Realistic Cleaning Schedule for a Naturally Tidy Home
Tired of cleaning checklists that don’t work in real life? I created this realistic, natural home cleaning schedule with small, doable steps for a tidy home—from daily to yearly. And yes, there’s a free printable!
The feeling when the home is clear of clutter and the sink is free from dirty dishes is priceless. I’m a divide-and-conquer kind of girl, so I tend to divide the tasks into easy steps to conquer the possible chaos that might follow otherwise. The plan is there to give you the frames that you can use to help and guide you, and give yourself the feeling of power and freedom.
If you are about to do a deep cleaning, make sure to check out my tips on simple spring cleaning and my Natural Deep Cleaning Guidebook & Checklists with natural cleaning product DIY recipes and declutter fast track guide on my shop page.
Why a Realistic Cleaning Plan Works
You are the expert in your household. Check the list with your home in mind. You can print out your own copy and follow along with this post to customise it to your household.
Customise it to your home & style
Are there tasks that you don’t need? Cross them over or ignore them. For example, we do not own a dryer, so I would cross out the “Clean the dryer lint trap”.
I have left some space for you to add some cleaning tasks depending on your own home. Do you have a fireplace? Add: Empty the ashes from the fireplace to your list.
Think of it as your guide, not your taskmaster
Use the list for you, not against you.
I heard once someone say that instead of the To-do list, we should change the perspective to the tasks and name it Did I do it? -list. With that in mind, you know not to feel heavy-hearted if something does not get done.
Lists are not something that you NEED to accomplish; they are your helpers. They are there to give you steps, to remind you, and YOU choose what to follow and when, depending on your current situation and your lifestyle.
The printable has just been updated to use less color and ink, making it more eco-friendly and easier to print at home. A small change for your printer—one step closer to a more natural lifestyle.
Daily cleaning tasks for a tidy, low-stress home
The chores you do daily are there to make your home a more cozy and enjoyable place to be. At home, you want to feel relaxed.
For many, the clutter, dirt, and unfinished tasks bring only stress and zero enjoyment to life. So let’s keep it simple with small steps every day. This is the easy maintenance level you keep up with daily with the Realistic Cleaning Schedule.
Make the bed
Making the bed after you get up is one of the things with which you tune the day’s ambiance. It secretly gives you the energy to do anything you want to accomplish the tasks of the day. Whenever I glance into the bedroom and see the blanket nicely covering the bed, it gives me a peaceful mindset. And making the bed took ten seconds.
If you struggle with making the bed, figure out why and then ease the task. Do you have too many pillows to organize? Get rid of the extra. The bedspread is too heavy, so you don’t like to cover the bed with it. Change it to a lighter one or just fold it in the linen closet. Less is more when you are looking for an easy cleanup.
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Quick Decluttering + Surface Wipe
Small tidying up daily is effective for the appearance of your home. Collect the magazines in one place. Fold the blanket on the sofa and arrange the throw pillows. Have at home only so many things that you can clean up and arrange.
Eco-friendly habits like keeping things minimal and owning just the right amount of things that you can manage are the game-changers in keeping your home naturally tidy.
- If you feel like you are cleaning four hundred toys all the time, limit them to ten.
- Clothes everywhere? Add a rack with hooks to the bedroom for the clothes that are used but not yet in need of washing.
- Check that you have the laundry basket accessible and that everyone uses it.
Wipe counters when there are spills or you see the need. Side tables in the living room need less of your attention than the kitchen table. Don’t bother to wipe surfaces when you don’t have to.
Dishes & clear sink
Keeping the sink clear helps you to spend less time when you need to prepare food. If you have a dishwasher, make the habit of putting dirty and used dishes directly in it instead of letting them clutter the kitchen counters or sink.
| RELATED: Kitchen Essentials Checklist: Tips on how to thrift, repurpose & save
Sweep crumbs
Having a broom and a dustpan on hand in the kitchen is more than helpful. It’s fast and easy to sweep away bread crumbs and such. I adore my broom and dustpan with wooden handles. They fit nicely in the kitchen corner, and it’s so much easier to grab the broom to fix the little mess than the big, clumsy vacuum cleaner from the closet.
Weekly cleaning tasks to keep up with real life
The weekly chores for cleaning in the Cleaning list are planned for the places and things that are most used at home and need a certain level of hygiene and cleanliness overall. There is no point in cleaning the shower every day, but on a weekly level, small cleaning helps the monthly cleaning that will come anyway. Cleaning doesn’t need to be perfect; the point is to move the needle enough to maintain a fresh feeling at home. If the annual cleaning plan feels too heavy, you can choose a weekly cleaning schedule instead.
Weekly Essentials
These weekly chores are here to keep things in check without making cleaning feel like a full-time job. They’re the kind of tasks that help your home stay fresh and cozy with just a little bit of effort. You don’t need to do it all at once—or even every single week. Use your own judgment and the rhythm of your home. Some weeks, there’s more dust; other weeks, you’re just doing your best to keep up with the fingerprints on the mirrors (if you know, you know). These aren’t rules—they’re helpful tips toward a naturally clean home that supports your real life.
Clean shower & toilet
Keep a cleaning spray and a sponge in the shower and do a quick cleaning while showering. This is especially fun with kids – a spray bottle and sponge are some of the best entertainment for toddlers! Spray the walls, floor tiles, faucet, and hand shower – two minutes and it’s clean – no need to fuss.
Wipe the sink and faucet. Check the need for changing the soap bar to a new one or filling up the liquid hand soap. Wipe the top of the toilet seat, the seat cover, toilet seat ring. Brush quickly the toilet bowl and flush it. Tadaa!
Dust and vacuum
At our home, there are seasons when there is more dust and less dust. So use your hoover and duster when needed. Check the cleanliness level weekly. The vestibule or the mudroom collects more sand and pine needles, and the kitchen has plenty of crumbs. All the rooms don’t need to be vacuumed once every week if it is not necessary. You can rotate and vacuum half of the house one week and the other half the next week if it makes more sense.
Clean mirrors
You can continue for a long time with dirty and stained mirrors. BUT. I added mirrors to the weekly cleaning list because when you spray and wipe the mirrors, they suddenly bring and so easily freshness to the home. If you have children, you know that their fingerprints are in EVERY mirror of the house. If you don’t have kids, well, you just got less to clean weekly!
Appliance care this week
The household appliances also need some care. Clean weekly those that you use most often. In a naturally kept home, it is better to clean a bit weekly, so you can avoid the buildup and the desire to use harder chemicals in cleaning.
Coffee Machine / Tea kettle
In most families, coffee machines and electric tea kettles, are in everyday use. So wipe the surface of any spills and stains, and boil water with some lemon juice and vinegar. Let it sit for a while. Rinse and boil twice with fresh water.
| RELATED: Tea kettle vs teapot | How to choose and use them
Dryer lint trap
I suppose in this list that laundry is done at least weekly. The lint trap of the dryer is a fire hazard and should be cleaned after EVERY use. Luckily, the lit traps are mostly just pull and wipe, and put back again. Make the habit of cleaning it the minute you open the dryer door, and then you won’t forget to do it.
| RELATED: Weekly Cleaning Schedule: Naturally tidy every week
Monthly deep clean for a naturally fresh home
Do a monthly deep clean for the most-used things and places at home. Clean the things that get dirty slowly, but will need some refreshment. In the Realistic Cleaning Schedule for Home, these are the following:
Deep clean fridge monthly
Make the habit of cleaning spills when you do or see them in your fridge. Monthly, choose a day when the fridge is as empty as possible and take off the shelves and wash them one by one. Depending on the number of products you have in the fridge, you can just move them to another shelf for a moment or to a countertop on the side.
This cleanup might take up to 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of your fridge and how full it is. Detach also the vegetable drawers and wash them. Remember to wipe all the parts well before putting them back in the fridge – if they are wet, they will add moisture to the fridge, which might make some products spoil faster.
When cleaning the fridge, check the best-before dates and the state of the products. Monthly inventory makes it easier not to forget something hiding in the back of the fridge. As a part of a simple, sustainable lifestyle, you will be cooking often with whole foods from scratch. The more you cook from scratch, the more you can be up to date with your perishable items. All vegetables are simple to check with your senses if they are still good to use.
Monthly deep clean shower & toilet
We had the shower already in the weekly chores, right? So once a month, make one of your weekly cleans a bit deeper. Scrub with the brush the corners and the seams between the tiles, move the mats and other movable things, and mop the floor. Put the shower curtain into the washing machine or wash the glass door of the shower.
Make it simple for you: wash the shower before you take the shower. Take your child with a sponge to help you (you know they want to if there is a spray and sponge included), but make sure you use natural cleaning products to be safe in cleaning.
TIP: I keep a sponge next to the sink, and while washing my teeth, it is easy to clean the sink and the splashback with the sponge, even daily if needed.
If you prefer a weekly cleaning chore view with a once-a-week rotating focus area, make sure to check out my weekly cleaning checklist for the home, which goes well with this one!
Likewise, do one of your toilet cleanups more thoroughly. Clean behind the toilet seat, and wipe and clean the foot of the seat and the surrounding floor area. Empty the odor lock of the sink if needed (check how many hairpins and rings you can find in there!).
Natural Deep Cleaning Guidebook & Checklists
Upgrade and ease your deep cleaning task and get organized with this 20-pager guidebook that includes:
- Deep cleaning checklists room-by-room
- Deep cleaning checklist at one glance
- Supplies you need for deep cleaning
- Declutter fast track guide
- Tips for deep cleaning mindset
- Natural cleaning product DIY recipes
Wash bedding, air mattress
When changing the sheets and bed linens, it is good to put the blanket out for a few hours. In the springtime, when the pollens of the trees are in the air, you may need to skip this, or you will maybe be sneezing a few nights following.
If you can take the mattress outside for a few hours, it would be good too. You can also flip your mattress to keep it in better form and condition longer.
Clean behind appliances
Do not forget to vacuum behind the appliances like the freezer, fridge, TV, etc. Electric appliances gather dust and can be a fire hazard when covered with dust. Make a habit of hoovering monthly behind them.
Washing machine filter
The washing machine has a small hatch that you can open and pull out the filter (depending on the type of your machine) to clean it. By keeping the filter clean, you get fresher and cleaner laundry, and your machine lasts longer when you take good care of it.
Every-other-month tasks (often forgotten!)
Ovens and drains are things that many (including me) forget to clean regularly. That’s why they have their own place in this Realistic Cleaning Schedule for Home.
Cleaning floor drains
Clean the drains of the sink when you do your normal cleaning routine, but the drains on the floor, like the one in the shower, would be the ones to clean now. You should use gloves because the drains are generally quite yucky – just warning you. Remove the lid and brush it on both sides. Take off any loose hair you find and toss it in the bin. If you have a disposable shower drain hair catcher, change it, or if it is not that bad, just rinsing it might do.
If you have a reusable drain hair catcher, remove the hair attached to it, rinse it, and brush it with a spray to clean it thoroughly. Then, brush and clean the drain itself. Start with cleaning any hair or excess blockage, then brush with the help of the cleaning spray. Close the drain with the hair catcher and the drain lid.
Oven deep clean
Choose a day when you are not using the oven, or you will use it later, for the oven should be cold. If you have an oven with a removable oven door, detach the door and clean it over the sink. Clean the inside of the oven as well. Remove the knobs with the help of a knife and wash them with dishwashing soap. Clean the stove and front of the oven, dry the knobs, and place them back. Hoover behind the stove if removable, or do it on one of the vacuuming days.
Seasonal wardrobe check (4x/year)
When you have four clear seasons, the clothing needed is different four times a year.
Declutter clothes: donate, repurpose, or store mindfully
When changing the season, it is good to check through the clothes that are too small, too broken, or something that you do not want to continue with to the next year.
Sell them, donate them, or toss them. Go through the wardrobe to see if you need some new clothing too, to update it to your needs. In the Cleaning Schedule, you have four seasonal check-ups. If you live in a zone where you have only two clear season changes, then narrow it to two.
If you don’t know where to start, I have a declutter fast track guide that comes with the Natural deep cleaning guidebook, which would be most helpful to you.
| RELATED: Simple Spring Cleaning Checklist (PDF) to ease your spring
Twice-a-year cleaning tasks
Twice a year, cleaning chores are those things and places that shouldn’t be forgotten to clean but do not need special attention all the time. Realistic Cleaning Schedule for Home has six different chores to be implemented twice a year.
Clean cooker hood
The need to degrease the cooker hood depends on how much you cook and what type of food you prepare. You might need to adjust the cleaning frequency accordingly.
Most cooker hoods you can clean easily yourself. Detach the first layer to access the removable filter paper. If you have a disposable filter, change it. If you have a reusable item, use dishwashing liquid and fairly hot water to remove the grease before attaching it back to the place. Wipe and clean also the inner and outer surfaces before closing.
Inventory freezer
The freezer is a mysterious place that sometimes fills up with food that is difficult to follow and rotate. Twice a year is good to go through so that you don’t forget anything hidden.
Make a habit of marking and labeling things that go in. Frozen food is not easy to recognize, and try guess what it was before thawing it.
Quick guide to expiration dates
1-2 mo fish (if more fat, shorter time in the freezer!)
3 mo pasteurized milk, butter, cream, hard cheese
2-4 mo minced meat (if more fat, shorter time in the freezer!)
3-4 mo homemade food
3-6 mo chicken and turkey
2-9 mo bread (if contains fat or seeds, shorter time in the freezer!)
2-9 mo buns and cakes
6-10 mo whole meat (pork only 3-6 months, game up to 1,5 yrs!)
10-12 mo vegetables, berries (use yearly before next harvest)
12+ mo mushrooms
12+ mo fresh herbs (use yearly before next harvest)
12+ mo fresh yeast
Dust air vents
Depending on your house, you might have air vents in every room in your home, especially if you live in an apartment. They are up on the wall and look like a plate. Most people forget their existence (including me), but to maintain a good home and get the air fresher, clean up those filters! It’s a quick thing to do, just rotate the lid open, hoover it, or use a moist cloth to clean it well.
The first time cleaning with everything might be hard. When the maintenance cleaning mode goes on naturally, the well-adjusted cleaning frequency helps ease the amount of time you need for cleaning.
Clean windows
Here in the North, we have double windows, so window washing is not my favorite thing to do. For every window, I have to clean four window surfaces…? Nah. I get discouraged very easily. That’s why the timing is so good to have in early spring. Not too early, so that the rain, road dust, and pollen mess them right again, but so that when that sun starts shining, it shines through the perfectly clean windows. That makes me feel joy and encourages me to dig in.
The second washing I do if it seems needed. If during the summer the inside or outside windows have stains, I’ll wash those that need washing. If the Autumn rains start early, I might skip the second washing altogether, which is marked in the Realistic Cleaning Schedule.
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Clean kitchen cupboards (best before date check)
Tidying up and clearing the cupboards is worth it. Check through any spices that are expiring or any other dry staples that you notice you haven’t used yet. With the dry food, it’s not that strict with the date. That’s why they have the best-before date. You can still securely use them after the date; they just start lacking flavor and nutrients, so it is always best to use them fresh.
Work with one cupboard at a time, and move things that don’t match with the cupboards or shelf category to find them a better place when you need them. Use boxes or trays if you have many items to make the kitchen feel and look more collected and ease your ingredient rotation yearly.
Medical cabinet inventory
Medicines do have expiration dates, and we tend to leave things in there when purchased – IF we still someday might need them. Medicines are not good to consume when they are outdated. Get rid of the expired ones and return them to the pharmacy to dispose of them safely.
Go the same time through your medical cabinet, thinking about what you need to add. Do you need more bandages or plaster to have them on hand when needed? Print out a Checklist for your first-aid kit to check easily what you have already and what you should have in your kit. Remember to put the date of the checkup so you can keep on track.
| RELATED: Vintage-style DIY First Aid Kit Box from a thrifted metal box
Annually cleaning chores
Defrost the freezer before the new harvest. If you have an older type of freezer, it gathers ice and snow, so defrost it before you’ll probably fill the freezer to its maximum capacity. If I have had a busy autumn time, I’ll defrost the freezer when it is cold enough outside to just put all the freezer drawers on the balcony during the defrosting.
We recently invested in a no-frost freezer that has air circulation so that it doesn’t get frost. So now I’ll do an extra freezer checkup before the harvest time, and clean the freezer surfaces quickly and wash or wipe the freezer boxes.
Annually, it is good to do a quick check-up of the kitchen essentials. Go through your drawers if it feels that you can’t close easily your cupboards or drawers or find all the things you need, it is most likely that unnecessary things have accumulated in your kitchen and it is time to let go of things that you don’t relaly use to make your kitchen functiona.
Share your favourite (or least favourite) Chores!
Let me know in the comments what chores you enjoy the most (or least)! And well, you can tell me your dislikes too, and we can check how those chores would work out easier! Are there tasks that you would add to the Realistic Cleaning Schedule for Home?
This cleaning schedule really helps to break down the tasks. I have tried various cleaning schedules in the past and they have always been too much for me, but this one seems very manageable. Hopefully, this is one I can keep up with long-term.
I hope so too! Keep me posted on how it is working for you!
This is a beautiful way to keep the home well-maintained. My home is always in disarray because of my health issues and life getting in the way. But my home is presentable at least.
Thanks for sharing! Download the list and let it help, support and inspire you to do the small manageable tasks weekly to keep the spirits up. It doesn’t really need to be much. Tiny things will push the needle in the bigger scale. You can do it <3
Very extensive list, Helps to not forget important yet easily overlooked areas of the home! Thank you
You’re welcome, Luisa!
Thanks for putting this together, it definitely helps me rethink my cleaning routine (which was before either do it all or nothing). This helps me stay disciplined and do a little all the time!
That’s the key, Ayah, thanks for pointing that out! Do a little all the time. Just remember to take the list with “Did I do it?”-spirit. List is there to help you to keep easily track what you have done, but not to stress about the things undone!
I love being organized and having a neat, clean home. Your tips are spot on and I love the free printable! Great ideas!
So glad to hear! Thanks for sharing Debbie!
This is awesome! I need a cleaning schedule so I don’t get lazy thanks for sharing!!
You are so similar to me Courtney! I need something to keep control of the everyday cleaning so that I can let my mind wander and do other more delightful things than think about the cleaning.
That was some great cleaning schedules. Thank you for sharing. Great write up
Glad you liked Adarsh!
So much great information in this article! Thanks very much!
Thanks for sharing, Tom!
Having a realistic cleaning schedule is essential to make it not an overwhelming task. Love the tips and will utilize some of them when I clean my small apartment.
I hate feeling overwhelmed so my mission is to help make the cleaning easier, I’m glad if the schedule helps you!
Thank you for the Free Cleaning Schedule, I need to discipline myself.
You’re welcome! Glad that I could help you Yufi.