As Spring rounds the corner, the sound of birds chirping floats about, the smell of fresh blooms is in the air, and a general groan rings out. While the scenery might be beautiful, we all know it is now time to do the terrible deep clean of the House. Of course, getting started is always the hardest part, and most of us hardly accomplish anything close to what needs to happen for that very reason. While every person has a different level of cleanliness that they keep their house in (and, hey, to each their own) as well as how they allot time for cleaning, I will be handing off just a few helpful tools to those who are specifically looking for a more manageable way to clean and don’t want to lose an entire day doing so.
A prime example of a poor approach
Growing up we always had a big clean day, usually Saturday, where we scoured the house top to bottom and weren’t allowed to go do anything fun until it sparkled. A prime way to reinforce that cleaning is a negative, cumbersome act that literally keeps you from having fun. Needless to say, I had a pretty sour opinion of it for a long time, but I don’t think about it that way anymore. Once you shift your habits, your opinion will follow suit and change for the better as well.
The baby-steps system to the rescue
The way I currently take care of my chores is to fit them in on my time. "Baby-steps," if you will. If you look at your living space in terms of rooms, at a glance you probably know which ones are cleaner or dirtier than others.
Make one room your primary goal, whichever one is in need of some good TLC. Carve out a realistic time each day to clean one part of that space. It might sound a little too simple, but that is exactly how I am able to maintain a clean home. If my focus for the week is, say, the bathroom, then each day I allot 5-10 minutes cleaning the sink, then the toilet, then the shower.
Just one part each day, and I barely feel like I've done any work at all. Keeping your supplies in a central location and close at hand also helps keep the burden from feeling too heavy as well.
For some, they prefer the "do it all in one day" method, and all I can say to that is more power to you! For those looking to accommodate a more busy and often unpredictable schedule, the Baby Steps cleaning routine is a good place to start when you need to kick-start your cleaning habits. That said, be sure to make it your own, modify it to best serve you, and create your own cleaning system!
