Daily:
1. Spot check each room in the house every morning and spend no more than a minute or two straightening key disaster areas.
2. Spray and quick wipe down bathrooms to keep them presentable.
3. Wash one load of clothes.
Cleaning Philosphy
I have learned that it’s very hard to keep a cleaning schedule which has me cleaning on my work days. I think that the state of the house may reflect the state of the mind. At least in my case. 
I think even if you create an elaborate cleaning schedule, you won’t be able to stick to it if you have no determination to keep your house clean. Determination has to be a factor at some point. That said, I do enjoy a clean house and am pretty determined to have a clean house. I have dropped the rigid cleaning schedule and decided to focus on the following thoughts that I have:
- Keep a handle on “hot spots” — such as the kitchen table, floors, and den.
- Do check the bathrooms daily.
- A tidy house allows for more enjoyment of everything — a nice candle, music, sitting down with a magazine. A step in time saves nine. It is easier just to keep things clean.
- Use tidying time each day to relax, exercise, and meditate, all at the same time.
- Simply, just do things when they need to be done.
Housekeeping Quotes
“The sunshine came in through the sparkling window panes, and everything was large and spacious and clean.” Laura Ingalls describing Grandma’s house. Little House in the Big Woods
Miscellaneous Topics:
Kitchen Safety
View this video about how to handle a grease fire in the kitchen.
Making A Cleaning Schedule
If you absolutely must have a schedule, the simplest thing I have found is to take the number of rooms in your house and divide that by however many days a week you want to clean. I don’t clean on Sundays, so my number was 6. I also tried to group rooms together, for example having all the bathrooms on one day. It might go something like this:
Monday: Master bedroom, living room, den
Tuesday: All three bathrooms
Wednesday: Front porch, entry hall, pantry
Thursday: Kitchen, back porch
Friday: Children’s bedrooms
Saturday: Office, garden area
In addition, I still recommend spot-checking the bathrooms and hot spots daily. With a schedule like this, even if you miss a day, your home stays pretty neat and ready for company.
You can also declutter every day as you clean. I keep a bag of donations sitting in my laundry room, ready to go out the door when it’s full.
Here a page on decluttering, with links to some of my other pages.
for you to leave a comment, but you can also e-mail me at lynn AT thehealthyhomeschool.com
[...] My Cleaning Schedule [...]
I like your new schedule! I tried to follow fly-lady for awhile, but it was too all-consuming. Now I’ve decided that my main priority is that everything should be neat and tidy. I clean as I can, when things need it. In the summer, I’m concentrating on the yard and gardens, and the rest will wait. It makes for a much happier me and a much happier home!
I found your blog by accident while on Google. What a lovely family and life you have. It’s funny to have found this blog on this day. Many blessings to you and yours!
Erika, thank you so much for leaving a comment! I appreciate your kind words.
Found this accidentally… I will check back as I have enjoyed your musings! You have a lovely family & lovely long hair. =) We only have girls at our house & each has hakr past their fannies, so we share in that aspect. Do you ALWAYS find it on the floors? It’s everywhere!
Hope you’ll find a moment to drop by & see me as well. =) http://www.titus2keeperathome.wordpress.com
Blessigns~
Staci
Hi there. I also found your blog by accident while on the web. I do like your idea for cleaning and the reference to ‘hotspots’…I’m laughing since I never looked at it that way and am a complete neat freak. I look at everything as hotspots. Thanks for your blog…and the cute rabbits:)
Your cleaning schedule is perfect!! Thanks for sharing! I googled Iroquois in Otsego County for some information on a children’s book I’m writing and a flower from your site came up in images. Not sure of the connection yet but so glad I landed here! Will keep your blog on my favorite’s list!
Lynn, love your web site! You sound like a kindred spirit! I am older than you but married 22yrs, LOVE thrift stores and yardsales, and am a novice herbalist. Thanks for your housekeeping thoughts. Your site is already on my favorite list!
Lynn:
Thank you for sharing this with me. I look forward to being a friend.
Mrs. Hovis-Williams (Annie–we love that name!), thank you!
Me too.
AWE YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE STYLE I LOVE MY PLACE CLEAN EVEN THOOUGH IM YOUNG IM 16
BEST OF LUCK XO
Thank you so much, Halie! I appreciate your kind comment. And good for you! There is nothing like a clean home. Even clutter can be kept organized and clean.
Hello!
I stumbled upon your page yesterday when I googled fish pond images. I saw “healthy homeschool” and knew I had to check that out!I’ve explored and now I’m at your cleaning schedule. I love it! Do you have any tips for laundry?
I’ve got four little ones of my own, but we’re opposite you- three girls, 8, 6, and 4, and one boy, 4 months. Do you remember what you did way back when….?
Wonderful site(s)!
~Hannah
Wow, Hannah! How busy you are!
I remember those days, but you know what, I lived without a dryer for the first 14 years of my marriage. We hung everything out on the line or in the house. My husband helped a tremendous amount with the laundry. In fact, he hung out most of the clothes himself. We lived in a very old house without much “flow” when it came to usable space for laundry. My goal was to do at least one load a day and to keep things folded, even if they did not get put away. To me, a stack of nicely folded clothes (even if it was sitting on my bedside table!) was better than a basket of wadded up, wrinkled clothes sitting in the middle of the floor. Wish I could be more help. Something else that was helpful was giving each child their own laundry basket with their name on it and putting their clean clothes into that as they got older. If they put them away, good, but at least their clothes were in one spot. 
Hope this helps a little! Thanks for your kind comment!! 
Yay! Revelation! A basket for CLEAN clothes! That will help so much, I think! I know that my older two girls will be able to help with this, and I believe they will all like “their own”. You have helped, and thank you! I have to remember to keep coming back to look at more of your entries, past and present. Your organizational tools are going to help me a lot. My mother and I are sharing house for a little while and have both enjoyed what you’ve shared of yours. Know that you are in our thoughts, and also our prayers!
When my aunt ran a busy dairy farm and raised her 5 kids… she had literally 5 outfits for each kid. (and a Sunday best)…when the clothes got down to 2 outfits.. shed do laundry. Her house was always immaculate….kids raised to be good kind caring people….simplicity is the key!
Tina, thank you so much for sharing that here! I am sure it will help people. I agree about simplicity. Life got complicated when we’d try to make things too sophisticated with charts and timers and schedules. Not saying those don’t work, because they do work, but sometimes I got carried away and spent more time planning than I did actually getting a few little things done!
Thanks again!
Hannah, so glad you enjoyed something from my blog. I hope it helps you. In the previous comments I was just answering, we were talking about simplicity, and I think that does help tremendously. I hope that the baskets help! It sounds like you are doing a great job! Thanks for your kind words!! Hugs, Lynn
You mentioned nothing about laundry. Every time I visit my daughter she has SEVEN loads of laundry waiting for me. How about adding to your list: do ONE daily load to avoid build-up, mold and mildew.
Actually, I do try to use that as a general rule! You are so right, that needs to be on the list! Will add that! Thanks so much for commenting!