Too often cleaning tasks get put off until they need to be completed all at once, in a Saturday marathon before guests come over and see – gasp! – the actual state of your kitchen. Sure, when it’s clean your home looks great, but it can take a while to really get everything in order.
What if we told you there were easy ways you can maximize the time that your home looks neat and tidy, giving you more time for HGTV, and other things you’d rather do on your weekend? Well there is! See our tips for 8 easy ways to keep your home cleaner longer.
Putting your furniture directly against your walls can lead to smudges and marks – and ultimately, more cleaning for you. Avoid those mishaps by arranging your furniture approximately 6 inches from your walls. Plus, it’ll give you easier access to dusty corners.
Clean dishes, or stack them in the dishwasher as soon as you’ve finished with them instead of letting them pile up in the sink. It’s a quick task that keeps your kitchen looking tidy and saves you a longer cleanup later.
Extend the time between washing your sheets by placing an old sheet on top of your bed, and letting pets know that they can’t jump up unless a covers in place. (Putting the sheet on the bed is the easy part – successfully making this tip work could be a little more difficult based on your pet.)
After finishing a load of washing, leave the lid open for at least an hour. This allows moisture to evaporate, and discourages the growth of mold and mildew in your machine, which can lead to smelly clothing.
Giving your pets a quick wipe with a microfiber cloth, or specialty pet wipe each day can help to reduce the amount of pet hair that ends up on your furniture, so you can spend less time vacuuming.
If you see something that you think needs some tidying, just do it. Don’t think, ‘Oh this weekend I really need to clean X,’ cause it’s likely that you won’t get to it. When you finally do get around to cleaning the house, those small tasks will just add to the time it takes to finish the job.
Impulse buys can be a big cause of clutter around a home – and that leads to messes. Ensure everything has a place by making a list before each shopping trip, and only purchasing items that you really need. If you don’t absolutely love it, or have an immediate use for it, give it a miss.
Natural light can make any room look more inviting – and just cleaning your windows can really make your home brighter. Sure, it’s not necessarily easy to clean plenty of windows, but just cleaning one window in a high traffic area of your house could really make a big difference.
These simple tasks can help you keep your home cleaner, longer giving you more time to tackle the important things – like catching up on House Hunters International, and napping.
