January 19, 2021

Six Things I Do Every Day to Keep the House Clean

Want to feel like your home is clean and organized and like you’ve got ‘it’ together?

First of all, it’s important to keep these things in mind:

  • Organization takes time, it won’t happen overnight. Stop worrying about instant results, concentrate on progress.
  • Routines and consistency need to be in place.
  • Spoiler: just when you feel like everything’s done, something will upset it. All the toys are cleaned up? Someone will dump out that huge lego bin with a zillion pieces. That’s just real life and it’s okay. Roll with it and enjoy the stage that you’re in.

The good news? You can set your home up with systems to streamline your life. I have six simple things you can do right now to get started. If you are trying to get into a cleaning routine (or better yet, my cleaning routine) and are just struggling with the daily stuff, clutter, and mess, stop the cleaning routine and work on these things this week and start over with the cleaning routine next week. Are you following me on Instagram? I post my weekly cleaning routine there too!

1. Make Your Bed.

And teach your kids to make their beds too. Keep the bedding simple and as soon as you get up or in my case, after I’ve had a cup of coffee, make your bed. It will instantly make your bedrooms look put together and in reality it takes under a minute to complete.

2. Take it out, put it away.

Start working on this TODAY and enforce it with yourself and your family members. It’s such a simple principle but it’s hard to be consistent. I guarantee it will take you less time to put that one thing away than it will to put all the things away at the end of the day.

3. Everyday a little something.

This is my mantra every.single.day. Don’t try to get it ‘all’ done in a day or every day. Just do something each and every day and I guarantee you’ll get over the feeling of I want my house to be clean all at once. With my simple cleaning routine you’ll find that maintaining the basics every day is really the secret to a clean and tidy home.

4. Deal with mail on a daily basis.

Figure out a system that works for you and your family but stacks of paperwork, mail, and kid papers isn’t going to make your home feel organized. Toss any flyers or unnecessary mail at the door, open and file any bills that need to be paid, and decide on what will work for your kid papers. In our house we toss (recycle) most worksheets and keep the special artwork and papers.

5. Clear and wipe your counters daily.

It sounds so simple doesn’t it? But in reality it takes some effort. Start with the kitchen counters and wipe them off after meals and at the least dinner. Then once you feel like you’ve got a handle on that task, add checking the bathroom counters to your routine. Put that toothpaste tube away and put the toiletries back where they belong. Give the counters and sink a quick wipe if necessary.

6. Wash the dishes and clean your sink.

At the end of the day, the last thing I (you too?) want to do is unload and/or load the dishwasher. The silly thing is that this dreaded task only takes a couple of minutes. Why do we always put it off? Get in the habit of loading the dishwasher after dinner, wiping down the kitchen table, clearing and wiping the counters, and give that sink a little scrub. When you get up the next morning you will be so glad you did!

Some of my favorite products:

  • I use white trays in the kitchen to keep items neat and tidy (I also have one for honey, sugar, cinnamon sugar by the coffee pot.)  I also have Fiestaware dishes and love them if you are looking for simple and attractive dishware that works well with kids.
  • This tea towel from Crate and Barrel.
  • I keep bar mop towels on the counter – you can see mine in my shop here. The container that holds them is Anchor-Hocking (from Target).
  • I keep dishwasher tabs in a vintage Ball jar.
  • My favorite bedding is from Pottery Barn.

Looking for more Cleaning Inspiration?

Get Access to Clean Mama's Free Quick Clean Printable

You'll also get access to the entire free printable library!

 

Posted Under:

Clean + Organized 2015, Cleaning