CLEAN MAMA: What You Need To Know (Complete Review)
Clean Mama: Everything in a Nutshell
The first thing that you need to know is that there are a TON of printables to walk you through everything from how to clean a bathroom to removing stubborn stains and EVERY step in between. Clean Mama offers diy cleaning recipes that do a great job and limit the amount of chemicals being used around your family.
The Clean Mama Quick Start:
This 18 page packet walks you through each step of getting started with the Clean Mama plan. Becky encourages you to print out the packet, and the daily planner pages which will give you the checklists needed.
The main tip is to just start. Clean Mama says there is no reason to “catch up”. Each day is a new start so start with the new day’s tasks and let yesterday be forgotten.
Clean Mama also reports that her system is designed to help you find YOUR daily rhythm no matter how much you work or how busy your are.
In the beginning, Clean Mama says there are three ways to get started.
How to Start Clean Mama?
EASE IN: Encourages starting with one of the daily tasks. Once that tasks has been consistently completely for a week, add in another of the daily tasks. This will let you build to a full daily routine slowly at your own pace.What I like about the product
QUICK START: Is the Clean Mama preferred way to start. She says start Sunday by making the bed and then repeat + a new task each day. Each day you are simply adding one new task to the current list for you to build in one week to a full routine.
JUMP IN: If you already have a cleaning routine, Clean Mama says you can just jump in to her plan instead of the one you had been doing.
What is the Clean Mama Routine?
The entire Clean Mama cleaning system involves four key components which she lays out in the Quick Start Guide. These are the foundations for keeping a home that is clean and organized all year round. They are Daily Tasks, Weekly Tasks, Rotating Tasks, and the Monthly Focus.
What are the Clean Mama Daily Tasks?
Think of the daily tasks as your basic daily routine. These are things to keep a mess from developing or at least from worsening until you can tackle it completely.
Check Floors: A cornerstone of a tidy house is to keep things up and off of the floors. Think of that pile of shoes by the door, backpacks dropped by the stairs, or even toys in the living room. It is all visual clutter. A quick daily sweep to locate and eliminate this instantly makes things look better. A personal note: I found this helpful as a reset before bed but a constant glance can keep it up even better.
Wipe Counters: Similar to floor clutter, counter clutter makes the kitchen feel chaotic and unorganized. Try to spot spills, crumbs, and things being left out asap and tackle it. This is where just 2 minutes can transform a kitchen!
Clutter: Anything that is left out and not part of your decor is clutter. In my house, it is empty cups, tissues, papers, etc. They get put aside and forgotten about. A clutter check keeps it from multiplying like gremlins!
Laundry: Clean Mama suggests doing one load of laundry a day from start to put away. This eliminates the piles of laundry that overwhelm almost every mom I know!
Make Beds: While many people skip this simple task, a made up bed makes the room look nice. I suffer from time blindness and always thought that I did not have time to make the bed…once I set a timer and it actually only takes me 3 minutes and I include the big pretty pillows too!
Clean Mama Weekly Tasks
With the Clean Mama system, every day through the week has a cleaning task assigned. According to her, this assembly style is a faster and more efficient way to clean.
Monday: Clean the bathrooms.
Tuesday: Dust all surfaces.
Wednesday: vacuum floors, rugs, carpets.
Thursday: Wash all floors.
Friday: Catch up day for any unfinished tasks.
Saturday: Change sheets and towels.
Sunday: Only the daily tasks!
What is the Clean Mama Bathroom Quick Clean Method?
I was shocked the first time I tried to start the Clean Mama Weekly Tasks! My first impression was the Monday task. To be fair, I had been relying on my teens to keep up their bathroom so this was a BIG and HARD cleaning task!
What Clean Mama means by Rotating Tasks
Rotating tasks are pretty much the deep cleaning tasks that we never get around to doing. Clean Mama breaks these tasks down by month so there is a system to when and where to do each one.
polish wood furniture
spot clean walls & furniture
rotate & clean mattresses
wash windows
replace filters
wipe switches, phones, & remotes
What is a Clean Mama Monthly Focus?
Another aspect of a clean and tidy home is to have good organization. The Clean Mama Monthly Focus is a rotation of rooms or areas of the home to spend a little time in organizing. However, her official Monthly Focus is hidden behind a pay wall. It is included in the Homekeeping Planner and as a member of the Homekeeping Society.
October Monthly Focus:
To get a real overview of what to expect from Clean Mama’s Monthly Focus, let me share what I did. The focus for this month was the laundry room. The calendar shows the daily tasks to be checked off which I love. Next, I was encouraged to declutter. In the laundry room this looks like going through the lost socks bin and attempting to match as many as possible and tossing the rest. Gasp!
I mean, how long can I keep that lone sock in hopes that it will cycle back through?
Another task that is frequently overlooked, or ignored in my case, is cleaning the washer and dryer. I just picked up a washer cleaning tablet and tossed it into the washer on hot water. Wham bam, sanitized and clean. Then I just used my microfiber cloth and small brush to clean the lid and top of the washer/dryer where all the lint and gunk settles. I looks so new when it’s clean!
Finally, I am focused on organizing and containing everything. Clean Mama encourages a regular evaluation of what is working and what isn’t. This month is the time to focus on making the laundry room run smoother. A new sorting system is on my list for this month! Check this one out that I am ordering.
Each month, Clean Mama moves into another area of focus so that the entire house is improved!
Keys to Know from Clean Mama
Clean Mama’s thoughtful and effective approach to home cleaning emphasizes the importance of simplicity and consistency, making it easily accessible for busy moms as well as anyone managing the many responsibilities of a household. The first key is establishing a personalized routine that works well for you—whether it's a daily fifteen-minute tidy-up or a more comprehensive weekly deep clean that fits into your schedule.
Secondly, she champions the “clean as you go” philosophy, which encourages small daily tasks that help prevent overwhelming buildup and keep messes manageable. Third, decluttering is essential; by keeping only those items that you truly love and use, the process of cleaning becomes far more straightforward and less daunting. Lastly, Clean Mama advocates for using natural cleaning products, which helps ensure a safe and healthy environment for your family to thrive in. Implementing these key practices and tips can lead to a more organized and peaceful home, ultimately freeing up valuable time and space for what truly matters in your life.
Would I stick with Clean Mama?
Task Cleaning
I really love the idea of using one cleaning tool and doing the entire house
It feels like the whole house gets a little love each day instead of just one space
Save time because you are not going back and forth to grab new tools or products!
Daily Checks
Most cleaning routines have a basic daily routine but this one includes floor checks
I LOVE seeing the bed is made. It makes me feel like a grown up and only takes 3 minutes!
Living with small kids means there is a constant source of crumbs and toys. Daily checks and tidying keeps things looking pretty good in minutes.
Homekeeping Society
As of writing this post, much of the resources for Clean Mama is behind this paywall.
The best price is $169 for the year saving 3 months vs. $19 monthly.
As far as I can see, there is no guarantee. However, the monthly plan is easy to cancel.
Clean Mama Alternatives
If you find that Clean Mama isn’t a good fit for you, you have options!
Remember to keep the parts that work and find solutions for the ones that don’t.
YOU are the secret sauce!
FlyLady vs Clean Mama
Clean Mama can feel unattainable sometimes when you see all of the beautiful, clean, and aesthetic pictures and perfect organization.
FlyLady hits with a messier crowd because she is imperfect but practical. There are no beautiful photos but more real conversations from fans.
Clean Mama has a rotating task cleaning for each day of the week while FlyLady has a daily focus rotation. For example: on Tuesday Clean Mama tells you to dust all areas of the house but with FlyLady you focus on meal planning and bill paying. Both include deep cleaning tasks each day but phrase them differently: Clean Mama Rotating Task vs FlyLady Zone Cleaning
Clean Mama vs TOMM
TOMM (The Organised Mum Method) has a 15 min level 1 tasks daily similar to the Clean Mama daily tasks.
The weekly tasks with Clean Mama are task focused but TOMM is room focused of primary spaces.
Both include Friday as a special day. Clean Mama calls it a catch up and TOMM includes all the extra rooms to tidy up.
All of the plans seem to have a rotating deep cleaning system and encourage cleaning a little every day.
Conclusion
While my initial impression of the Clean Mama system was frustration, I quickly realized that ALL cleaning routines have growing pains in the beginning. The mistake I made was to dive in head first with trying to clean all of my bathrooms using her “quick” bathroom method. I ended my day feeling completely exhausted and frustrated that it took so long.
If you are starting a Clean Mama inspired cleaning routine, I strongly recommend setting a timer and doing what you can in a set time instead of trying to do it all. After reading her book, subscribing to her newsletter, and finally joining her Homekeeping Society, I see that the consistency will speed up the cleaning significantly and she never intended perfectionism.
After using all of these cleaning systems I can honestly say they are all super similar. There will be one that connects with you more by the aesthetics, personality, and lifestyle that seems to line up better with your own. Bottom line, you won’t go wrong with any of them. The magic to a clean home is your consistency and nothing else!