Vintage Cleaning Schedule

I posted a few weeks back about a "new" cleaning schedule I was testing, and I got requests to share!
*Disclaimer: While this is based off of "1950s housewife cleaning" research, I understand that not everyone in the 50s followed a schedule like this. It's made to be enjoyed, so put on your apron, grab your feather duster, and get to it! :)

Monday: Kitchen
Tuesday: Bathrooms
Wednesday: Bedrooms
Thursday: Living Room
Friday: Dining Room
Saturday: Free!
Sunday: Free!

Cover Girl (Clean Sweep) 1963

 Here's a detailed breakdown of what those days entail.



Kitchen:

• Apply oven cleaner, let sit
• Dust window shades, sills, and baseboards
• Wash two cabinets and 2 drawers in weekly rotation
• Wipe down cabinets and walls behind the sink and stove
• Wipe down all appliances
• Clean fridge inside and out
• Wash garbage bin
• Sweep, vacuum, and mop floor

Bathrooms:

• Wash bath mats, towels, and shower curtain
• Apply cleaner to toilet bowl, let sit
• Dust shelves and baseboards
• Clean window sill, door knobs, and switch plates
• Clean medicine cabinet
• Empty garbage
• Wipe down all objects
• Throw out anything expired
• Scrub tub, sink, vanity, mirror, inside and outside of toilet
• Replace towels, bath mats, shower curtain, and toilet paper
• Sweep, vacuum, and mop floor

Bedrooms:

• Wash bedding
• Dust mirrors, pictures, lamps, vanity, dressers, and baseboards
• Clean window sill, door knobs, and switch plates
• Tidy closets
• Empty garbage
• Vacuum mattress and replace sheets
• Flip mattress once a month (unless yours has a topper)
• Sweep, vacuum, and mop floor

Living Room:

• Clean hearth
• Dust mirrors, pictures, lamps, nik-naks, lights, etc.
• Dust books, bookcases, tables, etc.
• Clean window sills, door knobs, and switch plates
• Wash and polish wood furniture
• Vacuum and clean couch
• Sweep, vacuum, and mop floor

Dining Room:

• Dust mirrors, pictures, lamps, lights, etc.
• Clean window sills and switch plates
• Wash and polish wood furniture
• Sweep, vacuum, and mop floor
• Extra sweeping after meals
• Tidy, sweep, vacuum, and mop hallways, foyers, stairs, and landings

Free Days:

• Catch up on anything you may have missed during the week! Use these days to relax. :)

I'm not a housewife. I work full-time and travel as often as I can.  When I DO travel, I generally have to work extra hours to make up for taking a day or two off...which means I'll make dinner as soon as I get home, get ready for bed, and try to relax before having to do it all over again. That being said, a detailed schedule like this is difficult to maintain unless you have a lot of time on your hands. Though the other side of it is that it gets easier and takes less time the more often you do it.

I followed this to a T for the first two weeks. Mainly because I was working normal hours and had everything planned out. SUPER EASY! Too bad I can't seem to be quite that organized all the time. I ended up having to tweak it for a busy/working schedule. My main changes were combining Living/Dining Room days to allow for Friday as my main catch up day instead of the weekend. I also was able to get most of the dusting/wiping things down completed in the morning before work and then followed up with everything else when I got home. Honestly, after the first week of cleaning, it'll go by a lot faster! I can probably get most of it done in about 30 minutes now.

I hope you find a schedule like this helpful for your own busy life. Give it a whirl and see how you like it! I always feel so relaxed and accomplished once the house is clean. Happy tidying!

XOXO,
Fit Dame