Clean Your House Like A Maid Once A Week
When you work from home it’s really difficult to focus when all of the household chores are staring you in the face.
Not everyone can hire afford to hire a maid, but we probably all wish we could have a nice clean space.
I’ve talked before about how I pick up my house each day for a daily tidy but what about deeper cleaning?
Over the last few months, I’ve added a really easy habit that keeps my house in good shape all week long. I realized maybe I can’t have a maid, but I can just schedule a time to purposefully do that same type of clean myself once a week.
So I’ve been cleaning my whole house like a maid every single Friday. I also do our grocery pickup and meal prep on this day so that the weekend can be super restful and fun.
I’ve read a lot of amazing cleaning books (like Simply Clean, Clean My Space, The Complete Book of Clean, Sink Reflections, 31 Days to Clean, and Get Your House Clean Now) so I feel like I have some good strategies but I just could never keep them up.
I’ve tried zone cleaning, seasonal cleaning and doing just a little each day.
But cleaning like a maid weekly has made the biggest difference. It gives a good before and after (which is a key motivator for me) and its the only method that gets the entire house clean at once.
Note: I definitely do not work for a cleaning service but I will share what has worked for me and hope it’s helpful. If you want some good techniques, there’s also some really good tips from actual cleaning services on Youtube.
Clean Your House Like A Maid Each Week
1| Get Prepped
Turn on music!
Throw dirty laundry in the wash, dirty dishes in the sink and do a quick pickup so you’re not tripping over toys along the way.
Then grab the following:
a caddy of cleaning products
microfiber cloths
a trash bag
a laundry basket
a broom, mop, vacuum
The laundry basket is for any last clothes or objects you find that need to be returned later so you won’t have to leave each room until it’s clean. This will save you so much time!
2| Use the Roundhouse Method
The roundhouse method is simple: Start in one spot of the room and work in a circle.
I do this also with my basic picking up/tiding to make sure I don’t miss anything. You’ll also keep from getting distracted and get done more quickly.
3| Get Rid of Dust
You’ll want to get rid of dust before you wipe things down so you won’t have to deal with too much grime.
Start with dusting top to bottom left to right around the circle. Get those hard to reach places like corners and baseboards with the broom and a microfiber cloth.
Pick up every item you find along the way to dust it with your microfiber cloth or duster, quickly dust under it, and set it back down.
4| Wipe Surfaces
All flat surfaces need to be wiped (or scrubbed) clean. Wiping in an “S” pattern and using both hands can really speed things up. Choose your favorite cleaning products and get to work. So this means your…
countertops
tables and chairs
sinks and toilets
bathtub and shower
walls, doors and doorframes
mirrors and windows
anything else that needs a wipe-down like furniture, kids toys, etc.
It seems like a lot at first but it will get easier and easier each week.
.(Also your arms and abs will begin to look fantastic thanks to this part. Bonus!)
5| Straightening
Straighten everything as you go.
Make beds, fold blankets, fluff pillows, line up decor, neatly stack books, and put things that don’t belong in your basket for you to return later.
If you’re washing sheets and pillow cases, you can change them while making beds.
6| Floors
Now that all dust has fallen to the floor, you’ll need to vacuum, sweep and mop.
You can also vacuum furniture and baseboards if you want to.
(This is another great ab workout and you don’t even have to do any crunches. Yeah!)
7| Laundry & Dishes
These are extras since they’re more of a daily thing.
However I do all of the laundry during this time because I want to wash the sheets and it’s nice to start next week with all of the clothes clean. (I have the kids help me fold it and put it all away when they get home.)
The weekends are also when we usually eat out and rest. So I meal prep, do the dishes, clean the sink and then I take a few days off from dishes by using paper products.
some Last Tips
*It’s totally up to you how much you want to tackle. Just know that the first week or two, it’ll probably take 2-4hrs to get caught up on everything. After that, it should take half the time since you’re just maintaining what you cleaned last week.
*Notice what is getting bad and schedule extra time for that next cleaning session. For example, I just noticed the outside windows are dirty and the freezer needs cleaned out. So instead of spending hours and overdoing it, I’ll make a mental note to tackle the freezer this Friday and the windows next Friday.
*The rest of the week you shouldn’t have to scrub anything! Yay! Other than dishes and picking up here and there, you won’t have to do much for it to feel pretty clean most of the time. And when people ask why your house looks so awesome, you can say with a wink, “Oh the maid was here!”
Happy cleaning!
xo, Laurie
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