Keeping the house clean can really be frustrating, especially when you just can’t seem to keep it that way. Cleaning can take up so much of your valuable time and energy that you would rather spend on something else, like learning a new hobby or catching up with your kids, which is why you’ll hire a cleaning service instead.
But did you know that you could actually be the one making the cleaning harder for yourself than it really is? If you step back a minute and reassess your situation, you’ll realize that there are plenty of things you should have been doing to keep cleaning at a minimal.
It’s time to make a difference! We’ve jotted down ten things that you may or may not be doing that’s making cleaning more difficult for you:
1. Are you leaving things where they don’t belong?
What makes cleaning tiresome is when you find things scattered around the house.
Do you simply kick off your shoes when you get home and forget to stack them on the rack with the others before you go to bed? Or do you let your kids leave their toys on the floor?
If that’s the case, then you’re setting yourself up for a lot of work.
Try putting your books back on the shelf when you’re done reading them and slipping your pens into the pen holder after use and you cut down your cleaning time by a half.
2. Are you inviting the dirt into your house all the time?
The best place to keep muddy shoes is outside. You should have a place on the porch, the yard, or in the garage for your dirtied stuff where you can clean them before putting them back into the house.
If you have a pet that sheds a lot of fur, do the regular brushing of its hair outside before allowing it to come in. That way, you’ll have less fur to clean up later on.
3. Do you have an efficient cleaning plan?
Even cleaning time needs careful planning. Have a list of what you need to accomplish for the day and schedule each task in the most efficient way possible.
For example, start with the rooms upstairs, making your way down to the ground floor and finishing up in the kitchen. But before doing so, pick up everything from the ground floor that belong upstairs, and then bring them up with you so you can put them back in their proper places as you go along.
4. Do you make a habit of cleaning after messing up?
Make it a habit of immediately cleaning up after your mess. For instance, after preparing all the ingredients you need for cooking, throw away the things you no longer need like peeled off potato skins and egg shells. Put away the jars and wipe off the sink.
Cooking will be a lot more enjoyable when you know you don’t have that much cleaning up to do afterwards.
5. Do you de-clutter regularly?
When was the last time you’ve sorted through all your things and de-cluttered your house?
You might be surprised with the amount of stuff you have that you no longer need, but are still dusting off every day, like an old lamp shade you don’t like or that printer on your desk that hasn’t been used in years.
Throw them out, sell them or give them away to someone who needs them and gain yourself more space.
6. Are your curtains washable?
Heavy drapes can be classy, but they also require a lot of vacuuming to keep clean. If you don’t have the time or the patience to do all that, consider shifting to machine washable curtains instead.
7. Are you maintaining carpets?
Carpets are known to gather dust quickly and need to be vacuumed often. You’re better off keeping your floors spotless with a mop than keeping a carpet that may cause health problems later on.
8. Have you invested on good flooring?
Vinyl tiles and linoleum are excellent options for flooring and don't take much to clean them up. A little sweeping and a little wiping can get your vinyl floors gleaming in no time!
Linoleum is just as easy to maintain, and they are quite resistant to all types of stains. Investing on good floors takes a lot of chores off your hands!
9. Have you enlisted everyone’s help?
Of course, cleaning will be exhausting if you’re the only one doing it after everyone.
Get everyone on board! Teach your kids to pack away their toys and ask your husband to toss his laundry in the hamper. Keeping your home neat is so much easier when everyone is on it.
10. Are you making cleaning time fun?
Cleaning time is a good time to get creative! Take out the chore of cleaning and turn it into a fun bonding moment for you and your kids.
Turn up the music and dance up a storm while you mop the floor or as you dust off the shelves. Integrating play into the chore like shooting toys into the box from a distance can encourage your kids to participate more eagerly.
Are you ready to make a change?
So you see, it’s actually been you all along that’s making cleaning more stressful for yourself than it really is. It’s simply a matter of changing habits and learning to delegate.
Go ahead and apply all necessary changes to how you do things and make cleaning less burdensome for you and the rest of your family.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
HomeHello, a site that makes it really easy to book home cleaning services online for every Australian. Since the launch in 2014, HomeHello has already provided professional cleaning services to hundreds of Sydney and Melbourne homes.
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