A schedule turns cleaning from a mood into a routine. Instead of looking around on Saturday and deciding where to start, you already know: today is the bathroom. If you have read How to Keep a Small Apartment Clean Every Day, you know the daily habits. This schedule adds the bigger jobs on top, spread across the week so nothing takes more than about twenty or thirty minutes.
The every-day basics
These happen every day no matter what. They are small, but they are what keep the bigger jobs small too.
- Make the bed.
- Wash, load or put away dishes.
- Wipe the kitchen counters and stovetop after dinner.
- Do a quick bathroom sink wipe and squeegee the shower.
- Put things back where they live before bed.
In most apartments this takes fifteen minutes a day, split between the morning and evening.
Monday: the bathroom
Start the week by cleaning the room that works the hardest. Spray the shower and let it sit while you clean the mirror, counter and sink. Scrub the toilet, then go back and scrub and rinse the shower. Empty the trash and mop the floor. In a one-bathroom apartment, a clean bathroom on Monday sets the tone for the whole week. Keep a small caddy with your bathroom supplies under the sink so you are not hunting for the toilet brush and the glass cleaner every time. When everything is in one spot, this job is quick enough to do before work. Give the shower glass and faucet a final dry with a towel, since our hard water leaves spots behind the minute it dries on its own.
Tuesday: dusting
Grab a microfiber cloth and work around the apartment top to bottom. Ceiling fans, light fixtures, shelves, the TV stand, picture frames, nightstands and the dresser top. Wipe light switches and door handles while you are at it. North Texas dust is no joke, especially on dry, windy days and during cedar season, so dusting weekly makes a real difference in how the apartment looks and feels.
Wednesday: floors
Vacuum carpet and rugs, getting under the bed edge and behind the couch. Then sweep and mop hard floors. Do the kitchen and entry carefully, since they collect the most dirt. In a one-bedroom apartment, this whole job usually takes about twenty-five minutes. Empty the vacuum canister or check the bag before you start, because a full one just pushes dirt around. If you have pets, run the vacuum over the couch and the pet bed while it is out, since that is where most of the hair ends up anyway.
Thursday: laundry and linens
Strip the bed and wash the sheets and pillowcases. Wash the bath towels and kitchen towels. While the washer runs, tidy your closet and dresser, putting away anything that has been sitting on a chair. If you share a laundry room in your building, Thursday nights are often quieter than weekends.
Friday: the kitchen
Give the kitchen a deeper wipe than your nightly reset.
- Wipe cabinet fronts and handles.
- Clean the microwave inside and out.
- Wipe the fridge door and toss old leftovers.
- Scrub the sink and shine the faucet.
- Wipe the small appliances and the backsplash.
- Take out trash and recycling, and wipe the can.
Doing this on Friday means you start the weekend with a clean kitchen and room in the fridge for groceries.
The weekend is yours. Use Saturday for anything that slipped during the week, a quick balcony sweep, or nothing at all. Sunday is a good day to plan meals, which also cuts down on kitchen messes later in the week.
Your monthly list
Once a month, pick one or two of these and add them to a weekday.
- Clean inside the fridge and wipe the shelves.
- Clean inside the oven.
- Wipe baseboards and doors.
- Vacuum under the bed and couch fully.
- Wash the shower curtain liner and bath mat.
- Dust the blinds and wipe the window sills.
- Clean the dishwasher filter and the washing machine gasket.
- Swap out the air filter if your lease makes you responsible for it.
Make it fit your life
This is a starting point, not a rule. If your busiest day is Monday, move the bathroom to Tuesday. If you live with a roommate, split the days between you. The main thing is that every job has a day. Lots of apartment renters across the south DFW area, from Mansfield to Red Oak, use something like this and then have us come in every couple of weeks or once a month for the heavy work.
Give the schedule two or three weeks before you judge it. The first week always feels like a lot, because you are catching up on things that slipped. By week three, each day's job is maintenance, and most of them take less time than you planned for.
Want us to take a few days off your schedule?
We can come weekly, every two or three weeks, or monthly, on the same day and time each visit.
Get a free quoteSee how regular visits work for smaller homes on our apartment cleaning page. Next, let us step outside to the balcony or patio.