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As a busy mom of 4 who works full time, cleaning my home like I would like to is not possible. However, I have learned how to keep it looking clean without cleaning it every day. While I do my weekly cleaning on the weekends, I work better when my home is tidy throughout the week. I work from home, so I am sure you can understand why I work better when it is tidy.
I know everyone is different when it comes to tolerance of stuff all over the place. My tolerance for cutter is very low. If I have clutter or stuff just everywhere, it clutters my brain. According to the article on Neurosciencenews.com, research suggests that when we have too many distractions our brains become battlegrounds for attention and everything competes for that focus. It also states that it affects more women than men. On the flip side, too much order and perfectionism can cause the same stress as too much clutter. I guess there needs to be a good balance and that is exactly what I like.
I have found that the following tasks that I do throughout the week help to keep our home tidy enough that my mind doesn’t get too overwhelmed.
1. Get a Robot Vacuum
Yes, I said it. I know it seems like it is a costly task, but in the long run, this can save you so much time. You can have your home vacuumed every day with a robot vacuum.
I have a Roborock Vacuum and although, I have had some issues with it going offline due to where my husband wants to place it, she (We did give her an identify. Actually, we call her Minnie Maximus since we had a Minnie Mouse ride on top of her when we first got her going and my youngest loved that name.) has worked very well. You can have her clean certain zones or areas if you notice that you don’t need to vacuum the entire house or level. Our Robot Vacuum leaves straight lines which can be what a lot of women love seeing after a good vacuuming. This is the Roborock I have.
Just imagine this: you are out on the town and remember that you wanted to vacuum your home so you don’t come back to a mess. You get into your app and you have your robot vacuum clean up the areas you wanted to have cleaned. You come home and your home is cleaned up without having to move the vacuum. I do not think that is laziness, I think that’s efficiency. We have a lot on our plates as it is, why not take a little load off? Work smarter, not harder.
2. Organize Your Home
Well, duh, that seems too easy. However, most people do not have an organized home. I do not mean those Type A, OCD, homes where every single cabinet and closet is organized with bins, baskets, and other organizers. I am talking about having a “home” for everything. Why do I say this? It makes it easy when you are having your children help you clean up to put those things back where you house them. It takes the guessing game out of where to put it. If you don’t have a place, you won’t put it away because there isn’t anywhere to put it. Even if you organize your home little by little, you will eventually have the entire house organized and everything will have a place where it belongs. Then when something is out, you will know exactly where it goes.
I wanted to do a declutter tip as well, but I feel decluttering is also organizing. When you organize, you put everything into a place. But some people love to have everything out on the counter which can then lead to more things ending up on the counter. When you don’t have a lot on the counter to begin with, it is easy to identify anything that doesn’t belong. However, when you have a lot on the counter, it’s harder to notice if anything else is added. So, declutter your home. Get rid of anything that is just collecting dust or figure out how to display it in a way that is organized and neat.
3. Have Your Children Pick Up After Themselves
This seems so obvious, but there is only 1 of you who probably does pretty much everything in the home; the cooking, the cleaning, the laundry (even if just for you, your husband, and the littles who can’t do laundry, yet), the grocery shopping, and everything else that needs to happen so your home can function. It’s time you start bringing in your children to help you out. Whether you have bins with their names that you put all of their belongings in to take to their room or you tell them specifically what they need to do, do it.
If you haven’t already, start having them pick up the home, too. Teach them to take their belongings to their room after school. Teach them that this is OUR house and they are responsible for it even if it’s not their “stuff” that is out. Yes, I am sure you have heard that from your children; “But it’s not mine, mom.” Insert eye roll and attitude. Of course, it isn’t theirs, but this is their home and you are asking them to help around it.
We had set up a plan for clearing the table and washing dishes. For the older two, they would alternate doing clearing and washing. The one who clears the table would also set the table. If you are spending time making the dinner after a long day of work, have them start pitching in. For us, things got a little more complicated when they were involved with extra curricular activities after school. When possible, we implement our clearing and dishwashing policy/schedule. This gives me time to either relax for a little or time to spend tidying up the home for the next day.
4. Tidy Up As You Go
Have you ever put something off after letting it pile up such as laundry? You put it off until you have multiple loads of laundry. What was a simple task turned into a full day task. The same can go with tidying up. If you wait until there is stuff everywhere, the task will now seem more daunting than if you had just picked up those things when you saw them out. If you used tip 2, you would know exactly where the item would go and can put it away very quickly.
Get a basket, put all items in it and put them where they belong. With little children, you may not want to do that until the end of the day because they are still learning how to help out. I am talking about the crayons, markers, one sock, teddy bear, etc that are left in random places in the home. Get them involved with cleaning and they will start doing it on their own.
5. Put Everything In Its “Home” or Place Every Night
Going to bed and waking up to a straighten home helps with the anxiety and stress be at bay. You start the day with a clean slate. It makes it a lot easier to tidy up as you go because we all know the white sock will end up on the ground, or the trash won’t be thrown away. The mess will continue to pile up if you aren’t on top of it.
I have heard moms say, “why clean up when it will become messy again?” I get it, you feel it’s an endless chore. Just like laundry, it is always there. However, if you straighten up at the end of the day, you are also setting an example to your children. Instill in them that at the end of the day, we tidy up and everything goes back in its home. Eventually, you can have them help with tidying up and putting things back.
6. Clean Dishes Immediately or Put Dishes in Dishwasher
I know it is a hassle, but when those dishes pile up it’s a lot like laundry piling up. It will just take more time to put them away or clean them. However, little by little makes the task more bearable. Get in the habit of quickly putting away the dishes as they are used. You will be in a much happier state of mind when you go into your kitchen with the dishes put away.
7. Make Beds
I was taught to always make my bed right after I get up in the morning. I don’t know about you, but I love getting into a made bed. Not only does that feeling give me gratification, but seeing my bed made helps me to not feel more anxious. I feel like if there is nothing else I do for that day, I made my bed. That is something to be happy about. It can help you have a more positive mood and lowers your stress. When you have your children do it, it can help teach them responsibility as well. They can benefit from accomplishing something at the beginning of the day before they go off to school. A made bed also makes a room look cleaner even if nothing is out. It looks put together.
While I know these tips aren’t for everyone, I do believe if you make it a priority and do this enough, it will become a habit. These are things I do every day to keep my home tidy. At the end of the day, I love looking around to see what I can put away so when I wake, I am not overwhelmed from the start of the day. It makes tasks more bearable when I start out without a mess or without misplaced items. The hardest part of any of this is starting to implement them. Whether it’s organzing the home, decluttering, or getting in the habit of putting things away as you see them out, the first step is just doing it. Make the decision to do it and put the decision into action. It will make your life much easier.