If no one ever taught you how to actually keep a house clean, you’re not alone.
When I first started homemaking, I didn’t really know what I was doing either.
I would wait until my house felt completely overwhelming, and then I’d try to clean everything at once.
And honestly? That wasn’t a very good system.
It wasn’t until years later that I realized something that completely changed the way I approached homemaking:
A clean home isn’t about cleaning everything all at once. It’s about doing a few simple things consistently.
You don’t need a complicated cleaning schedule or a house that looks perfect all the time.
You just need to stay on top of the basics.
So if you’ve ever looked around your house and thought, “Where do I even start?” this is where I would start.
Start With the Dishes
If your house is messy and you don’t know where to begin, start with the dishes.
I don’t care how messy the rest of your house is. Get the dishes done first.
Make it your goal to go to bed every night with a clean kitchen.
For our family, everyone clears their own plate from the table. Leftovers are put away, and the table gets wiped down. The floor gets swept, and the dishes are washed.
I do sometimes use my dishwasher, but I’ve found that washing dishes by hand gets them cleaner, so that’s what I usually do.
I let the dishes air dry as much as possible and put them away once they’re dry. Sometimes that happens that evening, and sometimes I put them away the next morning.
Once the dishes are done, I quickly wipe down the countertops and the stove and microwave if I’ve used them.
It really doesn’t take long.
And there is something so peaceful about walking into the kitchen in the morning and seeing a clean coffee mug waiting for you instead of yesterday’s dishes piled in the sink.
Don’t Let Dishes Pile Up
Since we homeschool and are home during the day, I also clean up after breakfast and lunch.
That means I don’t have days’ worth of dishes waiting for me at the end of the day.
It’s so much easier to wash the dishes from one meal than to face a sink full of dishes from several days.
And that’s really the whole idea behind keeping a home clean:
Take care of little messes before they become overwhelming.
Create a Simple Laundry System
Once you’ve gotten into the habit of keeping your kitchen clean, the next thing I’d focus on is laundry.
Instead of waiting until the laundry becomes a mountain, find a rhythm that helps you stay ahead of it.
For our family, one load a day keeps us caught up most of the time. Some days I need to do two loads, and that’s okay.
The point isn’t the number of loads.
The point is keeping up with it regularly.
I have plastic bins that I use to sort our laundry, and my kids help sort their own clothes.
They’re not always perfect at it, but that’s okay. They’re learning.
I sort our clothes into whites, colors, and darks. I also wash towels separately and sheets separately.
I try to start a load as early in the day as I can. Sometimes that’s after breakfast and sometimes it’s before.
That gives me enough time to get everything dried and folded, and then my family can put their clothes away the same day.
I also use wool dryer balls instead of dryer sheets.
Find a laundry routine that works for your family. It doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s.
Put Things Back Where They Belong
This is technically more of a tidying habit than a cleaning habit, but it makes a huge difference.
Put things away when you’re finished using them.
When I finish brushing my hair, I put the brush back in the drawer.
When I take off my shoes, I put them under my bed.
Instead of putting something down “for now” on the kitchen island, I try to put it away the first time.
It sounds almost too simple to mention, but those little piles of clutter usually start with one item.
And honestly, my family isn’t always great about putting things away either.
I’ve learned not to stress about it. We live here.
My home isn’t perfect.
There are times during the day when everyone takes care of their own things. Usually we’ll do a quick tidy in the afternoon and again before bed.
Sometimes I’ll simply tell my kids, “Look around.”
They know exactly what that means: look around the living room and dining room and put away anything that belongs to you.
That’s the goal—not perfection, but learning how to care for the home little by little.
If you’d like a simple printable checklist to help you keep track of these daily and weekly tasks, you can get my free Simplified Homemaker’s Checklist here.
What Needs to Be Cleaned Every Week?
One thing I wish someone had explained to me when I was younger is that not everything in your house needs to be cleaned every day.
Some things need daily attention.
Other things only need to be done once a week or so.
And some things can wait for a couple of months.
You don’t have to scrub every surface of your house every day to have a clean home.
Here are the things I generally focus on each week.
At the end of the post, I’ll share a link with all of the cleaning products I use. These links are my affiliate links.
Wash the Sheets
I wash our bed sheets every other week.
One week I’ll wash my husband’s and my sheets, and the next week I’ll wash the kids’ sheets.
Some people prefer to wash sheets every week, and that’s fine too.
Do what works for you.
The important thing is simply to have a rhythm that keeps them from being forgotten.
And honestly, getting into bed on the first night after putting clean sheets on the bed is one of life’s simple pleasures.
And it’s free!
Dust
I dust about once a week using a damp microfiber cloth.
I don’t use dust spray anymore.
I start at the top of the room and work my way down.
But here’s something I’ve learned over the years:
Weekly dusting doesn’t have to mean deep dusting.
I don’t move every single item or clean every light fixture, ceiling fan, and windowsill every week.
I mostly wipe the surfaces that collect the most dust.
Some areas of my house get dusty much faster than others, so my bedroom may need attention every week while my dining room hutch might go a couple of weeks.
The deeper dusting gets done every few months.
Clean the Floors
After dusting, I clean the floors.
Sometimes I’ll do a quick sweep or vacuum throughout the week, but once a week I make sure I thoroughly sweep and vacuum.
I also vacuum the stairs and entryway.
Then I mop my kitchen and dining room.
And I keep this very simple.
I use hot water and a microfiber cloth on my microfiber mop.
I used to spend so much time trying to perfectly mop every square inch of the floor. I’d move the dining room table and chairs, mop underneath everything, and then put it all back.
Now?
I pull the chairs out, mop underneath them, and put them back.
I’ve learned to let good enough be good enough.
Your home doesn’t have to be cleaned perfectly to be clean.
Clean Mirrors and Glass
I also clean my glass doors and mirrors once a week.
I don’t use glass cleaner.
I wet a microfiber cloth and use it to clean the glass and remove fingerprints and grime. Then I go back over it with a polishing cloth.
That’s it.
It leaves my glass streak-free without needing a bunch of cleaning products.
Clean the Bathroom
The bathroom is another area I clean about once a week.
I start by putting toilet cleaner in the toilet bowl and letting it sit while I work on the rest of the bathroom.
I use a simple all-purpose spray made with castile soap and water for many of the surfaces.
I use it on the outside of the toilet, the shower walls, the sink and counter.
I also use it on the tub most of the time.
Every once in a while, I’ll use Bar Keepers Friend to give the tub or sink a deeper scrub.
For the shower, I use a wet scrub sponge to remove soap scum. I work from the top of the shower walls down and rinse the sponge as I go.
Once everything has been scrubbed, I rinse the shower and tub thoroughly.
Then I clean the mirror, sink, counter, faucet and the surrounding walls.
Don’t forget those little areas where water and soap tend to build up around the faucet.
I also give the cabinets a quick wipe.
Finally, I scrub the toilet bowl, wipe down the outside, refill the soap, change the towels, and sweep and mop the floor.
I use hot water and a microfiber pad to mop. In the bathroom, I’ll sometimes use a little of my all-purpose spray on the floor as well.
And sometimes I’ll even get down on my hands and knees to clean around the toilet.
The deep cleaning can wait for another day.
Regular surface cleaning is what keeps the bathroom from becoming overwhelming. You can see a more detailed post here.
Clean the Kitchen
There are a few things in the kitchen that don’t need to be done every day but are worth adding to your weekly routine.
Clean the refrigerator
I wipe down the outside of my refrigerator using a microfiber cloth and then polish the stainless steel with a polishing cloth.
When cleaning stainless steel, I make sure to go in the same direction as the grain of the steel.
For the inside of the refrigerator, I go through the shelves and drawers and throw away anything that has spoiled.
I also look for leftovers that need to be eaten or moved to the freezer.
Then I wipe down the shelves and drawers and straighten things up.
This has the added benefit of helping me see what we actually have so we can use it instead of letting food go to waste.
Scrub the kitchen sink
Once a week, I also give my kitchen sink a good scrub.
I use Bar Keepers Friend and a scrub sponge and then rinse everything thoroughly.
I also run my garbage disposal at least once a week.
Every couple of months I’ll give it a deeper clean, but it doesn’t need that kind of attention every week.
Here’s a link to all of my cleaning products. They are pretty basic which makes cleaning simpler.
You Don’t Need a Complicated Cleaning Schedule
One of the biggest things I’ve had to unlearn over the years is the idea that my house has to get really messy before I clean it.
Instead, I’ve learned that taking care of a home well is mostly about small things done consistently.
Dishes every day.
Laundry regularly.
Putting things away.
A few basic cleaning tasks each week.
And then the deeper cleaning can happen every couple of months—or whenever it actually needs it.
You don’t need to spend your entire day cleaning.
You don’t need a complicated schedule.
And you certainly don’t need a perfect house.
You just need to start.
If you weren’t taught how to clean a house, don’t feel embarrassed or behind. You can learn.
Start with the dishes.
Then establish a simple laundry rhythm.
Get into the habit of putting things away.
And slowly add the weekly cleaning tasks that make the biggest difference in your home.
Little by little, your home will start to feel calmer—and eventually, these simple habits will become second nature.
If you’d like a simple printable checklist to help you keep track of these daily and weekly tasks, you can get my free Simplified Homemaker’s Checklist here.