Over the past few days, oddly enough, I’ve noticed one of my posts from October 2009 making the rounds all over Tumblr…so I figured it was worth revisiting here. The post (after the jump) is a whittled-down version of Martha Stewart’s Weekly Cleaning Checklist, but is still fairly comprehensive – so it’s perhaps best approached in small bites. At least that’s what I do.

There are six rooms in my apartment (kitchen, water closet, living room, office/music room, bathroom, and bedroom), so I’ve assigned each of these rooms to a day of the week on my iPhone, and I tackle one a day, no excuses (with a No Cleaning Day built in somewhere in there). I find that handling chores in miniature portions makes me dread them less…and makes me do a better job. I actually do hit all of the below bullet-points over the course of a week.

Except for vent-vaccuming.

I mean, really: who does that?

Bathrooms:

- Change and launder bath mats, towels, and washcloths

- Clean toilets, bathtubs, showers, and sinks (I also spray the shower area with Tilex to prevent mold)

- Empty trash bins and wipe down outside and inside

- Wipe down mirrors

Bedrooms:

- Change and launder sheets and pillowcases

- Discard magazines that you’re done reading and reorganize bedside table area

- Empty trash bins

Dining Room:

- Change and launder tablecloth and cloth napkins, if you use them

- Wipe down table and chairs

Home Office:

- Sort through in-box; pay bills and file paperwork

- Empty trash bin

Kitchen:

- Discard old food, beverages, and takeout containers

- Flush drain with boiling water

- Wipe down all surfaces, including refrigerator, sink, and cupboard doors

- Wipe inside of oven, microwave and toaster oven

- Wipe down inside and outside of trash bins

Living Room:

- Sort through magazines and catalogs; discard those you’re done with and store the rest

- Fluff and rotate sofa cushions

Throughout Home:

- Dust all surfaces, including light fixtures and tops of books (don’t forget to dust on top of and behind your wall hangings)

- Vacuum and mop floors (I have wooden floors and use no-rinse floor cleaner, which simplifies the process greatly)

- Vacuum vents

- Wipe down all glass surfaces

Do I do all this on a weekly basis? Nope. But I aspire to.

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February 9th, 2011 | Posted by Jordan | Home | 3 Comments »
Tags: Checklist, Cleaning, Martha Stewart