The Ultimate Weekly Bathroom Cleaning Checklist

Cleaning the bathroom is nobody’s favorite job. Unfortunately, it’s a room in your home you definitely don’t want to neglect when it comes to cleaning. I’ve written so many articles on bathroom cleaning in the past, like 5 Habits for a Cleaner Bathroom. 

But what I haven’t done yet, is create a bathroom cleaning checklist. Well, I hadn’t until now! If you go through every step in this list, your bathroom will be clean and organized by the time you’re done. 

This checklist is for weekly bathroom cleaning. If you’re looking for a few quick and easy tasks, you can do daily to keep your bathroom cleaner overall read, My Easy Daily Bathroom Cleaning Routine.

Wash Towels and Bathmats

Towels, bathmats, and other launderable items should be washed once a week. Bathroom laundry is the most time-consuming step in the weekly bathroom cleaning process, so throw a load in right away. That way, you’ll get it over with as quickly as possible. 

Towels are their own ballgame when it comes to laundry. If you’re finding your bathroom towels are smelling a little funky, make sure you’re leaving the bathroom fan on for at least 30 minutes after showers and baths so your towels dry thoroughly. And if you need more help read, 4 Easy Hacks For Clean, Fresh Bath Towels. 

Declutter: Bathroom Organization

One of my golden rules of cleaning is to organize and declutter before you clean. This is really important because it will save you time in the cleaning process. When we try to clean a messy space, we waste valuable time moving items around that don’t belong there. 

Want more information on decluttering before cleaning? Check out My Secret System to Cleaning Fast and Effectively. Relocate items that shouldn’t be in the bathroom, toss garbage in the trash, and generally declutter before you clean. If this seems like a big job, read Declutter Your Bathroom: 10 Things You Can Toss Today!

Disinfect the Toilet

Without a doubt the germiest place in your home, you should absolutely be disinfecting your toilet once a week. You want a disinfecting toilet bowl cleaner to sit in your toilet bowl for about 10 minutes before you start scrubbing. This will give that disinfectant time to work, so you can work a little less hard. 

Here’s my pro trick for toilet cleaning. Start by taking the toilet plunger and using it to plunge the water down the toilet drain. This exposes more of the toilet bowl area and lets the cleaner sit directly on the bowl surface, not in the water. Do this once a week, or blame that stinky smell on the dog. The choice is yours. 

Scrub the Shower and Bathtub

I get so many questions about showers and tubs I actually wrote a whole article called How To Clean A Bathtub & Shower Like A Pro, but I’ll break down the basics here. The shower and tub often need a lot of elbow grease, so I recommend pretreating them about ten minutes before you actually start cleaning them. 

After ten minutes, it’s time to get in and scrub. I love using a shower squeegee and a microfiber cloth to clean glass shower doors and walls without leaving streaks. And don’t forget to wipe down all the products that are actually in your shower, like shampoo and conditioner bottles. 

Clean the Sink

Like the shower and tub, you should pretreat the sink and let the product sit for about 10 minutes before you start cleaning. This will help cut through soap scum and make your job easier. 

If you notice brown stains in or around your drain, you can tackle this with a DIY cleaning product. Make a paste with dish soap and baking soda, and apply it to the stains. Let this sit and then scrub with a cleaning toothbrush or soft sponge. Be careful to use a soft brush or sponge that won’t leave scratches, especially if you have a high-polish sink. 

Wipe Down Shelves 

Bathroom shelves get extra gucky because they house a lot of goopy products. (Can we make gucky and goopy official cleaning words?) You’ll need to take everything off the shelves and out of the cabinets to clean them properly. 

Take a microfiber cloth and an all-purpose cleaner and give everything a good wipe down. Even if your shelves are looking pretty good, if you do this once a week, you can avoid product buildup that will make for a more time-consuming clean in the future. 

Clean the Mirror

Mirrors; the bane of a cleaner’s existence. You clean them, and then one second later, there are streaks or fingerprints. If someone invents a self-cleaning mirror, I will pay any amount of money!

But until then, a microfiber cloth is your best friend when it comes to mirror cleaning. And, of course, you’ll want a great glass or mirror cleaner for streak-free cleaning. Then call your entire family into the bathroom to admire your clean mirror because it won’t last long!

Mop the Floor

You should always tackle floors last in any cleaning routine. This is because dirt, dust, and everything else fall to the floor. Don’t worry about this during the cleaning process; just deal with it at the end. 

A versatile mop that can get into small spaces and is easy to maneuver is your best option for a bathroom. Of course, I’m going to tell you the Maker’s Mop is perfect for bathroom cleaning because of its precision edge and 360° pivot head, but any great mop will do the job. 

Take Out the Trash

OK, I lied; there’s one more step in your bathroom cleaning checklist. I probably don’t need to tell you to take out the bathroom trash, but this is the total bathroom cleaning checklist, so here I am, telling you to take out the trash. 

You don’t want to clean your whole bathroom but leave a full trash can for later. It’s details like that that take away from your bathroom feeling totally clean. 

Bathroom Cleaning Checklist For the Win!

Now your bathroom is spick and span, be sure to check out my article Turn Your Bathroom Into A Spa! And if you’re ready for a bathroom makeover, be sure to read $150 Bathroom Makeover: Cheap Organizing, Storage & Decor Ideas!

I hope this bathroom cleaning checklist will make your weekly bathroom cleaning a little less painful. And if you want a bathroom cleaning checklist for deep cleaning or daily cleaning, let me know in the comments below.