I'm one of those people who can't stand mess and clutter. But after having kids I found myself wasting heaps of time aimlessly wandering around the house overwhelmed by the amount of work to do then nap time would be over before I knew it and I would have achieved nothing.
So I searched Pintrest and the like looking for a cleaning schedule that would work for me. I wasted even more time writing up fancy cleaning charts that were far too rigid to stick to, then I would feel like a failure and be back to where I started.
After a good deal of dead ends and false starts I cam up with this system that's been working well for me for about a year now. It's so stupidly simple I'm annoyed with myself for not coming up with it earlier . . . .
I deep clean each room in turn.
That's it. No monthly, quarterly and annual check lists. I do have a very simple weekly checklist of the bare basic cleaning jobs that need doing regularly - vacuuming and cleaning the bathroom, empty the bins and do the ironing. And a daily list that I don't bother to write down or check off - clear and wipe kitchen worktops, load / unload dishwasher and washing machine.
Once that basic stuff is done I pick an area, it could be an area that's been bugging me, one that looks dirty or maybe the most visible to guests I'm expecting. I focus on that one room and do whatever I feel I need to / have time to do in order to get it ship shape. If I'm busy I can do a quick job and that's OK if that's where my life is at that time. Sometimes I manage to get a drawer or cupboard cleaned out as well as getting the visible areas clean and tidy.
It's not rigid, I aim to get each area done each month but that hasn't happened since Little Pickle was born and that's OK.
It doesn't matter what day I get it done, if I leave it during the school holidays so I can spend more time with Little Miss, whatever works for me at the time.
I include the areas of the garden and cars in my list of areas. Along with other jobs like reviewing our family finances. This means that during the summer the weeding doesn't get out of control.
I've got a very simple list of areas and I just tick off each one when I've done it so I can see easily if an area is being neglected. A lot of areas are at the moment because we're moving house so I've been spending less time cleaning and more time packing and that's OK.
By keeping op top of each area to whatever standard I can at that time the whole house stays reasonably clean and tidy all of the time. Nothing gets out of hand for long and there's no overwhelm or feeling of failure to maintain a strict schedule.