Raise your hand if you really, really like a nice, clean (or at least, mostly dust-free) home?
Now, raise a hand if you really, really enjoy cleaning your house. What? Not so many hands still in the air?
Oh, sure, we all love it when we walk into a fresh-smelling, dust-free home with polished or newly-vacuumed floors. But most of us possess neither the time nor temperament to make our homes spotless and keep them that way. While there are some fortunate (and likely well-to-do) households who have daily assistance with this maintenance, most of us can’t afford daily cleaning help.
Take heart! All is not lost (or endlessly dusty, either).
Here’s why: We have help for you.
Let’s begin with the idea that, yes, from time to time (like, say, every other week) we all need more assistance with house cleaning.
You can get that assist from family members by maybe bribing an 8-year-old to dust or by bargaining with a spouse, but results may vary. You may choose to hire someone like our team at House Spouse, or you may roll up your sleeves and get at it yourself.
In between big cleans, we have a list of those tasks that you can do to keep your home looking presentable without spending hours of time to make it happen. We have found that many small, fairly quick tasks can keep you on track for a basically clean home (almost) every day.
First, take a walk through your home and assess what you can see that needs to be picked up or straightened up. You may find that your guest room, for instance, might only need a quick pick-up and dusting once a week (or even less).
You’re also likely to see that there are things you can do every day to help keep your house looking neat.
- In the bedroom, make your bed before you leave in the morning. Pick up any stray items on your nightstands, and put them where they belong. Put your pajamas away (okay – stuff ’em under the pillows). Open the blinds.
- While you’re getting ready in the morning, straighten/clean the bathroom. Wipe off the mirrors. Put away makeup and toothpaste, and give counters a quick wipe.
- In the kitchen, clean off the countertops but putting away appliances, hanging up dish towels and cleaning out the sink. After dinner, get the dishwasher loaded and run it. Give the floor a quick sweep. Unload the dishwasher before bed, or first thing in the morning while preparing breakfast so it’s ready for the day.
- In the living room, put pillows back where they belong, pick up any items left on the floor, take any dishes back to the kitchen and put shoes back in the mudroom or closets. Stack the remotes neatly, and put away any other electronic items such as gaming systems, DVDs, game controllers, etc.
- Before you leave the house in the morning, sweep off the front porch or steps, and, if needed, dust off the furniture (if you’re good with that broom, you can use it here, too).
Finally – take heart. This amount of attention is going to make your life easier – and your home, neater.
House Spouse is a Phoenix-based cleaning service that provides ongoing maid service, custom concierge services, carpet and tile cleaning, rental-property cleaning and more. Visit us at Housespouse.com, call us at (480) 834-2905 or email us at info@housespouse.com
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