Staying on top of the small jobs makes it easier to keep a home clean and comfortable. Here is a list of chores that should be completed every week or two.
Many household chores need to be completed daily. Beds need to be made and dishes need to be washed. Other regular tasks only need to be completed every one to two weeks. To make sure that no important jobs are overlooked, prepare a regular household chores checklist.
General
- Carpeted floors should be vacuumed weekly. This may need to be done more frequently in households with young children or with indoor pets.
- Hard surface flooring, such as tiles, linoleum, slate and floorboards, should be swept daily and mopped weekly.
Kitchen
- Grocery shopping. It is far more economical to shop weekly or even fortnightly than to call at the shops every day, if for no other reason than this limits impulse buys to once a week. It also requires a higher level of organisation, such as establishing a meal plan, which can reduce unnecessary purchases and therefore reduce the overall grocery bill.
- Wipe bench tops/countertops. This is generally a task completed several times a day, but every one to two weeks remove any knife blocks, canisters and other items so that the entire bench top can be cleaned.
- Stove tops and hot plates should be wiped whenever there has been a spill, and should be cleaned thoroughly once a week.
Laundry
- Wash clothes. For many households, it is necessary to have more than one washing day per week. Regularly putting on a load of washing prevents having an entire day devoted to washing and nothing else. Washing at least every couple of days also makes it more likely that the financial and environmental advantages of drying clothes on a clothesline or clothes airer can be taken advantage of. If the washing is only done weekly and it rains on wash day, there is no choice but to use a clothes dryer.
- Clean clothes dryer lint filter. This should be done regularly after each load. Ensure that at least once a week the filter is cleaned well. The lint filter from the washing machine should also be cleaned to clear any build up of soap scum.
- Ironing. Do not allow an ironing pile to accumulate. Clothes require much less time and effort to iron soon after being dried, as there are fewer wrinkles in the material to deal with.
Bathroom
- Clean the toilet and basin. Remove items from the surface of the vanity and wipe the entire area.
- Hand towels should be replaced every few days or at least weekly.
- Clean shower and bath weekly. Removing mould and soap scum regularly requires much less effort than dealing with a long-term problem. If mould builds up and penetrates the grouting between tiles, it is almost impossible to remove.
- Clean bathroom mirror.
Bedrooms
- Remove quilts, bedspreads and/or blankets and give them a good shake.
- Change the sheets weekly.
- Make sure all clothes are either put away correctly or placed into the laundry hamper.
Living Areas
- In rooms regularly used by children with their toys and games, check under lounges and other furniture weekly to retrieve small pieces that may have been misplaced.
- Remove any newspapers or magazines that may have accumulated during the week.
- Dust TV and stereo equipment as these items attract dust more readily. Lightly dust other surfaces.
- Establishing a housework checklist is a great way to make sure that no jobs are forgotten and to ensure that cleaning time is used productively.
The copyright of the article Regular Household Jobs Checklist in Home Organization is owned by Susan Whelan. Permission to republish Regular Household Jobs Checklist in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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