One Trick for a Clean House All the Time
Does this sound familiar?
Me: Hey kids, we're having a little party this weekend!
Kids: Oh. Gee. Great.
Me: Why the long faces?
Kids: That means big-time cleaning.
If you're like me, you keep your house relatively clean. You spot clean daily, picking up the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms as you go. You may have a cleaning lady and also do party-time cleaning as needed. Then, there's spring cleaning - that epic level of detailing room by room.
When I was working and raising children, I loved walking into a clean house after the cleaning lady came. Now, every day feels like that but, I don't spend very much time cleaning.
You will have a clean house all the time with minimal effort and your weekends will be free.
The only thing to do:
In addition to daily spot cleaning, follow this schedule (or make your own) to deeper clean only these rooms for one hour or less on these days. For the first couple weeks, set a timer for one hour when starting the area. In a couple weeks, it won't take even close to an hour.
Monday: Bedrooms (sheets, floors, windows etc).
Tuesday: Office(s), hallways, and outdoor living areas.
Wednesday: Family rooms including basement & living room & dining room
Thursday: Kitchen (kitchen day should be the same as garbage night)
Friday: Bathrooms & laundry room
Weekends: None
That's it!! You won't believe the transformation as you focus on really deep cleaning specific areas one hour or less per week. Don't work past the hour unless you really want to. Don't move into another area.
By the second week, you'll see the area is still pretty clean. It won't require the full hour. You'll still clean it, do the floors, dust. Move through the room and take on new projects as the weeks pass. Clean the windows, a drawer, cabinet, pantry, shelf, appliance. Organize closet, clothes, shoes.
Someone asked me, "But doesn't this mean your house won't ever be clean at the same time?"
Answer: The opposite is true. Within no time, every single room in the house will be to your satisfaction all the time. It will take less than 15 minutes to maintain the spaces daily.
Try it! Let me know how you like it.
