How to Clean the House

Keeping your home neat and tidy can do more than just make it seem like you’re an organized person who’s got it all together. A clean house will lower the stress levels of all that live there and will give you time to focus on what you really find important.

For an average person that has a job and a busy schedule, it works best to do a little at a time so the work doesn’t pile up. Be honest with yourself with the amount of what you can do and make it work.

Have a Plan:

Don’t try to clean the whole house at the same time. Divide your home into zones or by individual rooms, this way you will be able to see that there is progress being made as you finish one room or zone and move to the next.

Cleaning the Kitchen:

Having a clean kitchen will make it easier for you to prepare food for your family as well as keeping it sanitary. For the dirty dishes, make use of the dishwasher – that’s what it is for. If you have kids, let this be one of their daily chores. If you don’t have a dishwasher make sure the dirty dishes don’t pile up, clean when you’re finished using something or at the end of the day, have one of the kids do the dishes as part of their chore to help you out.

Wipe the counter tops down before leaving the kitchen; giving them a quick wipe down will help keep the bacteria at bay. Do the same with the kitchen sink, washing food down the drain and giving it a quick clean with the sponge. Don’t forget the microwave or the oven, if you used it, wipe it down when you’re done.

You will find that taking a few minutes to clean spills when they happen and put things away when you’re done, this will save you time and a lot less effort when giving the kitchen a good cleaning.

Cleaning the Bathroom:

To make life easier for yourself when it comes to the bathroom, routinely rinse the shower or bathtub after use and get the whole family involved. Clean drains of hair and keep a squeegee in the shower to wipe down the walls. You can also keep baby wipes in each bathroom to daily wipe down counters and sinks, it only takes one baby wipe daily to keep surfaces clean. This helps tremendously when it comes time for the regular cleaning.

When it’s time for a regular cleaning of the bathroom, spray the tub, shower, and toilet, with a cleaner and let it set for around 15 minutes. While this is sitting, take the time to clean the countertop, sink, and mirror. Now go back and scrub the areas you sprayed earlier. Wipe down the floor or vacuum.

When cleaning the toilet use gloves and a toilet brush to clean under the rim. You can also choose to use a cleaning product for the toilet that attaches inside the bowl to maintain a clean toilet between manual cleanings.

Cleaning Your Bedroom:

The simplest way to keep your bedroom clean is to take about 15 minutes a day to tidy up. Your bedroom, especially kids, is one of those places you lie down and relax after a long day. A messy space doesn’t make a relaxing space. Start the daily room cleaning by making the bed. A bed that is made will make a whole room seem tidy. Pull up the bedsheets and bedspread neatly and put the pillows nicely on top of them.

Keep a clothes hamper in your room. When you take off your clothes, put the dirty clothes in the hamper not on the floor. Clothes that are clean should be folded and put in drawers or hanging them in the closet. When you take your shoes off, put them in the closet.

Have a designated place for those bits of paper and change that you bring home from work or school, baskets are nice for this and keep a small garbage can in your room for trash. Make sure to dust all flat surfaces at least twice a week and don’t forget the headboard and vacuum at least once a week.

Other Areas:

For living rooms, dining rooms, or patios make sure that you vacuum/mop at least once a week and dust all flat surfaces on the same schedule. However, the most important thing that you can do to keep your house clean and your life less stressful is to clean up after yourself as you go through your day. This will cut your cleaning time by more than half when it comes time to give your home a detailed cleaning.