Sunday Reset Routine With Weekly Cleaning Schedule Template

We all know the feeling: 5:00 PM on a Sunday, the shadows are getting longer, and a creeping sense of dread starts to set in. The “Sunday Scaries” are real, whether you live alone and managing the household, errands, and a career all falls on your shoulders, or whether you’re wrangling kids’ schedules, wants and needs on top of your own.

There was a time when I would spend Sunday night in a state of low-grade paralysis, worrying about Monday morning. That changed for the better when I started treating part of my Sunday as a way to wipe the slate clean and prep for the coming week.

If you need a Sunday reset routine that actually sticks, have a go at adapting my approach and see if it helps you start the week feeling calm rather than chaotic. You can also try combining a light weekly cleaning schedule template (see below) with intentional planning to help set the tone for a productive week ahead and keep your stress levels more manageable.

👉 Don’t miss out on the free printable PDF template at the end of this article!

3 Steps to Create Your Own Ultimate Sunday Reset

A great reset routine isn’t one-size-fits-all solution. You basically need to look at your week ahead and ask yourself “What can I do now to make Future Me happier?” Here’s the three-part framework I used to create a Sunday that serves my own pain points:

Step 1: The “Brain Dump”

Before I even assess my physical space, I try to tackle some mental clutter. When you’re constantly carrying a running to-do list in your head, it’s exhausting. So I sit down with my digital planner (or a notebook, if that’s your vibe) and get everything I need to do out in front of me.

I look at admin tasks that usually slip through the cracks like paying a bill, scheduling a dentist appointment, or replying to an email I ignored last week. Getting these little to-dos down in black-on-white reassures me that I don’t need to make a “mental note” of them for the rest of the week.

Step 2: The Physical Reset

This is where a weekly cleaning schedule template is useful. Now, I know a lot of you don’t want to spend your time cleaning at the weekend. The goal here isn’t a deep clean, just a refresh (personally, I save individual heavy scrubbing tasks for specific weekdays). So on Sundays I focus on high-impact areas that could affect my Monday morning mood.

That means instead of stripping the bed linens and doing three loads of laundry on a Sunday night—which feels like a punishment—I make sure my work clothes are ready to go, I tidy up the nightstand, the kitchen counters, and see if the sitting room needs some quick decluttering. If I missed a particular chore on my cleaning schedule earlier in the week, I might do a quick catch-up, but generally, I treat Sunday as a “no-scrub day.” It’s simply time to reset the visual noise so I can relax.

Step 3: Kitchen Prep

I’ve become a big fan of meal prepping. It’s helped me eat more nutritiously, which in turn curbed my sugar cravings without a hitch. Win-win! Plus it saves me time on weekdays, because lunch, my main meal, is ready for me whenever hunger hits. I don’t have to think about what to cook, don’t have to make any mad dashes to the supermarket, and don’t wind up ordering takeaway when I’m lazy.

Getting a meal plan ready does take a bit of up front work. You don’t need to plan out any five-course meals, but you do need to think about what you want to eat, and coordinate a big trip to the market.

I usually handle my grocery shopping early on Saturday morning to beat the weekend crowd. Of course, you could also just order delivery groceries.

On Sunday, I take an hour or two to wash all the fresh produce, chop veggies, make salads and roast vegetables. I also cook a batch of wild rice in my rice cooker so it’s ready to go. Having these components ready makes weeknight dinners pretty effortless. If I have a plan for the week—even if it’s just knowing I have the ingredients for three simple meals I put on repeat—I spend less money and feel significantly less stressed.

I highly recommend adding this step to your reset ritual! I love this routine now and turn on a movie on my iPad or catch up on long-length YouTube videos while I’m prepping the food. Totally relaxing!

My Sunday Reset Routine & Weekly Cleaning Schedule Template

Like I said above, no one wants to spend their Sunday scrubbing the bathtub or hoovering. I certainly don’t. Sundays are precious in the West, and if you spend the whole day cleaning, you’re just not going to start the workweek feeling refreshed.

I already rely on a specific cleaning schedule for living alone to incrementally handle the heavy lifting during the week. Because I tackle things like bathrooms and floors on weekdays, my Sunday reset routine stays strictly “low-lift.”

So the goal of the weekly cleaning schedule template you’ll find in the below PDF printable is not to add chores to your Sunday; it’s to verify that your plan for the week ahead is realistic.

Here’s what my actual Sunday reset checklist looks like in terms of cleaning (it takes less than 30 minutes):

• Surface sweep: I do a super quick one-over of the living room and put away any books, gadgets, or slippers that migrated during the weekend. I don’t really clean per se; I mostly just tidy up.
• Clean vibes reset: I swap out the WC hand towels for fresh ones and take out the garbage.
• Fridge/pantry check: I double-check if I need to pick anything else up at the market after work on Monday.
• Review the template: I check my weekly cleaning schedule to see what’s coming up. If I know I have a late meeting on e.g. Wednesday, I’ll shift tasks around to accommodate it.

By using a template to manage my regular chores during the week, Sunday stays protected as a true reset day.

👉 Download the free printable PDF at the bottom of this post for a more comprehensive template you can adapt to your situation!

Beyond Cleaning: Self-Care and Intentionality

A good Sunday shouldn’t revolve around chores and to-dos. If your routine is all work and no play, you’ll stop doing it. In such, it’s important to prioritise self-care.

For me, that means carving out quiet time on Sundays, too. Since I live alone, I can make things as cozy as I want—lighting a candle, putting on some music, reading in the book nook, or just recharging with a little nap. I like going for a walk without headphones, too.

Small mindfulness activities like these are what sets the tone for the upcoming week. It shifts the energy from frantic scrambling to intentional living.

Keep Your Reset Day Manageable

Don’t sabotage your weekend by overloading it. It’s just not possible to overhaul your entire life every week. To keep your Sunday routine manageable:

1. Don’t aim for perfection. If you don’t get done with everything on your list, that’s okay. Stay agile. Prioritise tasks for the rest of the week.
2. Timing can help. Starting at roughly the same time every week helped me build this new simplicity habit of a weekly reset routine. It became automatic with rather little effort.
3. Digital vs. analogue. While I love a paper list, using a digital planner to track recurring admin tasks means I don’t forget random monthly stuff. I use Apple Reminders for this, but you can also use a notes app or Asana or even just a Google doc.

The real game-changer (if I may borrow from AI’s favourite vernacular ever) is consistency. A small weekly reset done 52 times a year is infinitely more powerful than one massive “I wanna change my life” spree that leaves you burnt out.

Create your own Sunday reset routine and try utilising a weekly cleaning schedule template. I bet you’ll start waking up Monday morning feeling more refreshed and ready for the week!