Today’s topic is a big one—cleaning! Everyone has their own method: a little here and there, a Saturday morning cleaning party, your once a year ritual, the list could go on. The problem, though, is that the list does go on. I have a run through of everything I need to clean in each room of my apartment every weekend. Due to my crazy schedule, this really is the only time I have to clean. While a list for an 800 square foot apartment may seem a little excessive, it really does keep me on track and help me time out what all I need to get done. And the feeling of crossing something off a list will never get old! Another perk—it’s easier to get someone to help you if everything that needs to be done is clearly written down immediately in front of their face (wink).

Does this mean I do everything on this list every single weekend? Absolutely not. But a girl can try, right? I can say with absolute certainty, though, that I do get more of the list done having it in front of me. Which brings me to the first step.

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Make a List

As I’m sure you are all aware by now, I love making lists. And as I’m sure some of you are aware, I live in a tiny apartment in NYC. So my list will more than likely be different from yours, but there will also be a lot of similarities. So here is my list, room by room, from top to bottom. There will, as usual, be a link to the Excel document at the bottom of the page so that you can make this list your own.

Kitchen:

Clean out the fridge and wipe off all shelves.
Clean the inside of the microwave.
Wipe down the upper cabinets.
Windex the window.
Wipe down the back splash, vent hood, and windowsill.
Clean any dirty dishes and put them all away.
Run vinegar through the coffee machine and hand wash the pot.
Move everything from the counters, stove top, the top of the microwave, and the front and sides of the fridge and clean all surfaces.
Wipe down the lower cabinets, the front of the stove, and all baseboards.
Shake out the rug (wash every other week).
Vacuum the floor, under the sink, all corners, and around appliances.
Scrub the floor.
Take out the trash.

Dining Room:

Dust the ceiling fan.
Wipe down the high chair.
Declutter the kitchen table and desk (if necessary).
Dust all furniture, books, and lamps.
Put away all toys (wipe down as necessary).
Shake out the rug (wash every other week).
Vacuum the floor, behind the high chair, and behind the desk.
Scrub the floor.

Living Room:

Windex the light fixture, TV and mirror.
Dust all furniture, picture frames, books, and lamps.
Declutter the end tables and wipe down.
Disinfect all remotes.
Pick up all toys (wipe down as necessary).
Shake out all throw blankets.
Vacuum the couch, chair, behind the TV stand and end tables, and the floor.
Scrub the floor.

Bathroom:

Bleach the shower/bathtub from top to bottom.
Wipe down all bath toys.
Windex the mirror.
Wipe down all walls.
Clean the sink from top to bottom.
Clean the toilet from top to bottom.
Shake out the rug.
Vacuum the floor.
Scrub the floor.
Restock toilet paper, paper towels, Lysol wipes, and hand soap.
Take out the trash.

Kid’s Room:

Declutter the bookshelf and the top of the dresser.
Pick up all toys (wipe down as necessary).
Dust all furniture and the light fixture.
Restock diapers and wipes.
Chang the diaper genie.
Wipe down the changing table and diaper genie.
Change the bedding.
Vacuum behind all furniture, in the closet, and the floor.
Swiffer the floor.

Master Bedroom:

Declutter the top of the dresser.
Finish the laundry and put all clothes and shoes away.
Dust all furniture and lamps.
Windex the TV and mirror.
Change the bedding.
Vacuum behind all furniture, in the closets, and the floor.
Swiffer the floor.

Create a Manageable Spreadsheet

Up to this point, I have been referring to a hand written list for my weekly cleaning chores. I now want to create a spreadsheet that will easily allow me to add or remove things from the list if we were to, for example, get the hell out of NYC.

You have probably noticed the order I put the rooms in—that is the order I clean them in, moving from the back of the apartment to the front. I also want to be able to easily modify this for once we move, so I created a separate worksheet for each room. Now I can easily rearrange the rooms as needed.

Cleaning Workbook Tabs

For each room, I copied each bullet point from the list above into one column. In the next column, I added a place to assign someone to each task. This will be useful as Adrian gets older—I can start assigning him more of the tasks as they become age appropriate for him. I can likewise recruit Daddy to help, though I think he would be less likely to actually help if I were to assign him something. But to each their own, right!

Here is a screen shot of the first worksheet:

Cleaning Worksheet

Freebies!

I have some amazing freebies for this post! First of all, you can download the exact workbook I use to get all of my cleaning done. There are different tabs for every room that you can easily move around to truly make the document your own!

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Also, I have created room by room printables! These are great to print off and laminate. Then, as you are cleaning, cross them off with a dry erase marker. This is a great way to get the whole family involved!

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So what do you guys think? Anything I missed in my list?

Make sure you share this with someone who could use some help getting their cleaning game in order!

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