People come into my house and immediately make comments about how "clean" it is all of the time. My husband is constantly praising me for how "clean" I keep our house, giving those who come in a sense of comfort and home.
Truth is, I really don't do as much cleaning as everyone thinks I do. I have a phrase that I live by. It is one I've heard time and time again, or read in various places on many a different plaque.
"Housework Makes You Ugly"
I believe in that with all of my heart.
So, in the name of saving beauty all over the world, here are some helpful housework tips to keeping your home looking as though you've done nothing all day but slave away in yellow rubber gloves with a do-rag on your head. Nobody needs to know the truth...
First, start with an ultra clean house. Take a day, maybe a day the kids are at school, or schedule yourself a couple of hours on a Saturday to really get the house clean. We're talking wall-boards, door frames, above the refrigerator, everything! While you are putting yourself through this, keep thinking that this will be the last time you clean the house in this fashion for at least a year.
After that, this is all you will need to remember in order to keep your house looking it's best with minimal effort from you!
1) Always vacuum. A clean floor somehow makes the house look clean even if you've not touched a single other thing. I vacuum at least 3x a week. It takes 5 minutes to do the entire house, but in a pinch I will only vacuum the main areas of the house cutting my time in half.
2) Create A "Space". That's right. Create a space. A space where all of your papers that get clustered all over the house can be placed out of sight on a daily basis. Once a week you can go through these papers as you watch tv or sit outside in the fresh air. It keeps things neat within eye sight inside of your home, and gives you one set day a week to deal with the clutter rather than taking time out of every day sorting through gobs of papers.
3) Take Ten. That's right. Ten minutes every day is all you need. In that ten minutes, quickly wipe down bathroom mirrors and straighten towels, misc. "pickup" in your bathrooms. Straighten counter tops that tend to get stacked with misc. paper work/mail/school work. Pick up clothes and make your bed. Children should make their own beds and straighten their own rooms before they leave for school. Run a quick broom on the kitchen floor whether you "see" that it needs it or not. This serves two purposes. a) Keeps you from dragging any dirt/dust/crumbs onto carpets and b) makes once a week floor cleanings easier. Pick up anything that might have ended up on the floor via pets, kids, or husbands and put it away.
4) Unexpected Visitors. Do people just "show" up at your home from time to time? Well, if they've even the slightest bit of couth, they will at least call five minutes before hand. If you get that much warning at least and it's between "weekly" cleanings, don't fret! Run the vacuum in the living space first. Then, grab a Swiffer! Ok, I don't recommend wasting the money on the real Swiffer brand swiffers. Buy store brand. They do the exact same thing at half the price. Run it over everything! Even tv screens. It will make it look to the average joe that your house is cleaned professionally every day! If it's evening time? Don't lift a finger. Simply dim the lights, light some candles, and entertain your guests in a dimly lit environment. They won't even notice the dust on the furniture or the dog chews laying haphazardly under the coffee tables!
5) Kitchens. Awww, don't be scared! If you're anything like me, you cook at least once every single day. Even if you're not like me, you'll still fix something in the kitchen at some point in time. When you're finished preparing food, even if it is only a sandwich, wipe down the counter tops to free them of dust build up. Wipe off your faucet and canister tops (anything that just sits on the counter, really) Doing this keeps the grime from building up and causing you an hours worth of cleaning at any one given time. I clean the kitchen every time I am cleaning up from dinner. I never have to hit the kitchen, other than mopping the floor, during my weekly cleanings. Daily, or even a couple of times a week, wipe downs does wonders and frees up your time in the long run!
6) Once A Week. If you Take Ten every single day, come the weekends your house cleaning times will be cut in half! All you will need to do once a week is mop floors, dust furniture (and I don't recommend simply Swiffering every day. Take one day to really polish your wood furniture using a spray polish and a rag, and wipe down tv screens and glass tops with glass cleaners.) Scour the bathtubs/showers and wipe down the floors. Swiffer the top of your fridge, cabinets, picture frames and table bases. That's it! You're done! A Health Home.
Now, Spring cleaning is a different story, but one we'll hit on soon I promise! If you follow these easy steps to a clean home on a daily/weekly basis, come Spring cleaning time you'll have the time and energy to devote yourself to the things that really need done, like cleaning out closets and maybe a fresh coat of paint one room at a time!
Most importantly, remember this: Clean At Eye Level. Meaning, outside of the benefits of keeping your carpets clean, focus your attentions daily on the places where your eyes land. Walk through your home. Look at things at eye level. Does it look neat and tidy? For the most part, anyone who walks into your home isn't going to see anything that isn't within eye level (unless it's your MIL, and in that case, you're on your own!). If your home looks great at eye level, then you've done impressed anyone who walks in. Who's going to actually come into your house and check the nooks and crannies for dust bunnies? IF they do, remember to never invite that person back!
source: helium
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