Remember! A home can be more than aesthetically pleasing; a neat place is good for your health, comfort level, and peace of mind.

If you have a busy lifestyle, cleaning can easily be put off until it explodes and you want to do all your cleaning at once on the weekend, the cleaning sure can leave you exhausted! What if you took your deep-clean and broke it down into smaller, actionable, scheduled tasks over the course of the month; over the next seasonal timeframe; or even mapped out across the year? 

Below is a detailed version of an ultimate home cleaning routine that includes 11 actionable areas of cleaning your home. One of the many benefits we will share with you are some natural cleaning substitutes, basic tools, and extras that will help to make dirty areas less work, and feel like a soothing ritual to create the vibes that feel good.

1 – Bath Towels (Wash after 3–4 uses

Even the softest towel harbors mildew, body oils, and soap residue. Put your super-soft towels through a mini-spa day and use the following natural cleaner after 3 to 4 uses. 

Recipe for Natural Cleaning Solution:

• 1 cup – baking soda in the drum of the washing machine
• 1/2 cup – white vinegar, to be added to the fabric softener tray

Process:

• Run a hot water cycle with only the baking soda.
• Mid-cycle, pause, add the vinegar.
• Complete the cycle and hang up or tumble dry on low.

Bonus Tip: Hang towels up to dry on a drying rack after every use in a well-ventilated area and do not fold when damp.

2 – Purse/Wallet (Wipe down weekly to reduce germs — quick and easy maintenance)

Your bag and wallet goes everywhere with you, germs, spills, and dirt can build up quickly. Cleaning them weekly can limit bacterial growth and keep leather looking fresh. 

What you’ll need:

Leather cleaner (for real leather) or disinfecting wipes for fabric/faux leather

Soft microfiber cloth 

Instructions:

1. Empty contents of bag/wallet, shake out any crumbs. 

2. Lightly dampen microfiber cloth with cleaner or wipe. Wipe exterior surfaces. 

3. If leather, dab on leather conditioner to prevent cracks. 

4. Let air dry completely before filling it again. 

Pro Tip: To keep wallet clutter down, review wallet contents every month and dispose of old receipts and expired cards.

3 – Bra (Wash after 2–3 wears)

Delicate, but super important, bras gather sweat, body oils, and bacteria. You should wash your bras more often, but a thorough sprucing usually requires washing in order to preserve shape with a little dose of detail cleaning after 2 to 3 wears.

Recipe of Cleaning Solution:

• ¼ cup a gentle laundry detergent (preferably enzyme-free)
• 1 cup cool water

Method:

• Fill a basin with water and the detergent.
• Plunge the bra in, and gently swish—don’t scrub!
• Rinse in cool water until the suds disappear.
• Reshape the cups, and lay flat to air dry.

Bonus hack: Clip your bras on a hanger by the middle gore—this helps keep the band from stretching.

4 – Sink (Clean weekly to remove soap scum, hard water stains, and odors)

Sinks, found in both kitchens and bathrooms, are germ havens. Giving your sink a scrub each week will prevent soap scum, hard water scale, and foul odors.

Things you need:

• 2 tbsp dish soap
• 1 tsp baking soda
• Soft bristle brush or non-scratch sponge

Method:

1. Wet your sink down with water, cover it with baking soda.

2. Place some dish soap on your sponge.

3. Using a circular motion, scrub your sink and clean around the edges of the drain.

4. Turn the hot faucet on and rinse down the sink, wipe dry.

Insider Tip: Once a month, pour down the toilet / kitchen sink ½ cup of baking soda followed by ½ cup of white vinegar. Allow the mixture to fizz for ten minutes, then flush with hot water. This is an excellent way to loosen accumulated build up!

5 – Hair (Wash every other day — or adjust based on your hair type and oil levels)

Clean hair is healthy hair, but if you wash your hair too often, it can strip away the natural oil, leading to dry hair (or oil rebound). Try to wash your hair every other day (or depending on your hair type).

How to use Shampoo:

• When washing your hair, we only recommend gently massaging your scalp for 60 seconds. This will aid in circulation/ blood flow to the scalp, as well as loosening any debris that you may have.
• Rinse well. Shampoo can act as a dirt magnet if left in the hair.

How to use Conditioner:

• Focus on the mid-lengths and ends of your hair, where it needs the most moisture. 
• Leave the conditioner in your hair for at least 1–2 minutes (3–5 minutes for intensive/hydrating conditioners). Rinse with cool water to seal the hair cuticle. 

6 – Washing Machine (Deep clean weekly to prevent mildew and residue buildup)

Your washer cleans your clothes, but it needs cleaning too. Mildew, detergent residue, and hard water residues can build up and create stinky odors. 

Natural Machine Cleaner:

• ½ cup baking soda 
• ½ cup citric acid

Instructions:

• Add both powders to the empty drum. 
• Run the hot water cycle for the longest time. 
• After you have completed the cycle, wipe the drum and stainless steel door seal with a microfiber cloth. 

Pro tip: After washing don’t close your washer’s door completely. This allows the moisture to escape, and the air to circulate the washer, and that’s good for your appliance and your clothes

7 – Pillows (Clean every 6 months to remove sweat, oils, and restore fluffiness)

We spend a third of our lives in bed, pillows are mandatory to maintain. Over time, the oils, sweat, and drool from your head sap these pillows of support and cleanliness.

Cleaning Procedure:

• Machine washable pillows: Use a mild detergent, wash on delicate cycle, tumble dry on low heat with dryer balls.
• Not machine washable pillows (memory foam, latex): Spot clean with a 1:1 solution of water and mild detergent, and air dry flat.

Pro Tip: Use fabric pillow protectors that are breathable and washable to make deep cleanings less frequent.

8 – Toilet (Clean at least once a week — or more often depending on use and household size)

Your toilet should undergo this cleansing ritual on a weekly basis. Bacteria love to hide in nooks, crannies, and under the rim (and always in the toilet). This ritual is meant to flush out those bacteria.

Things you need:

• ½ cup baking soda
• ½ cup citric acid
• Toilet brush
• Rubber gloves

Steps:

• Sprinkle the baking soda around the toilet bowl and then add the citric acid (it will fizz).
• Thoroughly brush under the rim and go down and around the toilet bowl.
• Let sit for 10 – 15 minutes. Then flush.

9 – Mattress (Deep clean every 6 months — vacuum, deodorize, and rotate or flip)

Your mattress is an ideal home for dust-mites, so do it and your sleeping life a favor and give your mattress some love two times a year to prolong its life cycle and keep your sleeping life healthy.  

Procedure:

• Strip your bed of sheets, pillow cases and take your mattress out to vacuum your sleeping surface with an upholstery attachment. 
• If you’ve done your job right, there will be skin flakes and possibly dust, on the surface of the mattress. Lightly coat the surface with baking soda for deodorizing, taking care not to use so much that you couldn’t really see the surface of the mattress for 30 minutes. 
• After 30 minutes of hiding your mattress under the baking soda, vacuum the surface with the upholstery attachment. 
• Now’s the time to rotate or flip your mattress, based on what the manufacturer recommends. 

Pro tip: Put on a nice waterproof breathable mattress protector, on top of the mattress, to reduce the frequency of researching and sanitizing your bed. So you can sleep more and clean less!

10 – Fridge (Clean monthly — remove expired items and wipe down shelves and drawers)

A clean fridge protects food spoilage and prevents odours moving from spoiled food to unspoiled food. Cleaning takes place monthly to keep everything tasting fresh. However, there are some steps to cleaning that you should know:

Procedure:

• Empty out the contents, getting rid of any expired food.
• Next, you remove the shelves and drawers and wash those in warm soapy water.
• Prepare 1-quart of warm water with 1 tbsp of baking soda and wipe down the fridge with baking soda mixture.
• Once your fridge is clean, make sure to dry it really well before placing the shelves back in and replacing all non-expired food.

Quick Tip: Simply place an open box of baking soda on one shelf, one less smell to deal with until your monthly clean!

Furniture (Vacuum or dust every 1–2 weeks. Deep clean every 2–3 months)

Dust, dirt, and pet hair can settle into upholstery and wood grain. Vacuum or wipe down surfaces regularly, and do a deeper clean every couple of months to keep furniture looking and smelling its best.

Wood Furniture: 

• Dust using a microfiber cloth. 
• Occasionally polish with a mix of olive oil and lemon juice (1:1). 

Upholstered: 

• Vacuum using an upholstery nozzle. 
• Spot-clean stains using mild detergent or a fabric-safe cleaner. 

Pro Tip: Rotate cushions and fluff pillows monthly to ensure even wear.

Conclusion

Once you get into this rhythm of the 11-step ultimate home cleaning routine, your chores will transform from a scary and overwhelming ordeal in clean to a manageable habit. 

By managing the chores you do daily, weekly, monthly and seasonally, you will have a cleaner home, a healthier home, and a more inviting home, and you have a better opportunity to do the things you love. And remember simple household products that everyone can use; baking soda, vinegar, and citric acid are all inexpensive, environmentally friendly and do a really good job. 

So for today start with one new habit, whether it is back-tubing your towels or deodorizing that mattress, and see how much difference one small consistent habit can make when they all add up. Share this post with your friends and family as well.