Guide
What goes on a weekly cleaning schedule, and what does not
A weekly schedule that tries to hold everything becomes a wall of jobs nobody reads. Keep the week for what really comes round every week, and give everything else its own place.
Belongs on the week
- Bathrooms: toilet, shower or tub, floor, towels, the bin.
- Kitchen: mop the floor, scrub the sink, wipe out the microwave, clear old food from the fridge.
- Bedrooms: change the sheets, vacuum.
- Living areas: vacuum, dust.
- Outside the rooms: the bins out for collection, the houseplants.
Belongs on every day, not the week
Dishes, counters, beds and a quick tidy happen daily. Put them in their own column so they do not crowd every box of the week.
Belongs on a monthly line
- Cabinet fronts and handles.
- The washer filter and an empty hot wash.
- Vacuuming the sofa and under the beds.
- Descaling the kettle or coffee maker.
Belongs on the year
- The oven and the range hood filter.
- Windows inside and out.
- Rotating the mattress, washing pillows and duvets.
- Testing the smoke alarms and changing the heating or air filter.
Spread it
Choose how you like to clean. A little every day keeps each day light. One area a day is easy to remember. Mostly at the weekend keeps weekdays free but makes Saturday longer. Whichever you choose, put the heaviest jobs on the days with the most time.
Questions
Should I clean the bathroom every week?
In most homes, yes: the toilet, shower and floor weekly, the sink and mirror a few times a week.
What about deep cleaning?
Spread it over the year, one or two slow jobs a month, instead of one exhausting weekend.
Can the schedule change week to week?
A four-week cycle lets fortnightly and monthly jobs find their week while daily and weekly jobs stay where they are.
Related
Published 2026-10-30. General information about sharing household cleaning; no advice on products, chemicals, safety or health.