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3 Daily Cleaning Habits to Keep a House Tidy (Even If You Have No Time)
Some of us love to clean, while others find it a burden.
Even so, nothing beats the feeling of returning to a clean house after a long, exhausting work day. When you have a clean home, it’s much more welcoming and relaxing. A clean space gives that feeling of comfort and ease, because you know that everything has been taken care of—and you can finally relax.
However, there are times when our schedules are hectic, so housekeeping duties may slip through the cracks.
That’s why today, we want to share with you 3 essential and easy cleaning tasks that will instantly make your home more organised—and less stressful. Even if you only have a small amount of time to clean each day!
Let’s dive right in.
1. Get Up and Make Your Bed
Everyone says this, but trust us, it’s crucial. Making your bed every day is more than just a chore. When you make your bed as soon as you wake up, you start the day on your own terms.
While this is important for your physical health and cleanliness, it’s also good for your mental health. You are setting the pace for the rest of your day, just by taking the time to straighten your covers. We often feel overwhelmed by all the things we have to do in a single day, so getting one thing done well is a victory.
Plus, the process of making your bed only takes a few minutes. No matter how busy you are, you can probably spare 5 minutes to fluff your pillows and straighten the sheets. If nothing else works out as planned today, at least you have a nicely made bed when you go to sleep later that night!
Another tip that goes hand-in-hand with this is: Prioritise.
Don’t try to do it all at once.
After you make your bed and do your morning routine, make a list of all the cleaning you would like to do. Because time is limited on weekdays, write down 2 to 3 realistic cleaning goals. In Psychology, this is referred to as Expectancy Theory.
Basically, it goes like this: We judge tasks based on how hard we expect them to be. When you write down 10—or worse, 20—tasks, you expect it to take a lot of work. So, in response, you’ll avoid them all. Instead, write down achievable goals, and you’ll expect them to be easier, which makes them easier to do.
Let’s say you decided to go with the following:
- Take out trash when you leave this morning
- Do a load of laundry before preparing dinner
- Wipe down your bathroom sink
These are small but realistic goals you can easily do in a day. Narrow down a long list of chores by prioritising and doing just a few things each day.
2. Start Small and Scale Up
Another great trick is to start cleaning a small space before working your way up to bigger surfaces. Also, you can decide to clean one area at least once per week. That way, you won’t get overwhelmed when tackling larger areas later on.
Start with the most important spaces in your house whenever possible. For example, be sure to Clean As You Go (CLAYGO) whenever you prepare a meal. You use your kitchen several times a day, and if it’s messy you’ll start feeling discouraged and overwhelmed. Clean up after you use the chopping board, knives, and pans. Then, you won’t have to spend an hour washing up after eating.
Another tip is to clean even just a small area in one room. All too often, we fall into the idea that we have to clean everything from the toilet to the shower and the gross corners under your sink where the spiders hide. Instead, just clean the shower and plan the rest for the next day.
Remember: You don’t have to do big things to be productive. Take it one step (or cloth) at a time.
3. Practice CLAYGO Everywhere You Go
It’s safe to say that many of us are guilty of not doing this one. Putting things away as you go may seem like a small thing, but trust us, it helps. If everyone did just one little action every day, our houses would be so much neater after time!
Let’s take one example. When you get ready for bed or even come home from work and get changed, what do you do? Do you toss your clothes on the floo? The clean bed? A chair in the corner? Well, instead of letting clothes pile up, take the extra step to toss them in your hamper.
Just putting your dirty clothes away will make laundry easier when you’re not having to collect clothes from separate piles around the room.
You can also use this tip in other parts of your home. The nice thing about the CLAYGO habit is that it will help keep your room (and home) in tip-top shape. A clean space also helps you prepare for the day more because you won’t have to spend time looking for your things. Or getting spooked by the big spider crawling out from under the pile of clothes on the floor.
Make Cleaning a Habit
Some of us are too busy to clean the whole house every day. Whether it’s because of work, school or raising a family, cleaning can be difficult to add into your life.
Still, it’s important we try our best. If you set aside just a few minutes to clean one thing every day—your home will become noticeably cleaner and far more pleasant.
Here, at Spruce, we know how important your home is. We offer professional cleaning services to ensure that nothing gets left out or lost while you’re away.
Our team can even do a deep clean for each room in your house, making sure that everything is perfect before giving it all new life again. This way, there are no distractions from what really matters: building an amazing, clean home with your family and loved ones.
If you’re in Auckland, give Spruce a call so we can go over how best to keep your home clean and tidy every day of the week.
