My Minimalist Cleaning Schedule

Christine | Admire Simple
by Christine | Admire Simple
mopping floor, clean floor, spot clean floor as a minimalist cleaning schedule

Let’s talk about cleaning. We all love to live in a clean and tidy house but not many of us enjoy cleaning.


Today I’m going to share my minimalist cleaning schedule with you. It’s a simple daily and weekly cleaning routine that works for everyone.

As I hate cleaning, I’ve tried every effort to minimize the household chores. If you’re anything like me and want to spend less time cleaning, this article is for you.


Over the years, I’ve developed a simple cleaning routine. Following through with the daily and weekly cleaning schedule and doing a little bit every day help to keep our house stay clean. The best part? I don’t have to clean all day on weekend.


I’ve created a minimalist cleaning schedule checklist printable for you.

This easy-to-follow cleaning routine works well for most people. Print it, try it out and see how it can work for you. Scroll down to the bottom and sign up to grab this free daily and weekly cleaning routine printable checklist.


This post contains affiliate links, to find out more information, please read my disclaimer.


Spend Less Time Cleaning with a Minimalist Cleaning Routine


With my minimalist cleaning schedule routines, I usually spend 30 minutes a day cleaning. Sometimes maybe less than that.


I have to mention that we live in a small house under 1,300 sq ft. with no backyard and no garage.


This simple cleaning schedule routine works best if you have fewer things at home.


Cleaning is so much easier when you have less stuff. Also, simplify your home as much as you can.


You might need to spend much more time cleaning if your home is bigger and cluttered.


Picking things off the floor and putting things away can take you longer to clean. Definitely declutter your home. It makes daily house cleaning so much faster and more efficient.


Daily cleaning routine:


1// Make bed every morning.

Just like eating a good breakfast. Making the bed every morning is a good start for the day that I don’t want to skip.


2// Do a load of laundry.

Washing a load of laundry from start to finish. My minimalist laundry routine saves me time and money. And these 5 laundry habits totally make my life easier.


3// Wash dishes.

I hand wash dishes immediately after each meal. Because I cook simple meals and practice “clean as you cook”, there are usually only a few dishes to wash after.


If you use a dishwasher, put all the dirty dishes in the dishwasher right after each meal and run the dishwasher at night. Unload it the next morning.


I never want to wake up in the morning to see a pile of dirty dishes in the sink.


4// Wipe down counters.

Clean the dining table and wipe down counters after each meal.


5// Clean kitchen sinks.

Simply wet the sink and squirt dish soap on a sponge to scrub the sinks after dinner. Occasionally I use baking soda to scrub the sinks as well. And then rinse off the sinks and let them air dry.


6// Check floors.

I don’t vacuum and mop every day. However, I do check the floor in the evening to make sure no crumbs under the table or in the kitchen. A quick sweep or spot clean the areas as needed.


7// Wipe down bathroom counters, sinks, and mirrors.

Wipe down the bathroom counters and sinks in the morning. I also clean the mirrors if there are any toothpaste blobs or residue from beauty products.


8// Wipe the toilet seat and rim and the surrounding area.

I wipe down the exterior of the bowl, toilet seat, lid, and rim if I see any stains. I do it in the morning after my husband is off to work. I also wipe the surrounding area of the toilet as well. Doing these things only takes me not more than 2 or 3 minutes but can keep my toilet area clean all day.


9// Tidy up before bed.

I don’t have too much cleaning at night. One chore I insist to do is tidying up a little bit before going to bed. This is an easy daily cleaning habit to keep a house clean and tidy.

Everyone has to put things back in place. Clear clutter from the floors and other flat surfaces.

I also go straighten the towels, blankets, and cushions. All those tasks take no more than 5 or 10 minutes. A few minutes tidy can make our home look neat and clean all the time.


More home cleaning and organizing tips:

How to Clean Your House Fast and Efficiently

How to Keep a House Clean

7 Minimalist Home Organization Tips


Weekly cleaning routine:


Monday: Clean bedrooms

I tidy up and organize loose pieces in the bedrooms on Monday. Clear clutter from the dressing table, nightstands, and closets. Get rid of unnecessary stuff and take out the trash.

I change our pillowcases two or three times a week and change bed sheets every two weeks.


Tuesday: Dust all rooms

Tuesday is the dusting day. I clean and dust all rooms in the house.

I love using microfiber cloths to clean all surfaces, furniture, picture frames, and decorative items. They are easy to pick up dirt and dust.

Using the Swiffer dust extender helps me to dust all the hard-to-reach areas such as the chandeliers and the top of the bookcases and dressers. It’s lightweight and sturdy enough to do the job. It helps to get into dusty tight spaces too. Removing cobwebs from our high ceilings and dusting the top of the door frames become easy. The extender is a game-changer for me.


Wednesday: Clean bathrooms

Since I do a bit of cleaning on a daily basis, the bathrooms are pretty clean and organized. So I mainly scrub the bathtubs, toilets, and clean bathroom floors on Wednesday.


Thursday: Vacuum every room in our home

How often you should vacuum really depends on your lifestyle. I only vacuum the whole house once a week. We take off our shoes at the door and I check the floors after each meal.


But if you have pets or small children, you may need to vacuum at least twice weekly.


Friday: Mop the floors

Our bedrooms are all in carpets. So I focus on mopping floors in our living room, kitchen, and dining room on Friday. I usually mop floors once a week and sometimes every other week.


I do check floors in high-traffic areas like the kitchen and dining room every day. Wiping up any messes immediately is the key to keeping the floors clean.


Saturday: Clean the fridge before grocery shopping

We go grocery shopping on Saturday. So in the morning, I throw out the expired items and leftovers that are too old to eat and do a quick wipe down of the refrigerator.


This cleaning task not only helps to keep our fridge clean and organized but also makes it clearly see what I need to buy and not waste food.


Sunday: Tackle tasks on the list

I try not to do much housecleaning on Sunday. I just work on my daily cleaning routine and only tackle projects that are on my project list.

Any cleaning tasks that need to get my attention are on the list. Things like window washing, cleaning carpet stains, spot cleaning walls, etc.


By writing things down, I can prioritize and plan to get them done.

When the cleaning products and cleaning tools are ready, and the cleaning task is scheduled, it helps make the tasks actionable.

Honestly, I don’t do the project cleaning every Sunday, especially in summer when we want to spend more time outside.


How to make this minimalist cleaning schedule work:


In order to make my minimalist cleaning and tidying faster and more effective, I have the following quick cleaning tips for you:


  • Declutter as much as possible. Cleaning will become easier and faster when a home is decluttered.
  • Set a timer. Because I know I only have such a small segment of time to do chores. The timer helps me focus and stay motivated to complete the tasks with no excuses.
  • Move quickly. Keep cleaning as fast as I can without any distractions.
  • Keep all essential cleaning supplies in a caddy for easy access.
  • Aim for progress, not perfection. If cleaning is stressing you out, lower your standards. I’m not aiming for a “Pinterest perfect home”. It’s not realistic for me. Keeping a simple daily and weekly routine is good enough to keep our home clean at all times.


Final thoughts on my minimalist cleaning schedule


If you want to reduce the cleaning time, sticking with a simple daily and weekly cleaning schedule is the most realistic way to go.


If you don’t want the household chores to take out all of your time, start simplifying your home if you haven’t tried it yet. It can definitely help reduce clutter and spend less time cleaning.


Instead of spending a bunch of time or an entire day cleaning the house on a weekend, having a daily and weekly cleaning routine help you to keep your home clean and tidy. And it makes seasonal cleaning a lot easier.


If you found our minimalist cleaning routine did not meet the needs of your home, create a simple daily cleaning ritual that fits your lifestyle and stick to it. Start with one or two household chores each day. And then add a few more cleaning tasks eventually to develop a thorough cleaning schedule that works for you and your family.


Get your free minimalist cleaning schedule checklist printable here. This actionable daily and weekly cleaning checklist is simple to follow. I hope you’ll like it and find it helpful.

Minimalist cleaning schedule checklist printable, daily and weekly cleaning schedule printable, cleaning routine


Christine | Admire Simple
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  • Wendy Molnar Wendy Molnar on Oct 09, 2022

    This is a great idea until your routine bites the dust and everything changes not just day by day, but minute by minute.

    Well there goes the routine right out the window.

  • Lonnie Nichols Lonnie Nichols on Nov 04, 2023

    I used a similar method when my children were young. We always had a nice, clean home even with three children. I definitely need to get back to it. Thank you for the reminder. Love it.

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