Have y’all ever heard someone mention their “cleaning day?” Cleaning day? Girl, at my house every day is cleaning day, or at least it should be, because every time I turn around, I see something that needs cleaning. I have no magic answers, but I have found a system for how to get your home clean and keep it that way. Trust me, if I don’t stick to it, the living room is sure to look like a bomb went off and my feet will be stuck to the kitchen floor on a regular basis. Let’s talk about a clean house and how to keep it that way.
A Place for Everything
A place for everything and everything in its place. Sort of a cliché but who are we to judge? Cliché or not, it’s spot on. Everything in your home needs a landing place—preferably not the kitchen counter, though. Go through every room and clear out junk. Pick up an item and look at it. If you know where it belongs, put it there. If not, create a place for it. If you don’t even desire to create a place for it, do you really need it?
Create a Schedule
It’s really helpful to have somewhat of a schedule to get your home clean and keep it that way. I’m not talking some rigid schedule where you say no to girls’ night out because it’s wash the bathroom floors night. Don’t you dare. However, a basic outline so you know pretty much when things get done is helpful for putting your mind at ease.
On your schedule, create a plan for daily, weekly, and monthly cleanings.
Daily
Daily cleaning consists of keeping up with the little things, so they don’t grow out of control. Put these items on your daily list:
- Make the bed
- Sweep and vacuum
- Do the dishes
- Put everything in its place after use
Weekly
Some ideas for areas to clean once a week include:
- Wash floors
- Bathrooms (sinks, toilets, tubs, and showers)
- Scour the kitchen sink
- Shine appliances, especially stainless steel
Monthly
Now, these are the ones that take over our homes if we aren’t careful. Do these tedious tasks monthly to stay on track:
- Dust
- Wash baseboards
- Inside of oven
- Stovetop
- Inside of refrigerator
Besides these monthly chores, don’t forget to clean out the A/C unit twice a year. A clean air conditioner means less dust and other yucky stuff in the first place. Conquer the dust monster before it gets inside.
Another place dust loves to multiply is your furnace filter. Get that puppy changed as needed in order to lighten up on dust.
Listen, none of us need another thing to do, and cleaning isn’t the most important thing in life. However, keeping up with it helps us not to dwell on cleaning, and frees our minds to worry about more important things…like 5:00 sweet tea on the deck…after our chores, of course.
