- Organization is key- Everyone has their junk drawers, it's a known fact, but when it gets out of hand, that's when it becomes a problem. You should always know where everything in your house is. I know that sounds impossible, but really it isn't. Clutter is one of the key elements to your house getting out of control. It can lock in odors, hide infestations, and even causes your home to be easily susceptible to allergens. Everything should have it's proper place. Important paperwork should be stored in a binder and kept somewhere you know where you can easily access it. I keep mine on the top shelf of my master bedroom closet. I have all documents that need to be kept organized in a box that is kept in the front part of my storage closet. Keep cleaning supplies in a neat caddy under either the kitchen or bathroom sink. I hang my mop and broom up with a screw in hook right inside the door to my laundry room. Pinterest has a bunch of ideas on how to easily organize you home. Here a few articles that can help you.
Pretty Do It Yourself Organizing Ideas
50 Clever Organizing Ideas
- Develop A Routine- Have you ever heard of the term, it takes a week to break a habit. Well it might take a couple weeks to get into a habit, but when you do it will prove to be useful, and you will be happy you did. A routine will help you keep your house cleaner and smelling good. I will give you an example of my routine. Monday is my cleaning day, that is the day that I do a thorough deep clean of the whole house from top to bottom. I scrub all the bathrooms, vacuum the whole house, mop the floors, dust, and sometimes rearrange rooms. I keep a hamper in my room that everyone uses. My kiddos throw their laundry in there, as does my husband and I. When that hamper gets full, that's when I do laundry. Every Friday I do a quick run through of the house, a little light cleaning, to make sure that the house is ready for the weekend so everyone can relax. I clean as I cook!! This is a great time saver. In between stirring the meat or whatever is cooking and in between baking times. Clean up your mess. Wipe down the counters, put whats dirty into the dish washer, wash what pans you have used by hand ect. This eliminates a lot of work when you have a full stomach and also avoids you putting off the chore til later, leaving dishes upon dishes built up in your sink. If you see something clean it up. If something looks wrong to you fix it then and there, or you will forget about it and leave it til the next time you notice it. Fold and put your laundry away as it comes out of the dryer. If you do this, you will eliminate a lot of clutter in your laundry room. Leaving it clean and organized. Every morning when I wake up I come downstairs and make the kids breakfast, as the eat I empty the dishwasher and put away the dishes from the previous night. Getting into that habit makes it easy to put dishes in the dishwasher as the dishes get dirty. Again, this eliminates clutter and massive build up of dishes in your sink. If you don't have a dishwasher, rinse them as they get put into the sink! Dishes smell guys! That's a huge odor that can easily fill your home and make it smell horrible. You don't have to take my advice on all this, but customize a routine that works for you! It will be a major pay off in the end. You will notice how just a little makes a lot of a difference.
- Get In The Habit- Getting into certain habits can help you get into a routine. For instance, get into the habit of making your bed. Why you ask? Well it's simple. All of us have friends, or company that come to the house. You never know who is going to wander into different rooms, or who is going to want a tour of your home. By having your beds made in your house, you are instantly showing that you are neat and tidy. Get into the habit of cleaning the inside AND outside of your toilets. Have you ever walked into someones house and smelled urine?? Well that is probably due to the bathroom by your door or close to your front door. People clean their toilets in the inside but forget the little things, like the outside rim of the toilet and the parts that touch the floor. Those collect splashes of urine. Even behind the toilet does too! It's a hard to reach spot with a mop therefore people will forget to clean it. It's a bacteria infestation. Seriously, go into your bathroom right now and look at the areas that touch the ground on the sides and beneath it. I guarantee you will find things you didn't know were there, dust, urine, and dirt.
- Dust Your Home- Dusting is a really good habit to get into but can easily be forgotten if the areas are not in front of you. Dust builds up fast, especially in places with high winds, like desert areas. Dust your ceiling fans AT LEAST once a week, it avoids massive amounts of dust build up, and just think about it. When you turn your fans on and there is dust build up on the blades it goes EVERYWHERE. People will allergies to dust and allergens will have an attack in your home. Do you want that? Dusting can also cause you home to have that stale smell. People will also notice that when they walk right into your front door. Dust your home once a week at the minimum and make sure that you get everywhere. Inside open light fixtures, ceiling fans, underneath shelf displays, onto of door frames, and anywhere else you can think of. This will instantly improve the look and smell of your home.
- Clean Your Windows- Go through the house at least twice a month and clean all the windows! Dust the window sills and make sure that even the outside of your windows are clean, at least the ones you can get to. It is very easy to not even realize how dirty your windows are since most of the time they are hidden by blinds, curtains, ect. Just take a look after reading this. If you have glass doors, like french doors, make sure you clean them! Mine get horrible with my two dogs. They are always covered in mud, so for me I have to clean them at least three times a week or once a day depending on the time of year and the weather.
- Scrub Your Walls- I have to admit that I never use to do this. I would always just scrub off the dirt that I saw once i happened. I seriously had no idea the amount of build up walls can get! It's really quite amazing. Now this isn't something you have to do very often of course, but try to be in the habit of doing it at least every three months. I do it more because I am really strict about how my house looks to me and to others. It takes time to get into routines, but allowing yourself the time to do this at least every three months really improves the look, feel, and smell of your home.
- Clean out & Scrub Your Refrigerator and Microwave- Food carries bacteria! Everyone has that awkward moment when they reach into the refrigerator and pull out grapes or strawberries, or anything really and notice that it is bad. Sometimes it only takes strawberries a couple of days before they develop mold. Think about this. Your strawberries are molding in your fridge, and you have no idea. The container has slits throughout the sides allowing the bacteria spores to get out. Your children or you have cups in the fridge with drinks in them you are saving for later. Those mold spores are getting into your beverages and you don't even notice! If you have food that is only covered by paper towels, it will get into there too. Your fridge can very easily get crowded, dirty, and truthfully bacteria/mold infested. Make sure that every week or at least every two weeks when you purchase groceries, you clean out the fridge, take everything out, and give it a good scrub. This also includes the freezer. The microwave, everyone knows gets filthy. Simply because not everyone covers their food when they heat it up, and it explodes and gets everywhere in the microwave. Take the time to clean the mess when it happens. It will seriously improve the interior of your microwave, and avoid a nasty mess.
- Clean Your Washing Machine & Dishwasher- Have you ever noticed a strange smell coming from you washing machine or your dishwasher. That no matter how many times you wash your dishes or clothes eventually your clothes have a mildew sort of smell?? That's because you need to clean your machines! wipe down the interior and exterior of your washing machines, then either use the Tide washing machine cleaning tabs, or simply use bleach and run your machine on clean. As far as the dish washer. You can all together avoid cleaning it by using two of the jet dry products. There is dish washer freshener you can get from walmart for about three dollars that you hang in your dishwasher and it leaves it smelling clean and fresh. Rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher and that will avoid build up of bigger pieces at the bottom of your machine which will mold and cause odors. Use jet dry to make sure all your dishes get dry and clean, that will avoid the stale smell of dishes that have sat to long wet. Bacteria is everywhere, even in places you don't except it. Do everything you can to avoid those smells and infestations.
- Keep Cleaning Supplies Where You Use Them- Keep your bathroom cleaners in the bathroom under the sink, keep your kitchen cleaners in the bathroom, keep your vacuum in an easy to reach spot. This makes it easier for you to clean something when you see it. Having anti bacterial wipes in all the bathrooms and the kitchens allow you to have a quick clean up. If you don't use the wipes, have a bottle of cleaner in each room. I personally, have both. Keep a towel close to the backdoor so if you have pets you can wipe their paws before they come into the house avoiding dirt from getting in. Simple things like that can keep your house looking clean, neat, and help you get into habits and routines.
- Avoid Clutter- Don't put too many things on your counter tops in your kitchen or bathrooms. By doing this, you will be able to easily clean the corners, and keep your counters looking amazing. Put the extra little kitchen appliances in a cabinet or pantry. But remember organization is key. Keep the appliances easily accessible. Bathrooms, you can organize your belonging under the sink, or in the cabinets. Use little rubber storage containers, bins, or large utility totes (such as the ones they sell at thirty one). By doing this you keep your bathrooms looking clean and neat, and everything you would other wise put on the counter is easily accessible, hidden, and organized in other areas
Simply by doing theses ten things, you house will look a million times better. If you have any questions feel free to contact me and let me know. I will answer them promptly! Remember.....Happy Cleaning!