There is a time on Sunday when you can choose what to do with the upcoming week. It’s not about staying up late to prepare for Monday, nor about turning the weekend into a second work shift. It’s about something subtler and more powerful: taking an hour or two to declutter the space you live in, so that on Monday morning you can wake up and find a home that supports you instead of overloading you.
The concept is called Sunday reset — literally “Sunday reset” — and in recent years it has become one of the most shared domestic rituals on social media, where creators from all over the world document their weekly cleaning routines with an almost meditative satisfaction. It’s not just a trend: there’s something psychologically solid behind it. An orderly space reduces cognitive load, lowers cortisol levels and allows us to enter the week with a feeling of control rather than chaos.
Christy, a creator who has tens of thousands of followers on TikTok, shared her step-by-step Sunday checklist. We took it as a starting point to build a complete guide, room by room, with some green additions for those who want to take care of the home while also respecting the environment.
Bedroom: the starting point
The bedroom is the place where the day begins and ends. It makes sense to start from there, because tidying up this environment has an immediate psychological effect: when your rest space is clean and tidy, your sleep benefits too.
Start by dusting your bedside tables and mirror, two surfaces that accumulate dust faster than they seem. If you have an essential oil diffuser, this is the right time to light it with a few drops of lavender or eucalyptus: cleaning while the air smells is a completely different experience.
Then vacuum the floor — or sweep the floor if you have parquet or tiles — and finish with the mop. Change the sheets if you are in the middle of the week or if you have already changed them a few days ago, at least make sure they are tight. A carefully made bed is already half the work.
Extra tip: avoid conventional spray products for dusting: a slightly damp microfibre cloth is just as effective, it does not produce waste and does not disperse chemicals into the air of the room where you sleep.
Bathroom: the room that deserves the most attention
The bathroom is the room that more than any other reveals the level of care in a home. Neglected, it can become a source of daily discomfort. Clean, it is one of the most regenerating spaces in the apartment.
Start by disinfecting the sink and wiping the mirror glass: use a microfibre cloth and a little white vinegar diluted in water for a streak-free and completely natural result. Then dedicate yourself to the toilet, scrubbing well under the edge, and to the shower or tub, insisting on the corners and edges where limescale accumulates.
Empty the bin, and here comes one of the simplest and most fragrant tricks of the routine: put a few drops of tea tree or mint essential oil on a washable cotton pad and place it on the bottom of the empty bin. It will perfume the air naturally throughout the week, without electric diffusers or spray deodorants.
Check supplies of toilet paper, clean towels and soap: Sunday is the right day to stock up, so you won’t have to think about it during the week.
Finish with the floor, first vacuuming up any hair and then mopping.
Bonus tip: Citric acid-based DIY cleaners work great for most bathroom surfaces and have a vastly lower environmental impact than industrial chemicals.
Kitchen
The kitchen is the space that accumulates the most clutter over the course of the week, but it is also the one that, once tidied up, conveys the most immediate sensation of freshness and control.
Start with the bin: empty it, wash it with a little bicarbonate of soda and vinegar to neutralize odors, dry it and put the bag back. Food waste tends to leave lingering odors, and cleaning the container — not just changing the bag — makes a huge difference.
Then move on to the dishwasher: if it’s full, start it the night before, so on Sunday morning you can empty it and start from scratch. If you wash by hand, Sunday is the time to deal with pots, lids and items that usually end up in the sink all week.
Wipe down the countertops with a damp cloth and a natural detergent, check the fridge — throw out what’s expired, rearrange the shelves — and finish with the floor.
Extra tip: if you don’t already have one, consider an apartment composter for organic waste. Dramatically reduces bad odors in the kitchen bin and turns food waste into something useful.
Stay
The living room is the room where you probably spend the most time awake. It makes sense that it is the space where order is seen and felt the most.
Rearrange the sofa cushions, fold the blankets, rearrange books, magazines or anything that found a place where it shouldn’t have been placed during the week. Dust all surfaces, including the television screen — with a dry microfiber cloth, never with spray — and any shelves or low cabinets.
Then vacuum the entire floor, paying attention to the edges and under the furniture, and finish with the mop.
Extra tip: if you have plants in the living room, Sunday is the perfect time to check them: water the ones that need it, remove the dry leaves, dust the pots. Plants improve air quality and make the environment more alive — caring for them is part of the ritual.
The laundry and the final moment
The last item on the Sunday checklist is laundry. Setting up a washing machine or two on Sunday means you have clean clothes available for the week without having to think about it every morning. If you can, hang out in the open air: it’s more sustainable and the fabrics last longer.
Once everything is finished, you can light a candle and enjoy the result. It is not a trivial detail: it is the moment in which the work done becomes a sensorial experience, in which tiredness transforms into satisfaction. The house smells good, every room is tidy, and the approaching week already seems more manageable.
Because it really works
The Sunday reset is not a passing fad. It is a concrete response to something that many of us experience every day: the struggle of living in messy spaces, the feeling of leaving already late on Monday morning, the mental weight of things left unfinished.
Taking two hours on Sunday to tidy up doesn’t mean giving up rest: it means investing in your well-being for the whole week. A tidy home is a freer mind. And a freer mind is often the basis of everything else.
