Cleaning around the house is important, but as moms, we have limited time and energy to spend on cleaning. This post has a list of things you might be forgetting to clean. Don’t freak out, none of these things have to happen right this minute. This list was created for real moms by real moms as a guide to help ease some of your cleaning anxiety. Use this post as an organized list to help you, momma.

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Having a clean house can reduce anxiety greatly, and I know this to be true in my own home. It’s OK to enjoy having a clean house, you might just have to be the one to clean it. Spring Cleaning is a great example of celebrating the importance of deep cleaning in your house. Doing some extra cleaning during flu and cold seasons is a good idea, too. A great way to help protect you and your family from sick is to clean a little extra and focus on the things you might be forgetting to clean. Here is a list of 11 things moms might need to clean:

1. Remote Controls & Phones

My husband teases me often because I still call these “clickers” and apparently that is an antiquated term. Whatever you call the remote controls in your house, clean them! Start by removing the batteries, then use a cleaning wipe or a cotton swab dipped in cleaner to clean the surface or buttons. Use a toothpick to get out the really stuck grime, you’re already in three so you might as well get it all cleaned out now. Put the batteries back in, and you’re back in action! This should be done to other remotes too, like garage door openers. 

Phones should really be cleaned daily with how much some of us use them, but try to schedule frequent phone cleanings for you and your family. If you have the time and energy, take your phone case off and clean your phone and case. I really like using these wipes to clean my phone. 

2. Door Frames

Cleaning your door frames will depend on what kind of door frame you have. Wood door frames require specific cleaning supplies and techniques. Painted door frames can also require special supplies and techniques. Don’t let this scare you away, cleaning door frames is still very important. Be sure to clean the adult height of the frame, including where adult hands touch most often. Clean the frame at a kid’s level too, I sometimes find orange fingerprints at this level. The most commonly forgotten door frame level is at pet height, especially where furry backs rub up and dirty tails whip back and forth. Don’t forget to clean at pet height. Clean door handles while you’re at it!

3. Lighting Switches

Light switches are something that we all touch every single day, but it can be hard to remember to make time to clean them. Schedule time as frequently as needed to clean your light switches and set a reminder for yourself so you don’t forget. While you are cleaning the light switches on the wall, make sure to clean the knobs and switches on ANY of your light fixtures including lamps and ceiling fans. 

4. Spot Cleaning Walls

It can be overwhelming to think about washing all of your walls at once, so focus on spot cleaning more frequently and deep cleaning every once in a while. A great place to spot clean walls is around your toilet paper handles in bathrooms. Another great place to spot clean is behind any of your sink taps. If any of your kids are dramatic wall brushers like mine (they put their hands and shoulders and faces all over the wall while throwing fits) make sure to spot clean the walls at kid height. And, again, I can’t stress enough how important it is to spot clean the walls at pet height. Our adorable pets transfer all sorts of things onto the walls and it’s easy to forget to clean. Dirty shoes can kick up dirt and grime onto the walls toward the bottom, so look for dirty areas down there to spot clean as well. 

5. Headphones

No matter what kind of headphones you have, they probably come in contact with things like your purse, ear wax, sweat, hands, and other kinda gross things. Some moms use their headphones daily at the gym, some moms use them at work all day, some moms use them to listen to podcasts whenever we can make the time. Earbuds will take some extra fine motor skills, but it needs to be done. Use your favorite search engines like Google or Pinterest to kind posts and videos about how to clean your specific type of headphones.

6. Handrails

If you have stairs or a ramp of any kind, you probably have handrails. This includes outdoor handrails, basement or attic handrails, and regular stairs handrails. Using the type of material your handrails are made out of, search online for ways to best clean your handrails. There are many posts and videos on cleaning handrails and the supplies and materials needed. Most handrails will need a microfiber cloth to clean with, and these are my favorite microfiber cloths.

7. Dining Chairs

I will always encourage family meals together at the table, and part of that is remembering to clean the dining chairs. Admittedly, we have meals in front of the TV or out at a restaurant periodically. But the majority of our meals are eaten at the kitchen table. Both of my kids touch their chairs multiple times throughout their meals, and my husband and I touch the chairs plenty. Dining chairs are an important thing for moms to remember to clean (or delegate for someone else to clean). I really like the lavender-scented cleaning supplies by Mrs. Meyers for general cleaning.

8. Pillows

This one is really hard for me to write about because 1. I love me some pillows and 2. I hate cleaning pillows. Pillows are lovely to have in so many places in the house like beds, couches, cars, and chairs. Pillows make life more comfortable, but they are also easily forgotten when it comes to laundry day. We change our sheets and wash our quilts, we need to clean our pillows, too. Most pillows are machine washable, simply remove the pillowcase and wash 2 pillows at a time in your washing machine to balance the laundry load. For pillows that cannot be machine washed, search online for safe ways to wash your specific type of pillow. 

9. Washing Machine & Dishwasher

These are really difficult things to remember to clean because they are rarely not in use. I try to schedule time once a month to clean my washing machine, and once a month to clean my dishwasher. There are cleaning solutions to purchase to clean both machines. This is my favorite dishwasher cleaner and this is my favorite washing machine cleaner. There are also many posts and videos online for cleaning with all-natural ingredients.

10. Your Refrigerator 

Schedule time about once a month to go through the food in your refrigerator and toss anything expired. Clean the surfaces under the food in your refrigerator, concentrating on any food spills. Clean the walls of the refrigerator and clean the shelves in the door. Organize the food you still have in there so you know how to find the things you need. Clean the outside of your refrigerator and pay special attention to the door handles and anywhere touched often. Clean the top of your refrigerator, the top surface and anything you might have up there can collect dirt and dust and all sorts of gross things, so don’t forget to clean it.

11. Vacuum Canister

I have learned this one the hard way. At my mom’s house in Vegas one day, I vacuumed up a pee-pee diaper the dog had chewed up. Being in charge of both savage children, I then simply put the vacuum away in the downstairs closet without cleaning out the canister. Let me tell you, that closet and the surrounding area smelled like a pee-pee diaper for a few days even after we cleaned the canister. Try to clean the canister of your vacuum each time you use it, even if it was just a quick vacuum job. It’s sort of fun (or appalling) to see the canister refill each time you take the vacuum out. I currently use a robot vacuum and need to clean the small canister after each use, but it is TOTALLY worth it. Read my article about 5 reasons you need a robot vacuum. This is the robot vacuum I currently use and love, check it out and get one for yourself!