The Ultimate Chore Checklist: Daily, Weekly, and Monthly Tasks for a Tidy Home

Chore lists aren’t just for kids! Our free checklist makes accomplishing household chores a breeze.

There are plenty of reasons why it pays to lay out your daily, weekly, and monthly plans for the home front. Not only can it help you stay on top of tasks rather than feeling like they’re always getting away from you, but it can also make it much easier to divvy up the jobs between family members and others who live in your household.

While our ultimate chore list is a good starting point, it is by no means exhaustive or one-size-fits all. Add and eliminate chores based on your home’s needs. For those with kids, larger households, or any number of unique circumstances, you might find yourself adding to this list. Make it personal, but definitely make it doable. The trick to sticking to a chore list is ensuring you don’t bite off more than you can chew. Start small, ask for help, and you’ll be on your way to a more manageable home in no time.

Free Printable Chore Checklist

Household Chores by Room

Bathroom Chores

The bathroom is one space that will definitely require daily, weekly, and monthly attention. Areas like the sink, faucet, mirror, countertops, and toilet should be wiped down daily. The tub and shower should receive weekly scrubbing, unless they aren’t often used (for instance, a guest bathroom), in which case you should be able to stretch the amount of time between cleans. To keep your glass shower enclosure in top shape, squeegee after each shower or at least once a day. Also, be sure to take out any bathroom trash daily.

Related: How to Clean Bathroom Countertops and Keep Them Sparkling

Bedroom Chores

Keeping your bedrooms clean and tidy is a great way to set your home off on the right foot every day. Making the beds, putting away clothes, and tidying up daily can ensure your sleep zones are always in top shape. Weekly vacuuming and mopping, paired with monthly closet and drawer organizing, are key for keeping bedrooms at the top of their game.

Related: 12 Things to Get Rid of in Your Bedroom, According to a Professional Organizer

Kitchen Chores

You’ll find plenty to do in the kitchen when it comes to daily, weekly, and monthly tasks. Plan on cleaning all dishes, loading and unloading the dishwasher, preparing meals, setting the table, and taking out the trash daily. Countertops should be wiped down after every use. Weekly tasks can include brief clean-outs of the fridge or pantry, grocery shopping and meal planning, and swapping out kitchen towels.

Related: 10 Things You Should Toss from Your Pantry ASAP

Laundry Chores

The key to pulling off your laundry chores is staying on top of the job. Doing at least one load a day can help keep the process manageable while ensuring your hamper doesn’t get out of control. Set aside one day a week to do all of your bed linens and towels and another day to iron. All daily loads of laundry should be seen through from start to finish—no piles of to-be-folded clothes laying on the couch! Taking it one load at a time should keep this daily job from becoming a major undertaking.

Living Room Chores

If your living room is where the family gathers, you won’t want to neglect giving it daily attention. From tidying tables, fluffing pillows, and vacuuming, to weekly dusting, furniture maintenance, and more, this is one space that is deserving of care. Depending on how your space is used, what furnishings it includes, you’ll likely have a unique set of chores that work best for you.

Closets and Cabinets

Beware of the tucked-away storage spaces—they have a way of becoming a snowballing mess that seems to get exponentially worse in no time at all. Daily tidying of your most used closets and cabinets, a more thorough weekly clean out, and perhaps even a monthly purge, can help ensure clean and tidy closets and cabinets every day of the week.

Related: 12 Genius Storage Tips for an Organized Cleaning Closet

Outdoor Areas

The exterior of your home needs plenty of attention, too. Weekly yard maintenance, whether raking leaves, mowing, weeding, watering plants, or simply sprucing up your flower beds, will keep your curb appeal in top form. In the garage, be sure to keep things tidy throughout the week, but do commit one day a month for more thorough cleaning and organizing. Put away outdoor toys, wind up hoses, organize garden supplies, etc. Once you’re through, sweep out the garage to give the space a thoroughly clean feel.

Related: 30 Genius Garage Storage Ideas to Get Your Gear in Order

Chores for Kids and Pets

If yours is a household with kids or pets, you’ll probably find yourself with a few more chores on your hands. The good news is, kids can get in on the action. Depending on their ages, children can help pack lunches, feed pets, or wipe down surfaces. Setting the table is another chore that your kids might be able to help out with, too. Empower them to take charge of their individual spaces, making their bed daily, sweeping, and vacuuming. This will not only lighten your load but also help them feel a responsibility for the chore list.

Unfortunately, pets aren’t quite as much help at home. It will be up to you and your pack to do the daily feedings, wash their bowls, clean their beds, groom and bathe them. Daily walks and plenty of pets should likely be on the list, too.

Daily Chore List

You can start to see the benefits of a chore list from day one. Having a list of chores that you know you have to get to every day, week, and month can help bring order to the chaos in your home—not to mention, it might even manage to still that nagging feeling of overwhelm. Taking it task-by-task and day-by-day will get your home in gear in no time.

Bathrooms

• Wipe down the countertops and the sink
• Take out the trash
• Replace toilet paper and tissues as needed

Bedrooms

• Make beds
• Put away clothes, shoes, and/or miscellaneous items

Kitchen

• Wipe down countertops and sink
• Load/unload dishwasher
• Cook meals

Laundry Room

• Do a load of laundry

Living Room

• Tidy up
• Fluff pillows
• Fold throw blankets
• Wipe off coffee tables

Miscellaneous

• Vacuum high-traffic areas
• Walk the dog
• Check the mail

Exterior

• Put away any outdoor toys, gardening supplies, etc.

Weekly Chore List

The nice thing about weekly chores is that they don’t all have to be done in the same day. Maybe Saturday is reserved for fridge clean-out, Sunday is meal plan day, and Monday is for grocery shopping. Spread your weekly tasks out in whatever way makes most sense to you and your lifestyle.

Bathrooms

• Thoroughly clean bathrooms, including showers, tubs, sinks, counters, floors, toilets, etc.
• Refill soap dispensers
• Change out any hand or decorative towels

Bedrooms

• Wash bed linens
• Put away any items that have collected on nightstands and dressers

Kitchen

• Meal plan
• Grocery shop
• Brief fridge and pantry clean-out
• Replace kitchen towels

Laundry Room

• Wash pet beds
• Wash bed linens
• Wash decorative pillow covers and throw blankets

Miscellaneous

• Dust
• Vacuum
• Mop

Exterior

• Mow the yard
• Water plants
• Take trash and recycle bins to the street for pickup
• Clean out vehicles

Monthly Chore List

Beware that many of these tasks might be a bit more time consuming than some of your daily and even weekly tasks. Have a game plan in place so these bigger jobs are spread out throughout the month.

Bedrooms

• Organize closets

Kitchen

• Thoroughly clean fridge and pantry
• Clean oven and microwave

Laundry Room

• Iron clothes

Living Room

• Vacuum sofas

Miscellaneous/Throughout the Home

• Change air filter
• Groom pets
• Dust blinds
• Wipe down walls and baseboards

Exterior

• Clean windows and doors
• Clean out garage
• Spray down/sweep garage floor
• Wash exterior and clean interior of vehicles

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