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In this post, we cover 18 different morning cleaning routine chores that you can easily and quickly add to the start of your day to help keep the rest of your day and your household running smoothly.
1. Vacuuming
Vacuuming the main areas of the house daily or every few days can make a world of difference in your overall cleaning routine, particularly if you have children, pets, allergies, and/or live in a dirt-prone environment such as near dirt roads.
The more often you vacuum, the easier and faster you’ll get at doing it.
Fewer contaminants, such as debris and allergens floating through the air or sticking to the floor and furniture, may result in better overall health—not to mention breathing.
Vacuuming more consistently can also make it easier to do a deeper cleaning of your home since dust and dirt will be reduced, such as with cleaning furniture, baseboards, etc.
2. Tidying Up Main Areas
Getting into the habit of cleaning the main areas of the house on a consistent, if not on daily basis, can greatly lessen the amount of cleaning effort involved.
Doing so in the morning is a great way to “reset” the main areas of your home, which can also prep the rest of your day in a more positive way.
Benefits
Tidying the main areas of the home first thing in the day can result in better personal productivity, proactiveness, and mood throughout the day.
Resetting the main rooms of the house each morningcan start to be something you and other potential housemates consider as the “normal” environment, possibly resulting in people being neater automatically simply because it’s what they’re familiar with.
Staying consistent with tidying up and decluttering can make for faster overall cleaning times, whether concerning deep cleaning or maintenance-style cleaning.
Tips
Set yourself up: It often helps to have designated areas, bins, drawers, and so forth to put certain items that are commonly found in the main areas of the house.
Everything gets a home: Having a hamper, basket, or carry bin to cart items that have been left in the main area of the house to their proper areas can be an excellent way to quickly and efficiently tidy and put things away.
Take a mental picture…or even a real one: Try having the “Reset” look of certain areas look and feel neat, tidy, and suitable for guests to drop by. Believe it or not, you can easily maintain that look simply by keeping up on it in the morning and/or at night and building it into your routine.
3. Keeping The Sink Clear of Dishes and Food
Keeping the sink clear of dishes can be an ideal way to stay on top of things while ensuring that your kitchen looks cleaner and stays that way more efficiently.
Tips
If you live with others, try asking them to rinse and load their personal dishes in the dishwasher after using them rather than leaving them in the sink.
4. Emptying and Loading the Dishwasher
While emptying the dishwasher tends to be at the top of most peoples’ Most Disliked Chores list, you can actually speed things up by having a system such as morning and evening routines.
Emptying and loading the dishwasher daily may even eliminate the need for doing extra loading and handwashing dishes, especially if one person is left cleaning up after everyone else.
As an example, you can make sure that the dishwasher is loaded and ready to go after dinner as part of your evening routine.
You can then set it on delay to wash before you get up or run it that evening. In the morning, empty the dishwasher so that any new dirty dishes can be placed inside it right away.
Tips
The Earliest Bird Gets to Unload: Try making sure to empty the dishwasher in the morning, if not the night before. Implementing this into your daily routine will help to ensure that there’s always a place to put dishes once they’re done being used while helping to keep the kitchen sink and counters clear.
Keep It Clean: Make sure to do a light cleaning of your dishwasher at least once a month and deep cleaning at least every quarter or season to prevent odors and keep the unit running efficiently.
Gettin’ Clique-y With It: Some people find it helpful to put like-items in the same spot each time and by item type, such as knives in one portion of the silverware caddy, spoons in their own section, and forks in the third section of the caddy. This can result in faster unloading times.
5. Dusting
Dusting each week is an efficient way to keep dust, dust bunnies, fur, dirt, and allergens to a minimum, making it easier to keep your home clean in the long run.
Weekly Benefits
Taking the time to dust at least once a week can also be beneficial when it comes to the following:
Keeping dust and dust bunnies to a minimum.
Makes the dusting process faster, especially when dusting in the same direction and manner each time.
Controlling dirt on things such as baseboards, doors, furniture, decor pieces, etc.
Helps to prevent stuck-on dirt and dust buildup, particularly where humidity might be a concern, causing particles to adhere to surfaces.
Tips
Stack It: Try stacking dusting with chores such as tidying up and dusting to make your cleaning process even more efficient.
Break Things Up: If you have a lot of area to cover or items to dust, consider breaking things up throughout your weekly chores, monthly cleaning chores, or by area, floor, or type of items to be dusted.
Dust It: It can be helpful to dust before doing things such as vacuuming, mopping, or cleaning counters to avoid unnecessary steps later.
6. Do a Quick Fridge Cleanout
Once-a-week refrigerator maintenance cleanings can cut back on a lot of time, effort, and hassle, simply by emptying out expired perishable.
It can also be helpful to quickly clean off shelves with a lightly damp cloth.
It should generally take less than a minute or two—especially if you just use a slightly damp microfiber cloth and keep up on things consistently.
Tip
Weekly Chores Stacking: Doing weekly maintenance on your fridge can be stacked on top of other chores or certain events as part of your house cleaning routine, such as before a grocery trip or on Trash Day. Some people even like to work on the task prior to vacuuming.
7. Cleaning the Kitchen Counters
It can be highly beneficial to get in the habit of wiping your kitchen counters down throughout the day—especially as part of your morning cleaning routine chores and/or soon after eating.
Tips
Stacking: Try to stack cleaning the counters after doing other tasks, such as making coffee, cleaning the sink, or emptying the dishwasher.
Plan Ahead: It can help to clean the counters before tasks that might revolve around it or vice versa, such as vacuuming, dusting, etc.
Speed Things Up: Using a lightly damp, good-quality damp microfiber cloth can be a great way to speed up the process of cleaning your counters, all while reducing waste and cost.
8. Make the Bed
Making the bed tends to be one of the more obvious choices as a morning routine chore or house cleaning routine.
However, for those who struggle with doing it each day, if at all, it can make a world of difference in the way your bedroom feels, looks, and functions.
Working on laundry first thing in the morning and as part of your morning cleaning schedule can be an ideal way to stay on top of things.
It’s also something you can continue to do later on after you get home.
Best of all, you can make sure that your laundry schedule works around your needs rather than the other way around.
Examples:
Bedding
Clothes
Towels and washcloths
Delicates and undergarments
Pet items
Activewear
Tips
Delayed Gratification: You can get a headstart on it by prepping your wash and setting it to finish washing before you wake up by using the Delay feature on your washing machine.
Grab ‘n’ Go: You can also make it a point to grab your laundry and get it started before heading to the kitchen or doing other morning tasks.
10. Cleaning Glass and Mirrored Surfaces
If dusting or cleaning furniture isn’t your favorite pastime, try breaking down the task into smaller chunks.
Some people like to clean the glass inserts inside picture frames, then maybe tackle furniture pieces and or frames later.
Plus, it’s amazing how much you can get done in just five minutes or less.
Common Areas
Mirrors
Interior side of windows
Exterior side of windows
Glass shelves and tables
Glass inserts inside picture frames
Tips
Two birds; one stone: To make cleaning glass and mirrored surfaces a habit and more efficient, consider doing the task on the same day you might dust and dust the surfaces accordingly prior to using anything wet.
Cut back, if need be: If you lack the time or energy to wipe down entire pieces of furniture or picture frames, you can always save that for another day or week.
11. Clean Shower
Staying consistent with shower cleaning can help speed up the process while making things easier on yourself.
After all, cleaning a shower that’s already relatively clean is a lot easier than waiting until it absolutely needs cleaning.
Taking the time to quickly wipe down appliances at least once a week can be a great way to stay on top of cleaning and keep a good house cleaning schedule.
It can also help make your home feel and look more inviting, particularly in the kitchen.
Tips
For fingerprint-resistant surfaces, consider using a lightly damp microfiber cloth.
Glass or automotive polishing clothes can also be helpful after wiping things down with a damp microfiber cloth.
Making it a habit to pick up after your kids and/or pets as part of your morning cleaning routine chores can be a great way to reduce the amount of time it would take to clean up otherwise.
Tips
Make It a Habit: It’s never too early (or late) to get kids and pets into the habit of putting their stuff away.
Make It Fun: Try to make the act of putting things away something that’s fun and natural, rather than negative.
You can even try turning it into a game or use large, colorful labels and other options to make things more entertaining.
Designated Spots: Have a designated home for their items, whether it’s toys, clothes, etc., and make sure that it will be easy for your children or even pets to utilize.
14. Clean the Kitchen Sink
Cleaning the kitchen sink in the morning and/or night can help reduce the amount of elbow grease involved, otherwise, as well as provide some of the following benefits:
Benefits
Reduce unwanted household odors
Ensures that the sink is dish-free and dishes are dealt with sooner than later
Helps prevent unwanted or tough staining and cleanup
Can help make your kitchen feel and look cleaner automatically
15. Mop
Mopping at least once a week can help keep your floors looking and feeling great. You can also benefit from these other factors as well.
O-Cedar Mop being used during morning cleaning routine (See Review).
Benefits
Unwanted odor reduction
Less dirt and debris
Faster and easier time mopping when done more consistently
Gain a more hygienic environment, especially if outdoor shoes are worn inside
Achieve better maintenance and overall wear-and-tear of your floors
If you prefer to mop later in the day, then simply add mopping to your night routine or general weekly cleaning schedule
16. Purge and Organize Mail
Purging mail each morning (or during an evening cleaning routine) can be an ideal way to reduce paper clutter in the home, all while helping you stay on top of your documents and general mail.
Tips
Try to purge or go through mail around the same time of day in order to help make it a natural habit.
If you struggle with processing mail in a timely manner, consider having a mail station for mail to go to.
Consider making sure that there’s a recycling bin or trash bin near the mail station for faster and easier cleanup and processing.
Have designated spots for items to process, read, and mail that’s meant to go to other members of your household.
17. Purse, Wallet or Backpack
Making it a habit to clean out your purse, wallet, and/or backpack at least once a week can be an ideal way to keep clutter in control and stay more organized.
Tips
Throw out or recycle unwanted papers or trash
Reorganize items that are meant to stay in the purse, wallet, or backpack
Log any receipts that might need to be documented (i.e., business)
Set a reminder for anything that might need to be addressed later inside your bag, wallet, or purse
18. Clean Bathroom Counters and Sinks
One quick-and-easy way to do some maintenance cleaning in the bathroom is to take a moment to wipe down the bathroom counters and sinks.
This can usually be done in less than a minute, especially if you work on keeping the space decluttered.
Tips
Try stacking the task of cleaning the bathroom sinks and counters with other similar chores, such as cleaning the kitchen sink and counters, vacuuming, or doing it immediately after you’re done getting dressed.
Similar can be done for the toilet, whether you choose to just tackle the outside of the toilet or add the bowl in, too.
To speed up the decluttering process and to make it easier to actually clean the counter and sink, many people find it helpful to have a designated space, bin, basket, or drawer that’s easy to just drop items in without needing to be meticulous about it.
2 Comments
Great post for us ! In the morning it’s a great problem 😊 well shared 😊
Thanks so much, Priti! And so true! 😀