The beginning of the school year is chaotic. New schedules come into play, with brand-new classes —sports return, band practice starts, and every after-school activity and commitment rockets back into place. A lot is going on, and cleaning typically falls by the wayside. 

Your house (and kids’ rooms) don’t get the memo and keep themselves neat. Clutter piles up in the blink of an eye, especially with a constant rotation of backpacks, books, homework packets, lunch boxes, and everything else that moves in and out the door during the school day. 

It takes a new mindset and commitment, but instituting the five back-to-school cleaning rituals below is the perfect solution. Don’t beg your kids to make a round with the Casabella Clean Water Spin Mop on Friday night. Try these tips instead! 

#1 -  Get a Calendar

Organization is the key to success when it comes to cleaning. After all, we’re talking about rituals, not a one-time clean. Making a clear schedule lets everyone in the household know their responsibilities and when the task should be completed. When everyone in the house has an understanding of the cleaning schedule, it can make it easier to stick to it. Additionally, it can be helpful to reward everyone when the tasks are completed on time so that the cleaning rituals are seen as a positive, not a chore.

You can try the color-coding method and assign everyone in the house a color. Write the task in their color on whatever day is theirs. Glancing at the calendar is all it takes to know who should grab the broom and dustpan on Tuesday. 

#2 - Daily Essentials 

Get the daily essentials out of the way to avoid a massive pile-up of chores. No one (parents or kids) wants to spend their whole weekend catching up on laundry, dishes, or things that only take a few minutes each day. Instead, set aside time to handle basic tasks each day.

  • Laundry - Everyone puts away or picks up their laundry for the day. Simplify things by giving everyone in the household a bin or basket. On clean days, everyone spends ten minutes putting away clothes. On dirty days, everyone gathers their dirty laundry and puts it in the correct place. Whoever is responsible for washing the laundry that day takes it from there. 
  • Dishes - Dishes pile up in the blink of an eye, which means getting them washed and put away is a daily activity. Take turns and leave a ten or fifteen-minute window after dinner to do the washing up. 
  • Counters and floors - Wiping down the counters and quickly sweeping the floors only takes a few minutes. While one person handles the dishes, the other does a brief floor and counter clean-up. In no time, a new Casabella Clean Water Spin Mop Refill will have the floors looking great, and everyone can get back to homework or whatever activities they want. 

#3 - Handle Clutter 

At the end of the night, everyone should go through the house and pick up their clutter for the day. That might be backpacks, papers, cups, or whatever they’ve used. With everyone working together, it’s done quickly, and nobody cleans up another person’s mess.

This tactic also works as encouragement. If everyone keeps their mess picked up throughout the day, there isn’t anything left to do at the end of the night. 

#4 - Don’t Forget Outdoor Equipment 

If school means sports, you’re probably dealing with a constant influx of dirty equipment and other things you use outside. Discarding it in the mudroom or outside the front door is just asking for a build-up of grime and dirt that’s much harder to deal with later. 

Instead, include those items on your back-to-school checklist. It might not be a daily activity, but go through once a week and wipe down, hose off, or wash outdoor equipment. 

#5 - Deep Cleaning 

Take advantage of school being back in session to get some deep cleaning tasks out of the way. Some things are hard to do when there’s a constant flurry of activity in the house. When everyone is back in class, there’s room in the house to clean the baseboards, thoroughly dust the blinds, and do all the things that are pushed off during summer. 

This responsibility may fall more on the parents than the kids, but doing deep cleaning when the new school year starts is a great habit! 

Stay on Track This School Year 

By establishing the five rituals above, you’ll have a cleaner house with minimal effort from everyone. Regular cleaning, even for a few minutes a day, changes the whole look of a house. Just one pass with your Casabella Clean Water Spin Mop makes a considerable difference, for instance, and getting that kind of effort from everyone will keep your home tidy all year long!