The other day, a friend invited me home for an impromptu dinner after we both ended up working overtime on a Friday night. My house always needs a thorough round of cleaning and de-cluttering before guests come, so I expected her place to be equally messy when we reached there. But to my envy and surprise, Laura opened the door to a clean and sparkling home that spoke volumes of organized living.
I dream of having a clean house and hence, could not restrain myself from asking her how she managed to maintain her house so clean, knowing that she was also juggling two active school-going kids, a demanding 9-to-5 job, volunteer work and much more. This is what she said.
1. Don’t put it away for some other time.
Think about it. Don’t you spend a hugely inordinate time on your cleaning day putting things away or placing them where they belong? So why wait till things start piling up in the first place? Teach yourself (and your family) to put things back or keep them in their proper place after using them. Make sure that you have a designated place for books, stationery, magazines and toys so that they are not left lying around. This also keeps you organized and makes it easier to find things when you need them.
2. Clean the kitchen every night.
Waking up to a messy kitchen is enough to put you off cleaning the entire day, to say nothing of the pests and insects that may be attracted by leftovers left untended overnight on your kitchen counter. To avoid this, pack all leftover food items, take out the trash, wipe down the counters and load all used dishes in the dishwasher every night before you go to sleep. You’ll wake up to a better day, rest assured!
3. Cleaning is not a one-man job.
If you are the only person in your family who is working (or at least has been trying) to keep the house clean, it is not surprising that you’ve decided to call it quits already. Everyone lives in the house, so why can’t everyone join in and make an effort to keep it clean?
Assign chores to everyone in the house and that includes your husband and kids. If possible, make one person responsible for keeping clean at least one room in the house. Keep cleaning supplies handy so that they don’t have an excuse when you are not around.
If your husband likes cooking but hates cleaning up, then let him make dinner. You can do the cleaning up later. If you don’t mind loading the dishwasher but hate unloading it, get him to pitch in.
All kids can be given age-appropriate chores. A four-year-old can be taught to put away his toys after play. Bigger kids can make their beds themselves, stash used clothes in the laundry bin instead of dumping them on the floor, fold clean clothes and put them away, tidy their desk and so on. They’ll thank you for these habits when they grow up and start living in their own homes.
4. Think twice before you buy something new.
Keep it simple. If you are not a tidy and organized person by nature, more furniture simply translates to more place for dust and clutter to gather. Think twice before splurging on that gorgeous divan you’ve been eyeing for months. Does it fit into your home and lifestyle? Are you ready to care for it? And most importantly, do you really need it?
At the same time, toss away all the things that you don’t need. If you are sure that you are never going to read those self-help books that are gathering dust in a corner of your bookshelf, it’s time to donate them to your local library. The same goes for all those clothes you know you are never going to wear and the electronic appliances you are never going to use. Keeping a cleaner home is easier when you have lesser stuff to worry about.
5. Tackle things before they get worse.
If you wait for things to pile up till they become an unmanageable mess, it just makes your job that much more difficult and overwhelming. Instead, tackle things as they come. Load the dishwasher as you go instead of waiting to do all the dishes at the end of the day. Instead of designating one day a week as “laundry day”, wash a load as soon as you have enough clothes for one set.
6. Set aside one day every month for deep cleaning.
Set aside one day every month for dealing with all those areas impossible to clean on a daily basis. This should also include tasks such as clearing cobwebs, vacuuming curtains, polishing furniture, cleaning out kitchen drawers and the refrigerator and dusting fans and lights. If it is too much for you to tackle all at once, consider hiring a monthly helper. This will help you be on top of regular cleaning the rest of the days.
7. Cut down on paper.
Switch to electronic bills to reduce the amount of paper that crosses your threshold. All junk mail, leaflets and newsletters should be thrown out immediately. Make sorting mail a part of your nightly routine, just before you brush your teeth and wash your face.
8. Finally, keep at it.
In today’s busy world, it’s easy to push cleaning to the backburner when faced with more pressing tasks and deadlines and before you know, your house is in a mess again and all your earlier work has come undone.
Regular cleaning is essential to maintain a clean and organized home. Come up with a cleaning routine that fits you and your family and keep at it. If you prefer to tackle a single chore such as vacuuming or dusting every other day of the week instead of leaving it all for the weekend, then do that. Pressed for time? Try multi-tasking. Fold laundry while watching television or do dusting during commercials.
Kurt Jacobson is a surfing enthusiast with a background in real estate. Having moved 10 times in the past 7 years, he thrives on helping others learn from his experiences. When he’s not out shredding waves he writes about homes for househunter.co.