What would your superpower be? Well, picture this; that through a simple, sassy click of the fingers, all of the housework chores would be done. That would be ours. Because in this fast paced, frenetic modern existence, we’d all love to devote a little more time to doing the things we love, the things that nourish us, and not those which seem to, at best, just bring things back to normal. But through a little recalibrating of methods, tactics and even attitude, we can reframe our cleaning to be efficient, effective and whisper it, fun. Magic. Here’s how; our 5 IDEAL tips for keeping your home clean.
GET THE GADGETS
First things first, you need to view the purchase of some decent cleaning equipment as an investment. You’re going to be spending a lot of your life cleaning, and that’s unavoidable, but you can increase efficiency and reduce unnecessary time wasting by getting the right tools for the task, not those which break or bristle upon first use. Prioritise durability over cost, and high-tech over low. Though the outlay may at first seem large, in the long term you’ll be saving time and money, as well as that all important peace of mind, by drastically reducing the hours you spend scrubbing, sweeping and scraping.
REFRAME THE WAY YOU THINK ABOUT CLEANING
If you view cleaning as a massive chore – one usually resented, procrastinated and abandoned – then inevitably it’s going to be viewed as an obstacle. But by a simple reframing of the way you look at cleaning, you can make it a valuable part of the day. You get out what you put in, as they say, so appreciate the physical benefits of a good bit of elbow grease, which when done right is said to burn 90 calories every quarter of an hour, as well as the cognitive perks, including increased organisational and planning capacities.
CONSIDER OUTSOURCING
If due to other domestic duties or a dedicated career, it’s entirely unrealistic for you to keep your home clean, then you should explore the option of outsourcing. There’s no shame in delegating the cleaning to a third party; let’s be honest, they’ll probably do it better. Enlisting the help of cleaning services isn’t as exorbitant as many imagine, but if you want to lower the cost, avoid a full, deep clean each week and instead hone in on the tasks you find particularly difficult and tiresome. You could hire a company to help with rug cleaning, outsource laundry, or have a window cleaner in every week. The choice is yours.
CREATE A SCHEDULE
Trying to do everything at once, with no set plan of attack, is what usually leads to that feeling of being overwhelmed and overly exhausted. Accept that you can’t do everything in one day if you want to be effective in all areas of your life and instead create a cleaning schedule that focuses on allocating a day to each task or a series of tasks. For example, Monday could be the bathroom day, while Tuesday is dedicated to dusting. The goal should be to create the perfect cleaning schedule so that you ultimately feel less burdened.
AVOID THE DREADED BUILD UP
Little and often should be your mantra, to maintain the cleanliness of your home in the most efficient way possible. The longer you leave something, the harder it’s going to be to clean it. For example, your gutters should be cleaned every 3-4 months so that they don’t get blocked with mucky leaves and debris. You can clean them yourself or with the help of a company like Clean Pro Gutter Cleaning Virginia Beach. No matter how they get cleaned, or who cleans them, they need to be cleaned. This will prevent any blockages or damage in the future, and not to mention it will increase your properties curb appeal and make it look much more appealing.
The same applies to the interior of your home too! We all know that it’s easy to quickly turn the house upside down, perhaps in the hunt for a lost key or during a day of duvets and Dominos, but by simply putting things back as soon as you use them or taking a few extra minutes to wipe tabletops down properly after each use, you’ll find your house is cleaner and tasks don’t build up until the point they’re untackleable. Lovely stuff.
