8 HABITS OF A CLEAN HOME

It’s really quite simple to have a home that always looks like a showroom.

Don’t have kids, don’t get married, don’t have guests over, don't have pets and don’t live life in your home. That will pretty much ensure that you have a clean home at all times!

But, that also means you won’t have any fun! If you’re someone who likes to actually live in your home, it will get messy. It will become unorganized. And it will get dirty!

But, there are a few habits you can begin now to ensure that your home is reasonably clean most of the time.

1. Shine Your Sink 

One of the things I learned from my mom was to shine your sink. Why? Because it made all the other stuff looked good. The shine your sink concept is a great habit to begin! Every night take 5 minutes to clean your kitchen. Put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, clean off the counters and scrub and dry your sink until its shiny.

2. Wash One Load of Laundry Daily

Instead of waiting until the weekend to wash several loads of laundry, get in the habit of washing one load every day. As soon as you wake up, put a load of laundry in the washing machine. As soon as it's finished transfer the load to the dryer. Hopefully it will be finished by the time you leave for the day or in my case stays in the dryer for another day. Then it gets wrinkled so in this case I will put it on air fluff. At night before bed, fold and make your husband put it away. Just kidding. You may modify the routine if you're worried about your clothes getting wrinkled or you have more or less than seven loads of laundry every week. Just make adjustments and find a way to make laundry part of your DAILY routine.

3. Create a Command Center 

This is an area in your home that can be used as a catch all for items that need to be processed. (ex. bills, thank you cards, sticky notes, calendar, keys, bags and sunglasses). Our laundry room that exits to the garage holds a rack for keys, doggy bags, sunglasses & hats.

4. Have a Junk Drawer 

Yes, a junk drawer is a must for a clean home. In some cases, a cabinet or closet may be more reasonable! Having a place to store random items that don't have a home can be so freeing. Plus, when you're in a hurry, sometimes it's just easier to dump everything into one place. We designated a large drawer in our house with different sized boxes. One will hold pens and notepads and others will hold coupons, new recipes from magazines and receipts. Another will hold batteries & chargers. Customize the command center to fit your family and life.

5. Straighten Up Every Night 

Waking up to a clean home can make the start of your day more pleasing and productive. Take a few minutes each night to pick up around the house. It doesn't have to be spotless, but straightening up nightly helps to keep the mess from becoming overwhelming.

6. Become a Minimalist

Reducing clutter reduces stress. You'll have less to clean, less to pick up, and less to maintain. You may even be able to live in a smaller house! Or at least not feel like you have to move into a bigger one.

7. Do one Thing (take baby steps) 

Sometimes the list of household projects can seem so overwhelming. If you have a list of 10 things that you need to replace, build, or update, just pick one thing to complete. Then do on thing that will move you closer to finishing that project. For example, if you need to organize your drawers or closet, start with seasonal shirts in your drawer. Then move onto clothes you don't wear and donate them. Break down a large project by just doing one thing.

8. Create a Cleaning Schedule 

Depending on your personality, a cleaning schedule can be as detailed or scaled down as you want it. Luckily, my husband and I share the duties either throughout the week or all on the weekend. He does ALL the yard work and occasionally vacuum necessary rugs and carpets, and clean bathrooms! I'm blessed with a cleanly man. In either situation, a plan with support will help you move through the list much more quickly. Just like other areas in life, a plan will encourage, motivate, and enable you to reach your goal for a clean home!