Learn how to keep your house clean. With these easy cleaning hacks and less effort, you’ll keep your home neat all the time.
You’re probably wondering, How do I keep my house clean? I have a few ideas on this topic.
Keeping a house clean is so important. We need to take ownership over our possessions, and if our home isn’t a reflection of how we care for ourselves, I don’t know what is. But how can you keep your house clean without much effort?
Here are a few easy ways to keep a home clean without expending more energy and time.
Although some of these may already be familiar to you, I’m sure there are at least a couple of ideas here that will help you keep your home cleaner between weekly cleans.
How to Keep Your House Clean
Quit wearing shoes in the house.
Some people may think this is unnecessary or even obnoxious, especially if you ask guests to remove their shoes before coming into your home.
How dare you ask someone to keep your home clean as they visit you in your home.
Please, you are nice enough to offer someone space to visit and will probably wait on them. You will probably make them feel comfortable in every way. The least they can do is respect this rule and not track in dirt, germs, and God knows what else.
I think removing shoes is a brilliant idea for how to keep a clean home. Whether dealing with guests or your own family, shoes should be removed inside. This is actually the norm in many countries outside of the states, so I personally don’t feel like I’m violating a social norm.
Now, there are certain ways to go about kindly asking guests to remove their shoes, but that’s another post for another day.
Removing shoes not only reduces germs in the household, but it also prevents carpet stains from mud or anything else that could possibly be tracked inside. If you remove them near the door you can neatly organize them in a closet or in a basket to keep them tucked away but accessible.
Immediately clean your dishes after cooking and eating.
Okay, so this is a no-brainer.
But how many people do you know that religiously do this? They wait until the end of the day or sometimes the next day to clean caked-on, stinky dishes because they didn’t prioritize it the day before.
And now the pile of dishes is high and daunting to look at.
Get used to cleaning your dishes right after eating. When I’m eating alone for breakfast or lunch, I don’t even let my plate hit the sink because as soon as I finish my plate, I immediately run it under hot water to remove any debris and then start scrubbing with soap. We don’t have a dishwasher, but if I did I would immediately clean any debris off and next place it in the dishwasher to later be sanitized when it’s full. It’s pretty easy.
Trust me, don’t wait to do this later or you’re creating a bigger chore than it should be.
Unless you’ve cooked a huge meal for a crowd, you shouldn’t have that many dishes to clean at once. Even if I make something from scratch, I wash dishes as I clean so I’m not left with a pile when I’m done.
It’s such a simple habit, and much too easy not to incorporate into your life.
Do a little bit each day.
This is honestly more of a philosophy because I feel like this is the goal behind each of these habits. If you do a little bit each day, you won’t have to spend hours cleaning one day a week. If you notice dust accruing on a piece of furniture you rarely touch, clean it then. It’ll take seconds and you won’t have to add that and fifty other small tasks to your main cleaning chores every Friday.
This is one of my favorite ways for how to keep a clean house.
Maybe you absolutely hate that you even have a cleaning day once a week. Then maybe you could dust one day of the week, vacuum another day, clean glass another day, etc. Instead of spending two hours straight cleaning that one day a week, you’ve now broken that down into several 20-minute tasks each day.
While this idea may be brilliant for some, I acknowledge that some of us may still prefer cleaning once a week because we just don’t have the energy to clean for 20-minutes each day of the week. This is just an idea for those who hate cleaning for hours once a week and feel overwhelmed by that.
Eat at the dinner table.
Most families don’t even sit at the dinner table together these days between all their different schedules. Thankfully, my husband and I make it a priority to always sit together to eat dinner every night. We aren’t perfect (like on those movie marathon nights where we like to snack on pizza on the couch), but most of the time we eat at the dinner table.
A dining table is much easier to wipe down after eating than a sofa or a rug.
If you follow this one, you’ll have much less crumbs and stains appearing on your favorite piece of furniture. You’ll also feel more connected sitting down, making eye contact, and having a conversation during dinner instead of watching television.
Clean messes as soon as they happen.
This goes hand in hand with the dishes. Clean spills just as they happen, so stains don’t have time to set in. Put things up before you move on to the next activity.
Anytime your kids have toys out, make it a game to see who can pick stuff up the fastest (as appropriate for their age). Then help them with what they can’t do. Now all the toys are cleaned up before you jump into making dinner.
Once this becomes a habit you won’t have to spend every evening cleaning up after everyone.
This goes for adults, too, of course. As soon as you get home from work, empty your lunch bag, your laptop bag, backpack, and anything else first so you won’t have to mess with it at the end of the night when you just want to get to bed.
Have a routine laundry schedule.
Instead of waiting for laundry to pile up all week long and end up with 10 loads between me and my husband, I do laundry every third day. So if I do it on Sunday, I won’t have to touch it again until Wednesday.
It’s also preferable and more realistic than the idea of doing one small load a day. I just don’t want to be in the laundry that frequently, personally.
The two days off in between really helps me stay caught up with it without feeling like I’m doing it every single day.
Between my husband and I, we only end up doing either 2 large or 3-4 smaller loads of laundry on these days. Although it takes a good chunk of the day, we’re able to feel like we can still go out on these days. We switch laundry over as we come and go.
We also never have a ton to do on any given day, so we have a bit more freedom on the days we do.
Keep porches and decks clear.
This one I’ve kind of learned as we’ve lived in our home. Even though we take shoes off at the door, sometimes leaves or bush trimmings or even pea gravel can end up all over the entry rugs. It sure is a pain tracking this in. Especially if you choose to wear shoes in your home. But by at least keeping your porch, patio, and deck clear, you won’t have to worry much about all the elements of nature making it inside. Just give them a sweep every so often or when you notice lots of debris accumulating in these areas.
Invest in machine washable rugs.
Machine washable rugs are a must-have! Particularly because we keep rugs in our entryways of our home to step on before removing shoes. Being able to wash rugs in the washer saves so much time. I couldn’t imagine doing this by hand or not having rugs at all. Not only are they decorative, but also very practical to keep floors cleaner, which all-in-all helps keep a clean home.
Invest in a handheld vacuum for everyday use.
Handheld vacuums are a great way to keep a home tidy daily. I just don’t have the motivation to get out a big vacuum from the closet, move the couch, plug it in, move the couch back and then put it all up just to pick up a few pieces of lint or hair on the floor.
Having a handheld vacuum is so practical and this Dustbuster QuickClean 7.2-Volt Cordless Handheld Vacuum is affordable and holds up well in our home. I use this quite often to vacuum up hairs from our bright white dining room floor.
I also love it for those few times we do decide to snack on the couch in the living room. These things are convenient and efficient.
Keep closets, drawers, and bins organized.
I personally need to follow this one a bit more. My bathroom closets need some serious organization. I have several small baskets, each with its own contents, but I need a few more to get my closet organization up to date.
The great thing is you can use fancier woven baskets that perfectly match or you can buy cheap bins for storing things in larger drawers. It’s really what you prefer, but I do recommend investing in them. That way, you’ll always know where things are, they’ll be stored away out of sight, and they’ll be somewhat organized in their proper bin.
Keep paperwork organized and filed away properly.
This is the best way to keep all those important documents safe and sound. You know, instead of stacking them between all those novels you’ve been meaning to read on your nightstand or on the coffee table in the living room. When we first moved into our home, I tasked myself with getting file folders with color-coded tabs that I ended up labeling.
Now everything is so easy to find in the filing cabinet. Easy!
Say no to buying things you don’t actually need.
I absolutely love this rule because it helps not only with keeping a clean home, but it also helps families stay frugal and prevent overspending. Additionally, it gives the things we do own more value because we own less.
If you don’t absolutely love it, if it doesn’t serve a practical purpose, or if you won’t consistently use it then what’s the point of owning it?
Be purposeful when spending money and be resourceful with what you already have before buying more stuff.
I always like to make a list before I go shopping and always stick to it. I never make impulse purchases, ever. Even if it’s on the list and I find the item but don’t 100% love it, I can wait. I would rather wait to invest in something that is perfect rather than buy it just to finally have it (think: furniture, decor, and clothing).
Maximize the space you have.
What I mean by this is to utilize more than just floor space for placing things. This is a simple trick that makes a room appear less cluttered and keeps your home tidy.
One way to do this is to invest in wall ledges that serve as shelves to books, decor, photos, or plants. You can also invest in hanging planters for plants instead of placing them on a table you wouldn’t otherwise need. Place hanging planters in windows, hanging from ceilings, to showcase your botanicals without taking up precious floor space.
I also love to use benches that have storage space inside to keep extra stuff that would otherwise be laying around. Books, kids’ toys, extra pillows, and blankets can all be stored in benches for safe keeping when you need a decluttered space that makes your home feel tidy. Storage bins and baskets can also fit snugly under beds, organized and out of sight to create a cleaner space.
Final thoughts…
I use everything on this list constantly to keep my home clean. Ever since we moved into our home a year and a half ago, we’ve been sticking to these guidelines. Our house runs so smoothly and always feels put together because of it.
Of course, things can always change once pets and children are in the picture. But if nothing else, it’s a great guideline to live by when it comes to keeping a tidy home.
You don’t have to wear yourself ragged and go crazy trying to keep everything spotless or completely germ free at all times. If you incorporate just a few of these habits into your routine, your home will look a little more organized.
A happy home environment means a more peaceful life. I hope you’re able to use some of these “secrets” on how to keep a clean house.
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