With everyone home a lot more, it only makes sense to want your space to be as clean as possible. I am providing you with nine cleaning rules that you can implement in stages or all at once, whichever best suits your lifestyle. Before you know it, your home will be cleaner and be a more enjoyable space to spend time.
1. SHIFT YOUR MINDSET
If you’re like me, you feel embarrassed and ashamed if your home isn’t up to par in your eyes. When visitors stop by, I often apologize for my house as soon as they walk in the door. No, I’m not living in filth, nor do I have belongings stacked floor to ceiling. But it is certainly not picture perfect. I put a lot of pressure on myself to have that Pinterest worthy home at all times. We all need to let this go. No more apologies for your home or the stage you are on. Breathe deeply, and accept your space as it is. If you want to make changes, go for it! But stop feeling bad for what is. 2. WHAT TO USE & HOW TO USE IT Being efficient is a valuable part of cleaning. No one wants to waste time in the middle of a cleaning task trying to figure out which product to use or how a product works. Take the time to learn which products you require for your cleaning needs and how to use them. Make a list for easy reference so you can tackle those messy jobs with confidence. Click here for a free printable about which cleaning supplies to keep on hand and what they do. 3. MINDFULNESS Minimalism is all the rage right now. That does not mean having very little in your space. It means being aware of what items you bring in to your home, what memorabilia you’re hanging on to, how much seasonal décor you keep, etc. Think about the items in your home. If you cannot answer yes to at least one of these questions, the item needs to go. Do I need it? Do I love it? Would I purchase this again? 4. MULTITASKING Take, for example, cleaning the kitchen. You can have a dish of white vinegar steaming in the microwave while you clean the countertops. You could have the dishwasher running while you sweep and mop. Cleaning products can be soaking on the stovetop while you wipe out the sink. Multitasking will save you a lot of time and a ton of effort. 5. START A ROUTINE When your space is messy, the overwhelm makes it hard to know where to start. For some people, this may cause anxiety. The best way to get around this is to set up a daily, weekly, or monthly cleaning routine. Know what has to get done and when will remove the uncertainty out of the picture. It gives you a plan of attack for getting all the tasks completed. Read to the end of the post for free daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning routine printables! 6. STAYING AHEAD OF THE GAME Two tricks to this will keep your home clean and you stress-free. Clean As You Go – When you have finished fixing dinner, put ingredients, dishes, and trash away. Do a quick wipe of the counter, and you have tidied up! Apply this to everything you do like putting on makeup, crafting, sewing, etc. When you’re no longer using something, put it back where it belongs. Keep Up On the “Whoops” – We all have those “whoops” moments when an unexpected mess occurs. Keeping up on these as they happen will reduce how difficult things are clean and how much cleaning has to be done all at once. Mess attracts mess. Don’t let things build up. It will cause stress and disorder, landing you right back in the overwhelm of square one. 7. ENLIST HELP If you live with other people, including kids, everyone needs to pitch in and help when it comes to cleaning. Everyone contributes to making the mess, so everyone needs to help clean it. It is a shared responsibility. Have others pick which tasks they’d like to do. You can make a list of tasks and have them sign up for the ones they choose to do. No one person should have to do it all. 8. NEVER EMPTY HANDED When you’re leaving a room, check around for items that don’t belong there. Take them with you as you go and put them away where they belong. For example, there’s a pair of slippers and a cup in the living room. As you leave the room, take the items to where they belong. That is a great habit to get into and significantly cuts down on clutter build up. 9. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK While I’m talking to everyone when I say this, I particularly want to emphasize it to my fellow perfectionists out there. Things do not need to be perfect, and trying to achieve perfection will only lead to frustration, disappointment, and lack of motivation. Just do what you can as you can. Bit by bit, your space will be transformed. You have to allow yourself the time to develop new skill sets and habits. It may take a couple of weeks or a few months, but you’ll get there!
What are your cleaning hacks that save time or effort? Do you have a routine that really works? Let me know in the comments below!
FREE CLEANING ROUTINE PRINTABLES: CLICK HERE!
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Home and Garden Television (HGTV) has released a new hit show, Hot Mess House, airing Wednesday nights at 8 pm EST/7 pm CST. It's debut received the highest ratings of any non-new show that night, even beating out the popular Property Brothers show. Hot Mess House features the host and star of the show, Cassandra Aarssen, who is an author and professional organizer with an already popular podcast and YouTube channel known as Clutterbug. During the show, Cassandra helps people find out what their organizing style is with her self-created Clutterbug test. With the results in hand, she uses it as a guide to assist them in breaking free of their clutter to achieve the functional and easy to maintain spaces they've always wanted. That's not all folks. This show has a twist. Hot Mess House has NO FILM CREW! There's no onsite crew at all. Cassandra guides the featured family through the use of video calls and films herself while she does it. The families in turn film themselves going through the process of decluttering their spaces and implementing the organizational items Cassandra has had shipped to them. With a lovable host, unique format, loads of organizing tips and tricks, and tons of heart, this is one home show you do not want to miss. To learn more about Cassandra Aarssen you can find her here. To sign up for her professional organizer training course, just click here. If you want to check out Cassandra's books follow this link.
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AuthorAll blogs posts are written by Clutter Cricket, Certified Organizational Specialist. Archives
October 2022
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