Reader question: How Do I Set Up a Housekeeping Plan? I need a housekeeping plan to get my house clean and clutter free. I also want some kind of housekeeping care plan to keep my house up once it looks the way I want. Do you use spreadsheets or checklists? What do you recommend?

Answer: Decluttering your house is a project all by itself! For great info on clutter busting, check out our Clutter section in the Home and Housekeeping Department. Setting up a Housekeeping Plan for your home is a project that will keep your house cleaning, care and maintenance manageable for you. Designing and creating the plan may take a little time up front, but this is time well spent. By creating a Housekeeping Plan, you are investing a little time now to save you a lot of time in the future.

What are the benefits of a Housekeeping Plan?

Having a plan makes maintaining your home manageable. A regular schedule takes the guess work out of household tasks; you never need to wonder how long it’s been since something was done. Don’t try to clean your whole house in one day! Cleaning is easy if you know exactly what needs to be done and when. A Housekeeping Plan can also be very useful when delegating work to your family.

What Exactly is a Housekeeping Plan?

A Housekeeping Plan is simply a list or schedule that says what tasks you do on certain days. Everyone’s plan will be different, since it is tailored to your specific home and family. We’ve provided a sample to get you started. You’ll need to make small changes to the plan as you go along, until it works just perfectly for your situation. Let’s get started.

How Do I Set Up a Housekeeping Plan?

1. Make a list of all the rooms in your house.

2. Determine frequency. Next to each room, write how many times a week each room needs a regular cleaning (not just picked up, we’re counting on each room getting a quick pick up each day). A regular cleaning can include vacuuming, dusting, washing surfaces, etc. A regular cleaning does NOT include moving furniture, cleaning behind appliances, reorganizing, and other such major tasks. That is a Deep Cleaning, and is done much less frequently.

3. List your tasks. Write down a quick list next to each room of the tasks that need to be done during that room’s regular cleaning.

You now have the information needed to set up your Housekeeping Plan. A Deep Cleaning Plan is something you can set up at another time. Write out the days of the week on paper, then fit each room and its tasks into the schedule. If your kitchen needs to be done every week day, then fill it in for Monday-Friday. If your bathroom only needs cleaning once a week, then place it accordingly. Here is an example of what a Housekeeping Plan might look like:

I’ve Made My Housekeeping Plan. Now What?

Post your Housekeeping Plan in widely visible place. Many people like to use the refrigerator as their command center, but you can choose any location that works for you. It is helpful to keep your family chore chart and your Housekeeping Plan close to each other. This makes it very easy to delegate the work that needs to be done each day to other family members.

Stick to your plan! If you get off schedule, don’t worry – just get right back on the next day. Do a quick pick up every day, but only do regular cleaning according to your schedule. If you stick to the Housekeeping Plan, your house will never get out of control.

Throughout your first few weeks, you may find that changes need to be made to your Housekeeping Plan. Make the changes – you are in control! Gone are the days of not knowing where to start, of feeling controlled by mountains of laundry and piles of dishes, of being the only person who cleans the house! Make the plan work FOR you, to help make your life easier.

Homemaker Barbi Says: YOU run your house, don’t let IT run YOU!

Cleaning caddy photo courtesy of stock.xchng.

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