Cleaning your home is often the last thing that comes up in the mind and in the schedule of a busy person. No matter how big or small your house is if it’s dirty, it looks like it’ll take forever to clean it. When you try to keep up with your professional life, taking care of your kids, cooking for your family and trying to find some extra time to spend with your significant other, somehow the cleaning goes to the bottom of your priorities list. When your house is a mess, you feel less productive and unmotivated to organize your life. You feel bad about yourself and make it even harder to find some extra moments to clean the mess your kids made.
If you prefer to enjoy your free time at the weekend and spent some quality time with your family instead of cleaning the whole house, you can try to implement some of these tips in your life.
15 tips and tricks to keep your house clean on a busy schedule
1. Be okay with imperfection
You need to understand that sometimes you can’t do it all. Somedays you will get home from work tired and you’ll just want to lay down on your couch and do nothing but watch your favourite movies. It’s fine to have some days where your kid’s toys are all over the floor or your sink is full of dishes waiting to be cleaned. Don’t strive to be perfect. Having some “me” time and finding some extra time to relax is beneficial for you physically and emotionally.
2. Prioritize
Pick one or two things that drive you crazy and focus on cleaning them. It will be easier for you to motivate yourself to do so when the thought of cleaning the whole room is not in your head. Vacuum every rug or carpet in the house, don’t focus on a single room. When your dusting, be sure to clean all of the cabinets and shelves. It will take some extra time in the moment but in the end, it will be easier for you to find a new thing to focus on and without you noticing it, the house will be clean and fresh.
3. Don’t clean if it doesn’t look dirty
Don’t clean areas just for the sake of cleaning. Focus on the spots which really needs a good scrub instead of scrubbing something clean and wasting your time. It’s not necessary to thoroughly clean the whole room if it’s not dirty. We know it sounds odd but it’s also good for your immune system. Letting your body to be exposed to a small amount of dirt, will keep your immune system in check. A completely sanitized home is not good for yours nor your kids’ health.
4. Dust with socks on your hands
Do you have socks without mates laying around your wardrobe or on the bottom of your basket? Instead of throwing them away you can use them for cleaning. Just put them in your hands like gloves and dust the cabinets and shelves with your hands. It’s convenient as you have more control over your hands and the socks can be washed and reused multiple times. The best part is that the socks work well even without a cleaner.
5. Involve your kids
Involve your kids in the chores. Make them pick up their toys after playing with them or put away their dishes in the sink, fold laundry or clean the table after dinner. Prepare a list of the chores for them and a small reward to keep them motivated. You may think your kids can’t do those things, but all you need to do is show them how to and in the time they’ll learn by doing.
6. Turn the after-dinner cleaning into a game
Set the timer for 20 minutes and involve the whole family in a cleaning competition after dinner. You can change the goal of the game every time and the room which needs cleaning. When the timer goes off the room needs to be cleaned. Reward your family after that with dessert or a small snack. This way you’ll get your kids to move a little bit after dinner, to spend some energy and you’ll turn the cleaning into something fun and almost look forward to.
7. Keep the cleaning supplies where you use them
If you use your mop in the kitchen, keep it in your kitchen. If the cleaning supplies for your bathroom are away from it it’s less likely to find yourself cleaning it. Separate the cleaning supplies into the rooms you’re using them. This way you’ll clean a spill or a spot as soon as it appears. You won’t be needing to find extra time, to clean the whole kitchen, when you do a little bit every single day. It’s probably not the best idea to keep your mop in the bedroom, though. Try to apply this tip mainly in the kitchen and in the bathroom.
8. Work from top to bottom
When you’re cleaning any room start from the top and work your way down to the bottom. This way the dist and the dirt want fell down on your freshly cleaned carpet or floor. Clean smart and save some extra time for your busy schedule. Start with the top of the higher surfaces, after that clean the shelves and the cabinets and finish with the floor.
9. Clean the dishes after every meal
Wash the dishes after every meal or simply rinse them and put them in the dishwasher. Once the dishwasher is full, you can run it. If you avoid running it with fewer dishes inside, you won’t waste more water than washing them by hand. You will have perfectly clean dishes and empty sink while saving some time and cash.
10. Multitask
Why not clean the dishes while you’re waiting for your meal to be cooked in the oven. Or mop the floor while you’re waiting for the laundry. Combine your chores and learn how to multitask to finish more tasks in less time. Be careful what kind of tasks you’re trying to do at the same time. Try to combine activities which don’t require full engagement like the examples above.
11. Declutter. Toss away unwanted items every night.
The more clutter you have, the less tidy your home looks. Find some time to toss away any unwanted items every few days. Toss away things like bills, packages. Take a good look in your house every month and throw away or donate things you won’t be using anymore and have no sentimental value to you.
12. Do your cleaning while listening to music
If you are tired and need some energy to get yourself starting with the chores, play some music. There are plenty of suggestions online – for example, on Spotify. If you put on music with a faster tempo, most likely you’ll be inspired and energized to clean more areas quickly.
13. Combine doing chores with something you love
If you have a cleaning task that needs to be done, but you don’t enjoy doing it at all, you can combine it with something you love doing. For example watch a favourite TV show while folding the laundry, or listen to an audiobook or standup comedy show while cleaning the dishes or mopping the floor. You won’t notice where the time flew away and soon the chores will be done.
14. Reward yourself
One of the best ways to get more done around your home is to make reward deals with yourself. If you hate cleaning the dishes promise yourself a good movie or ice cream after that. Do not break the promise you made and make sure to use this method only when you really don’t feel like doing your task, not on a daily basis.
15. Hire a professional cleaner
We passed the ages when the woman was only supposed to take care of their households. Now, they have career opportunities and goals they strive to achieve in a personal plan. It’s okay to admit to yourself that sometimes you need a little help. Hiring a professional cleaning service to help you out in your home doesn’t mean that your lazy, spoiled or privileged. It just means that you’re admitting to yourself that you need help with your never-ending to-do list. So whenever, you’re struggling with the cleaning and maintaining your house, because of a work deadline or something else, don’t hesitate to hire a maid and take the stress down off your shoulders.
Keeping your house looking incredible doesn’t have to be overwhelming and it doesn’t have to take over your whole life. Taking care of your home it’s important and implementing these tips in your life will help you be more productive in any aspect of your life.
