Life always seems busier than we’d like it to be. Often we find ourselves being like we’re overworked, overstressed and overscheduled. It’s natural to forget things or lose our sense of priorities. Take a look at these 6 quick tips and maybe some of them will help you balance your busy life and still have a cleaner home!
1) Set Your Priorities
First, you need to set your priorities about what’s actually important to accomplish when you clean your home. Are clean bathrooms your number one priority, or should it be the kitchen? How about floors, dishes in the sink, or vacuuming every speck of dust away?
2) Find the all-purpose cleaner you like best
If you’re like most everyone else, you don’t have the time or spare cash to have ten different products around just to clean the bathroom. What you need is one primary product that you can use effectively to clean almost everything.
It doesn’t have to be something off the retail shelf either. Many folks keep baking soda and white vinegar around to clean almost everything in sight.
But if the product you like most has a particular scent or works especially good for a lot of purposes, then use it in as many places as you can. This will help you keep your inner self happy.
A combination product that you will do a massive number of jobs is a multi-surface vinegar spray. Combine 1 part rubbing alcohol with 1 part water, 2 parts white vinegar, 1 part water, and 3-4 drops of your favorite dishwashing soap. For flavoring, add about a dozen drops of lemon or orange essential oil.
Shake the bottle to mix everything together and you’ll be ready to clean everything including windows, mirrors, toilets, bathtubs, showers, and even the floor. Although it works great on wood floors and painted surfaces, don’t use it on natural stones like granite or marble. Spray on and wipe dry with a microfiber cloth.
3) Keep Dust Away With Good Doormats
The doormat at the entrance to your home can keep as much as 75% of the outside dust from entering your home. At each entrance where people come in, place two mats. Position one on the outside and a second one inside your home.
The outside mats should be the heavy-duty type that can stand up to harsh weather and scrape most of the mud and dirt off your shoes. An even better option that has become adapted in other countries is to have everyone take their shoes off before they enter the house. This works great but takes a little getting used to. Keep a basket or other container near the door and set aside a suitable rack or shelf where “indoor” shoes can stay safely.
But, if taking your shoes off every time you enter the house, place a softer utility mat on the inside of each door. Choose one that’s washable and matches your home’s indoor colors or patterns, and dust won’t accumulate anywhere near as much as it did before.
4) Use the Right Vacuum Cleaners
We all tend to think that one vacuum cleaner will work just fine for practically every cleaning job in the home, but it won’t. It’s the 21st Century and times have changed. No single model can do everything.
A good handheld model is great to handle small jobs around the home like curtains and upholstery. Besides, you will not wear yourself out lugging it everywhere just to handle a few small chores. A cordless stick vacuum might work the best for you, and consider a robot model if your budget can afford one. These units have gotten a lot better over the years and really do make your life easier.
A large upright will have a lot more suction to tackle floors, rugs, and carpet. Many pet owners purchase special vacuums designed to pick up those sticky hairs and dander that can wreak havoc with allergies and make even normal breathing in the home difficult.
A genuine HEPA filter in your primary vacuum is a plus that should never be ignored. These devices can filter out nearly 100% of the dust, pollen, pet dander, and even tobacco smoke in your home. The result is that it will leave it much cleaner for everyone concerned.
5) Use Microfiber Cloths for Quick Tasks
Microfiber cloths are a relatively new invention and make your cleaning chores much easier and more effective. Forget paper towels. Save a tree or two and get 20-30 microfiber cloths in different sizes and thicknesses. After you use each one, toss it in the laundry.
Microfiber cloths work much better for nearly every cleaning chore in your home. And, they are also a lot cheaper than paper towels and don’t create an additional mess to carry out to the garbage bin each week.
Also, pick up a microfiber mop if you can find one at your local supermarket. Most of these have two sides, one for dusting and the other for mopping. These are great for cleaning hardwood floors fast, and when you’re finished, just toss the mop head into your washing machine.
6) Use Furniture Polish to Shine Stainless Steel
Stainless steel in your home looks great when it’s first installed. But, eventually, it seems to become the world’s worst grease and fingerprint attracter. Most stainless steel cleaners on the market are overpriced and may not even work very well.
Furniture spray, on the other hand, works perfectly and won’t leave streaks or a sticky film. And, now that by now you have a good supply of microfiber cloths, cleaning stainless steel with furniture spray and a microfiber cloth works great. It will leave you with a shiny, streak-free finish every time.
During the winter we experience the shortest days of the year. There’s less time to do almost anything. So, we hope these six tips will help you get things done a little faster than before when there’s less time in your day to work with. Hopefully, you’ll also feel a little less overworked, overstressed, or overscheduled in the process.
Please let us know if we’ve helped you tackle those everyday chores a little better than before. And if you have your own suggestions, how about letting us know your ideas. If they’re really good, we may help you share them with others who also visit our blog in the future. ;-}
Learn more about us!
If you live in the Chicago metro area and are interested in learning more about our home cleaning services, and how we can help you maintain a safe and healthy living environment, please text or give us a call. Our number is 708-599-7000. Or contact us online, and we’ll give you a free house or office cleaning consultation.
