How often to clean everything in a house
32 jobs, how often each one wants doing, and what the mess actually is. Every number here is the one the list sets when you add the chore.
Every few days
| Chore | How often |
|---|---|
| Wash up before bed | every day |
| Change the litter tray | every day |
| Tidy the toys away | every day |
| Kitchen bin and worktops | every other day |
| Wash the pet bowls | every other day |
| Wipe the shower screen | every 3 days |
Every week or two
| Chore | How often |
|---|---|
| Bins out | weekly |
| Clean the bathroom | weekly |
| Hoover through | weekly |
| Hoover the stairs | weekly |
| Clean the hob and splashback | weekly |
| Clean the tumble dryer filter | weekly |
| Scrub the bath | weekly |
| Clean out the cage or tank | weekly |
| Water the houseplants | weekly |
| Wash towels | every 10 days |
| Change the bedsheets | fortnightly |
| Wipe out the microwave | fortnightly |
| Wash the pet bedding | fortnightly |
| Mow the lawn | fortnightly |
| Sweep the yard | fortnightly |
Every month or two
| Chore | How often |
|---|---|
| Clean the fridge shelves | monthly |
| Clean the dishwasher filter | monthly |
| Descale the kettle | every 60 days |
Every few months, or less
| Chore | How often |
|---|---|
| Wash the extractor filter | every three months |
| Clean the washing machine seal | every three months |
| Clean the oven | every three months |
| Clean the shower head | every three months |
| Check the boiler pressure | every three months |
| Test the smoke alarm | every six months |
| Defrost the freezer | every six months |
| Bleed the radiators | once a year |
Not every house has all of these. Make a cleaning schedule for yours — a few questions about the place, no account, and a schedule you can print. Share the place? Make a cleaning rota for the flat: who does what, each week, to print or send to the house.
Guests on their way and no time for any of this? The guests-arriving checklist is a 15-, 30- or 60-minute tidy of the rooms visitors use, and leaves the deep cleaning for another day.
Too far behind for any of these to help yet? Where to start cleaning a messy house: three steps in one room, and stopping after one still counts.
Or let a list remember it
One button puts the 12 starter chores on a list that tells you what is due. Free, and nothing arrives unless you ask for it.