9 Easy Habits To Keep Your Home Clean And Tidy

It’s always difficult to keep a home clean, especially when younger children are members of the household. But that shouldn’t prevent you from keeping your home clean and organized.

It’s not that difficult to maintain a clean and tidy home, and here are 9 hacks will simplify the process:

Have less stuff

Declutter and purge anything and everything from your life that does not add value. This should be done at least once a year. The best way to go about this is to ask yourself this question: “Would I buy this again?” If “yes”, then it’s a keeper, if “no” then sell, donate or discard it. A life without so much useless stuff is so much simpler.

Keep a place for everything

Keeping a designated place for most of your items means that you will never have to spend more time than necessary looking for them. For most unnecessary items – If it adds value to your life, then find a home for it. If not, then you don’t need it!

Keep clear counters

While this may seem obvious, keeping clear counters and other surfaces free from clutter, ensures that you quickly put things away to where they belong, and makes the room look cleaner and more organized. It will also make you feel better when you see clean clutter free spaces.

Do less more often

Instead of doing a large cleaning session once a week, break up your cleaning into smaller and more regular tasks. Do a 10-minute clean up before going to work and a quick 10 minute one before going to bed. Making sure everyone in the house helps out will certainly make your tasks easier and make everyone mindful of keeping clean.

Have a daily cleaning routine

Quick and easy daily routines are a great way to keep your home clean and tidy at all times. The best way to start the day is the night before: setting yourself up for a stress free morning is to have an evening routine that covers cleaning the dishes, counters and floors in the kitchen. The more often you do it, the easier it will become!

Clean as you go

Whenever you are doing any task, especially in the kitchen, make sure you clean as you go. If you don’t have a dishwasher, wash things up as you finish using them. Practicing this habit will ensure that you will never have to come back to a messy kitchen after you have finished eating.

Don’t put it down, put it away

Once you have finished using something, put it away. It takes 20 seconds or less to put something away the first time, than to dump it on the nearest available surface you find, and then to move it when you need space, and then to move it again and again until you finally put it away. By this time you have spent 5 times longer and gotten 5 times frustrated by continually moving the items. This would have been avoided if you had just taken the time to put it away the first time.

Use a simple system of open bins and baskets that have quick and easy access for putting things away. If something takes longer to put away, for instance if you have a larger place with an upstairs floor, keep a designated spot to collect things and then allocate a few minutes to put them away.

Make it fun

Make cleaning and tidying as fun and as engaging as possible. Keep your cleaning supplies well organized in an easy and accessible place will make cleaning less of a chore. A good vacuum cleaner is also important. A cordless vacuum cleaner from which the dirt can be removed quickly, in contrast with one that is bulky and has a cord that can get tied up around corners, will make your cleaning much easier.

Do it until it’s done

For instance, when you are done with the vacuum cleaner, empty the bag/canister and put it away. When you are done ironing and folding the clothes, put away the clean clothes and return the iron and board back to the closet.

Here’s a wonderful quote that may help you change your mindset about looking forward to cleaning:” I got a home that is filled with beautiful things that I got to clean – so many people don’t have that opportunity”. Working with our real estate advisors will enable you to set realistic expectations that will help you achieve your housing goals. If you are looking to buy or sell a home, contact us by email or call us on 604-913-1000.