Every month I set aside the first Saturday for a short list of cleaning jobs that do not happen on a normal day. This past month the first Saturday landed on a cold gray morning. My husband was home. My three kids were in and out of the kitchen all day. I kept the list taped to the fridge and crossed things off between snacks and arguments.

I used to be a teacher, and I still like a checklist. The daily jobs in my house are the dishes, the floors, and the counters. The monthly jobs are the ones most people forget. They are the filters, the seals, and the surfaces that get touched a hundred times and wiped never.

Here is what I cleaned that Saturday, what I found, and why each job earned a spot on the list. None of it took long. All of it made the house feel better by Sunday.

Run the washing machine empty on hot

On the first Saturday of the month I started with the washing machine before anyone was awake. I folded back the rubber seal around the door with my fingers. There was a thin gray line of grime tucked inside the fold. There was also a sock. I wiped the seal with a rag and a little dish soap. Then I ran the machine empty on the hottest cycle with a cup of white vinegar. By the time my three kids came downstairs the laundry room smelled clean instead of damp. Our youngest asked why the washer was running with nothing in it. I said the washer needs a bath too.

A washing machine that smells musty will pass that smell on to the clothes. Clean the seal and run an empty hot cycle every month.

Pull the filter out of the dishwasher

Midmorning on the first Saturday of the month I emptied the dishwasher and pulled out the bottom rack. My husband was making coffee behind me. Under the spray arm there is a round plastic filter that twists out. I had not touched it in a while. It came out with a layer of soft food bits and a few seeds from someone’s apple. I rinsed it under hot water and scrubbed it with an old toothbrush. It took a few minutes. The dishes from the next load came out without the cloudy film I had been blaming on the detergent.

Most dishwashers have a filter that needs rinsing by hand. Check it monthly and the dishes will come out cleaner.

Wipe down the fridge shelves and drawers

Right before lunch on the first Saturday of the month I took everything out of the fridge. Our middle one helped me carry jars to the counter. We found a yogurt from last month and a bag of spinach that had turned to soup. I pulled out the drawers and washed them in the sink. I wiped each shelf with warm soapy water. The door bins had sticky rings from a bottle of syrup. My husband wiped the rubber seal around the door with a damp cloth while I dried the drawers. When we put the food back, the whole fridge looked bigger because I could see the back wall again.

Food goes bad quietly behind other food. Empty the fridge and wipe every surface every month.

Soak the filter under the stove hood

After lunch on the first Saturday of the month I reached under the stove hood and popped out the metal mesh filter. It was heavy with grease. I could see it and feel it. I filled the sink with hot water and a big squirt of dish soap and let the filter soak while I did something else. Twenty minutes later the water was brown. I scrubbed the mesh with a brush and rinsed it. Our oldest walked by and said the water looked disgusting. I agreed. The filter went back in clean and the fan sounded quieter the next time I cooked.

A greasy hood filter stops pulling smoke out of the kitchen. Soak it in hot soapy water every month.

Scrub the inside of the trash cans

In the early afternoon on the first Saturday of the month I carried the kitchen trash can and the recycling bin out to the driveway. My husband brought the bathroom cans. I sprayed each one with the hose and scrubbed the inside with a brush and a bucket of soapy water. The kitchen can had a sticky layer at the bottom from a bag that leaked. The smell was worse than I expected. I let the cans dry in the sun, which was not warm but at least it was dry. When they came back inside with fresh bags, the kitchen smelled like nothing. That is the goal.

Trash cans hold onto smells even with a new bag. Wash them out every month.

Clean the switches, handles, and remotes

Late in the afternoon on the first Saturday of the month I walked through the house with a spray bottle and a rag. I wiped every light switch, every door handle, every drawer pull, and every remote. The light switch by the back door was gray from muddy hands. The fridge handle had jam on it. The remote for the living room television had crumbs in the buttons. My three kids touch all of these things dozens of times a day. So do I. So does my husband. Nobody wipes them because they do not look dirty from across the room.

The things that get touched the most get cleaned the least. Wipe every switch, handle, and remote monthly.

Empty and rinse the vacuum filter

Toward dinner on the first Saturday of the month I took the vacuum apart on the back porch. The canister was full, which I knew. The filter was packed with gray dust, which I had forgotten. I tapped it against the porch rail and a cloud came off. Then I rinsed it under the outside faucet and set it on a towel to dry overnight. My husband asked why the vacuum had been so loud lately. This was why. The next morning I ran it over the hall rug and it picked up a shocking amount of dog hair we do not have. It was just dust.

A vacuum with a clogged filter pushes dirt around instead of picking it up. Rinse the filter every month.

Soak the showerhead and faucet screens

After dinner on the first Saturday of the month I filled a plastic bag with white vinegar. I tied it around the showerhead in the kids’ bathroom with a rubber band and left it there. Then I unscrewed the little screen at the tip of the kitchen faucet and dropped it in a cup of vinegar on the counter. Our youngest wanted to know why there was a bag hanging in the shower. I said the water was getting a cleaning. By bedtime I rinsed both pieces. The showerhead sprayed straight again. The kitchen faucet stopped spitting sideways.

White mineral buildup slows water down and makes it spray in odd directions. Soak the showerhead and faucet screens monthly.

Dust the ceiling fan blades and vents

The last job on the first Saturday of the month happened after my three kids were in bed. My husband held the step stool. I wiped the top of each ceiling fan blade with a damp rag. The dust came off in a thick strip. It was gray and soft and there was more than I like to admit. Then I wiped the air vents in the hall and the bathroom with the same rag. The vent in the bathroom had a fuzzy coat on it. When I turned the bedroom fan on, nothing drifted down onto the pillows. That had been happening and I had not connected it.

Fans and vents move dust around the room every time they run. Wipe them down every month.

Sunday morning the house did not look very different from the outside. The counters were the same. The floors were the same. But the kitchen smelled like nothing, the dishes were clear, the fan was quiet, and the water came out straight. Those are the small things that add up to a home that feels good to live in.

I do not get to every job every month. Some months the fridge waits. Some months the trash cans skip a turn. The list on the fridge helps me remember, and crossing things off keeps me going. What is the one monthly job in your house that you keep forgetting?