As others have said, everyone has their different method of cleaning. M1 Garands require grease, most guns don't. Some like being shot dirty, others need to be immaculately clean to work.
Here's my basic cleaning routine:
1. Place a few drops (no more than 5-8) of Break-Free CLP on the pre-brush area of the properly sized boresnake. Run boresnake through barrel from breech to muzzle twice.
2. Field strip the gun, wipe all parts with a patch soaked in CLP to remove carbon and other residue. Use nylon or bronze "toothbrush" as necessary. Wipe clean. Wipe down again with CLP soaked patch, then wipe with a dry patch until only a very thin film remains to protect against corrosion.
3. Detail-clean various high-wear or important parts with a q-tip and CLP (such as the track for the cam pin and bolt in an AR bolt carrier).
4. Put a small amount of CLP on "shiny" metal and other parts that wear (like pistol slide grooves). No more than a drop for the whole pistol groove, less on smaller parts.
5. Reassemble gun and function check.
I've not had any problems with any of the guns I shoot with this basic routine. When I don't have a boresnake in the caliber I'm using (not really an issue anymore), I will use a steel rod with a bronze brush and patch holder. For heavy fouling, I'll run the bronze brush down-and-back through the barrel for every 10 rounds fired that day, then alternate wet/dry patches until clean. Finish with a patch wetted with CLP, then a dry one to remove excess oil.
I'll detail-strip guns yearly or so, and clean out all the internal bits (trigger assemblies, interior of bolt/slides, firing pins and channels, etc.).
Works well for me, takes no more than 15-20 minutes per gun, and is very easy.