Room By Room Cleaning Steps + Cleaning Schedule For Busy Moms

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As a busy mom, finding time to clean the house can be a challenge. While it would be nice if our entire house could get clean in one day, this just isn’t possible. We do have a weekend day (usually Saturday) when much of the cleaning gets done, and that is what this post is all about. Having a cleaning schedule – a plan of attack and some overall cleaning tips and hacks are so very important. In my home cleaning is a family affair – since everyone lives here everyone must do their part. This is especially true in our home since I spend so much of my time driving my kids around where they need to go. Whether you’re looking for a cleaning schedule for working moms, a cleaning schedule for stay at home moms, or a cleaning schedule as an empty nester, single woman, or something else, learning how we make it work in our super-sized family will help you no matter what your family dynamic is.

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Before you go any further, be sure to grab our printable version of a weekly cleaning schedule for busy working moms (it’s perfect if you’re not working, too). Just tell us where to send it below!

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Before we get to the cleaning schedule, I think it’s important to note one thing.

This cleaning schedule rarely gets followed perfectly. We’ve got sports and activities on the weekend, we have schoolwork that spills over from the week, and some of my older kids often work on the weekends.

But, even when it’s not followed perfectly, cleaning does get done more effectively and completely because we’ve got this basic cleaning schedule as a structure that we start with.

Without this beginning structure, it would be impossible to get any cleaning done.

One other point to note. Keep in mind that some cleaning is better than no cleaning. And, cleaning can be a work in progress. It’s ok to start with this basic structure and chip away at it as time and schedules allow.

With these important disclaimers, let’s get to it!

Here’s the perfect cleaning schedule for busy women and moms!

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In our home, the biggest cleaning day happens on Saturdays, which means primarily dusting and sweeping/mopping (we have very little carpet. When we did, this also included the vacuuming).

We’e got five bathrooms that all get cleaned throughout the week, and so does our kitchen. Honestly, I end up cleaning the kitchen while I’m in it cooking!

Pro tip: Grab my entire weekly cleaning schedule to see how this all works out by entering your email below:

[convertkit form=5157848]

I love multi-tasking smaller projects like a bathroom into the rest of the week. Honestly, cleaning a bathroom when done on a weekly basis takes next to no time at all. Read my 12 minute bathroom cleaning plan HERE. 

You can also read how to clean your shower HERE

Because we have more time on Saturdays than any other day, this is why we take on the living areas and main rooms all at once.

Here are the step by step instructions to follow the weekly cleaning plan for our busy family.

One last disclaimer, our basement only gets cleaned twice a month rather than once a week.

How we clean our bedrooms

All five girls share a room, and all four boys share a room in our home.

My five oldest (ages 9-18)  are responsible for cleaning their own rooms. This means:

• dusting, sweeping/mopping, cleaning closets, cleaning under and behind bed, cleaning under dressers, cleaning storage bins, and organizing drawers. Back when we had carpet, the carpet was vacuumed rather than sweeping and mopping
• my 9 year old can’t mop well yet, so his older brother takes care of the mopping while he takes care of the sweeping
• my older three girls alternate who sweeps and mops each week. They did the same thing with the vacuuming

How we clean stairways and hallways

We have 2 sets of carpeted steps. My kids alternate who takes care of vacuuming these steps.

We have some main hallways, the biggest of which leads from our entry doors into our kitchen area. This is something that I generally take care of on Saturdays since so much sand and dirt gets tracked in. I also take care of sweeping and mopping this hallway a few times throughout the week as well.

How we clean main living areas

One kid dusts the living room, one kid dusts the school room or what would be considered a den, and one kid dusts our sunroom.

We also have a bonus room upstairs where my older kids hang out. This gets cleaned (dusted, swept, mopped) twice a month. This is generally done by whoever gets their other cleaning tasks done first.

I take care of the sweeping and mopping in these areas. Again, this is primarily because I want them to be done right.

How we clean high touch areas

High touch areas are those that get all kinds of handprints around.

One kid gets a disinfecting wipe and wipes down all light switches, one kid uses a wipe and wipes down  door knobs, one kid gets a wipe and wipes down handrails. It’s amazing how grimy these get just in one week’s time.

How we clean the basement

We clean this twice a month, and it’s something we generally just all do together.

We also clean the car every week

Nothing gets messier faster than our car. I guess this is probably because some weeks we basically live in our car.

Two kids clean the car, and this alternates every week. For us, cleaning the car means taking care of the trash and bringing things inside that belong inside.

They also repack our “away bag” that gets kept in the car with things for the littles to be entertained with as well as a diaper bag if this applies.

How we clean closets

One kid is in charge of cleaning the front closet where we keep all the extra shoes, coats, and outerwear. This generally doesn’t take much time, but it’s helpful to get it done once a week. Then, it’s never a mess.

We also clean the garage right by the door

Someone is in charge of cleaning up out in the garage where we keep shoes and coats. This isn’t complicated or time consuming, but it keeps us from tripping over shoes and coats when we go in and out.

We also do a quick pick up, declutter sweep, and make sure things are organized

These things are necessary, and when we start off the week clean and organized it makes such a difference in how the week goes.

We all work together on just general clean up and reorganizing. It is kind of like a well oiled machine – at least most times!

It is nice to have one day that the bulk of our cleaning gets done, which means that the majority of the house is clean, although it is usually only for a moment or two.

We love getting these things done as early as possible since Saturday nights are often a game night or a movie night for everyone.