A gleaming squeaky clean house at all times is every woman’s dream but sadly not a reality. With kids and a disorganized spouse, the house can be a mess and it is impossible to keep it clean all day long especially with so many other chores at hand. What you need is a way to clean all the mess in an effective manner. So establish a few habits, plan smartly and follow the 10 strategies mentioned below to make your house look shiny as a star without any hassle.
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Divide and Rule
As is the case with all time consuming tasks, housecleaning will be easier for you if you divide it into sub tasks. Instead of leaving all the cleaning for a single day, either divide it up into one or two chores a day or one or two rooms a day. If things are cleaned on a regular basis they become durable and require less maintenance as there is no elbow grease and wear and tear. Cleaning every day will also allow you to get rid of dirt easily without having to scrub it off every time. Even if you brush your pet cats and dogs on time, it will reduce the time to you will have to spend removing pet hair around the house.
Make a Schedule
Plan ahead by making a schedule and do not let your housework take control of you. Make a list of all the cleaning tasks that need to be done in your home. Next, note done the frequency of the tasks to be performed e.g. is it to be done daily, weekly or monthly. Make your schedule in a manner so that all your daily chores are evenly divide over the week and similarly your weekly chores are evenly divided over the month. You will notice that there are only a few tasks that need to be performed daily if you are regular and consistent with cleaning routines.
Clean if Needed
Not all things require to be cleaned every day, if something is not dirty do not clean it. In this case a touch-up will work perfectly well. For instance you see a hand print on a perfectly clean mirror, this does not mean that you have to clean the entire mirror and its frame too, just go for the print itself. Similarly, dry-cleaning a suit which requires pressing, brushing or airing would not be a smart move. At times there are places that are out of sight like the top of a cabinet, these do not require regular cleaning but what you can do to take care of them is to cover them up with a paper. When the paper gets dirty simply replace it with a new paper.
No Time to Clean? Just Straighten it up
At times you might not have the time to clean up the whole place; in times like these, the best thing to do is to clean the clutter as it makes the room look a lot cleaner. If you make this a habit you will see that there is a lot less work to do for the vacuum and dust cloth.
Simplify your Life, Throw away the Clutter
There are many things in your house that no one uses and are just lying around taking up space. The best option is to just give those away or send them for recycling. The less unnecessary things are lying around the house, lesser cleaning you will have to do.
Look for unutilized Storage Space
If the storage situation for your daily possessions is well handled, cleaning is much easier. Some of your day to day cleaning issues can be easily solved if you look into rooms for additional storage space. For instance, to avoid the shoes being scattered around you can place a shoe rack near the door for the boots and shoes to be kept in. To store seasonal items such as beach gear and skiwear you can get plastic containers.
Maintain a List
You must all make shopping lists so that you do not indulge in impulsive buying. Similarly a list can be maintained for housekeeping. You can list down tasks that need to be performed over a time span. This list can then be used to keep a track of the chores that you were unable to perform due to shortage of time or lack of skill such as getting a wobbly chair leg fixed or a scuff on the stairs.
Place your Supplies in a Convenient Manner
There are a few items in the kitchen that are used frequently such as a dishwashing liquid, all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, dishwasher detergent, ammonia, white vinegar, metal cleaner along with scrubbers, mop and cloth. Place these articles close at hand. Get plastic caddies, these can be fit under the sink and be easily carried to rooms. Baking soda is a handy cleaner, instead of storing it with the baking items store it with the cleaning supplies.
Keep a Maintenance Check on the House
While you are performing your daily chores, notice if there are things that need special attention. The time you devote to these now, will save you a lot of time and hassle in the future. For example if you do not take care of the grouting and crumbling around your bathtub it might lead to a water leak in the walls. Similarly if a dangling button is not taken care of on time, it can lead to you having to replace all the buttons.
Make Cleaning a Family Task
You cannot do all the chores yourself so make your family help you. You can divide tasks among different family members. List the tasks on a calendar so that everyone knows what they are responsible for. You can have a family hour in which the whole family does their chores. Everyone can help during laundry or cleaning, remember if you laundry room is organized it will mean less mess all over the place.
Author bio:
Melissa Ben has been working in the house cleaning new market industry for over a decade now. This article was written by her to provide readers with tips on how to keep your homes looking spotless clean.