Cleaning Cards: A flexible approach to cleaning

If you’ve been around here awhile, you will know that I am a big fan of flexible structure. This means that I like to have systems in place to keep myself on track, but I can’t have those systems be too rigid. If I try and stick to strict systems then inevitably something comes up and I get thrown off. Which then makes me want to just give up all together!

I’ve tried SO many different cleaning schedules and just found that as hard as I tried, I just wasn’t able to stick to any of them. Life with a toddler is unpredictable and inevitably something would always come up and I would miss a day. Which would then throw off the whole schedule! I also often found that a different room would need to be cleaned other than the one assigned for that particular day, but since the schedules weren’t flexible, I wasn’t able to easily make changes.

Enter cleaning cards. They are the PERFECT cleaning system for me. They give me a list to go off of, but unlike most cleaning schedules it doesn’t prescribe specific tasks for each day. This is wonderful because on days when I am short on time I don’t have to worry about cleaning if I don’t want to! If I DO have more time, then I can do more than one if I want!

Before I share how to make and use these cards I need to give credit where credit is due. I was originally inspired to make these cards after seeing this post on my friend Morgan’s Instagram page! Make sure to check out her page if you like this idea because she shares about them frequently! I got the idea to switch my cards from index cards to paint samples after seeing them on Christina’s post (here). As you can probably tell, I am a color lover, so I loved this idea!

How to make cleaning cards:

Use index cards or paint samples as your cleaning cards. Designate one room or area in your home for each card. On the cards list everything you would need to do in order to clean that room. Repeat for all of the areas in your house! Everyone’s home is going to have different needs, but here is what I currently have listed on each of my cards. Feel free to use these as a starting point:

As you can see, I also add check boxes to mine so that every time I complete that room I can check of a box! Not only is the act of checking off a box motivating to me, but it also quickly helps me keep track of how frequently that room is cleaned! Ideally, all rooms should have a similar number of boxes checked at any one time. Think of it like a habit tracker for cleaning! 😉

How to use cleaning cards:

Each day simply choose a cleaning card and complete all of the tasks for that room! I sometimes choose a card at random, but othertimes I choose a room that I know needs some extra attention that day!

Once I’m done with the card, I check off a box and put it in the back of the pile so that I don’t choose it again that week.

And that’s it!! One of these cards is usually ALL the cleaning I do in one day! Other than these, I “reset” the living areas in our house, do a load of dishes and a load of laundry.

This system has been so doable for me-someone who previously really struggled with a consistent cleaning routine and would find herself racing to clean the entire house in one day before company came over. If you can relate, I hope you give this method a try!! Let me know what you think in the comments below or by tagging me (@letsliveandlearn) on Instagram! Happy cleaning!

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