In the beloved childhood book Little House in the Big Woods, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s ma uses a simple schedule to keep the week’s chores straight. “Wash on Monday, iron on Tuesday, mend on Wednesday,” it begins. “Churn on Thursday, clean on Friday, bake on Saturday, rest on Sunday.”
Ma’s schedule made sense. Washing clothes before they’re ironed, then mending them after that, is a logical way to tackle things. Especially in pioneer days, when every chore was many times more difficult than it is now.
Today, it’s not as crucial to organize your cleaning schedule by day of the week. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad idea.
We asked cleaning professionals for their tips and personal preference on which days to clean your home. Here’s what they said. Spoiler alert: Opinions varied.
The Best Day To Clean: Saturday
“If you are doing your own cleaning, I vote for Saturday morning so you can get it out of the way and enjoy the rest of your weekend,” says Bruce Vance, president of Town & Country Cleaning Services in Pittsboro, North Carolina. “A Saturday clean should only take a couple of hours, depending on the size of your house, if you keep the house picked up during the week.”
That, Vance says, leaves you plenty of time to do things you probably enjoy more. For max efficiency, Vance recommends enlisting the whole family and developing a plan.
“A good estimate of cleaning speed is to figure between 800 and 1,000 sq. ft. per hour, per person,” Vance says. “Bathrooms are slower and dusting is faster, so it averages out.”
By this math, a 2,500-sq. ft. house should take one person two-and-a-half to three hours, or two people one- to one-and-a-half hours.
The Best Day To Clean: Sunday
“I personally like to clean on Sundays, so that my home is fresh and ready for the new week,” says Leanne Stapf, chief operating officer of The Cleaning Authority. We agree. It can’t get much more relaxing than dinner and a low-key Sunday evening, with everything clean and prepped to start Monday strong.
Stapf’s one exception? Before welcoming guests. “Clean your home before hosting anything — holiday celebrations, dinner parties and anything in between,” she says. “That way, you can welcome guests into a sparkling clean home!”
Best Day To Clean: Wednesday
“If I would recommend a day, it would be Wednesday,” says Johnny Pallares, owner of De La Rosa House Cleaning in Phoenix, Arizona. “I feel like Wednesday is when you have all of your [weekly] tasks organized, so this can be the day to clean.”
Bonus: This keeps your weekends all but free from cleaning tasks. If you don’t have the luxury of blocking out the morning, pitch in and get it done as quickly as possible in late afternoon or early evening.
Best Day To Clean: Spread It Out
Cleaning in spurts throughout the week also loosens up the weekend. Spread the workload among everyone in the home, too.
“It may work best for you to stagger your cleaning tasks as opposed to completing everything all in one day,” Stapf says. “Create checklists based on the importance and frequency of each cleaning task.
“If you have other helpers in the house, you can start to designate rooms or tasks for each person to do on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to make things even easier.”
The Best Day To Have Your Home Cleaned
The question of day is a different story if you’re hiring the job out, Vance says.
“Those who don’t work from home are fairly split between wanting the house to be cleaned at the end of the week, so it’s in good shape for the weekend, or at the beginning of the week, to clean up any mess made by weekend activities,” he says.
Those who do work from home consider their at-home schedule first, then slot cleanings in when convenient.
Worst Day To Clean: Monday or Friday
“Don’t clean on Monday because that’s usually the busiest day of the week,” Pallares says. “And Friday is pretty much closing out the week and your mind is now heading to the weekend. Definitely not a good time to clean.”
Worst Day To Clean: The Weekend
Different pros, different opinions. While some believe weekends are a great time to get the cleaning done, Palleres argues that it’s better to shoehorn it into the week.
“I advise all my clients that the weekend is not meant for chores,” Pallares says. “It’s meant for hanging out with friends and family. For doing what you love doing.”
In the end, it’s always best to simply pick the cleaning schedule that works best for you and your family. Let the schedule evolve as needed to avoid stress.
“I wouldn’t say there’s one set answer for the best or worst day to clean your home — it really comes down to personal preference,” Stapf says. “No matter what day you choose to clean, it’s important to remember not to overwhelm yourself. Not everything needs to be done all at once!”
