Cleaning, Some people love it, most dread it. Sure everyone wants a clean house, but it can get overwhelming at times. Especially if you happen to have three (or more) small tornadoes to undo all of your hard work in .1341313513 seconds. Luckily for me, & now you, I've picked up a few helpful tips along the way.
Put it away when you're done with it - This is the simplest of them all. Get something out, use it & put it away when you're done with it. Sure, it's easier to just set it to the side & worry about it later. But then it'll be there three days later along with a dozen other things to put away.
See something that needs done, do it - I don't mean washing walls or steam cleaning carpets (those both need days to themselves). But when you sit down to watch TV & notice a yogurt covered handprint, get up & clean it. Same goes for a dusty table or streaky window.
Don't let the dishes pile up - Personally, I despise the dishes. So if there gets to be too many, I will try to put them off until I'm out of silverware, plates, or both. So the best way to tackle this chore, is to wash them as they get dirty & put them away as they dry.
Wash laundry when you have a load - I never could figure out how people could wash clothes once a week. Between the kids, myself & the hubs, I wash a good 3 loads daily (sometimes more). But that is actually a good thing since it also cuts back on the task of folding & putting it away. Plus no one runs out of clean underwear! (That's huge bonus points right there!)
Clean the toilet daily - This might have something to do with the fact that I have a 4 year old boy who doesn't have the greatest aim, but cleaning your toilet daily is one of the best ways to keep your bathroom from getting all yucky. Just give the inside of the toilet bowl a quick scrub & the outside of the toilet a quick wipe down with an anti-bacterial wipe.
Make your bed before you start your day - There's something about a made bed that just seems to give your day a good start. That doesn't mean you have to make it as soon as your feet hit the floor, but whenever you actually start your day. I make mine when I get dressed. But if for some reason, I stay in my jammies all day, I just make it sometime before lunch.
Set a routine - This can be a bit tricky to figure out a good routine that works for you & your family. And it doesn't have to include everything. For me, a big thing is cleaning the floors. I have three levels to clean so it can take a little while to do. I decided to vacuum daily & sweep/mop every other day (except for the kitchen since that is the only room that seems to need mopped at least a little bit multiple times a day). I also have Sunday as the day I chose to wash all of the bed linens. Recently I started washing all of the sheets & pillowcases first. Since we have plenty of blankets, everyone can have their bed made in just a couple of hours instead of right before bed. Plus that way I'm not rushed to wash all the blankets & I can finish them on Monday if need be.
Do a run through before bed - If you have kids, chances are you have toys to pick up. It also helps to make sure all of the dishes are washed. If you know you have laundry to wash the next day, take it down the night before. Do whatever you need to to make sure the next day is off to a good start. The best part is, that it won't take you more than 5-10 min.
Do a thorough clean once a week - This may be a bit of a bummer to some. You still need to do a good cleaning at least once a week. Move the furniture & sweep (after you pick up the mountain of lost toys), scrub the bathtub, clean your microwave...that kind of stuff. But since your house has pretty much been clean all week, a top to bottom will only take a couple of hours instead of the couple of years that you're used to.
