When raising a lively family, it can be hard to keep your home in tip-top shape. In fact, you may find that as soon as you finish cleaning one room, your children reward you by making a complete mess in the other. However, keeping your home clean and tidy is important when it comes to both your physical and mental health – meaning that while it may be at the bottom of your to-do list, it’s not something that you can avoid entirely – no matter how hard you may try to do so.
For many, keeping on top of their cleaning duties can be a cause of great stress – especially after a busy day at work. However, while it’s important to remember that your home doesn’t have to be showroom-worthy 24/7, there are plenty of ways in which you can go about taking the stress out of home maintenance!
Photo by Crema Joe on Unsplash
Here are some top tips to get you started!
- Sometimes, cleaning your home can feel overwhelming when you try to clean the entire property at once. Not only is this incredibly time-consuming, but it can also be hard to know exactly where to start. However, you can combat this issue by setting aside around 15 minutes each day to dedicate towards cleaning – and working your way through the home one room at a time. This way, your to-do list is not neverending, but you’re still keeping on top of all of your cleaning duties.
- Write down a list of the cleaning tasks that need to be carried each day, and delegate chores across all members of the family. For example, while toddlers shouldn’t be put in charge of vacuuming – you can encourage them to put away their toys after playtime. If you have older kids who are very reluctant to participate, don’t despair. There are plenty of ways to encourage your kids to help. For example, you could turn cleaning into a fun competition, where the first person to complete their chores (to a high standard) wins a prize.
- Remember that keeping your home in good order also means keeping your garden looking its best – especially if you spend a lot of time outdoors. However, you do not have to take on all of this work yourself. For example, if you have your own pool, you could arrange for weekly pool cleaning to be carried out by a professional team. This will save you a great deal of time and effort while ensuring that your pool water is clean and free from debris and dirt. Furthemore, you may also want to hire a gardener.
- Be aware of the common cleaning errors people make so that you are able to avoid them. For example, instead of starting off your cleaning duties by vacuuming a room – you should actually complete this task last. This is due to the fact that you could otherwise dislodge dust and dirt onto your freshly cleaned floor when dusting or cleaning furniture – meaning that you would have to reach for the vacuum all over again.
- Ensure that you have all of the necessary tools to hand that are required to keep your home looking its best. For example, this could include a variety of cleaning and antibacterial products, alongside a brush, vacuum, dusters, and more.
- Teach your children to clean up after themselves by reminding them that there is a place for everything and that everything should be put back in its place after use. For example, if they’ve grabbed a book to read after school – ensure that it finds its way back to the shelf when they are finished as opposed to being left on the sofa (or the floor).
- Save money on overpriced products by making your own cleaning products from ingredients you already have lying around. For example, did you know that a combination of lemon juice and baking soda is great for removing stubborn stains?
- One of the easiest ways in which you can keep your home in the best possible shape is by ensuring that you keep clutter to the minimum and declutter your home frequently. For example, you should look through your wardrobe every few months and throw away or donate any clothes that you no longer wear or use. This stops them from taking up unnecessary space in your home and can help you keep the rest of your space more organized.
- Conduct a deep clean of your home once or twice a year. While this may take upwards of several hours, it’s a great way to freshen up your home and can make your property feel (almost) brand new. During this time, ensure that you target the areas you may omit otherwise – such as your attic or basement.
- Keeping your home in top shape also includes ensuring that you stay on top of any maintenance. For example, if you have noticed that one of your steps is slightly creaky – it will only worsen the more you ignore it. Furthemore, dealing with repairs sooner rather than later often means that you won’t have to spend as much money when it comes to resolving the issue. While there are some home maintenance tasks you can carry out yourself – others, such as those involving plumbing or electrics, should be left to the experts.
- If you find that clutter builds up throughout your home without you even realizing it – you may need to invest in more storage options. For example, cluttered bedrooms can turn into peaceful, tidy, and clutter-free havens after the introduction of a few additional shelves or under-bed storage.
- Keep an eye out for innovative home cleaning hacks that can save you a great deal of time and effort. For example, if you find that you struggle to keep your bathroom tiles shiny and clean, an old toothbrush can be used to brush away inbuilt dirt and grime and deal with any hard-to-reach areas. Additionally, while this may seem surprising – coke can actually be used to keep your toilets looking their best by restoring their natural shine.
- When cooking a meal for the whole family, it can be hard for the mess to pile up around you – whether this is due to the fact that you are experimenting with a new recipe or cooking several different meals to match each member of your family’s tastes and preferences. As a result, your kitchen may look as though an earthquake has run through it every evening. One way in which you can resolve this issue is by cleaning your kitchen as you cook. For example, while waiting for water to boil, you can start loading the dishwasher.
- Make cleaning fun by entertaining yourself while cleaning. For example, you could play your favorite songs (and sing and dance along) or listen to an interesting new podcast. This helps you feel as though you are doing something fun instead of cleaning your home and can also help you get the work done quicker as it will stop you from seeking out potential distractions.
While keeping your home clean and tidy comes along with a range of mental and physical health benefits, it’s also important that you do not let cleaning take up all of your time. After all, you deserve to rest and relax after a busy day – and you shouldn’t feel as though you need to be cleaning during this time. To put it simply, despite what people may have you think, it’s perfectly okay for your home to look as though someone actually lives there!
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Kori
Digital Product Creator at Kori at Home
Kori is a late diagnosed autistic/ADHD mom. She is currently located in Albany, NY where she is raising a neurodiverse family. Her older daughter is non-speaking autistic (and also has ADHD and Anxiety) and her youngest daughter is HSP/Gifted. A blogger, podcaster, writer, product creator, and coach; Kori shares autism family life- the highs, lows, messy, and real.
Kori brings her own life experiences as an autistic woman combined with her adventures in momming to bring you the day-to-day of her life at home.
Kori is on a mission to empower moms of autistic children to make informed parenting decisions with confidence and conviction.
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