I’ve never enjoyed cleaning and I don’t think many people do. But what I do love is how it feels afterwards when your home feels clean, tidy and organised and so because of this, I don’t mind putting in the work too much. Over the last year or two, I’ve managed to put some systems into place that work best for our home and I thought that I would share them with you today.
- Realise that there is a difference between clean and tidy… and if you have kids, make peace with the fact that some areas in your home will not be tidy 24/7. This is probably the most important tip in this whole blog post if I’m honest. We’re fed Pinterest perfect images of homes, where nothing is out of place; this is not a realistic goal for most of us, especially if we have a busy home with pets, kids and one or more people working from home. Our home is clean 90% of the time, yes. Dishes are done, laundry is folded and put away, beds are made, etc. But tidy? Definitely not. The dining room table is Dan’s office/hobby table, the girls play area is very rarely tidy when they are home and there are very often books lying all over the couches, coffee table and the girls bedroom. Our home is lived in, that’s what it’s there for. But just because it isn’t tidy all of the time, that doesn’t mean that it isn’t clean.
- Set aside specific days for specific tasks: I know many people prefer to do everything in one day but for me personally, I find it more productive to spread my tasks out in a way that makes sense. For example, Monday is laundry day and I try to get it all done, Wednesday is vacuum and mopping after the garden service has been (they tend to blow a lot of dust inside the house so this makes sense for us), etc. If you have just one cleaning task to do a day, it feels a lot less daunting than spending your whole day cleaning.
- Delegate: Cleaning a home shouldn’t be only one person’s responsibility, everyone needs to get involved. In our home, Dan does the vacuuming, the rubbish, brings in the laundry and then some odds and ends when he sees something that needs to get done. I do the mopping, bathrooms and kitchen… oh and my bestie, the dishwasher. The girls make their beds, clean their rooms as well as the play area and their toys in the lounge. They also have to take their plates to the sink when they are finished eating and unpack their school bags. With everyone doing their bit, keeping our home clean is so much easier and there is a lot less room for resentment that someone isn’t doing their share.
- Use small pockets of time where you can: I shared this reel and so many of you found it helpful, honestly it’s often the only way that I get some things done. While I wait for the coffee machine I empty or repack the dishwasher, or I fold laundry. While the kids bath you can wipe down part of the bathroom and then give the bath a quick wipe down once they hop out. If you can use bits and pieces of time when you find them, the rest of your day will open up to do more exciting things than just clean.
- Organise your cleaning cupboard: Admittedly, this is something that I still need to do, purely because we actually need to replace that entire cupboard in our kitchen, but I know that if my cleaning cupboard was more organised and nicer to look at, cleaning wouldn’t feel as soul destroying as it can. Some good ideas are to put your products into a lazy susan so that things are more accessible, decant your products into amber bottles and label them, update your storage options (this caddy and two tier organiser look great).
- Go to bed with a clean home: I used to always laugh this off, who has the energy to clean their home at the end of the day? Not me! But one week I started to implement this rule and it honestly makes all the difference to the next day. Of course there are some evening’s where I actually just cannot be bothered but as a general rule, every evening Dan gets the girls to clean up their play area and any books lying around in the lounge before dinner and once they’re in bed I pack the dishwasher and give the kitchen counters a wipe down. If there are any dishes that don’t fit in, I grit my teeth and just wash them by hand. Once you get into the groove of doing this every night, you’ll find that it really doesn’t take that much time or effort and waking up to a clean and relatively tidy home every morning instantly starts your day off on a great note.
- Find some inspo on social media: Like with everything in life, we can fall into a cleaning slump or our routine/lifestyle changes. I’ve found that having a select few accounts to follow online (more specifically Instagram) really helps me; gives me some motivation and I almost always learn a new hack or two! Some of my favourites are Becki from The Hoek Home, Chantel from Mama Mila, Megan from Momma Like Me and Emily Norris.
I hope that this post gives you some cleaning mojo and please feel free to leave your top tips and inspo in the comments.
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