Make sure the grout in shower/bathroom/kitchen is sealed.

Do not use harsh or abrasive cleaners on the above.

A huge time saver is having a water softener---cuts way down on mineral stains. We only need to wash down shower walls once a month or less. No build up on faucets/drains.

Best way to keep glass streak free is Windex and paper towels---takes a bit of practice.

Vacuum carpets at least twice a week. We have had many brands of vacuums(Kirby/Shark/etc.)---the best by a HUGE margin is Dyson---but, some carpet manufacturers will not honor their warranty if a Dyson is used on their products. We have three inside/outside dogs and three adults---need to vac twice a week minimum. But, only have a couple large area rugs---rest of the vacuuming is hardwood floors.

Find out what finish was applied on the hardwood floors---follow that manufacturers directions.

There is a special tool(home improvement/hardware stores have them) to easily clean hair from drains. The tool is a long round or flat piece of plastic with barbs pointing towards the handle. Simply stick the strip into a drain and remove, hair is caught and pulled out.

When I bought a brand new house, I was pleasantly surprised at how little work and cleaning there was to do for the first year.

I would suggest using a squeegee on the shower door after showering.

I have two of those Dyson sticks one for upstairs one down. Best thing ever and I never use my Miele anymore because it's so easy to use for everything. We added outlets into closets to house them on the wall. The attachments are great for dusting high corners and baseboards/stairs.

I love cleaning, it's my therapy. Ever since I learned to love buckets and microfiber cloths I think our stuff is cleaner and lasts longer. A lot of cleaners are harsh on surfaces. Aside from windex on mirrors and bleach in the toilet I stick with water and a tiny squirt of dawn for just about everything. I buy cases of microfiber cloths on amazon and keep a bucket under the bathroom and kitchen sinks for dirties, then once a week toss in a load.

We have a glass shower and husband is bad about squeegeeing but I do it most of the time. I use a magic eraser on the glass periodically and that cuts the residue quickly. We have tile in the bathrooms with sealed grout and it never really looks dirty.

I keep a calendar planner for the bummer tasks like dusting the wood blinds, wiping baseboards, shelves in the pantry, windows, etc. I don't do things to the day, but I check them off when done so at least I know they get done periodically. I tend to clean my floors and kitchen often. I take a few minutes and do a wipe down of my kitchen every day. I vacuum daily because I love vacuuming and I use a bona stick mop with off brand microfiber pads. If you run it around often enough nothing really gets dirty. We live in the rain much of the year and keeping waterhog mats by doors cuts down on the crud that gets drug in. Unfortunately those are not good for all flooring types and now that we've done new flooring I need to find an alternative. And no shoes of course, though my teenager takes all the trash out and I'm not going to balk if he needs two trips in shoes.

If the shower does not have a hand held shower-head then get one and install it yourself. I just replaced my old Waterpik with a new one from Bed Bath & Beyond for $30. Use it every time you shower to rinse the soap off of the walls etc. It will really cut down on the number of times that the shower needs a good cleaning.

Liz, ask to be sure.

For
cleaning your house properly, I would suggest you clean your bedroom,
bathroom, dining room, kitchen and all floors of your house daily.
Make sure you are using a microfiber cloth for cleaning purpose. You
can use a vacuum to clean all the floors of your house. I understand
this can be a tedious task for you on regular basis but I would
suggest you hire professionals for home cleaning.

Great topic, one that is commonly overlooked missing the forest for the trees.

My thoughts:

Be relentless in tracking down any maintenance or operator manuals for things your builder installed. Examples beyond the obvious (appliances, heat and cooling system) are your flooring, rugs, outdoor lights, garage doors, smoke and CO2 detectors, ... the list goes on.

For hardwood flooring obtain and follow the manufacturers maintenance instructions, polishing hardwood floors is not what you want to do, vacuuming regularly and using specific cleaning chemicals is almost always what the manufacturers specify.

For appliances and HVAC systems, look up what cleaning and filter replacements are needed and follow the schedule. Everyone knows about replacing filters in HVAC air handling units, but fewer know about filters in refrigerators, in ice makers in refrigerators, in wine coolers, in cooking exhaust systems, etc.

Your HVAC system may need more than just filter replacement, there are condensate pumps (annual cleaning with vinegar), UV lights (bulb replacement every 2 or 3 years), and general cleaning of the air handler. This is what your annual or semi annual HVAC service covers, but you need to be aware of it.

There's a lot of good advice above, the This Old House website is a great resource, they have several lists on this very topic.

I'll be interested to see what more others posters say and recommend.

I would recommend having a trustworthy HVAC company service your units each spring and fall. It's worth the peace of mind and they remind you of service. The small problems they catch and repair, or cover under your warranty, is insurance for a long life on your systems-the most expensive single mechanical feature of your home.

I'm glad that twice-yearly service has helped COKGW, but unless you can't change your own filters, I think that's more often than is really necessary.

Over the years I've owned many houses, both personal and income. I change filters in spring and autumn, and have the systems professionally serviced (cleaned, inspected, adjusted) every 5 years. That's it.

My oldest system is original to the 1959 house. In the 30+ years that I've owned that house, I can recall only 5 failures. Three service calls were to replace the blower motor, 2 were for thermocouple replacement, and 1 was for gas valve replacement.

My newest system is 22 years old. It's never had a failure.

Maybe I'm just lucky. :)

I recently saw in a somewhat current Readers Digest a list of house hold maintenance that made me go, oh yeah, that should be done, forgot about that. It's at my mom's, I should make a copy and hang it in my utility room. Couldn't find online though.

A couple things I remember.

Yearly lubricate garage door spring, I you can buy special stuff at hardware store. I just usually use wd-40, but probably not the correct stuff.

Yearly, or more, check weep holes on Windows to make sure the are draining, clean (I use a toothpick and poke through hole) and run a bit of water through them. A little rubbing alcohol or hydrogen peroxide works good, I use a eye dropper and squirt some in.

If you live in area with freezing temperatures turn off water supply to outside water spigots from in house and open water spigots that are outside to prevent water freezing in pipes.......I forgot to open one outside spigot once and was busted and leaking in spring, had to have replace, could have been a real mess.

Found it

https://www.rd.com/home/improvement/10-vital-home-maintenance-tasks/

Looks like you can buy a book from them with a more comprehensive list.

"I would suggest you clean your bedroom, bathroom, dining room, kitchen and all floors of your house daily."

I suspect the poster owns a home cleaning service, as every single post s/he promotes "hire professionals for home cleaning."

"Make sure the grout in shower/bathroom/kitchen is sealed".

Yes, this is the Super Number One tip, as we would never move into any house without grout being sealed.

elleewa,

I appreciate your wonderful tips, do you care to share the model of Dyson sticks you use? Thank you in advance.

I only have one 7 months old miniature cobberdog puppet.

I must have done something wrong, as I clean the floor(tile) at least twice a day, yet never feel it is clean.

azmom - We got the DYson V8 sticks at Costco. It seems there is usually a good deal going on with those. I had an older one that I also liked but I gave that away after getting another newer one when it was on sale. They really do a good job and are easy to use. I have them attached to a wall in closets for charging so they don't take up much space

So many good ideas here!

Very great tips here, I also agree with at least some light dusting should be a daily routine or every other day, this also has alot to do with the amount of foot traffic, if you have pets and etc. Keep and extra eye for dust in those certain locations that it tends to accumulate, such as ceiling fans.

Great tips and ideas here guys thanks.

elleewa, Thank you so much for the Dyson's model, will check it out at Costco.

First determine if the tile is glazed or unglazed.

Some answers on what kind of sealer to use:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/discussions/topic/grout-and-tile-sealer

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MkrMI6EUpBw

YouTube is good for "how to DIY" these kinds of small jobs. It's a good idea to quickly look at the video comments, if the guy making the video gets something wrong the commenters will jump all over him.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sealing+grout+in+shower