Cleaning house daily can give most people a shudder. I would love to clean daily but I am lazy. I used to do things in spurts. I would get into these frenzy cleaning spurts. Are your like that? Suddenly you decide, today I have to clean the mess.
Usually its because living in the house might be looking like a trash bin. Worse, someone might be coming over.
Usually when the house is messy, you are blessed with relatives who critize and find dust in the most unusual places.
So during the spurts of cleaning, I can spend hours and exhaust myself. By the end of the cleaning session, I just have enough energy to crawl into bed.
I have finally come up with a strategy to solve this issue once and for all. I now try to do some cleaning daily.
Yes it was tough at first and I was sure I wouldnt stick to it. I tried many times and failed till I formulated a plan which works for me.
Read on to see my plan and modify it to suit your routine and lifestyle.
How to Clean your house
Break up bigger tasks into smaller tasks and work on the tasks one at a time. To keep a house clean you must get rid of clutter first.
Clutter attracts clutter and dirt, hence first and foremost get rid of clutter.
Declutter
Clutter and excess stuff mean more surfaces to clean, more places to accumulate even more stuff. It is a nightmare, a cycle which is a trap.
One day after I had tried everything, I had set myself up with routines, I was consistently cleaning but yet I was drowned in surfaces to clean.
It just seemed so endless, mind-numbing work which did not make any sense.
It is when I was at this horrible low, I read an article on minimalism.
I remember feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. I was so relieved. If you haven’t heard about minimalism it the process of intentionally getting rid of excess stuff so that you live with the bare essentials which you truly love.
Check on YouTube
The lesser you have, the lesser you need to clean and care for. It is so calming to have a clear space and makes us more creative and relaxed
I cringe when I read organizing articles. instead of purchasing beautiful totes, shelves, cupboards to get organized, just go through your things and downsize. You might never need an organizer again.
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying up by Marie Kondo can help you let go of stuff. Once you have lesser stuff, you will be able to get
Check the Book on Amazon👇
If you have heard about the Flylady system of cleaning, you will find in her book she encourages us to spend the first few months ( even years ) decluttering. She does not allow us to clean till we have cleared down all the clutter.
Check Flylady on Amazon 👇
So if you have a lot of stuff (like I had) spend more time decluttering. I
Watch Flylady Cleaning Videos and work alongside me
Clean Daily
I was introduced to the Flylady method of cleaning which I have incorporated into my house cleaning. I do not follow everything but I try to stick with what works for me.
If you clean daily it keeps the house looking clean and you might not have to deep clean further for some areas.
So My mantra is to clean daily as much as I can. I will be sharing my cleaning routine later on in this article.
Breakup big Tasks
This is something to do to overcome procrastination. I find myself not starting because I know how much work it involves. I started breaking up big tasks into small tasks and tackling them whenever I could. For example the kitchen floor would look dirty becuase I was waiting for the block of time to get a mop and bucket and wipe.
Now I just clean as I go or find something dirty. I prefer spot cleaning and it gives the illusion of a spotless house. I clean as spills happen or as soon
Another problem area is the bathroom. There is a lot of things to deep clean in the bathroom and ideally I must deep clean it once a month. I found myself not doing it, so I started wiping down tiles, counters, the sink as and when I had time.
This makes the bathroom look tidy and neat and I don’t have too much to do on the deep clean day.
Involve family
Cleaning is sustainable only if
Both my kids have to ensure that the living area ( hall, dining area)
Kids clothes, bags, books cannot be left lying around in the living area.
The entire family does their bit every day helping with cleaning up after meals, cleaning the tables, putting stuff away after every use, folding laundry, putting dirty clothes in the hamper.
When we work together we spend less time cleaning and clearing things, making way for more family fun and games.
I had read somewhere that chores help kids become
Keep products handy
Having cleaning supplies on hand is essential for cleaning, especially if cleaning
When I have cleaning products on hand, I do not procrastinate
If the products are of good quality and the right kind, it makes cleaning faster and more effective.
I hated mopping the floor, at least
Since the day I have purchased this mop which comes
I mop daily now, which means I do not have to deep clean the floors too much.
One Touch Rule
I learned about this rule from some YouTube video once and I liked it so much I started implementing it. Any item you bring into your.house or use should be put back in its rightful place immediately.
The only touch that object has is in the place it should go. If I tore a piece of paper I would keep it near me thinking I can put in the dustbin when
I usually end up forgetting about it and the room gets messy. Also, I am a coffee lover and have a tendency to leave the mugs lying around.
I no longer do this, I have changed my habits. Once done the cup goes in the sink, the paper goes in the dustbin.
As soon as I get groceries they are sorted and put in their designated spots, in the fridge, pantry. This one technique has helped me immensely.
Cleaning Schedule
I never had any cleaning schedule. If I did it was all based on what I was feeling that day. If I felt like cleaning, I cleaned else it got pushed to later. The problem was later, there was so much to do. Just thinking of cleaning made it a nerve wracking experience which never ever got done.
I started implementing the Flylady cleaning system and I
Having a cleaning schedule has brought in a sense of accountability, there is a rhythm which has been formed and now it has become a
Cleaning Routines
I am going to
I have tried many routines and finally have
I do miss out on days, I am notable to stick to it every day. In spite of that my house
Daily Cleaning Routine
I have a daily cleaning
When you clean daily it is surprising how quickly it gets completed. It almost feels like not cleaning at all.
Here is how my day progresses. I have made cleaning a habit so that
If you are a new mom, or are not well, you will find just having a few things daily is more than enough for mainting a clean house. I was having health issues which made cleaning and even walking painful. When I stuck to my daily cleaning, I could still maintain a clean house with no external help( except my kids and hubby).
Making Bed
As soon as I get up I make my bed. I rarely miss this. It just involves straightening the pillow and bedsheet and folding the comforter.
This one simple habit sets the mood for the entire day. A clean neat bed is less inviting for dirty clothes or books or other stuff
Bathroom
Then I go and brush my teeth. This is when I clean up the washbasin so that it is clean for the next person. I wipe down the bathroom counter so that there are no stains and water droplets.
I try to comb my hair and also shower so I clean up the floor. Once the hair which I have shed is cleaned, I pour some water and clean the floor. Sometimes I do this later in the day, but
Laundry
I leave the bedroom with a load of laundry. These are added in the laundry basket which is near the washing machine.
I wash clothes
Laundry for me involves washing clothes drying them on the clothesline, folding dried clothes and putting them away.
I try and iron school clothes and outside clothes while I fold. The kids put the clothes away.
Kitchen
I always start a load of laundry in the washing machine and make myself a cup of coffee. While preparing coffee I soak the lentils required for preparing lunch boxes, prep veggies which are required to be cooked and start preparing breakfast after bible study and having the coffee.
Nowadays I have included writing blogs in my morning routine. This means I need to get up much earlier, as early as 4am so that I have time to prepare mentally for the day.
Breakfast preparation used to be a chore before but sinceI started implementing the OPOS techniques cooking gets done very quickly. as I prepare any meal Iclen up. Cleaning up while cooking makes it very easy.
As the meals get prepared,the kitchen also gets tidied. When I have a sapre moment in the kitchen ( waiting for the cooker tosteam) Ido random one minute tidy ups ( counters cleared, utensils sorted, spills cleaned).
If I had run the dishwasher the previous night I empty the dishwasher. I put away handwashed dishes which wereair drying through the night.
While waiting for things to cook, I have enough time to wipe down cupboards, clean the mocrowave and fridge.
Floors
The floors get mopped daily at my house. I always start with the kitchen and then the living area. I also mop the living area and dining area.
The bedrooms are cleaned either once a week or on alternate days. Usually I just clean whenevr I feel the floors are looking dull or untidy. The common areas are cleaned daily as this dust will get carried into the rooms and beds.
Weekly Cleaning Routine
The daily tasks help keep the house looking presentable. I have some tasks which I do only once a week. My kids help me with these, so I get these done on Saturday ( when there is no school).
Bedsheets
Bedsheets are removed and new bedsheets are put on the bed. Each kid is incharge of their bed and pillows.
Once they put a new bedsheet and pillow covers they put the soiled ones in the laundry. If the washing machine is empty they wash the bedsheets.
If I am tied up with work, they make my bed as well.
Cobwebs and Fan
I go around the house cleaning the cobwebs and the fans. I sometimes forget to do this and clean the fans whenever I fell they are looking dirty.
I also clean the walls of one room. I use the flat mop to wash the walls. I just use plain water or a mixture of water and white vinegar.
The air freshens if you wash the walls. This is also the time I wipe the switches in the house.
Dust, Sweep & Mop
I try and dust all visible surfaces.
I use a damp cloth to dust, this is better at getting all the fine dust and dirt. It is also effective in getting rid of fingerprints.
I do not use any chemicals while wet dusting. Occasionally I might use some white vinegar with water to get to any tough stains.
Lastly I sweep and mop common areas which includes the entryway, the hall and the dining area.
Garbage and Paper
The kids empty all trash bins and put new bags in the dustbins. They segrargate the waste and place it outside before waste collection.
I wash the dustbins if they are looking very dirty. Sometimes I wash the dustbins within the week so on those days I skip this step.
Once a week I try to go through any circulars from school any paper lying around. This is sorted and handled.
Paper is handled on a daily basis, it gets sorted as it enters the house. Hence I do not have much to go through on the weekends.
Monthly
I am not a person who will stick to any monthly tasks. So most of the once a month task I handle on a daily basis. I break up deep cleaning activities into smaller cleaning tasks and handle them daily.
Ideally all deep cleaning should happen once a month. Since I am sure I will not remember nor bother, I perform these tasks almost daily.
Not the entire cleaning, but deep cleaning tasks which take short amounts of time. One day I might clean the microwave, someday the fridge.
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