Housekeeping Schedule New Moms Can Live With

Do you remember when you thought it was a bright idea to stay at home with your bundle of joy?  You were going to be an amazing mom, the house would be spotless, and everyone would be happy.  You could see yourself baking, cooking, cleaning, and having tons of time to spend doting on your new baby.  Yeah, I was conned into thinking that’s how being a stay at home mom would be, too.  I don’t know where we get these unrealistic images of what being a mom is going to be like, but it’s terrible.  The truth is, it’s hard to keep up with the house and kids, especially when you have a new baby.  It took having two to realize that I needed to devise a realistic housekeeping schedule for new moms that wouldn’t leave me too exhausted to care for and enjoy my children.

The truth is, new moms absolutely do not have the time to be the best at everything.  She can be a great housekeeper, but she’s leaving the baby unattended much of the time.  Or, she’s doting on the baby attending to her every whimper, only to neglect the house.

What’s a new mom to do?  Find balance!

With my second baby, that’s exactly what I had to do to maintain sanity and still be attentive to my children.  So, I came up with a realistic housekeeping schedule, which worked well for me with a new baby.  And, I sure wish I’d done this when I had my first baby, because I really didn’t keep up with the house.

In order to do this effectively, you must give yourself some leniency.  Remind yourself that it’s okay if things aren’t perfect.  And, tweak the schedule to your needs.  Just remember, this schedule worked for me.   I have 2 children, a dog, and a husband.  And, we’re relatively busy, even without school.  You may have to adjust the schedule to fit your own needs.

I’ll share my routine and will include links to some products or tools that help me accomplish a new-mom-friendly cleaning schedule.  The following will include affiliate links.  If you click on them and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission, but will cost you nothing more out of pocket.

A new mom’s realistic housekeeping schedule

Sunday:  I wash all towels, washcloths, and small floor mats.  This ensures that we start the week fresh.  The items are a little more bulky and durable, and everything should be able to handle warm to hot water.

Monday:  Wash sheets and clean master bathroom.  If you have older children, teach them to strip their sheets when they get up.  My daughter was helping me with this at 4 years old.  As much as I prefer more green cleaning, right now, I’m all about convenience.  For that reason, I purchase Lysol toilet bowl cleaner and Scrubbing Bubbles for the shower.  I can let those sit to work on their own while I’m preparing baby for a nap.

Tuesday:  Deep clean kitchen and do 1 monthly chore.  I’ll provide a monthly chore list shortly.

Wednesday:  Clean out fridge and take out trash (because trash day here is Thursday).  Plus, I mop every other week on Wednesdays, unless things get really messy and need it sooner.

Thursday:  Vacuum the house.  Now, since I have two stories, I have a roomba doing the vacuuming every weekday downstairs, and because we don’t track much dirt upstairs, I vacuum every other Thursday.  I have a Dyson stick vac for anything that needs a quick pickup, too.

Friday: Clean kid’s bathroom and downstairs guest bathroom.

As needed: I don’t have a schedule for laundry.  I mean, it’s hard to schedule around the mountains of baby laundry that needs to be done, thanks to spit up or blow outs.  I use Seventh Generation laundry detergent that the entire family can use, so I also don’t have to worry about doing separate loads.  Also, vacuuming and mopping seem to be an as-needed type of chore.

Monthly:  As I said, I add one monthly chore to my Tuesday routine.  These chores include dusting, cleaning light fixtures, cleaning windows, and cleaning the inside of the fridge.

Tools and tips for a realistic housekeeping schedule for new moms

1. Stay on track with a reminder app.  I use Due iOS app, which allows me to schedule anything with highly customize-able reminders.
2. As previously mentioned, use a single laundry detergent so that you don’t have to separate the baby’s laundry.  I use Seventh Generation Free & Clear laundry detergent.
3. Let robots do some of the work for you.  I love our old iRobot Roomba, which is capable of cleaning tile, wood, and carpet on schedule or by push of a button.
4. Use a steam mop for regular mopping.  We purchased a Bissel steam mop and it’s been running strong for over 3 years now.  Plus, it uses only distilled water and plugs in anywhere.
5. Do a 15-minute challenge.  I try to do this at least once a week as a game.  This gives me 15 minutes when the kids are occupied to bust-butt and see how much I can accomplish.
6. Get the kids involved.  If you have older kids, have them pitch in.  Even stripping their own sheets is a couple minutes you can spend on something else.

Finally, here is your free housekeeping schedule for new moms.  I’ve made it so that you can customize the schedule any way you like (ie. when you find more time, you can do tasks more often).  If you’re an app person, I highly recommend plugging your tasks into Due as it’s the simplest and most customize-able reminder/task app I could find.

Follow me on Instagram so you don’t miss out on my next 15-minute challenge!

So tell me:  How has your vision of keeping house and raising children changed since becoming a mom?

Other posts you may enjoy:

Being a SAHM is my financial contribution

Take time for yourself

10 tips for getting baby to sleep through the night

Autumn Anniversary Cash Giveaway