5 midweek chores that save my sanity and prevent weekend chaos

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

I work full-time, and if I’m not careful my whole weekend is taken up with tidying, cleaning, and laundry tasks.

When this happens my weekend is so consumed with chores that I have little time to relax and reset, ready for when Monday comes around again.

So, to help me conquer cleaning overwhelm and regain my weekend, I complete 5 chores mid-week to lighten the load.

1. Change the bedding

A woman changes her bedsheets on a sunny day — (Image credit: Getty Images)

One of my midweek habits is to strip the beds as soon as I get up. This gives the pillows and mattress plenty of time to air before I put on fresh covers in the evening. I also put all the bedding into my washing machine and start the cycle, so it’s all washed before I start work. This ensures that there isn’t a load of wet washing sitting in my washing machine drum all day, which would make my laundry smell bad.

However, I don’t change all the beds in my house each week; I do them alternately, so they are always washed every fortnight, otherwise my washing machine would be on overdrive!

2. Clean the fridge

Woman cleaning empty fridge — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

Although I’d like to employ a cleaner, for now it’s a pipe dream. So, instead of using a cleaner, my alternative time-saver is to rely on a weekly food delivery. Although I have to be super organised with what my family will be eating week-to-week, it cuts back on spending hours wandering up and down grocery aisles. And to ensure everything has a home when it’s delivered, I always clean my refrigerator mid-week.

Once my shopping arrives, it needs to be put away immediately, but it’s the worst time to give it a clean. That's why I always have a fridge clear out and clean up before my food arrives. I don’t give my refrigerator a deep clean every week, but it gives me the chance to throw out items past their best-before dates and wipe down the shelves with hot soapy water.

3. Spot clean floors

Shark Clean &amp; Empty Cordless on carpet — Shark Clean & Empty Cordless on carpet (Image credit: Future)

I also grab my best vacuum for a quick mid-week clean-up. I don’t spend time vacuuming under sofas or other furniture; I save that for the weekend. The idea around my mid-week clean is to give my carpets and hard floors a quick spruce, and it’s surprising how much more refreshed my whole house feels. What’s more, it calms my mind, as I’m not constantly noticing fluff below my feet.

I give everything another vacuum on the weekend, and I also use my Eureka RapidWash wet and dry floor cleaner on my hard floors, although my colleague, Cynthia Lawrence, prefers Shark’s Hydrovac Messmaster 3-in-1 floor cleaner.

4. Empty the garbage and recycling

A trash can next to a sealed bag — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

A stinky garbage can creates an unpleasant smell throughout your house, particularly in the kitchen, especially if you keep your food compost caddy there. For this reason, I always give my bins a blitz mid-week.

I always use a liner in my bins to prevent unnecessary spillages. Once I’ve removed the waste, I clean my bins using a kitchen towel with an antibacterial cleaner. One of my go-to favorite kitchen cleaners is Method’s Antibacterial Cleaner Spray, in Citron, $3 at Amazon.

I also place any plastic or cardboard recycling in my bin shed outside, all ready for trash collection day at the end of the week.

5. Have a tidy up

Woman smiling and organizing a tidy kitchen — (Image credit: Shutterstock)

If I leave everything for the weekend, I find the house looks like a warzone. The mountains of clothes in my boys’ bedrooms would cover the entire floor, and they’d be all sorts of bits and pieces on my kitchen countertops waiting to be tidied away.

To save my sanity, I have a quick sweep round, and I mean super-quick. Clothes get folded, wet towels get put in the laundry, and anything on a countertop that shouldn’t be there gets put away. And to save anyone from having an accident, discarded shoes in the hallway get placed where they were always intended to be, which just so happens to be an ingenious Ikea storage solution — a KALLAZ Shelf Unit for $79 at Ikea, teamed with white cubed wicker baskets, similar to the BRANÄS rattan basket, $24 at Ikea.

With these 5 mid-week resets, I can enjoy a tidy house and be guaranteed of some spare time to enjoy the weekend.

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Camilla is the Homes Staff Writer and covers everything to do with homes and gardens. She has a wealth of editorial experience, mounting over 30 years, and covers news and features, tests products for reviews and compiles buying guides.

Her work has appeared in business and consumer titles, including Ideal Home, Real Homes, House Beautiful, Homebuilding & Renovation, and Kitchen & Bathroom Business. She’s even appeared on the cover of Your Home, writing about her own house renovation.

Although she’s obsessed with decorating her home, she also enjoys baking and trying out the latest kitchen appliances. But when she’s not inside, you’ll find her pottering about in her yard, tending to her vegetable patch or taking in her prized hydrangeas.

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