As a busy working Mom, I know how difficult it can be to keep a clean house! Here are 15 practical cleaning tips for busy Moms who really don’t have time to get out the vacuum!
We all know that being a mom is a full-time job in itself, and when you throw a job, school runs, soccer practice, and the endless list of mom duties on top of that, it’s no wonder our homes sometimes look like they’ve been hit by a tornado.
But fear not! I’m here to share some practical and helpful house cleaning tips for busy moms that will not only keep your home in tip-top shape but also help you develop a cleaning routine so that you can stay on top of your household chores.
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1. Establish a Daily Cleaning Routine
I always tell my kids that if you take five minutes in the morning and five minutes before bed to tidy up your bedroom, it won’t become a disaster scene out of the show Hoarders. The same is true for you, Momma. Each day, set aside a certain amount of time to clean and organize your home so it doesn’t end up engulfing you in chaos.
Here is an example of an effective schedule that divides 60 minutes of cleaning and organizing into manageable chunks throughout the day:
In the Morning — 30 minutes total
- Make your bed and help your kids (under 7 years old) make theirs if needed.
- Clean up and put away breakfast dishes and wipe the kitchen counters.
- Vacuum or sweep high-traffic areas like the kitchen.
After Work or In the Evening — 20 minutes total
- Start a load of laundry.
- Organize loose papers and mail.
- Clean dinner dishes, load the dishwasher, and wipe down kitchen counters. Sweep kitchen floors after dinner if needed.
Before Bed — 10 minutes total
- Do a quick declutter and tidying of living areas.
- Fold and sort laundry.
2. Create a Weekly Cleaning Schedule
Create a schedule that outlines which tasks need to be done daily, weekly, monthly, or seasonally. This will help you stay on track and prevent tasks from piling up. These steps will help you design an effective schedule:
- Assess your space and identify the cleaning jobs that need to be done. Divide them into daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal tasks.
- Determine how often each task needs to be done. Daily tasks include making beds and doing dishes. Weekly tasks may be vacuuming and cleaning bathrooms. Monthly tasks are window washing and cleaning appliances. Seasonal tasks may include cleaning gutters and organizing storage areas.
- Assign specific days to complete the house cleaning. Maybe you designate Tuesdays for bathroom cleaning and save dusting for Fridays.
- Make your cleaning schedule clear and visible in your home.
- If your schedule isn’t working, adjust it to suit your routine and lifestyle.
Head to this post to grab a weekly cleaning schedule template that you can type in! Use these printables to create your own cleaning schedule and hang it on your fridge to stay on track with your house cleaning!
3. Do an Inventory of Cleaning Supplies
There’s nothing worse than getting hyped up to clean your toilets (finally!) only to discover that you’re out of toilet bowl cleaner. Do a monthly supply inventory check of which cleaners you have and which you need to buy so that when you are ready to clean, nothing will stand in your way.
4. Include Your Family in the Cleaning
Let’s face it… if you’re a busy working Mom, putting in 40+ hours per week at the office, you probably don’t have time to keep the house clean all by yourself. So, get your family involved in the cleaning tasks.
You can delegate cleaning jobs with the help of a family chore chart like these:
Or if your kids are younger, try implementing a kids’ chore chart system to get them involved with the household chores. Not only will this teach them responsibility, but it will also get them used to helping out around the house so that when they’re older and can throw in a load of laundry for you, they’ll already be used to contributing.
These printable chore charts with pictures are awesome for establishing a chore system with your kids:
5. Use a “Mess Bin”
If your family forgets to put things back on shelves or in drawers, believe me, you are not alone. Decluttering a household is one of the biggest challenges for a busy family.
If you don’t have time at the end of the day to put everything back in its place, then start a mess bin. This bin (like a simple laundry basket) can be used for shoes, socks, toys, makeup, and other things that you don’t have time to put away during the day. You can designate someone in the family to help clear the mess bin each night, or rotate the duty between family members.
6. Use Labels to Keep Things Organized
Isn’t it nice when you have beautiful wicker baskets impressively organized and looking Pinterest-perfect? Do you know what isn’t nice? When you don’t know what on earth is in them because they’re not labeled. Labels complete the organizational vibe and remind you where everything is.
And I’ve found that keeping my storage bins and baskets labeled helps me to maintain my organization systems around the house. For instance, thanks to these top shelf closet organizing baskets with free printable labels, my master closet has remained perfectly organized for the last 6 months straight! I know where everything belongs in the closet, and the labeled bins are easy to maintain.
7. Invest in Organizing Tools that Make Your Life Easier
There’s a reason why people invest in organizing bins, drawer dividers, and glide-out shelving… because these organizing tools really work!
If time is limited, then the last thing you need is to be fumbling through cabinets or sorting through drawers trying to find that last jar of spaghetti sauce or the potato masher that you haven’t used since 2013. But specialty bins, dividers, and shelving can help to organize your things and make them more accessible, saving you time and frustration!
8. Clean with a 20 Minute Timer
Let’s face it, the thought of cleaning the entire house in one go is as realistic as unicorns. So, instead, clean for 20 minutes at a time. Set a timer on your phone or on the microwave, and get as many things checked off your cleaning list as you can in that time frame. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in such a short time when you’re on a “cleaning time crunch”.
Not to mention, cleaning for just 20 minutes seems a lot less overwhelming than cleaning house for 2 hours, right?
9. Store Cleaning Supplies in Convenient Locations
Having duplicates of certain cleaning supplies so that you can store them in each room is a great time saver. For instance, you should have toilet bowl cleaner, a toilet brush, and cleaning wipes in each bathroom. That way, you can easily give your toilet or vanity top a refresh when needed, without having to track down the right cleaning supplies.
One of the best cleaning tips for busy moms is to make cleaning as easy as possible!
10. Keep a Donation Box Handy
It seems like my kids grow out of clothes faster than I can buy them. And if I’m not proactive at decluttering, then my kids may be signing me up to appear on an episode of Hoarders.
But since I’ve started keeping a donation box handy, I’m able to easily declutter things around the house like clothes and shoes the kids have grown out of, the sports equipment no one uses anymore, and the household items that are no longer needed.
I keep a nice wicker storage box in my closet, and when the box is full, I take it to my local thrift store or church to donate the items. I’ve found that this easy system significantly reduces the clutter in my home, and this is one of my best cleaning tips for busy moms!
11. Clean up a Few Times a Day
Instead of watching the ground disappear in a carpet of toys and other clutter, pick up a little bit several times a day. Just spend 10 minutes in the morning and evening tidying up and putting things in their proper places. This creates a slow and steady decluttering process rather than leaving you with a major cleanup at the end of each day.
12. Invest in Time-Saving Cleaning Tools
True story: I once spent 45 minutes trying to scrape a mystery art supply marking off our hardwood floors… and the stain didn’t budge!
But then I borrowed my father-in-law’s amazing steam mop, and the crayon/paint/oil pastel magically disappeared in 30 seconds flat. I loved that steam mop so much that he let me keep it, and to this day, it’s still one of my favorite cleaning gadgets!
Moral of the story – Sometimes it’s worth the money to buy good cleaning supplies that really work… They’ll save you time in the long run, and they’ll save your sanity! My handheld vacuum is another one of my most-loved cleaning tools because it’s great for quick cleanups!
13. Deep Clean One Room Each Week
Just keeping things tidy around the house is a full time job… especially if your kids drop their shoes right next to the shoe rack instead of placing them on the shoe rack. Ugh! So deep cleaning your home may seem like a task that you’ll never be able to complete!
Instead of trying to deep clean your entire house at once, commit to deep cleaning one room per week, and clean individual rooms on a rotating schedule. For instance, you can deep clean the kitchen this week (including wiping down cabinet doors, organizing the pantry, etc.) and then move on to the master bedroom next week.
I’ve got loads of free printable room cleaning checklists to help you with deep cleaning here:
- Free Printable Kitchen Cleaning Checklist
- Free Printable Bedroom Cleaning Checklist
- Free Printable Bathroom Cleaning Checklist
- Free Printable Living Room Cleaning Checklist
By focusing on one room each week, you’ll be less overwhelmed and you’ll be able to keep the entire house clean.
14. Do a Load of Laundry Everyday
This cleaning tip may seem a little overwhelming, but ask yourself this… Would you rather throw one load of dirty clothes in the washing machine each day (or every other day depending on how many times your teenage daughter changes her #OOTD), or would you rather spend an entire Saturday slaving away in the laundry room?
If you’re a busy mom with a mile-long to do list, then doing one load of laundry each day is more manageable than seven loads over the weekend. It’s overwhelming when laundry piles up, and you most likely don’t want to spend your weekends continuously washing and drying bedding and clothes. Instead, do one load a day, and when the laundry is clean and dry, promptly fold it and put it away.
15. Reward Yourself
Set a reward for yourself at the end of the week… Something to look forward to when you’re house is clean and you can finally relax. Whether it’s a bubble bath on Saturday night with your favorite book or getting to watch the latest episode of The Bachelor uninterrupted with a pint of ice cream, a small reward after you’ve completed your weekly cleaning routine is a great motivator!
I hope these cleanings tips for busy moms will help you feel less overwhelmed when it comes to your household chores! Are there any cleaning tips that have helped you in the past? If so, leave me a comment down below!
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