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Nobody likes cleaning, and it is especially despicable when you have to give up prime weekend relaxation time in order to do it. When you are working or going to school full-time, it might seem like the weekend is the only time you have to keep your apartment from descending into chaos. The truth is that if you put a simple schedule in place, you can get enough cleaning done during the week that you can take the weekends off!
In order to keep your weekends light on cleaning, you will need to commit to doing some amount of cleaning every other day of the week. Remember, the 30 minutes or so you spend each weekday equates to two hours of time you are freeing up on your precious weekend.
You will need to begin by adding a few simple chores to your daily routine. You should be able to accomplish each of these items in less than 10 minutes. Once you get into a habit of doing them every day, they will become routine.
-Make your bed: We aren’t talking military precision here, just make sure the pillows are at the top of the bed and the blankets are smooth across the bed.
-Wipe down your shower: At the end of your shower, use a squeegee to wipe down all the walls of the shower. It will take all of 60 seconds but will go a long way toward keeping your shower clean.
-Wipe down your counters: After you are done getting ready in the morning, use a cleaning wipe to wipe down your bathroom counters. After you put your dinner away, wipe down the kitchen counters.
-General tidy-up: Before bed, do a quick sweep once around the apartment, picking up stray glasses, discarded clothes, etc. and putting them all in their proper places.
In addition to those four daily tasks, add one more cleaning chore to each of the following days:
-Monday: Vacuum, sweep or mop, depending on your flooring
-Tuesday: Dust
-Wednesday: Toilets — yes, it sucks, but you have to do it
-Thursday: Windows and mirrors
These items are in addition to your daily tasks. So, for example, on Tuesday, you will make your bed, wipe down the shower, wipe your counters, tidy up before bed and dust.
If you are faithful with your schedule, you will find that the chores get easier and easier each week. Less mess accumulates when you tackle a little bit of cleaning each day.
And just like that, you have some actual free time on your weekends instead of spending an afternoon scrubbing and sweeping! Before you get cracking on your new cleaning schedule, make sure you take stock of your cleaning supplies.
