How to Maintain a Functional Cleaning Routine

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As a mom of 4 under 6, learning how to maintain a functional cleaning routine is one of my top priorities. This is how I am tackling it.

Why is a functional cleaning routine necessary?

A functional cleaning routine is necessary in order to maintain a well cleaned, organized, and curated home. Perhaps some people are able to spontaneously maintain their homes with ease, but I am definitely not one of those people. Even basics can escape me if I am not vigilant.

I think that having an established system is the most practical and thorough way to be sure you are covering your bases with cleaning. This eliminates the need to mentally think through each and every task. Instead you can skim a checklist, address the day’s specified areas for cleaning, and tackle it quickly and efficiently. Without requiring mental space, this means your cleaning tasks can be done even on days when we are overwhelmed, over-tired, and over-stimulated, which can happen frequently as moms of little ones.

Breaking down a functional cleaning routine

There are many ways you could separate out the tasks of cleaning your home into a daily or weekly routine. Many factors could play into this such as:

• the size of your home and number of rooms
• the number of people sharing spaces
• the type of messes generated in your home
• the desired frequency of accomplishing tasks
• the level of organization established

If you are living alone, you have different cleaning needs than if you have children and a spouse. Older kids and younger kids will need more or less help with maintaining their own spaces or helping you to clean. Even such things as climate have an effect on a functional cleaning routine. And in my experience, how well your home is organized is one of the most significant factors in determining how functionally your routine works for you. A disorganized home will always be more difficult to clean and take longer to maintain than a more organized or minimal home.

My preferred method of breaking down a functional cleaning routine is to have three small main tasks for each day of the week, and then a couple of maintenance points. For instance, one day may be for cleaning the bathrooms, one day for the bedrooms, one day for the living area, etc. And in order for the rest of the home to not fall to shambles in between days, maintenance tasks like a quick pickup of all living spaces, running the vacuum cleaner, and clearing counters remain daily tasks. In a larger family, daily laundry is usually helpful too. This is how I choose to organize my cleaning schedule.

My current weekly cleaning routine for 2025

Monday: fridge cleanout, kitchen and dining room deep clean, meal plan and prep.

Tuesday: trash day, update budget, bedrooms deep clean

Wednesday: living room deep clean, straighten and organize hall closet if needed, garden or outdoor tasks

Thursday: car deep clean, donate/declutter drop off, mid week reset

Friday: bathroom deep clean, wash all bedding and towels, garage/outdoor tidy if needed

Saturday: desks and office declutter, bill payment/extra budget checks, studio deep clean (if needed: ironing and mending)

Sunday: whole home quick reset for the week, planning and scheduling for upcoming week

Daily: laundry load, toy and bookshelves tidy, kitchen counters and sink cleared, floors picked up and vacuumed

For now this is what is working for my family of six. My five and four year old girls can help me with tidying books and toys, and to an extent they help with laundry. I am working on teaching them how to vacuum thoroughly, which they really enjoy, but aren’t good with yet.

You can download this check list if you would like. This links straight to my Google Drive and does not require an email address submission or anything of the sort. Hope it helps!

Involving kids for a functional cleaning routine

Not only does a routine help us keep on top of tasks that could otherwise be neglected, but children really thrive in an environment of routine. They know what to expect and find it much easier to participate in family tasks. Here is how I have my young children participate in much needed family cleaning activities:

5 year old: tidy bookshelves, sort dirty laundry, put away clean laundry, gather and put away toys, vacuum rugs, sweep up dust piles when I sweep, clear the table after meals, show younger siblings where things go, match and tidy shoes by the door, dusting walls and low surfaces, determine kid items to declutter and donate, etc

4 year old: gather dirty laundry, gather and put away toys, return books to bookshelves, clear her space after meals, etc

2 year old: put her toys back in the toy box, throw her diapers away after diaper changes, put her clothes in the hamper at night, etc.

Together: look around and evaluate our spaces, what is out of order, what is messy, how great does a clean space feel, think of what we could do to help, learn to *anticipate*

Keeping your functional cleaning routine practical

In order to make this system work for you, you have to find the path of least resistance. That means determining when certain tasks need to be done, and when you have the time to do them. Don’t try to cram too much into one block of time, or leave it all for the weekend. Spread the bigger tasks out over several days if needed. Break it down however you need to. Maybe you separate tasks by room, and do a room a day. Maybe you separate it by task, so all floors are done one day, all windows and glass the next, all laundry on one day, etc. Do what works for YOU and YOUR family, not what someone else says is the only way to get it done.

Another important consideration for practicality is to be adaptable. If you try something and it doesn’t work, don’t be afraid to change things, even from one day to the next. And of course, be sure you have all your cleaning supplies easily accessible and readily available so you don’t have to go hunting for things. If you make your own cleaning products, be sure that replenishing them is one of your regular tasks so you never run out.

Keeping your list in a visible place will help you to get it all done too. I prefer to laminate mine and keep it on the fridge with a dry erase marker for checking things off. Then I can wash it off and start clean the next week.

While you develop what works for you, simply printing it out may be better in case you decide to change the order and re-print it before it is set in stone and you opt for laminating. You can also hole punch and keep it in a binder to check off. I am considering printing a second version that’s just on paper and has boxes below the main tasks in order to write the dates when the bigger deep cleaning gets done (like the ones employees have to sign off on in department stores etc.)

At the end of the day, whatever format of cleaning and organizing gets the job done is the best format for your family.

For me, I decree that 2025 is the Year of Clean for my house. And what I really mean is the year of purged, decluttered, and organized, because honestly that is the only way my house ever looks truly CLEAN.