The Art of Weekly Cleaning
If you’re not a big fan of dedicating an entire day to deep housecleaning each week, you can keep your housekeeping duties under control and free up more time for other activities by concentrating on a weekly cleaning schedule to handle tasks that do not need daily attention, yet should be tackled more often than once a month.
Depending on the environment of where you live, your high traffic areas may need more individual attention than once per week; however, setting aside a period of time one day a week to focus on all the flooring needs of your home can make the process more bearable and keep your home tidier. Focus on vacuuming carpets, rugs, stairs and any furniture that may need it as well as mopping any hard floors, including the laundry room or mud room.
Dusting is another chore that is best handled on a weekly basis. To avoid feeling as though you have spent the entire day cleaning, try choosing a period of time on a different day to tackle this task. Ideally, this task is best handled on the day before you vacuum and/or mop. Starting from top to bottom, be sure to dust ceiling fans and tackle any cobwebs that may be lurking in ceiling corners. Give your walls a good once over and then move on to windowsills, finishing up with furniture. Remember that a vacuum attachment can be used for most of these tasks to trap the dust to eliminate the mess on your floors.
Set aside another block of time to focus on preventative cleaning. This type of chore prevents the buildup of dirt that may require substantial amounts of cleaning time later on. Focus on the following: wiping down entry doors, shaking out mats, wiping down and disinfecting interior doors (particularly doorknobs.) Also wipe down the kitchen appliances, including the exterior and interior of the microwave. Scour the kitchen sink and don’t forget to clean out the toaster and/or toaster oven to remove stray crumbs. Remove leftovers from the refrigerator and wipe down shelves.
Some women prefer the once a week method for handling large loads of laundry. If this is your style, be sure to start a load as soon as you get up that morning. Concentrate of finishing four loads by four o’clock that afternoon. This might include whites, towels, colors and baby clothes.
If you do prefer the once a week method of laundry, try to reserve bed linens for another day of the week. This task works well on the day that you clean the bathroom. Remember to gather and take out all trash, purge the medicine cabinet if necessary, wipe down counters and clean/scrub sinks and bathtubs as well as toilets. Don’t forget to replenish liquid hand soap, lotion and toilet tissue.
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