How to Clean House for Cleaning Haters
Learning how to clean house is about as exciting to me as watching paint dry. I really hate housework. But I hate monumental cleaning even more. You know the really "good clean" you have to do when you are having family visit? Or the kind of clean you finally have to execute when you realized you haven't mopped your floor in 3 months and you're pretty sure your tile should be white, but it's not?
Sorry to gross out the clean freaks, but hey - it is what it is.
Nothing is worse to a cleaning hater than spending a lovely weekend cleaning house.
Here's what I finally figured out:
I realize that the concept of cleaning a little bit each day is not revolutionary. But honestly, I had never actually followed through with this plan before. Well, I have now and I can say that it has changed my whole perspective on cleaning. I still don't love it, but it's definitely tolerable now. How to clean house is not nearly as important as when to clean house.
I devised two simple game plans as an experiment.
Common Tasks Concept
Instead of cleaning one room at a time, you are cleaning most (if not all) of the stuff that requires certain cleaning products. For example, instead of hauling out the bathroom cleaning supplies twice, I designate one day to do both bathrooms so the toilet brush, sink cleaner, etc comes out only once a week.
Below is what my Common Tasks plan looks like (I emphasize the "my" because yours will be different):
Monday
- 15 minutes of put-away time
- Clean bathrooms (sinks, mirrors, toilets)
- Wipe down top of washer/dryer
Tuesday
- 15 minutes of put-away time
- Dust wooden furniture (dressers, night stands, bookcases)
- Water plants
- Damp wipe down leather couch and chair
Wednesday
- 15 minutes of put-away time
- Clean showers/tubs (bi-weekly)
- Vacuum all carpeted floors
Thursday
- 15 minutes of put-away time
- Filing
- Shredding
Friday
- 15 minutes of put-away time
- Dust electronics (TVs, speakers, DVD players, computers, receiver, game consoles)
- Change sheets on all beds (if needed)
Saturday
- 15 minutes of put-away time
- Sweep all tiled/lineoleum floors
- Mop all floors (if needed)
Sunday
- 15 minutes of put-away time
- Clean out old food from fridge/wipe shelves down
- Wipe down stove
- Clean windows (slider, front windows with nose prints, etc)
Of course you could arrange this any way that works for you. I tried to eliminate cleaning from my weekends initially, but found it meant too much on weekdays (which are already busy enough). Thirty minutes of cleaning each Saturday and Sunday was a small price to pay for more free-time during the week.
Target Areas
This strategy works on the one-room-at-a-time philosophy. You are focusing on one area of your home/office/etc each day. For me, this didn't work as well, but I know folks who swear by it.
Below is what my Target Areas plan looks like:
Monday - Area 1 (Family Room)
- Sweep floor (mop if needed)
- Dust TV/components/shelves/speakers
- Water plants
- Damp wipe couch and chair (if needed)
Tuesday - Area 2 (Girls Bedroom/Hallway/Laundry Room)
- Vacuum carpet
- Dust night stand, bookcases, shelves, and dresser
- Change sheets (if necessary)
- Declutter (all books and toys put away)
- Sweep laundry room floor
- Wipe down top of washer and dryer
- Declutter washer/dryer tops
Wednesday - Area 3 (Office)
- Declutter desk surface
- Wipe down desk surface
- Vacuum carpet
- Wipe off top of freezer
- Dust bookcase
- Filing
- Shredding
Thursday - Area 4 (Play Room)
- Vacuum carpet
- Clean windows
- Vacuum couch
- Put away all toys/books
- Remove paper from desk
- Dust desk/storage cabinets/table/bookcases
- Sweep entryway
Friday - Area 5 (Kitchen)
- Wipe down entire kitchen counter
- Sweep floor (mop if needed)
- Wipe down stove
- Remove old food from fridge
- Wipe down fridge shelves
Saturday - Area 6 (Master Bedroom/Bathroom)
- Vacuum carpet
- Sweep/spot mop bathroom floor
- Clean sink
- Clean toilet (inside and out)
- Wipe down tub
- Clean shower floor and walls
- Clean bathroom mirrors
- Dust night stands and dressers
- Declutter nightstands
- Change sheets (if needed)
- Remove all items that do not belong in bedroom
For some reason this approach seemed kind of a drudge while doing it, but every day one room in the house was spotless. I definitely didn't mind the outcome, just the execution.
In learning how to clean house, I learned how to reduce stress and how to make better use of my time. Here's to getting a little more simple every day!
