To keep house, and live well, you have to do more than fantasise about cleaning. Set to work with a will and a game plan. Forget spring cleaning. Doing a huge amount once a year is disheartening and sets you up for failure. Doing a little cleaning every day, means you will never have to spring clean again.
Your glasses need to be gleaming and your camellia leaves need to be fresh. There is no excuse for disorder. It takes fifteen minutes a day to whip around and put everything straight. And it’s such a great way to live.
Clean, wash and dry all your cleaning equipment, so you don’t just end up pushing dirt from room to room. It’s true that if you can’t embrace cleaning, you should outsource it. However you’ll still need a quick lesson so you can show the cleaner you have high standards.
Don’t view these tips as a chore. Done right, they’re productive, creative, and your passport to a better life.
If you lead a busy lifestyle, you know the drill. You start off the week with a mostly clean and tidy house (depending on how many things you accomplished over the weekend). By midweek, though, you realise that you haven’t put away your dry-cleaning or folded your laundry. There’s a growing stack of mail in the hallway, a used gym bag by the door, a pile of fresh laundry on the bed, dirty dishes in the sink (and clean ones in the dishwasher). Plus dead flowers that need to be chucked out.
To top it off, your washbasin unit looks as if a bomb went off in the beauty aisle at Mecca. By Friday, the house is a full-blown disaster zone— until you tackle the massive (and much-needed) tidying-up job. Then the cycle starts all over again. It’s quicker than you think to approach it daily. Keep scrolling to study up on the house cleaning tips that will transform the state of your home permanently. Read more, ‘The Ultimate Decluttering Guide.’
Do yourself a favour and adopt these clever daily house cleaning tips so you never have to spend precious weekend time tidying up.
Bedroom IN THE MORNING…
Make the bed as soon as you get up which will kick-start your productivity levels and make it much harder to jump back into bed. Keep wipes near your bedside table, and give your bedside a quick wipe every morning. Plus, straighten books, tissues, and anything else you keep on it.
Edit your wardrobe as you go. Keep a laundry hamper or bag in your cupboard where you can throw items of clothing that don’t work anymore as you’re getting ready in the morning. Sort through it once a month, and toss, donate, or sell. Read more, ‘How To Decorate a Bedroom.’
BEDROOM AT NIGHT…
Immediately rehang items you wore. Don’t just throw clothes on a chair if they can be worn once more before laundry —hang them neatly back in your cupboard, colour-coordinating them as you go. This will make it easier when you get dressed. Put your jewellery back in its special place. Keep dry clean–ready items in a separate section of your wardrobe.
Don’t ever let unfolded laundry make it into your bedroom.
If you have enough laundry, start a wash cycle as soon as you get home in the evening so you have time to dry and fold. Keep a folding area near your washer/dryer, and be ruthless about folding/ironing as soon as the drying cycle is done.
Bathroom IN THE MORNING…
Spray your shower with cleaner after each shower. Give your shower a quick clean daily by spraying it with cleaner, quickly wiping surfaces, and letting it rinse out. Read more, ‘The 4 Big Bathroom Trends To Keep On Your Radar in 2019.’
Hang towels on bars and robes on hooks. Your towels need to properly air-dry in order to be able to reuse them a few times. Make sure they’re properly hung to dry. If you’re a bathrobe person, a dedicated hook for it in the bathroom will make your space feel more like a hotel room.
If towels have gone past their three-day use, quickly throw them in the hamper.
BATHROOM AT NIGHT…
Clear your benchtops of clutter. Mornings get busy. Don’t let a stretch of bench deteriorate into a chaos of bills, invitations, and kitchen kit, all covered with toast crumbs. Make a point at night to clear out and put away every product that was used to get ready in the morning.
Clean your loo during your nighttime routine. The time you need to brush your teeth and wash your face is probably the exact time you need to let an average toilet cleaner product work before giving it a quick scrub. Use a wipe to quickly clean the seat. Doing this every other day will keep your loo fresh between deep cleans.
Wipe down benchtops after getting ready for bedtime. Once your nighttime beauty routine is done, give your bathroom benches a quick wipe. Keep a stash of cleaning products in your vanity to make this process seamless.
Kitchen IN THE MORNING…
Empty the dishwasher while you make coffee or tea. It should be ready for your breakfast dishes so they don’t pile up in the sink and sit there all day. When you notice a spill, clean it immediately. It’s easier to notice tiny spills in broad daylight, so inspect your benches and floors in the morning. Swap your tea towel. Tea towels should be changed more often than we think, so get into the habit of swapping them every morning and tossing the old ones into the laundry basket. Read more, ‘What’s Hot and What’s Not in Kitchen Design.’
KITCHEN AT NIGHT…
Clean as you cook. There are two types of cooks in this world: those who clean as they cook and those who don’t. Join the former group, by cleaning your prep work before you start cooking. Once your meal is ready, quickly rinse utensils before sitting down to eat. It will make it much easier to clean up after you’re finished eating. More relaxing, too.
Fill and start the dishwasher at night. Don’t leave it until the morning, no matter how tempting it is to flop in front of the latest Netflix series.
Wipe benchtop and cooking surfaces. Wipe down your benches and stove every night before you go to bed. Get into the habit of wiping the microwave after each use. You’ll love waking up to a spotless kitchen.
Living Room IN THE MORNING…
Keep baskets in every room. Once a day, do a quick walk-through of every space. Fill up your basket with accumulated clutter, and leave it by the door. Put each item back in its place first thing when you get home.
LIVING ROOM AT NIGHT…
Wipe down your coffee table and side tables during commercial breaks. While watching your favourite show, there’s bound to be a moment when you have to endure the inevitable commercial break. Take the time to quickly wipe down your living room tables – and collect empty glasses, plates, newspapers, etc.
Fluff your cushions after each use.
Get into the habit of fluffing your cushions and straightening throws when you turn the TV off. You wouldn’t leave your TV on all night, so why would you leave your cushions deflated?
Entryway IN THE MORNING…
Keep your bag, keys, and coat in the same spot. Make it easy to get out the door in the morning by having everything you need to organise in the same place.
Take out the garbage and recycling when you leave the house. You can alternate days between the two, but getting into this habit will prevent from having garbage pile up at home. Read more, ‘Entryway Ideas For When You Don’t Actually Have One.’
ENTRYWAY AT NIGHT…
Keep a mail sorter in the entryway. Avoid volcanoes of unsorted paperwork. Make it a priority and sort it daily. Drop your mail in when you get in your house, and empty your tray once a week when paying bills. Unless you’re waiting for something urgent, most mail can wait a few days. That way you’ll keep everything in one spot and address it in bulk. Store paperwork immediately—or even better: Go paperless and scan everything. Immediately launder and store workout gear. Don’t leave your gym bag to linger. Sort the dirty clothes, and store the rest.
Now that you’ve tackled each room in your home, you may want to adopt a weekly cleaning schedule to help you maintain your space’s sparkling clean appearance.
Consider following this timetable throughout the week or come up with your own weekly chore chart that works best for you. If you really want to hold yourself accountable, try writing up your cleaning schedule on a chalkboard or whiteboard in your home and cross off daily tasks as you go.
