With most modern households consisting of two busy working partners, keeping a clean house can become something of a struggle. Putting small routines in place can really make a difference to the cleanliness and general appearance of your home and can help to take the fear factor out of tackling those daunting cleaning tasks.
- Make your bed every morning. Starting the day by leaving a messy bed sets the wrong tone for a tidy home. Straightening the bed signifies a commitment to keeping your household in check, remembering to do this every day is a good reminder to yourself that you want your environment to be better.
- Clean your bathroom after you use it. You go in the bathroom every morning right? Always keep a cloth and spray bottle of cleaner in there and wipe surfaces once you are finished. Always keep your toilet brush in a container filled with a mix of water and cleaner and give the bowl a quick scrub before you leave the room.
- Unload your dishwasher in the morning. Ensuring the dishwasher is empty and ready for the next influx of dirty dishes is important to stop plates and pans piling up on the side. Nobody wants to have to empty the dishwasher before they can fill it at night, so doing it in the morning will remove any possible excuses once dinner is done.
- Put a load of washing on every day. Before you leave the house, make sure there is a load in the washer. This will prevent laundry from piling up and becoming an insurmountable task.
- Do the drying as soon as you arrive home. Before you get stuck into whatever is planned for the evening transfer the day’s laundry to the dryer. Folding and ironing can wait for the weekend.
- Clean as you cook. When preparing an evening meal ensure you keep an eye on the contents of cupboards and fridges or freezers. Throw anything out of date and wipe up any stains or spills you spot.
- Load your dishwasher every evening and put it on. This way the dishes are ready to unload in the morning allowing you to stick to the first rule of this list.
- Pick up once the kids are in bed. As tempting as it is to sink into that sofa, take ten minutes once little ones are settled to put away toys and other child related clutter. This prevents the mess from multiply day after day.
- Vacuum before you ‘veg out’. Ok, so you are almost there. But before you climb into that easy chair, grab the vacuum and buzz around the exposed areas of floor. You will be able to enjoy the results as you relax rather than stressing that it needs to be done.
- Use weekends wisely. If you currently find yourself rushing around at the weekends to get everything done, following the tips here will put an end to that. Weekends should be used for jobs not included in the other instructions. Iron or fold laundry, vacuum the areas you didn’t reach in the evenings, empty waste baskets and change bedding.