In this post, let’s talk about realistic, actionable strategies for how to keep your house clean when you work full time. With some of these tips and a bit of a mindset shift, you can build a realistic cleaning schedule that’s tailored to your busy life.
We’ll focus on creating a ‘clean-enough’ home and a household cleaning schedule that supports your well-being and almost seamlessly becomes part of your daily life – whether that’s a working mom routine or dealing with a busy work schedule without a family.
The best part? Creating an effective routine means that (most of the time) you won’t have to spend entire precious days off doing marathon cleaning sessions.
Let’s make having a clean home easier, less stressful, and totally achievable.
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Set Realistic Expectations: The ‘Clean-Enough’ Mindset
Maintaining a clean house when you have a full time job can feel like an impossible task. When you’re exhausted from a long day, the last thing you usually want to do is pick up a mop or start organizing clutter. But here’s the truth: a clean home doesn’t just look good — it’s a sanctuary that helps keep your mind calm and your stress levels down.
Over the years, I have been everything from a single working person to a stay-at-home mom to a mom working full-time outside the home, a mom working part-time outside the home, and now an empty-nester working full-time from home. Each situation brings unique challenges for keeping a clean home, but I can say from experience that most of the time it’s possible to keep a clean enough home without an overwhelming amount of stress.
Many of my readers are overthinkers who have a difficult time with organization and, well, just keeping life on track every day. So… before we dive into routines and schedules, let’s get one thing straight: perfection is not the goal here. We’re talking about a ‘clean-enough’ house.
This is about gaining some control, staying on top of the worst of the clutter, and eliminating the germs and grime in the places that matter the most — like the kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. Aiming for a spotless, magazine-ready home when you’re juggling a full-time job – and possibly a family – is a recipe for burnout.
If you’re someone who can’t imagine living in a house with a single thing out of place, or if your ideal daily cleaning schedule includes taking a toothbrush to the corners of every room, this might not be the right article for you.
Now that we’ve set a realistic expectation, let’s focus on maintaining a home that’s clean enough to support your health and peace of mind.
Establish a Simple and Effective Cleaning Routine
When you’re working full time, creating a realistic and manageable cleaning routine that fits into your busy schedule is key. A well-planned daily and weekly home cleaning schedule will help you stay on top of household chores without feeling like you’re constantly playing catch-up.
Daily Non-Negotiable Cleaning Habits
These clean and tidy home habits take just a few minutes but have a big impact. Be sure to evaluate which ones are the most necessary for your own home. None of these tasks should take more than 2-10 minutes – maybe 15 minutes for the final kitchen cleanup if you have to do dishes by hand.
- Make your bed: A made bed instantly makes your bedroom look tidier and sets a positive tone for the day.
- Deal with the kitchen: After meals, give your counters and sink a quick sanitizing wipe to prevent grime buildup. Unload the dishwasher in the morning, then load it during the course of the day and run it every night. No dishwasher? Make it a rule to do a quick sinkful of dishes after every meal – and keep your dinners simple to avoid an abundance of meal-prep dishes.
- Spot clean the bathroom: Wipe down the sink and quickly swish the toilet with a brush. This keeps the bathroom fresh enough between deeper cleanings. Some of you may recognize this as the ‘swish and swipe’ task from FlyLady – I learned this many years ago and it’s become an invaluable habit.
- Keep up with the laundry: When I work full time, I keep a routine of doing a load every day. There are several ways to schedule this into your routine, but one that always works well for me is to start a load in the morning before work, switch to the dryer when I get home (or on my lunch break if I’m working from home), and take care of the dry clothes while waiting for dinner to cook or before bed.
- Daily 10-minute tidy every evening: Spend 10 minutes putting things back in their designated spots and cleaning up any mini-messes that you notice along the way. This small effort can prevent overwhelming messes later.
- Quick sweep or vacuum of high-traffic areas: Focus on the places where dirt and dust accumulate quickly. Here’s the thing, though… your home may not get that dirty. If nobody is home during the day, you have no pets, and you take your shoes off at the door, this may not be a daily task for you.
These tasks usually prevent small messes from turning into big cleaning projects.
Weekly Tasks: Break It Down, One Day at a Time
Tackling bigger chores throughout the week can help your home stay clean without devoting your entire weekend to cleaning. But even ‘bigger’ chores don’t have to take very long – aim for about 10-15 minutes each day for these tasks. Here’s a simple weekly plan (feel free to adjust as needed for your own needs):
- Monday: Wash your bed sheets – remove, wash, and put them right back on the bed to start your week fresh. Vacuum and dust.
- Tuesday: Wash the living room blankets and sanitize the remote controls, then give a little extra attention to vacuuming and dusting the living and dining rooms.
- Wednesday: Kitchen day. Clean out the refrigerator and expired pantry food, wipe down appliances & cabinets, take out trash (this may or may not need to be a daily task for you), sweep/mop the floor. This day is probably the biggest time commitment at about 20 minutes.
- Thursday: Fully clean the bathroom.
- Friday or Saturday: This is a good time to rotate slightly deeper cleaning. On different weeks, you can spend 10-20 minutes doing tasks such as extra declutter session, file papers, cleaning walls, baseboards, doors, deep clean appliances if they need it, clean any room that might need some extra help, or wash windows and blinds.
Note: Unless you have a REALLY dirty or overly cluttered house, you probably only need to do one of these ‘Friday or Saturday’ tasks each week. Remember, the goal is for your spaces to be clean enough to be safe and easy to function in.
By assigning specific tasks to each day, you spread out the workload, making it easier to manage alongside your job.
Now, if you’ve been adding things up, you might be thinking ‘I don’t have 45 minutes a day to devote to cleaning! That’s far too much to do after a full day of work and family activities.’ But here’s the thing… we’re not talking about one solid chunk of time. You’re mostly working small, quick tasks into different areas of your existing daily routine.
The only thing it might feel like you’re adding or having to ‘find’ time for is the focused weekly tasks, which would be a chunk of about 15 minutes. And maybe the kitchen cleanup if you’ve always been a ‘turn off the lights and ignore that mess’ kind of person.
This part could take some work and adjustment. It won’t happen overnight, and you’ll probably have to skip a day now and then between full-time work and other responsibilities. However, if you can do MOST of the things MOST of the days, you’ll rarely find yourself having to do marathon cleaning sessions or stressing out about the state of your house.
Even if you can begin by doing ONE extra thing each day toward keeping a cleaner home while working, you’ll definitely begin seeing progress!
Tips to Streamline Your Cleaning Process
Efficiency is your best friend when it comes to cleaning. Here’s how to streamline your routine and make the most of your time.
Stock Up on Basic Cleaning Supplies
Keep your cleaning supplies organized and easily accessible to save time. Depending on your home, your supplies might include:
- All-purpose cleaner
- Glass cleaner
- Duster
- Mop
- Broom and dustpan
- Vacuum cleaner
- Toilet cleaner
- Microfiber cloths
CLICK HERE to see my favorite cleaning supply list on Amazon.
If you have a large home, you may want to keep duplicate supplies in each bathroom, or perhaps a vacuum cleaner on each floor to make it faster and easier to ‘grab and clean.’
If your home is small, try to keep everything in one place. Consider creating a cleaning caddy that you can carry from room to room, so you can spend less time hunting for supplies and more time actually cleaning.
Related: ‘What Do I Need To Clean My House?’ My List Of Essential Cleaning Supplies
Organize Your Home to Minimize Clutter
A well-organized home is easier to clean. Honestly, that’s one of the MAJOR reasons I began my massive decluttering journey several years ago!
Here’s how to keep things orderly:
- Designate a place for everything: If everything has a home, it’s easier to put things away.
- Declutter regularly: Less stuff means less to clean. Make it a habit to donate or discard items you no longer need.
- Invest in storage solutions: Baskets, shelves, and hooks can be game-changers for keeping your home tidy.
- Stick to your schedule: A realistic cleaning schedule tailored to your needs will help you maintain order without feeling overwhelmed.
Related: Declutter Tips for When You’re Overwhelmed With Too Much Stuff
Enlist Help: You Don’t Have to Do It Alone
Don’t be afraid to ask for help — whether from your family or a professional cleaning service.
If you share your home with others, everyone should pitch in. Here’s how to make it work:
- Assign chores: Give each family member specific tasks that match their age and abilities.
- Create a family cleaning schedule: Post it somewhere visible, like on the fridge, so everyone knows their responsibilities.
- Make it fun: Turn on some music, set a timer, and turn cleaning into a game. Rewards can also motivate kids to help out.
By sharing the load, you not only keep your house clean but also teach valuable life skills.
If you’re truly strapped for time or just want to take cleaning off your plate, hiring a cleaning service might be worth the investment. Here’s what to consider:
Pros:
- Professional, thorough cleaning
- Frees up your time for other priorities
- Can be customized to fit your needs
Cons:
- Cost
- Trusting strangers in your home
- Less control over specific cleaning methods
If you decide to hire help, do your research, read reviews, and choose a service that aligns with your standards.
Maintain Your Clean Home: Stay Consistent, Stay Sane
Once your home is clean, maintaining it is the next challenge. But with the right mindset and habits, it’s entirely doable.
Motivation can wane, especially after a long day at work. To keep yourself on track:
- Set small goals: Focus on one room at a time or set a 10-minute timer to see how much you can accomplish.
- Celebrate progress: No matter how small, recognize your efforts. A clean kitchen counter is a win!
- Make it routine: The more consistent you are, the easier it becomes. Cleaning will feel less like a chore and more like a natural part of your day. Check out the book ‘Atomic Habits’ for a strategic process to incorporate new habits into your everyday life.
Life changes, and so should your cleaning routine. If what you’re doing isn’t working, tweak it. Simplify your routine, declutter more often, or adjust your schedule. The goal is finding what works for you, not sticking rigidly to a plan that doesn’t fit your life.
Your home doesn’t need to be spotless all the time. Embrace the ‘clean-enough’ mindset and give yourself permission to understand that you’re doing the best you can and keeping your family safe and healthy.
More Cleaning and Organizing Help
7 Practical Ways To Get the Energy to Clean Your House
10 Takeaways From Swedish Death Cleaning That Will Inspire You To Declutter
How to Clean a Cluttered House Fast: The One-Hour Cheater Method
I hope some of these ideas for how to keep your house clean when you work full time have sparked your motivation to work on your mindset and try some new things around your home.
Keeping a clean house when you’re a busy working person is challenging, but it’s not impossible. By setting realistic expectations, establishing a manageable routine, streamlining your process, enlisting help, and staying flexible, you can enjoy a clean (enough) and peaceful home without feeling too overwhelmed.
You’ve got this!
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