Clean Habits: Secrets to Managing Your Cleaning Workload

Whatever household task you’re in the middle of – making dinner, doing laundry, taking a shower – clean people know you should keep on top of the mess as you go. Rinse pots and pans and put them in the dishwasher, wipe down counters, put things back where they belong, and before long you’ll notice a real, ongoing dent in big cleaning.

Stacks of papers, piles of clean clothes, recycling headed for the bin – all attract dust (and more junk). Once you stack a few things, it’s easy to just keep going. Don’t let stacks start, and if they do, tackle them once a week – put bills away, throw out old magazines, go through piles of clothes and donate them or put them away.

When you’re tackling a major room cleaning (or closet, garage, basement, etc.), keep your focus on the task at hand. Have a bag or basket handy and put everything that doesn’t belong in that space in the bag. Dust first, and then clean the floors. Then go through the bag and put everything away in other parts of the house (or in the trash).

Make these your top habits. The easiest way to set a habit is to piggyback it on another habit, so every morning after you get dressed, before make breakfast and while the coffee is brewing, make the bed and tidy your main living areas. Even if you have a little dust, a made bed and a couch without clutter will create a tidier feel in your home.

We’re not talking about a vacuum cleaner in every room, but having a small stash of supplies in the messier parts of the house makes sense. Keep a box of rags and counter spray in every bathroom, wood cleaning wipes in the great room (stashed behind the TV) and dust cloths in the bedrooms. Make it easy on yourself!