Everyday habits that will keep your house clean

We all have at least one friend with a brilliantly clean house. How does she do it? Does she know something you don’t, or is she simply an “organisational maniac?”

The truth is, though, that you do not need intensive cleaning schedules and everyday deep cleaning to make it work for you. There are some small and almost unnoticeable habits that you can adopt in order to keep your house tidy and neat, without spending hours on dusting and polishing.

Here are some you can start developing as of today:

Start multitasking

There really is no need to stand by the stove and stir lunch every two minutes. Instead, you can use the time while you are standing in the kitchen to clean the countertop and wash the dishes as you go. When you are done with that, you can move on to wiping the dishes. All of these, when put together, require no more than 10 minutes, so if your lunch is still simmering, move on to some other tasks.

Take it one day at a time

Thorough house cleaning might sound like a bad idea, especially during the working week, when you are already burdened with multiple chores. Still, instead of washing the windows, dusting, polishing, cleaning the fridge, etc. all at once, you can distribute those tasks throughout the week and take it one day at a time.

Have house-only shoes

Floors are the most difficult to clean, since they are constantly exposed to the dirt. Minimise dirt by having house-only shoes for family members and for guests. We are sure they wouldn’t mind having a warm pair of slippers on cold days or a pair of flip flops during the summer. Or just simply ask them to remove their shoes in the hallway.

Follow the two-minute rule

Have you heard about the two-minute rule about productivity? Basically this means that if you are in doubt of whether or not you should complete a chore, just consider that if you need less than two minutes to do it, you are spending more time thinking than doing.

Use tricks

Tricks for faster and better cleaning are always a good idea, and if they mean mixing up your own cleaners, you can even feel like a scientist. You can disinfect the garbage disposal with some salt, lemon and ice-cubes, clean windows with white vinegar and dishwashing liquid, etc. Need some cleaning hacks? Click here.

Five-minute tidying session before bed

Unless you are so tired you cannot stand on your feet, you will have five minutes time before going to bed to do some small tasks, such as taking the coffee mugs back to the kitchen, cleaning the table, making sure that the throw pillows on the sofa are neat, etc. This can take even less than five minutes, but it can make your morning five times as pleasant as it would be to wake up to a messy house.

Sort your laundry right away

If you just pile up your white towels, socks, and gym shirts, you will need a lot of time to sort them right once you want to get your washing machine running. If you do it right away, which requires minimum effort if you have two or more laundry baskets in your laundry room, you can save yourself 15 minutes to half an hour.

Clean top to bottom

It may seem logical for you to start your cleaning from the bottom up to get rid of the most annoying chore – vacuuming first, but that is more of a sisyphean task. This way, cleaning the ceiling fan or dusting the top of the shelves will be last on your list and the dirt will probably fall on floors and carpeting, so you will have to do it all over again.

It takes a village…

Cleaning the house should not be a one-man/woman-job. By inviting the family to join you in cleaning chores, you will not only make your life easier and the cleaning faster, but you will also turn it into a fun experience – if Mary Poppins did it, so can you. This way your house will be clean before you can say “supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.”

Try to apply these tips and become the “one friend that everyone has” who knows the secret of a constantly clean house.

Do you have any other tips to add to the list that work for you? Please share in the comments below.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.

36 Comments

- - ChiWren said
  - 04 Oct 2024
    10:20 pm
I always make sure the dishwasher is packed before bed so it runs overnight. I hate waking up to a full sink of mess. Once a week the showers and sinks get sprayed down, and a deeper clean every fortnight. We are a family of long hair (including the cat!) so vacuuming is a multiple times a week thing.

- - meedee said
  - 15 Jul 2021
    10:14 am
Now that its only me in the house its much easier to keep on top of everything. If there is a mess then its my mess.

- - mom19782016 said
  - 22 Oct 2020
    2:31 pm
It definitely takes a village to keep it clean

- - mom450498 said
  - 16 Jul 2020
    10:14 pm
Break it up into smaller jobs to make it feel more achievable

- - celebrity said
  - 12 Oct 2019
    5:11 pm
I always tackle one room at a time especially for de-cluttering just before Christmas. It helps to get rid of the stuff that hasn’t been used before new gifts etc come into the house.

- - AmyLouise said
  - 18 Aug 2017
    1:41 pm
love the tricks. thanks for having a link attached, printing for the man!

- - mom62894 said
  - 28 Feb 2017
    12:32 pm
I find doing one thing a day helps!! Ie bathrooms are Tuesday job.
But I have a cheat ladies, I have a Samsung robot vacuum, it’s great both on tiles and carpet, put it on when I leave for school pick up and I get home and oh what do you know house is vacuumed!!!

- - missliss89 said
  - 03 Nov 2016
    1:20 pm
love the tricks. thanks for having a link attached. can’t wait to read some more of them

- - mom19782016 said
  - 30 Oct 2016
    1:38 pm
Good tips, thanks for this.

- - ella12 said
  - 26 Jul 2016
    3:50 pm
Thank you for sharing your thoughts Chloe.

- - jodiev1980 said
  - 24 Jul 2016
    9:06 pm
If you do a little bit each day then it really does make a difference in your home
- mom19782016 replied
  
  27 Dec 2020 , 8:45 pm
  Agreed, it just adds up over the week
- - tessie said
  - 22 Jul 2016
    10:08 am
These are such simple steps but I never thought of them. I seem to concentrate all my time on the kitchen which makes all other tasks build up and seem too hard. Will have to try this way and see how I go.

- - rovermum said
  - 20 Jul 2016
    4:46 pm
I have a cleaner come in once a fortnight. I work 3 days a week and this is something I pay for and deserve. I can then spend my days off doing more important things than housework. I have cleaning baskets in each toilet to make cleaning of those areas easier and more frequent.

- - mom134803 said
  - 15 Jul 2016
    1:28 pm
Great tips. I tecognize many what I already do. Anothet what I do is instead of cleaning the while fridge I clean one shelf daily and by the end of the week the whole fridge is clean.

- - mom67623 said
  - 15 Jul 2016
    7:45 am
fantastic to keep home smelling clean and fresh.. I also put a cotton ball infused with lavender oil in my vacuum cleaner. Can use any oi that suits you but love the aroma of lavender as I work and it lingers in the air for others to share

- - caland10 said
  - 14 Jul 2016
    11:21 pm
Thanks for the tips Chloe! I definitely try to do some different cleaning chores each day to avoid a long session at the weekend. I also try and keep clutter down to a dull roar as the house always looks much nicer without piles of mail/junk/toys all over the place. And training the kids to not walk in with mucky feet/shoes is a definite help

- - mom101628 said
  - 14 Jul 2016
    9:43 pm
Everything in it’s place just as soon as possible. If there is a spot, clean it straight away, iron the same day you bring in the washing and put it away immediately. Cook for 10 and freeze in meal size portions so that you have some quick meals to prepare when time has passed because of an extended appointment or someone visiting.
Spray the shower, then clean the toilet and bench top, and your shower cleans itself [almost] while you are showering. Saves heaps of time.
Once you get into a routine, it’s easy.

- - mom70876 said
  - 14 Jul 2016
    8:21 pm
Oh my. If my husband only did half of these things, then it would have a huge impact on my work load. Especially no.1. He can only stir a pot for 10 mins, not multitask.

- - june11 said
  - 02 Jul 2016
    3:15 pm
When you being your washing inside (or empty the dryer) sort your washing before you attempt to put it away – either heaps or baskets. One for each bedroom, linen closet – towels, sheets and pillow cases, tea towels etc. Then do each room one at a time. It saves time and energy not going from room to room with individual items. If the kids old enough teach them to put their own clothes away. (just make sure they don’t hide them in a heap somewhere (in the bottom of their wardrobe or back in the laundry dirty clothes container – yes found that), poke them into each other – yes one of mine pulled that stunt – socks and knickers inside a jumper-sprung !!! You may need to check occasionally. I was told by one kid no school socks that match – I found some elsewhere – what’s more some in there proper spot hadn’t been matched in pairs and could have been. If they have to clean their own rooms they may realise it is easier to put toys, books etc away when they have finished with them. Beware-they may just hide them and not clean in that area. Mine and friends’ kids have pulled a few stunts.

- - curlytops said
  - 01 Jul 2016
    9:44 am
Clean as you go so it does not build up to a massive chore.