zone cleaning 101

Welcome to Zone Cleaning 101!

Zone cleaning is truthfully the only system I’ve been able to make work no matter the circumstances of my life, amount of kids, or the size of my home. My friend Alison has a great quote “Enough is a decision, not an amount.” And I find that to be true in SO many areas of my life, but especially my home. Decide what enough is for you and then you never feel like you’re falling behind! You know that eventually you will get it all done by breaking the collective task of “cleaning the house” into daily, doable jobs.

*A note about laundry: I don’t include laundry on my zone cleaning chart because I typically do the loads throughout the week and then fold them all when I have a free hour. I am not as regimented so I leave it off. Feel free to add yours in either as a part of your zone for that day or another item on the list.

1. Write down what you would typically do to keep get your house clean (not just tidy,  but actually clean) in a given week. Bathrooms, Floors, etc.
2. Break those jobs into “zones” — whether that is by room, by job (i.e. floors), or sections (top floor.)
3. Figure out your typical schedule for the week. Do you have days you have more time or motivation? Do you have days you know are slammed?
4. Fill each day of the week with a zone keeping in my mind your answers to #3.
5. Post the schedule where the family can see it, and align your kids’ chores with the zone of the day.

BONUS – ROTATING ZONES!

1. Write down what you would do in a given month. This might add things like clean out the fridge, or the garage.
2. With the items from this list you can have a day that rotates. So you save one day a week to do the tasks that only need to be done monthly or more and you rotate those through.

SAMPLE ZONE CLEANING PLAN

Monday – Kitchen: Deep clean stove, microwave, in and outside of cabinets, wipe down chairs and tables, clean windows + sills, and baseboards.

Tuesday – Guest Bath + Mud Room: Take all belongings to proper places, scour bathroom sink, toilet, floor, mirrors, baseboards. Wipe down all lockers, baseboards.

*I picked an area where we tend to “gather” a lot of crap (bottom or top of stairwells, right by the garage) before floors so that I have less to prep for when the floors get done!

Wednesday – Master Bed + Bath: Another room where crap gathers to do before floors! Tidy, change out linens, dust curtains, scour bathroom.

Thursday – Floors + Hallways : Sweep, scrub, mop floors and baseboards. Do mirrors and wipe down windowsills.

Friday – Rotate: Pick a monthly chore from the “ROTATE” list and go to town!

Saturday – Boys’ Rooms: My kids do their rooms on Saturdays so I can plan to oversee that and work on something in the basement while they work or swap their linens, go through clothing or toys that they’ve outgrown.

Before you start a zone cleaning system I LOVE to get my house professionally cleaned. It helps get you in the swing of things and you don’t feel like you’re so far behind. I have paid $60 on up to $150 and think it’s worth every penny! I try to think of what I can accomplish in the time it frees up!

PHOTOS FROM MY HOME TOUR, CATCH THE WHOLE THING HERE!