5 Cleaning Habits Pros Swear By

The last thing you want to do on a glorious summer Saturday? Spend the whole day indoors catching up on chores that need to be done to keep your home in decent shape. After spending one too many sunny days stuck scrubbing the tubs and mopping the floors, I turned to a few of my favorite cleaning experts for a plan of attack that lets me put my feet up on the weekends and still have a nice, clean home. Here’s what the cleaning experts do every week so they can actually enjoy their weekends.

They Follow a Daily Essentials List

If you want to avoid a weekend marathon cleaning session, the quickest way is to keep key spots in check with a daily clean. “Start with a nightly reset,” says Katrina Teeple, founder of Operation Organization. “If you want to avoid spending your entire weekend cleaning, get into the habit of resetting high-traffic areas—like the kitchen, entryway, and living room—each evening. Some of this can even start in the late afternoon, so it doesn’t all pile up after dinner.”

I’ve found that just cleaning for 15 minutes a night in that post-work, pre-dinner time can do wonders for keeping the everyday mess in check.

They Have an Extra Chore for Most Days of the Week

“Instead of trying to tackle the entire house in one day, spread tasks throughout the week so they feel less overwhelming,” says Alicia Sokolowski, president and CEO of AspenClean. “Assigning specific jobs to specific days can help build a rhythm.”

Sokolowski recommends assigning one of these tasks to each day of the week:

• Vacuum high-traffic areas like hallways, living rooms, and entryways.
• Wipe down kitchen surfaces, including counters, stovetop, cabinet handles, and backsplash.
• Clean bathroom surfaces, especially the sink, mirror, toilet, and bathtub/shower.
• Change bed sheets and wash pillowcases.
• Do a load or two of laundry to stay ahead of the pile.
• Take out the trash and recycling, and disinfect the bins if needed.
• Quickly declutter key spaces, like the living room, kitchen counters, and bedroom nightstands.

Teeple has her own recommended weekly reset list:

• Monday: Mop & Sweep
  Start the week with clean floors—it sets the tone.
• Tuesday: Tidy Up
  Return items to their homes, clear surfaces, and reset. 
• Wednesday: Wipe-Down
  Counters, mirrors, cabinet fronts, and sinks. Midweek shine = weekend ease.
• Thursday: Touch-Up & Trash
  Spot-clean bathrooms, empty trash bins.
• Friday: Fresh Linens
  Swap sheets and towels. Climb into a freshly made bed for the weekend. 
• Saturday: Stock-Up & Straighten
  Restock groceries and household items, and do a quick pantry check. 
• Sunday: Sort
  Go through bags and purses for the week and get categories like toys and bathroom products sorted and ready for an organized week!

Make your plan visible—whether it’s a checklist on the fridge or a digital reminder—to help you stay on track, Sokolowski recommends.

Obviously, you may need to address an issue before the assigned day—or you may find yourself too busy on a particular Wednesday to address the countertops or bathroom. But having a plan of attack helps keep you on track, even when things go a bit awry. “The key is to keep things realistic,” Sokolowski says. “Be flexible, as your needs may change week to week; some areas might need deeper attention, while others can be skipped or quickly maintained.”

They Don’t Neglect the Hidden To-Dos

Yep, you can pretty easily see that the dishes have piled up in the sink or that the toilet needs a good scrub. But there are some less-noticeable to-dos that probably haven’t made your list, and may be keeping your home from looking truly clean. Some of the under-the-radar cleaning to-dos our experts recommended:

• Cleaning the inside of the microwave
• Wiping down high-touch items like remotes, light switches, and door handles
• Wiping down cabinet fronts and appliance fronts
• Changing hand towels and dishcloths
• Wiping down the inside of the fridge and removing expired items
• Cleaning pet beds
• Vacuuming under area rugs

They Finish What They Start

If your home’s a bit of a mess, you can find yourself a bit distracted—and may start one project, only to move on to something else that feels more pressing while you’re midway through the first one. And all those partially finished projects can add up to an unfinished feeling everywhere in your house. “When you finish one area before starting another, your home avoids that ‘trail of to-dos’ look,” Teeple says.

So if you start the bathroom, finish the whole thing before moving on to the next room.

They Divide and Conquer

The real secret to keeping your house clean? Make sure that everyone helps out. “You don’t have to do it all yourself,” Teeple says. “Even young kids can help by sorting clean laundry into ‘people piles,’ unloading the dishwasher, sweeping, or taking charge of a specific area. When everyone participates, you’ll see a shift from ‘putting things down’ to putting things away.”