So I strive to keep a clean house. Does it always happen? Nope, I’m human. But I sure as heck give it a whirl.
I feel most comfortable at my house when things are neat and tidy. But with two dogs (one that loves her chew toys), a husband whose tools are everywhere, and myself, who lets my lazy girl out, it sure is hard to keep things clean.
I am sure you know what I mean. Homes are meant to be lived in and with that comes a bit of a mess. So how is it that some people keep their houses clean all the time?
At times this feels impossible without a full time maid! But after putting my mind to it, I have started practicing a few ways that have really helped to keep my house looking neat and put together.
Here are the 4 habits I use to keep my home tidy – well most of the time!
The 10 Minute Clean
Clean for 10 minutes everyday! You would be surprised how much this can help to keep your house tidy. Try setting a timer or playing a couple of songs and work to clean as many things as you can for 10 minutes.
I found this is the best way to keep the superfluous mess at bay. 10 minutes isn’t a lot of time but this really helps to eliminate any clutter that has formed around your home. This is especially helpful if you can do this 2-3 times a day.
Minimalism
One of the absolutely best ways to keep your house clean is through minimalism! This may sound crazy, but the less things you have, the less you have to put away or work to keep clean.
Now I am not saying to get rid of everything, what I am saying is to eliminate things you no longer use or have multiples of. Try going through your closest, drawers, or rooms and continually get rid of items you are no longer using, don’t really need, or just don’t want anymore.
Eliminating these frivolous items often can help to provide adequate space for those items you do want, resulting in a tidy home!
I try to go through my house once a month (or more if I randomly have the time) to get rid of anything I haven’t touched in a few months or just don’t want anymore.
Everything has a spot
Just as important as not having a lot of items around your home, making sure that everything you do have has a designated spot is key. This makes it easy to clean because when you are picking up items around the house you are not wondering around trying to find a spot for the items to be stored, you already know exactly where they go.
When straightening your house make sure to create or find designated spots for every item, piece of clothing, utensil, or object you have in your home. And more importantly, remember to use those locations when storing those items.
Cleaning Schedule
Creating a cleaning schedule or determining a specific day of the week to do a certain chore can help you to stay on track with cleaning certain items that tend to get overlooked. Like cleaning the toilet, window washing, dusting, etc.
This is a game changer because when you schedule something in your day, you tend to actually follow through with it. This really helps tackling those weekly messes we tend to procrastinate cleaning.
Try out this schedule I created for my own home or use the blank copy found on page two to create your own!
House Cleaning Tools To Incorporate
Here are a list of my absolute favorite cleaning tools I use to make cleaning easier.
- Roomba Robot Vacuum – Not sure how I cleaned before my Roomba! I absolutely love it and can’t live without it. I have the Roomba 960 and I use this to vacuum my hardwood floors every other day. This has really helped me to keep my floors clean and has helped tremendously with the dog hair.
- Microfiber Towels – We use these towels all throughout the house, whether it’s in the kitchen for drying dishes or in the bathroom to clean the mirrors and counters. (Extra tip: Use a microfiber towel to wipe down the mirrors in your bathroom right after you get out of the shower. With the fog on the mirrors you won’t need any cleaning products, just wipe with the towel. Doing this every time you take a shower helps to keep your mirrors squeaky clean).
- Bar Keepers Friend – I have been using this cleaner for about 5 years now and it always comes in handy for those tough messes. It can be used on almost anything from stainless steel to glass, in your kitchen, bathroom, and outside. It is an all purpose cleaner that helps to remove stains, cut grease, and restore shine!
- Wool Dryer Balls – These wool dryer balls help to reduce lint, soften clothes, and best of all, they help to reduce drying time to help you save that moolah! (Extra tip: To add a light scent to your laundry, put anywhere from 4-10 drops of an essential oil onto two to three wool balls (lavender, tee tree, orange for example), letting it soak in for a few minutes before throwing it into the dryer with your load of laundry).
Do you have any amazing cleaning tools you can’t live without or tricks you use to make cleaning easier? Let me know in the comments.
As always, I hope this post has helped you!
