When you’ve finished work, taken care of your kids’ business, put away dinner, and completed all the other seemingly endless daily tasks, what’s probably the last thing you want to do? For me—and probably for you—it’s cleaning. When all you want to do is sit around, it’s hard to find the motivation to clean and stick to a routine. That’s why there are so many books and techniques out there telling you how to do it. You can read all the best-selling books on the subject that you want, but none of it matters unless you have a schedule and find a way to stick to it. That’s really the key to keeping your little messes from becoming big messes—and you definitely don’t have time to deal with that.

You have options when it comes to how you approach your cleaning. Pick a predefined cleaning and/or tidying method and stick to it. To get into the swing of scheduling daily cleaning time, I recommend micro-tidying or the calendar method, as they already rely on a bit-by-bit methodology that lends itself perfectly to pre-planned cleaning sessions. With micro-tidying, you select a small space, like a single drawer or nightstand, and then spruce it up. That’s basically it. Instead of trying to tackle an entire room, you focus on something small, reap the motivating reward of doing something even if you’re exhausted, and slowly work your way up to an overall cleaner space. The calendar method is similar, but you look at the date and then throw or put away the corresponding number of items. Since today is the 26th, I would throw or put away 26 things. Towards the end of the month it gets overwhelming, but the first few days of the month provide a welcome relief before the numbers increase again.

In general, create a schedule for this. The first week of the month could be for your kitchen, the second week for your bathroom, the third week for your bedroom, and so on. Even a very general guideline for which room to focus on each day will help you when it comes time to clean each day, so you don’t get overwhelmed by the decision of what to do. Then pick a time and stick to it, as best you can. If you get home from work at 5 a.m. every day, make 5:45 your designated cleaning time. You won’t always make it, but try to commit to cleaning a little bit every day. Even on days when I’m booked solid, I try to clean something small before I go to bed. Sometimes all I can do is scrub a sink or clear my kitchen counter. But that’s enough. I go to bed feeling like I’ve accomplished something, and the sense of accomplishment motivates me to do it again the next day, ideally a little more intensively.

There are quite a few apps out there that can help you declutter and stick to your schedule. Most send push notifications and tell you exactly what to focus on that day. If you need that kind of direction, give them a try. Personally, I choose what I clean and when I clean it after a long day. That’s why I like to use a planner or just keep a note on my phone.