Cleaning shouldn’t be a single task reserved for the weekend or a day off. If you do a few small things daily and consistently you can avoid needing a whole day to clean your home. Do these nine things regularly, this way you will always keep a clean home and it will significantly shorten your cleaning day.
Make The Bed
Starting the day by making the bed sets the tone for your day. Making the bed is a quick thing to do, it will put you in good mood and get you into an organisational mindset for the day. Your bedroom will also look much neater and cleaner with the bed made. Add some scatter cushions and a throw in your colour scheme to complete your bedroom’s look.
Open The Doors
It’s easy for a musty smell to creep into your home when it is all closed up at night. Start off with a daily airing your house out time slot. Open some of the main doors or windows for half an hour to allow fresh air to be blown through your home. This also helps to keep your family healthy and prevent home allergies as bad bacteria and dust is also blown out with the stale air.
Use The Dishwasher
Dishwasher by Bart Everson
Do not get into a habit of using the dishwasher as additional storage. Put a load of dishes on every night or every second night and empty the dishwasher the following morning, packing everything back into the cupboards. This will also assist with not having dishes piled up at the sink. Rinse the dishes off straight after each meal and place them straight into the dishwasher. Also have a look at these other 7 things that you can also clean in the dishwasher.
Keep Things Off The Floor
Everything in your home should have a place, and this shouldn’t be on the floor As soon as it has been used, make sure that you and your family get in a habit of putting it back in its place. Get some storage boxes, label them and keep them in a passage cupboard or side board so that everyone knows where things need to go when they are packed away. The whole house is easier to clean when there isn’t stuff on the floor or counter tops. Organise your cleaning supplies and cloths neatly under the sink.
Wipe Up Spills & Crumbs
As soon as you’ve finished making a cup of coffee or breakfast, take a cloth out and give the counter tops a wipe. Have a cloth hanging near the sink which can easily be wet and used to clean up spills and crumbs immediately. Cleaning up spills immediately means that they don’t have time to dry into nasty rings which are difficult to remove. Keeping crumbs off the counters keeps the floors clean as well and helps control pests.
Also try to clean up as you go along. If you’re cooking dinner, use the time between boiling, baking or frying to wash a dish, wipe a counter or clean up some of the items you’ve used in the preparation process. Cleaning cooking equipment is much easier when it is done immediately rather than trying to clean the food off once it has dried and stuck on.
Have A Laundry Day
Laundry by Celeste Lindell
Set a specific day or two days of the week aside for doing laundry. Do whites on one day and colours on another. Don’t wait for the laundry baskets to be overflowing before putting a load in the wash. This way you’ll always have clothes to wear and won’t have to worry about an overflowing basket of clothing.
Fridge Clean Out
With a full fridge, there is always a chance of something hiding in the back and being forgotten about until it goes off. Once a week have a quick look through the items in your fridge, including the sauces and condiments, and check their expiration dates. Throw out any products, fruit or vegetables which are not good and give the shelves a wipe down. Keeping the fridge clean also keeps it from smelling funky.
Add A Welcome Mat
Welcome Mat by Macrofarm
You homes entrance is the most important place to control mud and dirt being brought in. Get a good quality welcome mat which can be used to brush off any excess dirt, mud or grass stuck on shoes. Provide a rack for the family and guest to leave any boots or muddy shoes during wet or snowy weather.
Go To Bed Daily With A Clean Home
Before going to bed, get your family into the habit of doing a quick five to ten minute tidy up. This is the time when everyone runs through the house and picks up their shoes, school work, books, glasses, cups and plates etc and puts them away. Throw your used clothing in the laundry, place all of the dishes in the dishwasher and tidy up anything that has been used during the day.
Do you have any other tips and tricks for keeping a clean home? Let us know in the comments section below.
Cover Image: Clean Bedroom by Jinx McCombs. All images in this post are used under CC BY 2.0.