Keeping Your Home Tidy With Zone Cleaning

This is the sixth installment in my series on how I’m Harboring a Warm & Peaceful Home as part of my goals for 2019. And how you can, too! You can read about My Goals for 2019 here. (They also happen to be the new mission statement for Huntress At Home.)

Today, I’m talking about the last piece of the cleaning part of my Warm and Peaceful Home series! Zone cleaning.

My Introduction To Zone Cleaning

I first learned about the concept of zone cleaning from my all time favorite homemaker/motivator, The FlyLady. I remember reading her book, Sink Reflections, when I was maybe 12 years old, give or take a few years. My mom had checked her book out from the library and encouraged me to learn along with her.

I remember we went to the store and got page protectors and special note books just for our morning routines. And while my mom divided her house into five zones, I divided my room into five zones and worked diligently in whatever corner of my room was my focus for the week.

Even when I went off to college, I divided my half of the dorm room into 5 distinct areas to keep clean on rotation.

Fast forward 15 years from my first introduction and nothing has changed. I can attribute the beginning spark of my love for purposeful cleaning and homemaking to the FlyLady and her methods. I own her book now and re-read it every couple of years to get a new kick in the pants.

How Zone Cleaning Works

So, I talked about how to strategically do your daily chores a couple of weeks ago. Those are the chores you generally incorporate into your morning routine. Then I talked about creating a weekly cleaning routine where you tackle your main 5-6 cleaning tasks on a certain day of the week.

Zone cleaning involves all the little cleaning tasks in between!

Let’s take wiping out the microwave, for instance. That’s probably not something you are going to do every day alongside the dishes. But it probably doesn’t fall into your essential 5-6 cleaning tasks for the week. That is where one cleaning comes in.

Divide Your Home Into 5 Zones

First, according to the FlyLady’s method, you divide your home up into 5 different zones:

1. The entry
2. The kitchen
3. The laundry/office/kidspace/other
4. The master suite
5. The living room

When I divide my home into zones, this is how I end up labeling mine:

1. The entry/library/coat closet/powder room/stairs
2. The kitchen/dining area
3. The laundry room/loft/kids rooms/kids bathroom
4. The master bedroom/bathroom
5. The living room

Each month you clean all five zones, focusing on one zone per week. You will typically have 4 whole weeks in a month and a partial fifth week to focus on zone 1 or zone 5 (depending on which end of the month the partial week falls on).

My Zone Cleaning Task List

In her book, the FlyLady lists out a number of specific tasks she likes to complete in each of her zones every month. I wanted to take a simpler approach; the thought of listing every specific thing was overwhelming to me. Here’s my to do list for EVERY zone:

1. Vacuum
2. Dust
3. Wipe
4. Organize
5. Decorate

I’ll go into a little more detail about each:

Vacuum. This involves vacuuming in harder to reach places, vacuuming furniture, and windows/blinds.

Dust. This involves dusting every surface that would require dusting (furniture, electronics, books, etc.).

Wipe. This involves wiping every surface that requires wiping (sinks, walls, appliances, etc.).

Organize. This involves straightening, organizing, purging, rearranging, etc.

Decorate. This involves adding “personal touches,” as the FlyLady would put it. I change out decorations for different seasons or move things around for a fresh look.

I do these things for each of my zones! If I don’t get around to one category, I just pick up where I left off the next time I work in that zone. For instance, I may only get around to vacuuming, dusting, and wiping things down in my kitchen zone one month. So, the next month, I’ll start with organizing and decorating, and then loop back to the beginning of the list.

Zone Cleaning In Action

Ideally, it should only take about 10 to 15 minutes a day of working in your current zone to keep things in good shape. I typically try to do one of my zone cleaning tasks per day of the week. Let’s take zone 1 for instance. Here is what my typical week would look like for cleaning zone 1:

Monday – vacuum library furniture, blinds, behind furniture, and the carpet on the stairs
Tuesday – Dust the library furniture and bookshelves, dust banisters & drop zone
Wednesday – Wipe down powder room sink and clean the toilet
Thursday – Straighten coat closet, straighten bookshelves, clean off library desk, declutter the stairs
Friday – Move knick knacks around, add new or different decorations

Putting All Your Cleaning Routines Together

I’ve talked about daily chores, creating a weekly cleaning routine, and now zone cleaning. So, what does the cleaning schedule look like when you put all those things together?

Every Day

• Complete your list of daily chores–only the most essential tasks that keep your home running smoothly.
• Work in your current zone for 10-15 minutes–take the weekends off!

Once Per Week

• Complete your 5-6 most essential cleaning tasks and leave the rest for when you are zone cleaning.

You now have an easy and manageable cleaning routine!

What specific tasks did you add to your routine? Have you ever done zone cleaning? Share in the comments!

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