Create a Home Management Plan in 5 Simple Steps
Struggling to stay on top of everything around the house? You don’t need to stress anymore. All you need is a simple home management plan, and today I’m going to show you how to set one up in just 5 super simple steps.
So how does a home management plan work?
Well, it organizes all of your household chores in one place so you can schedule them in to make sure they get done every single week.
And it really works.
So if you constantly feel behind in your housework, then keep reading so we can set up a home management plan that will work for you.
1. Create a Household Chores List
The first thing you need to do is create a household chores list so you can clearly see everything you need to get done.
Every home is different, so what’s on your list is going to be different than what’s on mine.
This will include your cleaning list, your meal plan, your kids chore lists, any recurring household repairs, your household projects, and so on.
And while that sounds like a lot, you really only want to include the things that you need to stay on top of to keep things simple. Don’t create a massive binder that will just overwhelm you every time you open it.
Include the things you need quick access to, and then add or remove things over time as needed.
Daily Chores
Once you have everything written down, make a note of the things that need to be done daily.
This will be things like preparing meals, laundry, dishes, sweeping the kitchen, and so on.
Here are some examples of daily household chores:
- Load the Dishwasher
- Unload the Dishwasher
- Sweep the Kitchen
- Sort Mail
- Wipe Sticky Places (Thanks Kids)
- Declutter the Kitchen Island/Table
- Declutter the Living Room
- Take Out the Trash
- Make Beds
- Wash Laundry
- Fold Laundry
- Put Away Laundry
- Cooking Meals
Weekly Chores
Next, make a note of the things that need to be done weekly.
This will be your regular cleaning tasks, meal prep, grocery shopping, mowing, and so on.
Here are some examples of weekly household chores:
- Wipe Down the Kitchen
- Sweep the Kitchen Floor
- Mopping the Floors
- Dust the Living Room
- Wipe Down the Bathrooms
- Vacuum
- Clean the Litter Boxes
- Change the Bedding
- Pick Up the Kids’ Clothes
- Watering Plants
- Mowing the Lawn
- Weeding the Garden
- Washing the Car
- Getting Groceries
- Target Run
- Chopping Veggies for the Week
- Prepping Meats for the Week
- Cooking Grains for the Week
Monthly Chores
And finally, make a note of the things that need to be done monthly.
This will be your deep cleaning tasks, freezer meal prep, and so on.
Here are some examples of monthly household chores:
- Clean the Ceiling Fans
- Clean the Light Fixtures
- Clean the Air Vents
- Clean the Walls
- Clean the Window Treatments
- Clean the Windows
- Clean the Baseboards
- Clean out the Fridge
- Wash Blankets and Duvets
- Reorganize the Pantry
- Wipe Down Cabinets
- Clean Out Medicine Cabinet
- Prepare Meals for Freezer Storage
Click here to for more ideas on how to put together a household chores list or enter your information below and I’ll email you a room-by-room checklist!
2. Organize Your Household Chores List
The next step in creating your home management plan is to organize your household chores list.
Your daily chores are already organized, so let’s take a look at the rest and split them up between things that you can get done quickly and things that will take a little longer.
Quick Household Chores
So first up are those quick chores. Things that you can get done in 5-10 minutes or so.
Here are some examples of quick chores (to make this list, I just pulled out the quick tasks from the daily, weekly, and monthly lists…you can do the same!):
- Load the Dishwasher
- Unload the Dishwasher
- Sweep the Kitchen
- Sort Mail
- Wipe Sticky Places (Thanks Kids)
- Declutter the Kitchen Island/Table
- Declutter the Living Room
- Take Out the Trash
- Make Beds
- Wash Laundry
- Fold Laundry
- Put Away Laundry
- Cooking Meals
- Wipe Down the Kitchen
- Sweep the Kitchen Floor
- Mopping the Floors
- Dust the Living Room
- Wipe Down the Bathrooms
- Clean the Litter Boxes
- Change the Bedding
- Pick Up the Kids’ Clothes
- Watering Plants
- Clean the Ceiling Fans
- Clean the Light Fixtures
- Clean the Air Vents
- Clean the Baseboards
- Wash Blankets and Duvets
Long Household Chores
Then, pull out the chores that will take more time.
Here are some examples of longer chores (to make this list, I just pulled out the quick tasks from the daily, weekly, and monthly lists…you can do the same!):
- Vacuum
- Mowing the Lawn
- Weeding the Garden
- Washing the Car
- Getting Groceries
- Target Run
- Chopping Veggies for the Week
- Prepping Meats for the Week
- Cooking Grains for the Week
- Clean the Walls
- Clean the Window Treatments
- Clean the Windows
- Clean out the Fridge
- Reorganize the Pantry
- Wipe Down Cabinets
- Clean Out Medicine Cabinet
- Prepare Meals for Freezer Storage
3. Delegate Your Household Chores List
The next step in creating your home management plan is to decide who in your house is going to do the various household chores on your list.
I use these chore charts from Amazon to create the kids’ chore chart.
And what you’re going to want to do is pull one or two things from the quick household chores list for them to do every day. Make sure the chores you’re choosing are age appropriate and won’t take them longer than 15-30 minutes so they don’t feel overwhelmed and are more excited to help out.
Then, split the rest between the adults in the house, assigning a few chores for each day. And if it’s just you, you can still get it all done. I was a single mama for years and this system is what saved my sanity and kept my house clean.
And then do the same for the longer chores so everyone has a couple things to do together on the weekend or whatever day works best for you to knock out those longer tasks.
4. Schedule Your Household Chores List
The next step to create your household management plan is to schedule everything out.
So take the tasks that you assigned the kids and write down what day and time they’re supposed to do them.
Then, find a half an hour a day in your own schedule (and the other adults in the house) to do your daily tasks. I personally schedule a half an hour into my evening after the kids are asleep to get my daily chores done.
Then, create a time block or two on the weekend to finish the cleaning tasks, shop, and meal prep.
You can click here to read more on how to organize your meal planning chores and click here to read more about how to create a daily schedule that will actually work for you.
5. Make Sure Everyone is On the Same Page
And the final step is to make sure everyone actually follows your home management plan.
And the best way to do that is to lay it all out for everyone in an easy to access place in your home.
Most people use a family command center for this.
A family command center is the hub of your home. It’s where you keep your family schedules, meal plan, shopping lists, and your chore charts and cleaning schedules.
And you want to set it up in a place that everyone can easily get to and see what they need to do for the day.
Then, when your kids come home from school and ask to play video games, you can send them over and tell them to make sure their to-do lists are done for the day before you hand over the controllers.
And following this plan is guaranteed to make sure everything gets done around the house, keeping things tidy and stress-free for your whole family, mama included.
Click here to learn how to create a family command center in 3 simple steps and click here for some family command center inspiration.
