4 Tips that will Keep your Home Clean Enough

You know the feeling…your home always seems to be in a constant state of chaos and mess. You feel like you are ALWAYS cleaning. Well, I’ve got 4 tips for that if done daily, will keep your home clean enough. Because “clean enough” is a win in my book.

 Make your Bed

Have you ever walked into a bedroom and the bed wasn’t made? What is the feeling that you get when you walk into that room? For me, I am filled with anxiety because the room does not look clean. It looks cluttered and disorganized. Over the past 6 months or so, I have focused on making my bed the minute I get up in the morning. Even before I make myself a cup of coffee, which is a pretty huge feat for me.  I’m groggy but it has become second nature.  I do it automatically without even thinking about it.  And even if the rest of my room is slightly cluttered, a bed that is made can do wonders for the look of the room.

And while you’re at it, get the kids to make their beds too. Even the littlest of kids can do it.  Don’t stress perfection. I’m happy if my kids ( ages 9 and 6) just pull the sheets and comforters up and arrange the pillows neatly.  Some days it gets done and some days it doesn’t but more often than not, I will go into their rooms after they are off to school and the beds will be made.

Wipe Down the Counters

Another thing that really grosses me out is dirty counters. I feel like I am constantly cleaning up stuck on messes especially in the kid’s bathroom. I’m sure I’m not the only one that gets frustrated with blobs of toothpaste all over the sink. And in my bathroom, it was bits of makeup dust that I was just too lazy to clean up and the mess just got bigger and bigger.  The easiest way to tackle this and keep your home clean is by keeping a canister of cleaning wipes on the sink and giving them a quick wipe down every day. I’ve implemented this in the kids bathroom and haven’t had to clean up toothpaste once since. This also goes for your kitchen. If you don’t like to use chemicals such as Lysol or Clorox wipes, you can make your own all natural cleaner.

Clear the Clutter from Flat Surfaces

Flat surfaces are a magnet for clutter.  Pieces of mail get opened and dropped onto counters and tables and it just builds up and up until you can’t take it anymore.  Use a sorting system to organize bills, coupons and schoolwork.  If I have a big pile of clutter to tackle, I use the “one-touch” rule. I pick each item up and decide immediately where its going to go: trash or file. If it belongs filed somewhere, I place it where it belongs. Then I move on to the next piece of paper. This method may be time consuming at first if you have a huge stack of papers to go through but once you get through them, you can use this method once a day on any clutter that piles up and it will be a more manageable task.

Empty the Dishwasher in the Morning

This may be obvious to some people but I haven’t started doing this until recently. And as I sit here writing this, I am reminded that I need to go do it. Empty the dishwasher before breakfast so you have a place to put your dirty dishes and they will not end up piled in the sink. There is nothing worse than waking up to a sink full of dirty dishes that you were just too exhausted to do the night before because you were too lazy to empty the dishwasher that morning.

These tips are sure to keep your home clean enough so if unexpected company drops by, you can let them in instead of slamming the door and running away to hide ashamed of your house. So now if you’ll excuse me, I  have to go empty the dishwasher.

Do you have any more tips on how to keep your home clean enough?  If so, I’d love to hear them!  And if you want to give your home a deeper clean, be sure to check out my ultimate cleaning checklist.

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