Every busy, working, adult wants to know how to keep a house clean without doing more than is absolutely necessary, right? I have a few simple cleaning tips (or even “house rules”) that will make it realistically possible to have a clean house every single day with just a little more effort than you’re already putting in.
Whether you just deep cleaned your house and want to keep your home looking amazing, or you are struggling to keep your home clean from day to day, nearly everyone I know wants to know how to keep their house clean.
With kids and pets running around your house on a regular basis, it may seem like an impossible pipe-dream to have a clean house every day.
Though, I’m here to tell you that keeping your home moderately clean is possible, and it’s easier than you may think!
These easy tips will help you get and keep your home clean for good.
Why is it important to keep your house clean?
If you’re anything like me…when my house gets dirty, it puts me into a bit of a mental funk to the point that it makes me sad to even walk inside my front door.
That being said, in order for me to feel happy and enjoy my home life, I have to set aside some of my time to create that happy space by maintaining some degree of cleanliness.
Maintaining a “happy” level of cleanliness is possible, but I have learned that I have to be a bit on the strategic side in order to make it happen.
So I have developed some rules for myself/the household that help to keep us on track “the best way to keep a house clean” and I thought that I would share them with all of you too.
Keep in mind that my family is just as imperfect as everyone else’s, and sometimes we get off track too, but this is the guideline I try to set so that we can get as focused as possible as keeping a clean home is truly a team effort.
House Rules To Keep The House Clean
Make a Cleaning Schedule
Waiting for your house to look dirty before you clean will always make you behind, and feel overwhelmed, on your housework.
The best way to stay on top of all the cleaning tasks you need to do on a regular basis is to create a cleaning schedule.
Create a cleaning schedule that fits the needs of your family and works around your own schedule to ensure you stick to it.
If you need ideas on how to do so, you can check out my old post on just that subject called “How to create a cleaning schedule you’ll actually stick to“.
Always Make the Bed
To ensure your bedroom looks put together, start every day by making your bed.
On top of giving your room a fresh, clean look first thing in the morning, this simple task helps you get into the mindset of keeping a clean home right when your day begins.
Not only that, but it sets a good example for kiddo’s to get in the habit of bed-making too and that will also help your home look cleaner every day.
Put a Doormat Outside Your Door
Keeping your mudroom or entryway clean and organized can be difficult. Help keep excess dirt from getting tracked inside your home by placing doormats outside each door of your house.
When people enter your home, they’ll be more likely to wipe their feet before they come in, helping you keep dirt, mud, and stickers (goat heads/sticker burrs) at bay.
To ensure your doormats are doing their best at catching dirt before it enters your home, take the time to shake out the mats at least once a week to keep dirt from building up in the fibers.
This is especially helpful if you live in the country or have kids that are constantly tracking in mud.
Start with an Empty Dishwasher
If you face a sink full of dishes everyday, this task is extra important. Keep your kitchen from looking dirty and cluttered by always starting the day with an empty dishwasher.
Take five minutes while your coffee is brewing to empty the dishwasher and put all the dishes away (or do what I do and delegate this daily morning task to one of your children).
Then, as you and your kids/family/roommates dirty dishes throughout the day they can be placed right in the dishwasher instead of in your sink or on your kitchen counters.
Clean High Traffic Areas Everyday
There are probably a few areas in your home that constantly seem like they’re messy.
If you’re wondering how to keep your house clean, you’re going to have to tackle those high-traffic areas on a regular basis.
While every home is different, there are a few common spots that need attention every day in order to ensure your house stays clean from day to day.
Take care of these tasks each day to keep your home clean:
- Wipe down the kitchen counter, sink, and faucet.
- Sweep the kitchen floor to remove crumbs.
- Wipe down the bathroom counter, sink, faucet and toilet seat…I even like to use the steam from the shower to wipe down my bathroom mirror without chemicals.
- Sweep the bathroom floor to clean up stray hairs.
- Organize mudroom or entryway and sweep dirt and debris from the floor.
- Declutter living areas and straighten furniture.
Forget Laundry Day
Instead of trying to tackle a mountain of laundry on one day each week, break up the big task of laundry into smaller doses throughout the week.
By doing just one load of laundry (wash, dry, fold, and put away), you’ll make the never-ending task of laundry a little easier on yourself.
I personally like to get a load of laundry going in the morning, switch it to the dryer by lunch, and then put it in a basket and have one of my kids sort it into each persons individual basket (when they get home from school).
It makes doing laundry on the daily super simple, and keeps us quite organized in the laundry room.
At the very least, I try to gather all the dirty laundry in the whole house every morning and separate them into colors, whites, towels…so that if the laundry must be piling up somewhere, it’s out of site for the most part.
Clean as You Cook
Cooking meals throughout the day is probably one of the messiest tasks you do on the regular.
Keep the mess under control by making sure to clean as you go while cooking or baking.
Throw away trash from the packaging right after you open it, toss food scraps when you’re finished with them, wash pots and utensils when you’re finished using them (or just load them into the dishwasher as you go), and let other dishes soak while you eat.
When you’re finished with dinner, take the time to finish loading the dishwasher, wipe the counters and dining room table, and clean the stovetop so the messes you made while you were cooking don’t have time to set in.
Because it actually takes a lot longer to clean once spills have dried in place.
Tackle the Clutter
If your home is messy, cluttered, and disorganized, keeping your home clean will be impossible.
One of the best ways I can tell you how to keep your home clean is to start by decluttering.
And if you’re avoiding decluttering your house because you’re afraid it will make an even bigger mess, don’t worry!
There are a few simple ways you can declutter without destroying your home.
Even if you can only tackle a small section of your home at a time, taking the time to declutter your house is one of the best ways to keep it clean.
If you don’t know where to start with decluttering…I have a little tutorial that I did that will get you going in the right direction.
It is called “How To Declutter Your Home Without Making A Mess“. Give it a little read and you’ll be clutter-free in no time.
However, if you don’t have time to read it I suggest by starting the decluttering process in the main living areas of your home.
This will make you feel the most accomplished because it’s somewhere that you spend the most of your time.
Deal with Mail Right Away
Stop paper clutter in its tracks by always taking care of mail right when you bring it in.
Instead of tossing the mail on the kitchen counter, open each letter the second you bring it in. Throw away or recycle all junk mail.
Then, place important mail, like bills, in a designated place so you know exactly where they are when you need to pay them.
This will not only help you stay on top of the mail clutter…but it could save you from any past-due bills if you were to forget about or lose them…which could save you money in the long run.
Never Leave A Room Empty Handed
If you’re wondering how to keep your house clean, the key is to always be doing something. That doesn’t mean you have to clean all day long.
It just means you should always be conscious of the space around you. If you get up to leave a room, take a quick look around for anything that is out of place.
Grab that item and take it with you when you leave, putting it back where it goes on your way to your destination.
Continue this practice throughout the day to keep your home from getting cluttered.
I also like to periodically stop my kids throughout the day and tell them they all have to stop what they are doing and pick up 10, 20, or 30 (the number depends on how messy their space is) items and put them where they go.
It helps kids learn to clean up after themselves and keeps this mama more sane not having to continually follow my kids around with a trash bag.
Clean Small Messes Right Away
If you notice a small spill or a bit of crumbs on the floor, don’t leave it for later.
Take care of small messes the moment you see them to keep those small messes from growing into bigger messes.
Staying on top of small messes will make bigger cleaning tasks much easier to accomplish throughout the week.
Power Clean at Least Once a Day
Power cleaning (or deep cleaning) is another simple tip I have for how to keep your house clean.
Instead of tackling all the big messes in your home at one time, split up the messy tasks into smaller bite-sized cleaning sessions.
Each day, take 10 to 15 minutes to tackle some of the biggest messes in your home.
Whether you use your power cleaning session to tidy up your kid’s messy room or clean the pantry shelves, you’ll be happy you only have to spend 15 minutes a day to make a big dent in your cleaning schedule.
Fifteen minutes of deep cleaning each day will actually keep most of the big cleaning jobs under control…don’t feel like you have to clean an entire bathroom in one day.
Sometimes I will clean the shower one day, the vanity/sink area the next, and do the toilets on another… there is no wrong way to do this because it all adds up to a home that is more clean in general just by developing a simple daily habit.
Race to Pick Up
Just as you should always start your day by making your bed, you should also make it a habit to end your day by picking up your home.
Take five minutes before heading to bed to pick up all the clutter from each of the rooms of your home. As you move from room to room, place items you pick up back where they belong.
I also like to throw a load of laundry in the washer, but then I leave it until the morning to start the washing machine.
I also like to get a load of dishes going in the dishwasher before bed so that they are ready for my kids to put away in the morning.
After you’re finished, you can head to bed and rest easy knowing you’ll start your day with a clean home tomorrow.
Delegate The Easier Tasks
My biggest tip to parents these days is to STOP FEELING LIKE ALL THE CLEANING IS ALL ON YOU!
We don’t need to be raising kids that don’t know how to do anything…we need to teach them how to pull their weight and run a household if we want them to be successful adults (that don’t live with us).
Kids need chores, they need that sense of accomplishment, and they need to know how to do basic things that will help them in all aspects of life.
It’s not hard to keep these chores age-appropriate…and you may be surprised to see how quickly the younger kids pick up tasks after watching their older siblings do their chores.
If they don’t have siblings that can show them, there are plenty of tutorials on Youtube even, so there is really no excuse not to.
Well, that’s really all that I have to share with you all today about cleaning… I hope that it gave you some good ideas for easy ways to keep your house clean…or at least to give you a bit more peace in your hectic life.
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P.S. You need to check out my entire cleaning section. I have a large collection of tips that you’re not going to find anywhere else.
Here are links to several of my other cleaning posts that you’re not going to want to miss:
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*Please note that this post was originally published to this website on September 9th, 2020, and has since been updated to remain relevant, improve user experience, and become more shareable on the social medias.