When it comes to weekly cleaning schedules for working moms, finding and sticking to a routine that works for you and your household is TOUGH.
These 3 weekly cleaning schedules give working moms the ability to maintain a clean, comfortable home without having to feel like you’re spending ALL your free time cleaning.
Created to only have to do deep cleaning on your days off when you have a little extra free time, you can have and maintain a clean home in as little as 1-2 hours on your days off.
Whether you work the typical 8 hour shifts 5 days a week or 12 hour shifts 3 days/nights a week like I do, at least one of these cleaning schedules for working moms will apply to you.
As working moms, we DESERVE to be able to spend quality time with our family and on self care AND still have a clean house.
And by implementing one of these 3 weekly cleaning schedules for working moms, you CAN have both.
By combining one of these 3 cleaning schedules for working moms with my 30 minute daily cleaning routine for working moms before and after work, you can finally find the work/home life balance you need and deserve!
Top 3 Tips For Creating A Cleaning Schedule For Working Moms
- Only focus on deep cleaning tasks on your days off
- Work room by room to minimize mental load and maximize efficiency
- Be realistic about what you can accomplish and potentially consider recruiting some help if needed
1 Hour Daily Cleaning Schedule For Working Moms Before and After Work
As I mentioned earlier, combining a daily cleaning schedule with a weekly cleaning schedule is the best way to stay on top of keeping a clean home.
This daily cleaning schedule for working moms is designed to be done in 30 minutes before work and 30 minutes after work.
That way, you can leave your house knowing you’ll come home from work with half the cleaning already done.
This method also allows you to not have to worry about any of the deep cleaning tasks like deep cleaning the kitchen or bathrooms until your days off.
30 Minute Cleaning Routine Before Work
- Make the bed – 5 minutes
- Start a load of laundry – 3 minutes
- Dishes – Unload the dishwasher if ran the night before or load any dirty dishes left in the sink. – 10 minutes
- Vacuum any crumbs left from breakfast in the kitchen/dining area. – 5 minutes
- Transfer laundry from the washer to dryer if the wash cycle has finished. – 2 minutes
- Take out the trash if needed on your way to the car when you leave for work. – 5 minutes
30 Minute Cleaning Routine After Work
- Unload dishwasher if needed and load any dirty dishes from dinner. -5 minutes
- Spot wipe kitchen countertops, stove, and microwave as needed. -5 minutes
- Vacuum any crumbs left from dinner in the kitchen/dining area. -5 minutes
- Fold/hang and put away load of laundry. -10 minutes.
- Do a general speed pickup around the house (have kids help with picking up their toys and clothes). -5 minutes
Weekly Cleaning Tasks
- Deep clean the kitchen
- Clean the bathroom(s)
- Dusting
- Wash all sheets and bedding
Each of these cleaning tasks each take about an hour per room.
These weekly cleaning schedules for working moms are designed to be done on your days off.
Depending on how many days off you have a week and if you’re personally comfortable with cleaning your bathrooms and some bedrooms biweekly will determine how many of these weekly cleaning tasks you will do on each of your days off.
2 Days A Week Cleaning Schedule For Moms Working 5 Days A Week
If you’re like most working moms and work 8 hour shifts 5 days a week, this plan is designed for you.
With only having to do deep cleaning tasks room by room on just your days off, you won’t be stuck stressing about deep cleaning the kitchen or bathrooms after a long day at work.
These more in depth, tedious tasks will be completed in about an hour or 2 on your days off.
And then the rest of the week you can simply implement the 30 minute daily cleaning routine before and after work and still be able to have a nice, clean home.
Day 1
Deep clean the kitchen.
- Wipe down all countertops and appliances.
- Dust the dining room table and chairs as needed.
- Clean out the refrigerator if needed.
- Scrub out the sink.
- Vacuum/sweep kitchen and dining room floors.
- Mop kitchen and dining room floors.
Deep clean living areas.
- Dust all living room furniture, electronics, and blinds.
- Vacuum floors and mop if you have wood or tile floors in your living area.
Day 2
Deep Clean Bathroom #1
- Spray down countertops, toilet, shower, and bath tub and allow to soak.
- Shake out bathroom rugs and put them in the washer to start washing.
- Wipe mirror and wipe off countertops.
- Use toilet brush to scrub inside of toilet bowl.
- Wipe down the outside of toilet.
- Scrub shower walls and bathtub and rinse.
- Vacuum/sweep and mop floors.
- Dry rugs and put them back on your nice, clean bathroom floor.
I personally choose to only clean one of my 2 bathrooms a week.
If you also choose this method, you will simply rotate cleaning each bathroom every other week.
This method can also be used to rotate cleaning and organizing kids’ rooms and your master bedroom.
Clean Bedroom(s)
- Wash and dry all sheets and bedding.
- Dust all bedroom furniture, electronics, and blinds.
- Organize clothes and personal items as needed.
3 Days A Week Cleaning Schedule For Moms Working 4 Days A Week
If you work 4 days a week and have 3 days off, this will allow you a little more flexibility in your weekly cleaning schedule.
You can choose to arrange any of the weekly cleaning tasks in any order you want.
Even if you wanted to stick with the above cleaning schedule and get all your cleaning done on 2 of your days off, that would still give you 1 full day off.
These are just sample examples of how you can arrange each weekly task to fit the amount of days you have off from work.
Day 1
- Deep clean the kitchen and dining area.
Day 2
- Dust all living room surfaces, electronics, and blinds.
- Vacuum the floors.
Day 3
- Deep clean 1 bathroom.
- Wash, dry, and replace all sheets and bedding.
If you clean your kids’/guest bathroom, you could also use this day to clean those corresponding bedrooms.
If you clean the master bath, you could use this day to also clean and organize your master bedroom.
4 Days A Week Cleaning Schedule For Moms Working 3 Days A Week
If you happen to work 3 days or nights a week and have 4 off, this will give you the most flexibility in choosing what you want your weekly cleaning schedule to be.
You could choose to stick the 2 days a week cleaning schedule and have another full 2 days off.
If you want to do the 3 days a week cleaning schedule, you could still have 1 full day off.
Or you could split up your weekly cleaning tasks to where you’re spending the least amount of time each day off cleaning.
As a mom working full time as a nurse, I work 12 hour shifts 3 days a week.
With having 4 days off, I’ve tried all 3 of these cleaning schedules to see what works best for me and my family.
Each has its pros and cons but overall, I like splitting all my cleaning tasks up so I can spend the least amount of time each of days off cleaning.
Another option this schedule gives you is to clean 2 bathrooms a week if you prefer to not rotate your bathrooms biweekly or if you have more than 2 bathrooms.
Day 1
- Deep clean the kitchen.
Day 2
- Deep clean the living room.
Day 3
- Clean bathroom #1 and corresponding bedroom(s).
Day 4
- Wash all sheets and bedding.
- Clean bathroom #2 and corresponding bedroom(s) if you choose.
I hope at least one of these 3 cleaning schedules for working moms is helpful for you!
It may take some experimenting to see what works best for you and your particular schedule and household.
Good luck with finding the best cleaning schedule for you and finding a good work/home life balance.
Thank you so much for reading and feel free to share with any working parents who could benefit from these tips!