Six House Cleaning And Maintenance Tips

Not Sponsored: Only a small percentage of people enjoy cleaning their homes. For the vast majority of us, it is a task that we dread. I am in the latter group, yet I have a very clean home. I would like to share some tips with you (that I use), that might make the task of cleaning your home much easier.

Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay

1. Keep Things Minimal

I often tell people, the more you have ... the more you have to take care of! It's the honest-to-goodness truth. Evaluate your home! Look at things both inside and outside your home. Is all of it necessary? What can you get rid of? For everything you own, you will have to dust it, water it, clean it, fix it and/or repair it etc. Do you really need all of that stuff? Do you need all those figurines? You will have to dust each one of them. Do you need 30 plants? Each one will have to be watered. Can you convert books to eBooks, so you won't have to dust them? Do you need THAT many towels and washcloths? They take up space and you can only use so many at a time anyway. Look at every possible way you can downsize. While cleaning, take a look at everything you have to clean and see how you can make it better for you. For example, I eliminated rugs (accent, area rugs, bathroom rugs). Why? They were causing my allergies to flair up (and btw they hold dust, germs etc). I was spending a lot of money every year, getting them professionally cleaned. I had to constantly vacuum them (which I did not enjoy). So I eliminated three problems, by getting rid of them. You should do the same. Evaluate what you have. Get rid of or sell what doesn't work. Keep things minimal. 

2. Get Rid Of The Extras

When you get rid of extra items in and around your home, why not do some good or make some money off of them. All those extra plants? Maybe a neighbor might want them. Have a plant sale. Have a yard sale! Collect items from your living room, bathroom, bedroom, kitchen and garage. Round them all up. Advertise your Yard Sale on Nextdoor, Facebook and throughout your community (church, posting signs etc). You can make some money (now don't buy a bunch of new things you'll have to clean) and maybe pay a household bill for the month. Consider selling some items on eBay (here and here). There might be some items you may want to donate. Donate items to The Salvation Army, Goodwill, or your Local Women's Shelter.

3. Do 1-3 Things A Day

Between work and home, you can't do EVERYTHING! Don't try and do it all. It's nearly impossible. A lady told me, that I gave her the best advice (that she has adhered to). I told her to do 1-3 things a day in her home. If you can do more than that, good for you ...  it was an excellent day. Write down the things you need to accomplish. If you need to wash bedding, do just that and complete it. Does the entire house need dusting? Don't try to dust every room in one day. Dust two rooms a day, until it is complete. How many bathrooms does your house have? 2 bathroom house? Clean one Wednesday. Clean the other one Thursday. If you do a little bit each day, you won't have EVERYTHING to do on the weekend. Instead, you can enjoy your weekends. Also consider doing one task before leaving for work. It could be something as easy as folding towels really quick. So stop knocking yourself out with chores every weekend. Learn how to split things into manageable tasks.

4. Whistle While You Work

Do you remember, Disney's Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs? There was a song Snow White sang, while cleaning. It was called, Whistle While You Work. The whole point is to make something we might dread or something we consider mundane ... FUN! How can you make house cleaning FUN?  Here are some things that I do. I put on my ear pods and listen to music while I clean (dusting, mopping hard wood floors). While folding clothes or towels, I watch my favorite tv series or movie. Sometimes, I give myself a reward. Kim, if you finish your closet ... then you can do (fill in with a treat for yourself). Try to pair something not-so-fun with something FUN! 

5. Delegate Tasks

I do not have a family, so I have to do everything. But if you have a family, delegate responsibility. If your children are old enough, hold them responsible for their room. Don't be afraid to give them responsibilities. My mom made me clean when I was really young. I didn't mind, because she cleaned right with me. I thought it was fun back then. We would put on a record and clean the entire house. But if you give your kids chores, you should also show them that YOU ARE ALSO doing things around the house! Don't give tasks for your children to do and turn around to be a slacker of a parent. You need to show them, that you do things as well. Take out the garbage. Cut your grass. Power wash your fence, pavement, yard and house. Paint. Repair. All of these things can be a group effort. When everyone sees the results, everyone will appreciate the team (family) effort.

6. Hire Help

Do not feel bad, if you have to hire help. There are just some things we cannot do. That's when you need to bring in a professional. If you really do not have time to clean, hire a maid. There are cleaning ladies you can employ. There are cleaning services you can hire, that offer weekly, monthly and one time services. Sometimes you don't need someone to clean the entire house. Maybe you're not a bathroom person. You can hire someone to come in and just clean your bathrooms. If your husband is tired of mowing the lawn, hire a grass cutting man or company to do the task. Help is out there. As with everything, you just need the money.