If you’re like me, you hate cleaning. It’s just a pain, all of the bending, the scrubbing, the sweeping. It takes a toll on my back and my mood. There’s only one thing I hate more than cleaning, though, and that’s a dirty house. If you’re surrounded by clutter thinking gets harder to do. Well, today I’m going to look into ways to keep the house clean for good once you clean it that first time. But remember, this isn’t going to be a quick ‘one time and you’re set’ thing. You’re going to have to take these tips and apply them in your day to day life. It may sound tough, but you’ll be happy when you don’t have to do everything every day.
Now, tell me if this doesn’t sound familiar. Your home is nice and clean over the weekend, but the second the week hits about wednesday, things fall to pieces. The laundry pile grows, the dishes pile up, the floor is dirty. If this sounds like you, make sure to pay strict attention to this list.
The Landing Strip
You may think this one is obvious, but I’m seeing it in less and less houses. Set up a small area by the doors to your house, and include things like a rug for feet wiping, a coat rack, and maybe a small desk or even a storage ottoman. This will help your guests keep things nice and organized when entering so that any mess that is made is well contained.
Clean Dishes After Use
Thankfully, as I was raised around the food service industry, this is something that comes easy to me. Staying on top of your dishes will help you keep the kitchen clean. Nothing is worse than you going out into the kitchen late at night and see a sink full of dishes and bugs. Fill your dishwasher if you have one, don’t let things soak in the sink. Clean your pots and pans the second you’re done cooking.
The same principal applies for your trash. Don’t let the garbage sit in the can spilling over, take it out to your garage or dumpster to avoid attracting bugs. This goes double for those of you who live in the south.
Make Sure Clothes Stay Off the Floor
You know how you tend to just strip your work clothes off where you stand when you get home? You gotta stop. I know it’s relaxing to just strip off those tight clothes and jump into something more comfortable with no thought, but throw them into the hamper or the laundry room. A pile of clothes on the floor can sneak up on you quickly. Not only that, but these clothes piles can be inviting to all sorts of critters in your house. Nothing pleases a roach more than a nice, cool, moist pile of clothes to dash into for safety once the lights come on.
Trust me, the momentary discomfort of making sure they end up in the bin will be well worth the peace of mind after you don’t have to shake each shirt out to find a desperate, clinging roach.
Make Cleaning Fun…At Least Funner
And at the end of the day, there will always be SOME cleaning that needs doing. The key is to find either a distraction, or a game, or something along those lines so that it doesn’t drive you crazy. My secret is music or podcasts. If you have some sort of audio entertainment, it makes the cleaning fly by.
