How Often Should You Actually Clean Your Home?

There's a particular kind of cleaning advice — usually a colour-coded chart that demands you "wipe down baseboards every Tuesday" — that has no relationship to the way actual people live. After a decade in this trade, here's what actually matters and how often.

Daily — 10 minutes, total

Three things, every day, ideally before bed:

1. Wipe kitchen benches with the same cloth you used at dinner. Don't think about it.
2. Run the sink under hot water for ten seconds and wipe it dry. A dry sink stays clean.
3. One reset of the lounge — cushions straight, throws folded, remotes back.

That's it. Anyone telling you to vacuum daily doesn't have a job.

Weekly — 60–90 minutes, ideally one go

The real cleaning happens here. In rough order:

• Strip and remake one bed (rotate through bedrooms across weeks).
• Bathrooms: surfaces, floors, mirror, toilet. 15 minutes per bathroom is plenty.
• Kitchen: appliance fronts, splashback, sink, floor.
• Vacuum all hard floors and high-traffic carpet.
• Dust horizontal surfaces — coffee table, side tables, TV unit.
• Empty all bins.

If you live with a partner, do this together with music on. If you live alone, podcast and headphones. It's done before the playlist ends.

Fortnightly — 20-minute extras

Things that don't need a weekly hit but accumulate if you let them:

• Mop hard floors with a microfibre flat mop (the spinning bucket kind is a marketing trick).
• Vacuum upholstery — couches, dining chairs.
• Clean inside the microwave.
• Wipe down kitchen cupboard fronts.

Monthly — the "deeper" pass

Add 30–45 minutes to your normal weekly clean once a month:

• Dust skirting boards, light switches, door frames.
• Clean inside the oven (a steam clean cycle if you have it; degreaser if not).
• Wash bathroom rugs and shower curtains.
• Vacuum behind/under sofas and beds.
• Wipe down inside the fridge — top shelf, then down.

Seasonal — four times a year

These are the ones people skip for years. Set a quarterly reminder:

• Windows — interior glass, tracks, fly screens.
• Curtains and blinds — vacuum on a low setting; wash if washable.
• Light fittings and ceiling fans — top of fan blades, especially.
• Mattresses — vacuum, rotate, spot-treat any marks.
• Inside cabinetry — pantry shelves, cleaning under-sink.

When to outsource

If you're working full-time and have kids, a fortnightly professional clean for the weekly tier is the highest-leverage spend in your household budget. You get back roughly 90 minutes a fortnight and the home stays at a consistent baseline.

Pick a frequency that works for you — we offer weekly, fortnightly and monthly schedules.