Keeping your house clean can feel like a never-ending struggle. If you have a full-time job or a family with kids, it can be hard to find the time or motivation to maintain a peaceful, clean home.
However, there are a few simple steps you can take to make cleaning easy and efficient. Follow these five tips to thoroughly clean your house from top to bottom:
1. Start by Tidying
Tidying is technically different from cleaning, and it’s better to do it first. Cleaning means killing germs and removing dirt, but to find it, you have to put things where they belong. It isn’t easy to clean if there are piles of laundry on your floor.
If your house is not clean and you feel overwhelmed by the mess, it’s probably because your home is also not tidy. To make tidying easier, you may want to declutter. This means taking items you don’t need or use very often and giving or throwing them away.
After you declutter, you should organize yet another cleaning term that means finding a place for everything. Once you do this, tidying up will be fast and efficient.
A good rule of thumb is to find a place for each new item you purchase as soon as you get home. Don’t push storage decisions to a later date that’s a sure-fire way to become overwhelmed with the state of your home.
2. Target Dirt and Germs
Once your house is decluttered and organized, it’s time to clean. It might surprise you to know that the kitchen is the dirtiest place in your home, closely followed by the bathroom.
The places you spend the most time and anywhere with water tend to get dirty faster. Here’s a list of rooms and items to hit first to eliminate any residual germs and dirt:
- Kitchen: sink, sponge, surfaces
- Bathroom: toilet, sink handles, light switches
- Living space: electronics, carpet
- Laundry: wet clothing left in the machine
- Bedroom: sheets, surfaces
- Pet areas: dishes, beds
If you have limited time for cleaning, it’s more important to kill germs than to tidy up. However, some research suggests that tidying and reducing clutter can positively affect mental health, especially for women.
Try doing a quick tidy session every day and deep cleaning only once or twice a week. This method can help you stay on top of housework without feeling overwhelmed or like everything has to look perfect all the time.
3. Choose Ideal Tools
Choosing the right tools will make your housecleaning fast and effective. Different areas in your home may require cleaning, sanitizing or disinfecting, depending on your goals for that area.
Here are brief definitions of each kind of cleaning:
- Cleaning: To clean, combine water with a cleaning agent such as soap. Cleaning removes dirt and kills germs, but it won’t get all of them.
- Sanitizing: To sanitize, use an alcohol-based cleaner to kill bacteria and germs.
- Disinfecting: To disinfect, use a chemically treated spray or wipe to kill bacteria. Wipes are generally safer and more effective.
When cleaning your home, it’s essential not to mix different chemical cleaners because certain combinations can harm you. If you are generally sensitive to chemicals, you can also consider natural cleaners.
4. Clean Top to Bottom
If you’ve ever turned on a dusty fan after thoroughly cleaning a room, you know the value of this tip. While you don’t have to clean your house in a particular order, having a thoughtful plan does help speed up the process.
Cleaning from top to bottom means you start by dusting and wiping things that are up high, clean mid-level areas next and finish by cleaning the floor. This approach especially makes sense for high-mess areas like the kitchen, where wiping the counter after you’ve scrubbed the floor undoes some of your work.
It may also help you mentally to start at the top of your house and work your way toward the front door. Taking the garbage out and sweeping your porch can be the last step at the end of a big housecleaning day.
Alternatively, you can start with high-traffic areas and close the doors to other sections of your home. Sometimes, you don’t have time for a full housecleaning, but every little bit of mess you tackle is a victory.
5. Make It Fun
Many people don’t enjoy cleaning for its own sake, but the results are worth it. You can make it a fun and motivating activity, though. Spice up your cleaning routine with these simple steps:
- Turn on media like your favorite music, a podcast or a TV show
- Call a friend and talk on speaker
- Plan something fun for when you finish
- Set a timer and try to beat your time
- Slow down and think
- Clean for short segments, so you don’t have to do a marathon
If you make your cleaning routine something to look forward to, it’ll probably happen more often. You’ll avoid having to do everything at once, and you can enjoy living in a clean and tidy environment every day of the week.
Dust Cloths at the Ready
Make cleaning fun and easy by creating a plan of attack and adding some fun elements to keep your motivation high. A clean environment will reduce your stress levels and give you the space for rejuvenation and creativity that you’re craving.
Follow these five tips to clean and refresh your living space from top to bottom. Remember that deep cleaning takes time. You don’t have to complete a full housecleaning in a day, but every little bit helps.
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