Subscribe for updates

There was an error submitting your subscription. Please try again.

  • Home
  • COOKBOOK
  • Blog
  • ABOUT
↑
  • Home
  • Farm Life
    • Chickens
    • Gardening
    • Survival
  • Money Savin’
    • Best Deals On
    • Thrifty Tips
  • Recipes
    • Freezer Meals
    • From Scratch
    • Frugal Recipes
  • Oils
  • ABOUT
  • Contact
  • WORK WITH ME

Happy Money Saver

A thrifty blog with freezer meals and DIY recipes.

  • Recipes
    • Cookbook
    • Freezer Meals
    • Vintage
    • Family Favorites
  • Money Savin’
    • Gift Ideas
    • Best Deals On…
    • Thrifty Tips
    • Happy Thoughts
    • Black Friday
  • Farm Life
    • Chickens
    • Gardening
    • Survival
  • DIY
    • Around My Home
    • Health & Oils
    • Cleaning Recipes
    • Beauty Recipes
    • Get Some Essential Oils

Home » Money Savin' » Thrifty Tips » My Ultimate Happy HOME Cleaning Routine Plus FREE Printable Checklist

My Ultimate Happy HOME Cleaning Routine Plus FREE Printable Checklist

This post may contain affiliate links. See the disclosure policy for more information.
68.3K shares
  • FACEBOOK
  • YUMMLY
  • EMAIL THIS!

ORGANIZING: Best Cleaning Routine Plus FREE Printable Checklist

I had never been “that” mom, the one that always has to have a perfectly clean spotless home. I always just loved having fun way too much. Plus my kids were just too wild. It has always been a never-ending battle to keep up with 4 kids, trying to do everything from cleaning, cooking, running them around for sports, shopping, couponing, reading to them, and just trying to find alone with them.

There were some days where I had the house super clean, but it only lasted for a few days (with me on attack mode telling everyone “don’t mess it up!” or “pick that up, I am not your maid” ect.). When the mess got too great, I would feel stress, and fight to keep up.

I know I am always happier when my house is clean. I love that feeling when you are done with your “to-do list” and your house is clean. When you are able to put on a candle and your clean house smells so good. I feel free for a moment – relaxed. I know I can go and read a book or play with my kids and have some peace.  Unfortunately those moments never seemed to last long.

A year ago an amazing Mom shared with me her magical plan that really worked for her family. I’ve been wanting to tell you all about  this amazing home cleaning routine but wanted to make sure it worked. I have tried my fair share of different routines, schedules and chore charts with no luck. Something always went wrong or just didn’t fit my schedule. This ultimate happy home routine really worked for me and it changed my life. I have less stress, I feel so much more accomplished and I am able to do the things that I have been wanting to do. This routine will work with families of all ages (small children to teenagers).   Lets breakdown my own personal schedule first and then talk about my cleaning routine.

Truman Family Schedule

6:00am – I wake up and make a real breakfast for my family. You can see my breakfast schedule below. Kids make beds before school and a specific child unloads dishes.
6:30am – Assigned child sets table. Everyone eats breakfast.  While eating my husband reads from the scriptures and we have family prayer.
7:00 am – Teens off to school, I start my cleaning schedule and help younger children get ready for school.
8:30am – Smaller kids off to school. I am done with my list of cleaning to-do’s for the day.
8:30-12:00 – If I work out I do this now, and then start blogging (thus burning calories while sitting on my butt).  Sometimes I go coupon shopping or run errands (if I had little kids I would play, read stories, make snacks etc.) Basically this is MY time to do what I want to do.
12:00 – 2:30 – Kindergartener comes home. Make lunch. Spend time with him (go to parks, read, play, walks ect.) Think about dinner here – if crockpot I get it started now. Or pull out a freezer meal – they make me really happy.
2:45 – 8pm. Older kids get home from school, homework first + snack. Evening routines start with soccer practices, ballet, wrestling, baseball, and all other mommy taxi type jobs.  PS – I use the free cozi app to keep my crazy schedule – it’s amazing. Dinner sometime in there too, time depending on schedule.
8:00 – Bedtime routines. Kids must clean + pick up their rooms before going to bed. I will wipe down kitchen counters/dining table before bed and pick up my room. Stories, showers, teethbrushin’, prayers and bedtime.

My Breakfast Schedule

I used to just have my kids eat cereal a lot, but I find so much joy in making breakfast and having them sit down to read scriptures with me. Not only does it make them have a great start to a long school day, but I feel like a better Mom for cooking something special for them. It shows I care. Every day during Monday through Friday I make what’s on the schedule. On Saturday and Sunday its cereal, or make what you want day (aka – Mom’s day off..ha!)

Monday – Pancakes or Green Smoothies
Tuesday – Sausage, eggs + Orange juice
Wednesday – Oatmeal
Thursday – Homemade Muffins + fruit
Friday – “Fun Friday” – I mix it up here (Cinnamon rolls, Corned beef hash/eggs, French Toast, Bacon & Omelets, Waffles, Fruit Smoothies etc.)
Saturday + Sunday – Cereal (or aka – you are on your own..Tee hee. Hey, I like my days off from coooking.)

The Kids Chores

The kids chore schedule seemed at first like the kids were getting off easy. I was raised with a whole room to take care of (like a living room, or bathroom) every day growing up and I was thinking my kids should also be doing that. With all the evening sports and school taking up so much time or leaving them exhausted, I was often just doing it for them. Then I was at my wit’s end guilting them with the fact they hadn’t been doing their jobs.

I have 4 children. Their ages range from 6-13 but basically you just look at what your kids can do. I would start a little toddler with something like picking up their own toys, or helping with small jobs. I started my 4 year old off with just putting away silverware from the dishwasher. I also let my 4-5 year old clean the sliding glass doors with window cleaner. But as kids get older they can do more work. Once they get going to school though life gets busy and there isn’t as much time in the evenings as you would like.  So with this cleaning schedule here are the jobs the kids do:

  • Unloading dishes : One child is in charge of unloading all the dishes from the dishwasher for the entire week on a rotating schedule.
  • Setting the table: One child is in charge of setting the table for all meals for the entire week on a rotating schedule.
  • Making their beds in the morning. They don’t have to be super perfect, but they need to try. If I notice they didn’t make the bed, when they get home they get to “practice” making their beds 4 more times. 😉
  • Cleaning their rooms before going to bed. They need to have it picked up.
  • Washing their own laundry + putting it away. Every child has a laundry day. In each of their rooms they have a laundry hamper. Each of them gets one day a week to do their laundry from washing to drying to folding and putting away. I taught my 7 year old daughter to use the washer and I trust her, however my 6 year old son still needs so we do this task together. I think it’s important for children to learn how to do laundry all by themselves. I have also gotten rid of my “sock basket” by having everyone do their own laundry.
  • Saturday – Deep clean one big room day. This is mostly so they grow up knowing how to clean. They have to clean one main room that they are assigned for a month or so. Examples I have used: Bathroom 1, Bathroom 2, Vacuum stairs + Hallways, Put shoes away. They also help with outdoor chores today if needed.

For my 3 older children I have them rotate through the dishes, setting the table and one get’s a week off (which they love).  Also on my calendar is their laundry day. So my calendar looks like this:

Monica: A
Micah: B
Grace: C

Week 1 –
Dishes: A
Setting Table: B
Off: C

Week 2 –
Dishes: B
Setting Table: C
Off: A

Then repeat.. Here is what my chore calendar looks like.

For my younger 6 year old I have him unload silverware everyday for his main chore. For his Saturday chore he takes everyone’s shoes by the front door and takes them to everyone’s rooms. He is almost ready to learn how to unload the dishwasher too. So he does his part too!

My Weekly Cleaning Routine

So what is my routine you ask? Basically everyday I do a few daily cleaning items. I load the dishwasher, wipe counters and do quick pick up around the home. But everyday I also have a special room to clean that I focus on.  I have my own personal cleaning routine printed up that I can check off each day. I make sure and tell myself I just need to do the room on my list today – which really reduces my stress levels, and makes me feel accomplished. Once I am done…I am DONE for the day! I have free time, time to do everything else I want to do. You will also notice on my cleaning routine there are a few items at the bottom of each day that are italicized – these are deep cleaning items that if I have extra time I will try to tackle. I try to choose one of them every week or two.  Note: If you find you are spending too much time give yourself a time to work. I would say 30 minutes would be plenty of time to do your normal cleaning in that particular room. Also if you get out of your routine, just start on the day it is and begin again. Don’t worry about catching up if you miss a day.

Here is my Weekly Cleaning Routine – I am offering it up here FREE as a download for you! Just click on the picture to print it off as a PDF. If you would like it as a photoshop element file where you can change it around just shoot me an email: karrie @ happymoneysaver (dot) com and I would be happy to share it with you.

UPDATE!!!  I have many skills in photoshop and blogging, but I do NOT know how to make a pdf form editable for everybody. So I asked Justyna over at her Etsy shop DIVart if I could pay her to do this, and bless her kind heart –  she read the post and decided to do it for FREE! Isn’t she just so nice??

Here is the FREE Editable PDF My Weekly Cleaning Routine Checklist. Just click on it, then right click – save as and download it to your computer. You will be able to edit it under each category to your liking.

I hope you will get some relief from this schedule. Time is precious and its been a lifelong struggle for me to be able to organize it they way I want. This schedule has definitely helped me live happier and be less stressful.

Do you have a cleaning schedule that works for you or any other tips?

Pssssst...

Make sure to follow along with @HappyMoneySaver on Instagram, connect with me on Facebook and pin along with me on Pinterest!.

Want all the latest straight to your inbox? get the Happy Money Saver Newsletter straight to your inbox!

September 4, 2012
Free Printables, Money Savin', Thrifty Tips

Comments

  1. Elisabeth says

    October 4, 2019

    Thank you for your work and time in making the weekly cleaning schedule. It was a huge help to be able to fit it to my needs. 🙂 Thanks for sharing. I’m excited to use it.

    Reply
  2. Chat4smile says

    April 2, 2018

    Hi,,

    I JUST Want to say thanks about this post it was awesome and fullfill with lots of information please keep writing great stuff i will be back soon for reading more tips from you

    Reply
  3. Leann says

    June 2, 2017

    Thank you for sharing your cleaning checklist! I was not taught when to clean certain areas and things or how often. I always get so overwhelmed when I try to clean everything in one cleaning. The next day I am so tired that I don’t do anything and then that mindset goes on and on until my house is a complete mess and stresses me so much that I just want to leave it and not think about it. I like that you broke down the days and tasks. I think I can manage this routine. Thank you so so so much. You don’t know how much this helps.

    Reply
  4. Nikki Brown says

    September 2, 2016

    I’m going to try it this way. It seems I either have a clean house or our homeschooling is all done on time. I can only Excell at one at a time…..and they say men have a one track mind!! I would love to have a pretty clean house and all our school work done so I could tackle those scrapbook ing projects that are long overdue, without the guilt of being behind or a messy house…Lord Help me!

    Reply
  5. yuri says

    January 21, 2016

    HI!
    I searched everywhere for 2 days for a cleaning schedule that would fit my needs, lost hope and started to create my own. Decided to give google another search, and your format was pure perfection! Being able to edit makes it so convenient! Thanks to you, and Justyna for this!

    Yuri

    Reply
  6. Jana Morris says

    December 29, 2015

    I love this! I am going to link to this blog post on my blog http://www.growingupondublinlane.com

    Reply
  7. Myrtice Holley says

    November 20, 2015

    The cleaning routine is wonderful! I believe that keeping the house clean is a job for the whole family and I am really trying to teach the kids to be more responsible and clean their rooms. I will try to apply the weekly cleaning routine to the routine of my family because out housekeeping skills definitely need improvement! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Karrie

Hello & Welcome!

I'm Karrie. Come join me on my money savin' adventures but beware: you may find yourself wanting backyard chickens, making freezer meals and dancing along with me to 80's music.
About KarrieInstagramFacebook

Popular Recipes

Best EVER Homemade Carpet Cleaner Solution

15 Actually Easy Freezer Meals (Seriously!)

toilet with pou pourri spray

What’s that smell? – DIY Poo Fragrance Spray for the Bathroom

The Master Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

The Thrifty Lazy Way to Clean your Glass Stovetop

Making 50 Freezer Meals in one Day

It’s Soup Season!

48 Healthy Freezer Meals

Creamy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

crockpot freezer meals

20 Delicious Crockpot Freezer Meals

10 Fantastic Freezer Soups

Simple Chili With Smoked Sausage

Copycat Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana Recipe

search

by Topic

archives

About  |  Contact  |  Privacy Policy
Copyright ©2023, Happy Money Saver. All Rights Reserved.
Design by Pixel Me Designs