked the swifter-ish mop)

• So this is how we simplified our cleaning routine! Remember to be flexible though- if you have company maybe clean up even if it’s not the right day. Obviously everyday spills get cleaned right away but mirrors, floors, walls, cupboards etc don’t so this list isn’t “do dishes once a week” but “clean inside your fridge once a week” kinda method.

What’s your cleaning method?