How Often Should You Clean Your House? What to Clean Daily, Monthly, and Annually

​​It may seem like you’re constantly cleaning your house—because you probably are. But no matter how often you wipe down your kitchen table or give your toilet a swish with a brush, your house is going to get dirty again. It’s not your fault. Dust, dirt, and messes are a part of life. 

To stay on top of the minor and major cleaning jobs needed to maintain your home, use our handy daily, weekly, monthly, seasonal, and annual cleaning schedules. Follow the guidelines to know how often you should clean your house to keep it dirt-free in between regular and deep cleans.

What to Clean in Your House Daily

If you can complete these tasks daily, you’ll be able to keep dirt, grime, and messes from building up and becoming a bigger problem. It’s a lot easier to clean small amounts of clutter every day than big piles less often.

Teach your children and other family members to do these tasks daily. Eventually, it will become a habit for everyone, making it much easier to manage your home.

Bathrooms

• Squeegee shower walls and doors after every use

• Wipe down sinks and countertops after use

• Quick-clean toilets 

• Change towels and hand towels (if needed)

Kitchen

• Wash dishes and load the dishwasher

• Sweep the floor

• Empty trash and recycling

• Wipe down countertops and sink

• Clean tabletop and counters

Bedrooms

• Make beds

• Put dirty clothes in the hamper

• Remove clutter from nightstands and dressers

• Put toys away

• Wash laundry as needed

What to Clean in Your House Weekly

The easiest way to manage weekly chores is to break them up, so you complete one or two each day. Get in the habit of cleaning certain surfaces or rooms on a weekly rotation. For example, clean the bathroom on Tuesdays. This schedule will make the process more efficient since you only have to get out the bathroom cleaning supplies once a week.

Bathrooms

• Mop floors 

• Wash or vacuum bathroom rugs and bath mat

• Scrub bathtubs, showers, and toilets

• Clean mirrors, glass, and countertops

• Wipe down medicine cabinet shelves

• Empty trash cans

Kitchen

• Mop kitchen floor

• Vacuum or wash floor mat

• Sanitize countertops and sink

• Throw out expired or stale food

• Clean inside microwave

• Replace sink sponges or run them through the dishwasher

• Clean handles on refrigerator, oven, and dishwasher

• Wipe down appliance fronts

Bedrooms and Living Rooms

• Change sheets

• Vacuum or sweep floors and rugs

• Sanitize TV remote controls

• Clean mirrors and other surfaces

• Dry-dust TV screens and other electronics

Office or Workspace

• Sort incoming mail and paperwork

• Empty trash and shredder

• Hand-vacuum computer keyboard

• Dust all surfaces

• File papers and put books and magazines away

What to Clean in Your House Monthly

In addition to your daily and weekly tasks, monthly cleaning includes maintenance projects to keep your appliances running smoothly, as well as dusting out-of-the-way places and surfaces in your home.

• Clean the inside of the dishwasher

• Clean inside the washer and dryer

• Vacuum vents

• Wipe down baseboards and windowsills

• Clean doorknobs and door handles

• Dust door tops

• Vacuum or sweep inside closets

• Hand-vacuum upholstered furniture

• Dust ceiling fans, light fixtures, and lamps

• Empty and wipe down the pantry and refrigerator shelves

• Wash shower curtain liners

What to Clean in Your House Seasonally

As the seasons change, so does the list of cleaning tasks. Prioritize the types of cleaning that you should do to prepare your home for either the cold or warm months, as well as larger jobs that aren’t done regularly. 

Bathrooms

• Clean showerheads and faucet heads

• Clean grout in tubs and showers

• Empty, clean, and reorganize all cabinets and shelves

Kitchen

• Deep clean refrigerator and freezer after removing shelves and drawers

• Clean inside dishwasher

• Clean all cabinet fronts and shelves 

• Empty drawers and wash silverware trays and other storage items

• Replace drawers and cabinet liners

• Clean oven

• Clean coffee maker 

• Clean kitchen faucet heads

• Clean grout if you have tile 

Bedrooms and Living Room

• Flip mattresses

• Wash mattress pads and dust ruffles

• Wash comforters, duvets, and pillows, or take them to the laundromat if they’re too big for your machine

• Run pillows through the dryer 

• Clean and organize inside drawers and closets

• Move bed frames to vacuum underneath them and behind headboards

• Move furniture and vacuum or sweep behind and underneath it

• Polish silver and dust all decorative items

Other outdoor places you should clean when the seasons change include cleaning windows, patios, outdoor furnishings, gutters, walkways, and garages.

What to Clean in Your House Annually

Yearly cleaning tasks are significant projects that may take more time but can make a big impact on how your home looks and feels. Some of these may be more work than you want to do, so hire a pro if you need help with certain tasks.

• Clean drapes and curtains or bring them to the dry cleaner 

• Steam clean carpets, rugs, and upholstery

• Pull all appliances away from the wall, unplug them, and clean behind them

• Clean the fireplace and hire a pro to sweep the chimney 

• Power wash home exterior and hard surfaces like concrete and brick

• Clean out file cabinets and shred unnecessary papers 

• Purge closets of unworn clothes and other items and donate to local shelter

Tips for Maintaining a Good Cleaning Schedule

A house cleaning checklist and a regular schedule will help you keep ahead of dirt, dust, and damage in your home. Here are some ways to help yourself stay on top of cleaning:

• Schedule it in. It can be hard to carve out time to clean with a busy daily schedule, so allot some time for catching up with housework.

• Keep it consistent. More frequent, shorter cleaning sessions can help you avoid getting overwhelmed with regular tasks. Aim to put some work in every day so you don’t fall behind.

• Make it a family affair. Keeping the house clean is much easier when everyone in the household participates. Put on some music, keep the mood light, and let everyone tackle their tasks together.

• Enlist outside help. Sometimes, there’s just too much going on to handle everything yourself. Hire a local cleaning pro to help lighten the load.

Click here to download this house cleaning checklist

Timing of House Cleaning Requests

Based on the responses of 209,300 Angi customers, 39.9% of homeowners request urgent house cleaning within 1 to 2 days, while 32.9% schedule cleaning within two weeks. These insights highlight the importance of determining how often different areas of your home should be cleaned. Regularly assessing cleaning needs by room or task can help homeowners maintain a tidy and healthy living environment.

How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Professional House Cleaning Service? 

While hiring a professional house cleaning service can be a major timesaver and get you professional-level cleaning results, it does have a higher price tag attached to it versus cleaning your home yourself. The cost of a professional house cleaner averages anywhere from $25 to $80 per hour or an average of $120 to $240 per visit.

The cost of cleaning the home yourself is determined by whatever cleaning products and supplies you purchase.