10 Tips to Simplify Cleaning |
These easy steps will help make housecleaning a breeze
You just cleaned the living room, and already it is littered with toys. There are new crumbs on the floor, a dirty handprint on the wall and your spouse’s empty coffee cup on the ottoman – not to mention the bathroom that still needs cleaning, the dishes that still need putting-away and boat loads of clothes that need washing. How do you tackle what seems like the endless task of keeping the house clean? Here are 10 great tips to help you simplify your cleaning:
1. Make a cleaning plan. Many parents create meal plans to simplify family meals. Have you ever considered making a cleaning plan? The beauty of a cleaning plan is that it stays the same every week, and nobody complains about it. First determine what your priorities are. Are there dust allergies in your family? Wet paws padding through the house? Dirty coffee cups? Piles of mail? Figure out what the problem areas are and build your schedule around them.
2. Daily plan. You may want to divide your daily plan into separate morning and evening tasks. Your morning tasks might include making the beds and emptying the cat litter. Your evening tasks might include cleaning the kitchen counters, putting toys away and wiping the washroom surfaces while the kids are washing up.
3. Weekly plan. Instead of giving up your Sundays to clean the entire house, consider making a rotation schedule that allows you to focus on one room per week, or every other day, for more intense cleaning. Be sure to revel in your mini sparkling achievements.
4. Baby steps. For those larger weekly tasks (or spring cleaning), consider using a timer to help you stay focused. You may be surprised to learn that most chores take no longer than 20 minutes. So set that timer, collect your gear and get to it.
5. Convenience. Save yourself a ton of time and energy by placing cleaning products and tools in key places in your home. A multipurpose cleaner, cloths, a dustpan and whisk broom should be staples on every floor of your house. Simply grab them and go.
6. Laundry. Wait until the end of the week to do the laundry. By then you will have a full load – which means you will save time, money and the environment, to boot!
7. Clean as you cook. Before starting dinner fill the sink with hot soapy water. When you are done with a dish, place it in the sink to soak through dinner for easy post-dinner clean-up.
8. Odours in your garbage bins? Eliminate pesky odors by placing a sliced lemon, some ice cubes and salt on the bottom of your bin. Always make sure there is a spare garbage bag at the bottom of the bin for convenient bag-changing.
9. Don’t cry over spilled milk. Be sure to clean spills immediately to avoid having to scrub sticky messes later.
10. Declutter. Make decluttering a daily priority. It is much easier and less daunting to clean a decluttered house. Get the kids to help by putting away their own toys after each activity and by being responsible for clearing their own bedroom of clutter.
Now plug in your favourite tunes, invite the family to pitch in, and get to it. Happy cleaning!
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Natalie | September 15, 2010 at 1:32 pm - §
Once a week we go thru the house for a trash hunt ...old peices of paper broken toys ect.. and try to fill at least one grocerie bag.The kids love doing this and wathever can't be recycled goes in the bag and helps keep the clutter down in our home.
Cathy | September 16, 2010 at 12:02 pm - §
Excellent suggestions for those of you with older kids but just plain agravating for those of us with very young children. I would love to clean up the milk splattered by my infant waiving yet another faulty sippy cup immediatley after it is spilled, but when my other child is standing in a puddle of pee because he didn't make it to the bathroom on time and the timer is buzzing cause the baking is burning and a hundred other distractions are happening, it is impossible. And not having a full laundry load mid-week? Are you kidding me? I've got three by mid-week alone! Suggestions like "get the kids to put the toys away" are just plain annoying. If I could do that, I wouldn't have a cleaning problem! Some suggestions that help answer "*how* to engage the children in keeping the house clean" would be super :-)
Karen | September 17, 2010 at 10:33 am - §
I am a stay at home mom of three young children age 8,5,3. As we all know, it is a busy job taking care of kids let alone trying to keep up with the endless amounts of housework and laundry. I have been trying very hard lately to try and stay organized and getting the kids to help keep their rooms organized as well. I know it is not the way I would do things but I think it is important to teach them at this early age to stay organized and keep there rooms clean as much as possible most of the time . I also think it makes my job as a stay at home much easier too. Once in awhile we will use incentives to keep them motivated, such as a treat or trip into the dollar store. I want them to know that I do notice their hard work and appreciate it very much. We always tell them as well, I think all kids want to please their parents as much as possible and having an incentive once in awhile makes them want to please all the more, and I explain to them that they should not expect this each and every time. It is just a nice surprise for them. Anyway!! hope this suggestion and comment help some of you~cheers
Arwen | November 9, 2010 at 7:46 am - §
Some of these tips are good but I agree with Cathy that when you have very young children, it's really hard to follow this (even with best intentions!). I have a 3 1/2 yr old and 1 1/2 yr old twins...all boys! The laundry thing...totally impossible! Unless you are living alone, laundry will pill up way before the end of the week! We are a family of 5, laundry gets done just about every day. It's either towels, linens, kids clothes, dark wash, light wash, etc. As for toys, I'm happy to keep them in the playroom (formerly dinning room) but some does get scattered into the kitchen