Cleaning and Laundry

Basic House Cleaning

Tips for Cleaning Success

  • Assign age-appropriate chores and responsibilities to any members of the household who are able to help. 
  • Budget realistic amounts of time for cleaning, breaking it up into bite-sized chunks if needed. Kids (especially younger kids) will find it hard to clean for a long stretch of time. Make it more enjoyable for everyone and set a sensible time limit for how long everyone will clean.  
  • Use the room-by-room method for cleaning, tackling only one room at a time per person. Giving each helper a room to take care of is a great way to give kids alone time when they’re stuck inside the house. 
  • If someone is sick and disinfection is needed, always clean first, then disinfect. 
  • You know the drill – have one bag for garbage, one bag for recycling, and a box for donations or to sell. In some cases, you may need another box to take items like hazardous waste to the Eco Station. 
  • Before you start, get all the equipment and cleaning products you’ll need together. If you need help deciding what to put in your cleaning cupboard, check out the ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS.
  • ESSENTIAL PRODUCTS
    • ​All-purpose cleaner – can be used on many surfaces. Must be rinsed off.
    • Bathroom cleaner – gel, spray, or cream – to clean sinks, counters, showers, and tubs.
    • Disinfectant – only to be used when necessary and as directed.
    • Microfibre cloths – Microfibre cloths are a great investment to make cleaning easier. They hold onto dust and dirt more than other cloths, break water into very small particles to dry droplet-free, and can be washed out by hand or machine to reuse. Have several for cleaning and one for glass and mirrors. 
    • Soft, light-coloured, lint-free cloths
    • Toilet bowl brush
    • Toilet bowl cleaner – slightly acidic to prevent hard water mineral build up.

In Depth Cleaning Directions

Household Cleaning Schedule

Here is our weekly and monthly cleaning to-do lists for each room in your home.