The ‘Daily Five’: the dishes, the laundry, the floors, the bathrooms, and a quick pick-up. Everyone tells you to do it—you know you should unpack the dishwasher every morning, and that doing a load of laundry a day keeps the pile at bay. You agree that, of course, your floors should be swept, and you’d love to go to bed with your house picked up. There’s all this talk about the ‘closing shift.’ But when are you actually supposed to fit all of this in? You finish the day exhausted, the kids are in bed, and you look around at their little messes scattered everywhere. I’m going to share how I manage to fit these tasks into the bookends of my day.
A good evening routine sets you up for success the next day
Pick Up the Toys
Before dinner, have the kids pick up their toys and put them away. This gives them something to do while they wait for dinner to be served—or while you wait for it to cool. (If you have toddlers, you know the drill—Goldilocks style!) Depending on their age, they may need more guidance and direction.
Dinner Time
While you’re cooking dinner, try to use the time to tidy up the kitchen as well. Maybe there are dishes from lunch that need to be put away, or the trash needs to be taken out. My goal is to have dinner ready and the kitchen clean—not serving a meal with every surface covered in vegetable peelings, the entire contents of the fridge scattered around, and every dish I own dirtied. I know this is a tall order. If Dad’s playing with the boys, it’s more likely to happen. But if I’m cooking with a baby on my hip or everyone is tired and melting down, it probably won’t—and that’s okay.
Bathroom
While my kids are in the bath, I take a few minutes to quickly wipe down the bathroom. This isn’t a deep clean, just a quick refresh. I start by wiping down the mirror, followed by the counter, faucets, and sink. Then, I dust the back of the toilet, give the seat a quick wipe, and finish by swishing the toilet bowl. When I drain the tub, I use the same washcloth I used for the sink to wipe down the tub. This routine keeps the bathroom guest-ready between deep cleans and makes those deep cleans much easier!
The Closing Shift
When I tuck my son in bed, there is a pile of laundry that has gathered. Their clothes from the bath, their towels, as I walk out his room, I take the laundry with me. And that is where my evening routine starts. I work my way from the laundry room – to the couch.
Laundry
I start my closing shift in the laundry room. If there’s laundry that needs to be moved from the washer to the dryer, a load that needs folding, or one that needs running—whatever needs attention, I check on it. I just see what’s what. My goal is to run a load of laundry every night before bed. I set it on delay start so I can dry it in the morning. One thing that helps me feel like I’m not drowning in laundry is filling the washing machine throughout the day. Then, at night, after we’re all in our pajamas, I put every dirty piece of laundry in the machine and run it. That way, the only dirty laundry left is the clothes we’re currently wearing.
Kitchen
When I walk out of the laundry room, I’m in the kitchen, so this is where I start. I begin with the counter to the right of the sink. I completely clear the counter—anything on it gets put in its rightful place, dishes go in the dishwasher, and trash gets thrown away. Then, I spray and wipe down that section of the counter. Next, I focus on the sink—empty it into the dishwasher. Then I move to the counter to the left of the sink, the same as the first—clear and wipe.
Next is my stove. If needed, I wash the griddle and give it a quick wipe. Then, I tackle the counter to the left of the stove. This area is by the door to the garage, where we come in, so it tends to be a drop spot for keys, mail, and junk. I clear and wipe it down as well. After that, the kitchen is in order.
Finally, I move to the dining table, which is off the kitchen. I pack the dishes into the dishwasher and wipe the table down.
Floors
Now that the dishes are cleaned and the surfaces are wiped, it’s time for the floors. I sweep the floors and vacuum the rugs in the main living areas (since our living and dining rooms are open concept).
Quick Pickup
Take one final look around and see if anything is left out that needs packing away.
A Recap
Now, this may sound like a lot, but let me walk you through it all together. While I’m in the kitchen cooking dinner, I try to tidy up as needed. I’m already in the kitchen, so it takes no extra time. While my kids are bathing, I give the bathroom a quick wipe-down. I’m already in the bathroom, so it takes no extra time there either. It’s a quick 5-minute clean at most. When I leave their room, I’m heading to the kitchen anyway, so I might as well grab an armful of laundry to take with me. Since I find myself in the laundry room, I might as well rotate the laundry. Do you see where I’m going with this? After that, the closing shift can be done in 15–30 minutes, depending on how the day has gone.
Something that really helps is starting in the same place every time. I begin in the laundry room: wash a load, dry a load, fold a load. Then I move to the counter to the right of the sink, the counter to the left, the oven, then over to the table, and finish with a quick pick-up in the living room. I always end with by sweeping and vacuuming. It’s always in that order. This means I never stare at a mess, wondering where to start. I just begin in the same spot and make my way around clockwise, ignoring every mess except for the space I’m cleaning.
This sets me up for a good day tomorrow—a clean slate, with no mess from the night before. My house greets me joyfully and tidily in the morning.
The Morning Routine
My morning routine follows the same flow as the night routine. It’s light, and during difficult seasons, I can skip it to focus on my children, health, or whatever else needs attention. In the evening, my husband and I tackle the house together to get it back in order.
Make Your Bed
I wake up, and before leaving my room, I open the curtains, make my bed, tidy my side table, and kick any laundry into the hallway.
Bathroom
I get ready for the day and check that the bathroom is tidy. If there’s any laundry, I kick it into the hallway.
Laundry
I take the laundry I’ve been shuffling around to the laundry room, then dry and hang up the load I started the night before.
Unpack Dishwasher
I feed my little ones in the kitchen when Dad isn’t home. We eat dinner together as a family at the table every night, and on weekends. But in the mornings and at lunchtime, when it’s just me and the boys, we eat in the kitchen. We don’t have a fancy kitchen island, so I just put my toddler’s step stool on the floor and my baby’s little booster chair next to it. I sit with them, and we eat together. It’s sweet, cozy, and helps keep the mess contained to the kitchen.
Since we’re already in the kitchen, after I eat my breakfast, and while they’re finishing up, I unpack the dishwasher. I’m right there with them, so I can talk to them while they eat, and they’re contained and occupied. If my toddler is done eating, he loves to help unpack the silverware drawer.
Another thing that helps is organizing the kitchen around the dishwasher. My plates and cups are stored in the cabinets above it, and the knives and forks are in the drawer right next to the dishwasher. This makes putting things away quick and easy.
Since we have little ones, I give the floor a quick sweep after breakfast to keep it tidy.
This frees up my whole day from cleaning. I try to put dishes straight into the dishwasher after using them, or at least move them to the sink to pack later, and to clean messes as we go. But even if I do none of that. Not even unpack the dishwasher. I know that by the end of the night, my house will be back in order, ready for a new day.
