The Ridiculously Easy Guide to a Clean Home: 4 Days/Week, 20 Minutes/Day

In a hurry?? Print your Cleaning Guide Now and PIN this post to read later.

I am always reminding myself to be careful writing or sharing anything that might spur someone to “be better”. Like being a better house cleaner or being a better, more organized homeschooler, or being a better wife, etc.

I want my core message to always ring true and that is this: Our motive to improve in any area should never be for selfish ambition or to impress others, but rather the motive should be that by improving we can better LOVE and SERVE those in our life.

Cleaning can become an idol if we become obsessed with it and relationships are compromised at the altar of a clean home. Let’s keep a good balance friend… I speak as person who has been out of balance many o’ times! That is why I am excited to share this Cleaning Style with you that helps me keep things in balance. Read on, friend.

What is The Ridiculously Easy Guide to a Clean Home?

I am so glad you asked! It is the method I use to keep my house clean and be a good steward of that which God has given me to take care, without it becoming an idol!

If you want to adopt this system there are 3 things you need to know!

1. Be okay with an IMPERFECTLY clean house

Wait, what?! This is supposed to be a guide to a clean home, lady and you are telling me to be okay with messy??

Yes, yes I am. As a SAHM, WAHM, homeschool mom, I am home ALL DAY with little people, a perfectly clean home does not ever happen. There are always things out of place. This may be no big deal for some of you, but for the perfectionist reader (you know who you are) this KILLS you. I know because I AM YOU!

This number 1 rule is for everyone, but specifically for the perfectionist. We only have our kids home for a short time in the long scheme things. Embrace the normal because one day it will sadly be gone. It’s okay for our homes to look lived in.

PRO-TIP: (I learned this from a friend). Schedule a cleaning dash twice a day, once before lunch and another before dinner. This will help to tidy the mess of toys that happens in the house without YOU having to harp on your kids all the live long day. Have the kids help!

2. Have your Morning Routine include your DAILY CLEANING TASKS

Daily Cleaning Tasks are meant to be done during your morning routines. So the same time you brush your teeth, shower and get dressed, be sure to make your bed, start a load of laundry and whatever else you’d like to add in there.

It may seem like a bit much at first, but after you get the hang of it, I promise it will only add about 15 minutes to your morning routine!

I have included a sample Cleaning Guide and a blank one for you to refer to and fill out. You can get your guide here!

3. Follow the 4 Day a Week Cleaning Style

Because I love you and you can not devote your entire life to cleaning your house!

But for real…

By only planning to clean 4 out of 7 days a week, allows for the unexpected things in life that always seem to throw us off schedule. I have found that the best way to stay on schedule is by NOT filling the entire week to the brim with tasks and to-do’s.

Leave white space to enjoy unexpected surprises that pop up in your life!

Split your housework up into 4 manageable chunks that you can accomplish in 20 minutes each cleaning session. No, this does not include your Daily Cleaning Tasks. These are the tasks that need to be done once a week to maintain a healthy clean home like vacuuming, scrubbing toilets, etc.

There are two ways to break up your housework into manageable chunks, try both and see which works better for you:

1. By Room/Section: Literally split your floor plan into 4 sections and attack one section each day. I personal find that this way takes me a bit longer than 20 minutes, which is why the next way is my FAVE!
2. By TASK: Instead of cleaning entire rooms at a time and having to haul around all the supplies each and every cleaning day, I split my cleaning up by task. One day I will dedicate to vacuuming and dusting, the next day I will tackle bathrooms. Another day I will literally fly through my house with a damp Norwex clothe and wipe down all the cabinets and window sills!

Choose what works best for you friend or create your own flow. Don’t forget to print out your own cleaning guide here! Stay balanced, love the people you were blessed with and rock it out!