Home upkeep is a tiring chore, but it does not necessarily have to be that way or take up half your weekend. One way you can reduce your workload is by incorporating instinctive daily habits. These habits keep your house clean and ensure you have less work to do come Sunday. Of course, these habits are not easy to assimilate to your routine or follow every day but the more you and your family practise them, the easier things will get.
If the following list gets too overwhelming, simply pick a couple, and take on more down the line.
Kick your day off by making the bed
Many people consider making their bed every morning a waste of time, but a tidy bed goes a long way in beautifying your room, says Pri from Ministry Of Cleaning. It takes only a few minutes to do and according to a study by market research company OnePoll, individuals who make their beds in the morning are adventurous, sociable, and confident!
If that is not enough science, another survey by the National Sleep Foundation has found that people who make their beds in the morning sleep better at night due to the tidy environment.
If you find it consumes too much time with your morning rush, try to trim down your bedding. We eliminated top sheets from our bedding and minimized the pillows we use, opting for just a duvet and cover. This helped us make our bed much faster.
Do your laundry every few days
Of course, this depends on the number of loads you do on a weekly basis, but we go
through seven loads a week and now do a load a day. Just by putting in a load in the morning before you head to work, you can cut down your household chores on the weekend. If you leave before you can hang your clothes out to dry, use the delay feature on your washing machine so it will be done just before you get home. If you do not have that feature, you can load up your washing machine before you leave to work and switch it on when you are back home in the evening. Just do not forget to complete the cycle!
Get used to being satisfied with “good enough”
The perfectionist in you might scream no but moving on from the notion that every tiny aspect of the house needs to be perfect can shave off a significant amount of time off your cleaning chore and relieve you of a lot of stress.
A handy rule to follow is the 80/20 rule – where you get 80% of the work done by putting in 20% of the effort. Diving into those tiny details like removing every speck of dust from the table make up the rest 20%. Instead, make these details a part of your spring deep cleaning routine and not your weekly cleaning routine.
Learn to prioritize
Not all your cleaning tasks are equal. You will be more efficient if you make a list of all the task that need to be finished and then prioritize those that need to be done urgently and those that can wait for a couple of days. Consider how much time you have available and then decide on the top three cleaning aims – make sure the objectives are realistic – and put the effort to complete them before you move on to the rest of the list.
Get the rest of your family involved
This might prove to be an unpopular habit at home, but the extra hands-on deck will significantly reduce the work you have to do. Moreover, since the cleaning jobs are split among everyone, each has to handle only a few tasks as opposed to you alone doing twenty or more cleaning tasks. The added benefit is that by giving your children age friendly jobs, you teach them important values that will help them as they grow up.
You can begin by having your children put things back in their right places; the dishes in the dishwasher, the shoes on the shoe rack and keeping the room tidy. In the beginning, you might have to prod and constantly remind your children but very soon, it will turn into a habit. You will be amazed at the difference these little tasks can make to your overall tidiness.
Set aside 15 minutes every night for a quick clean up
Involving your family for this task can help you quickly clean your house in quarter of an hour. Set a timer and begin the priority tasks. Your children can tidy up their rooms and stick to little tasks while you and your significant other can fold the laundry, clean the kitchen or iron the clothes for the upcoming days. Begin with things that make the largest mess and clutter or tasks that should be done before you hit the bed.
Store cleaning supplies near areas you use them
I store my bathroom cleaning supplies like microfiber cloths, brush and vinegar in the bathroom. This makes it easy to quickly give my bathroom a wipe or clean something tiny as opposed to going downstairs to get my cleaning supplies.
Do these simple tasks as soon as you see them – they take about two minutes at most and reduce the need for a deep cleanse.
Maintain high traffic areas and you will cut down on a lot of work
Making it a point to keep the high traffic areas clean every day can go a long way in preventing the advance of dirt to other corners of your living space. Place a shoe rack or clear a visible area at the entrance of your house for shoes so that everyone is reminded to take off their shoes. Add an area rug to trap dust at the door step.
If your household has pets, hang a towel by the entrance so you can easily wipe the paws when they enter. Furthermore, it is a great idea to sweep or vacuum the high traffic areas every day – again, it does not have to be an in-depth task, a quick sweep should suffice.
