5 Steps to getting a cleaner house

This post is about Cleaning, organizing will be for another post. These are real life things that I do that help me keep my home cleaner and tidier, and help our family enjoy our home more on a daily basis.

1. Pick a cleaning day
Every week I clean on Monday, its a full out clean, not a tidy, but actual cleaning. Pick a day that works for you, and for your family. 




I tidy/clean 5 days later on Friday too, its less than a Monday clean, but more than just a tidy.  I clean on Friday so that the house is cleaned up for the weekend, it means we can have guests, it means I can relax and enjoy the weekend because there are no chores to do, and it usually needs a good spruce by Friday.




2. Do the laundry one load at a time



I used to do like 5 loads of laundry in one day, and I would end up with 2 baskets full of folded clothes, 1 basket of clothes unfolded. 1 load in the dryer, 1 load sitting in the washing machine, overnight getting stinky. And...then I'd have to rewash the stuff in the washing machine, and sometimes the stuff in the dryer wasnt all the way dry, but I'd get tired of doing laundry.  I know you have all been there, right?

 All that to say...wash one load at a time. Wash it, dry it, fold it, put it away.  Dont start another load unless you are committed to doing that load all the way through.



You can do 5 loads in a day, but before you put in the next load ask yourself  "Am I prepared to wash this, dry this, fold this, and put this away?" If the asnwer is no, then skip it.



( I also like to throw in towels or sheets in between my darks, whites or baby clothes. Because towels and sheets are easy to fold and put away, it makes the task less tedious, try it!)



3. Clean before you relax

At the end of the day after I put my daughter to bed, I run around like a chicken with my head cut off, so I can relax. I actually use relaxation and free time as my motivation. I put away the toys, and clean up her dinner, and finish that load of laundry. No one likes to wake up to dirty dishes, or unfolded laundry, or toys all over the floor. So do a little crazy clean up for a couple of minutes. You'll be happy that you did it. And it literally takes me 2 minutes to clean up my entire downstairs, because I tidy often it doesnt get too out of control.



4. Go ahead and just finish that little task.
Its the little tasks that are undone, and stay undone and stay in our minds. Its the little things that we dont do because they are so easy, but unfortunately we dont do them, and then we worry about them, and we have to keep reminding ourselves to do those things. Its the easy thing like mail out that bill, or empty that trash or taking the extra minute to put away your jewelery.



5. Have some routines



A. I clean on Mondays. I clean on Mondays because we enjoy the house over the weekend, and we always make a mess on the weekends, so by Monday it really needs a cleaning  B. I tidy up every night so we can reset for the next day, it starts us off on the right foot. C. I wipe down the sink in the bathroom every day. We only have 1.5 baths, so its 2 grown ups and a baby who use that bathroom every day to take showers and baths and all that getting ready makes a mess. Once I'm done using a washcloth I simply wipe down the sink and the shower ledge, it feels clean, it looks clean, it makes me happy.  D. I empty the garbages in our bedrooms and bathrooms 2 or 3 times a week.

My home is not immaculate, sometimes it gets messy because real living happens and I dont pay attention to my own 5 steps. But these 5 steps are things I do every week. I really believe if you clean really well once a week, pick up and keep things tidy your home can look cleaner and be cleaner.

This is what has worked for me, and I hope it can work for you too!

(All pictures are from BH&G.com)

Do you have any routines, steps or tricks?