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Maintaining Your Sanity 2.0

tips to minimize your cleaning efforts and maximize self-care time

By The Creative Chimera Published 10 months ago 7 min read
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Maintaining Your Sanity 2.0
Photo by Daiga Ellaby on Unsplash

Stop setting aside a whole day to clean! Try these tips to minimize your cleaning efforts and maximize self-care time.

Area One: Bathrooms

Save time in your cleaning routine by multi-tasking!

Keep your bathroom tidy and guest-ready anytime with a few minutes of upkeep each day.

The first step is to store any non-essential items in a cupboard, drawer or neatly organized on a shelf. Minimizing counter clutter will make these steps faster and easier to maintain. Plastic organizer baskets are great for storing supplies. Organize your items by type or frequency of use in cupboards, drawers and on shelves. Rinse plastic trays and baskets with soap and water once a week to keep them clean and make dusting fast and easy.

After your teeth are clean and shining it’s time for mouthwash. Instead of standing over your sink, take this moment to wipe down your counters and sink while you swish. By the time you’re finished getting minty fresh, your bathroom will be shining as brightly as your smile! If your partner or children have a separate space encourage them to make this part of their daily routines as well.

If your shower takes a minute to heat up before you can hop in, take that moment to run a dusting mop over the floor. Clean up any dust or fallen hair. This way when you exit the shower your floor will be free of any debris that may stick to your freshly scrubbed feet. If your counters are already clean do this step while rinsing with mouthwash instead.

Before exiting the shower, rinse any conditioner, or cleansing products from the walls. This will save you scrubbing time when it comes to a proper cleaning day.

These few easy steps will save you time and keep your bathroom looking freshly cleaned every day. At least once a week be sure to use a proper cleaning solution on all bathroom surfaces to eliminate germs. This will be a quick process if you follow the above tips as your bathroom will be tidy and well-maintained!

Bonus tip: On shower cleaning day, use a diluted mixture of toilet bowl cleaner and water in a spray bottle. The mixture removes grime and hard water marks from your shower and tub. Spray the solution and wait a minute before wiping down your shower to avoid vigorous scrubbing. This solution works similarly to CLR. I learned this tip as a housekeeper for hotel rooms. Be sure not to leave it on too long. Prolonged exposure could potentially damage some bathroom finishes. Use this mixture on sinks and taps as well. For best safety practices you should wear gloves for this process.

Area Two: Flooring

Run a dust mop over hard floors once per day. Doing so will prevent excess debris from tracking into carpeted areas. This is especially helpful in pet-friendly homes. If you have a smaller hard floor area you can do the full space in one shot. For large homes with a greater amount of hard floor space, you can separate this job into smaller batches. Sweep each major zone as you go about your day in each area.

A dust mop is more efficient than a standard broom. They trap dust and hair in the fibres rather than slinging debris into the air. This will deter excess dust buildup on your furniture. it will also keep the air clear of sneeze-inducing particles.

Area Three: Kitchen

A proper organizational system in your kitchen is essential. Store the most frequently used items in a way that is easy to access and put away. This will save you valuable time. Reserve your efforts for meal preparation and tidying up rather than digging through the clutter.

Rinse dishes and place them in the dishwasher or wash them by hand immediately after use. Cleaning dishes right away prevents the need for most long soaking and scrubbing. If you don't run the dishwasher every day rinsing items before loading will prevent mould or unpleasant odours between wash cycles. Avoiding food-covered dishes around your kitchen also helps to deter pests such as fruit flies.

Plan to prepare meals with the least amount of dirty dishes to make cleanup more efficient. Between each step of the cooking process rinse or wash the dishes you are finished with. Don't stack them in the sink for later. Taking these moments to clean as you work will leave you with minimal after-meal cleanup.

Area Four: Bedrooms

Daily upkeep such as tidying clothes and keeping surfaces clear of clutter goes a long way! Committing to an organizational system prevents the need for any extended cleaning purges. Check out bonus tip number two and my linked article on organization for ideas to get your bedrooms clean and keep them that way.

If your bedroom features areas that attract excessive dust, consider hanging a hand duster nearby. As you're getting ready for bed each night (or once every few days) run the duster over any problematic surfaces to keep them looking fresh. For books and porous surfaces, a bristle-tipped vacuum wand once a week gets the job done quickly. Using a vacuum also minimizes airborne debris. This attachment is perfect for blinds, overhead fans, and light fixtures as well.

Bonus tips:

1) Wash, vacuum, or shake out fabric curtains regularly. The dust collected in your curtains will spread through your home each time you open and close them. Keeping them clean will reduce airborne and surface dust.

2) Dusting baseboards with a dryer sheet reduces static and prevents excess dust from collecting.

3) Set aside part of each day for home maintenance tasks. Here is an example of how to split up the workload so you never have to spend a full day cleaning:

Day One: Wipe down cupboards and kitchen surfaces such as the refrigerator and dishwasher

Day Two: Vacuum and mop floors

Day Three: Dusting and garbage/recycling emptying

Day Four: Sanitize bathrooms and clean shower/tub zones

Day Five: Laundry and bedrooms

Day Six: Home office space, living spaces and/or pet grooming. Not all of these may apply to everyone.

Day Seven: Free day for self-care and/or family time

This is just one example of the way your weekly to-do list can be split into easier portions. Designing a plan that fits your home and lifestyle may take some trial and error. Regardless of the schedule, this plan will keep your home cleaner and more relaxing on a daily basis.

4) If you employ a housekeeper regularly it may feel imprudent to do so much upkeep personally. As a residential housekeeper, I can assure you that there are still great benefits for you. When entering a home that is well-maintained housekeepers can tackle more deep-cleaning tasks that may otherwise be pushed aside by basic maintenance. Picking up toys, tidying, and making beds take up valuable time. Do this work ahead of time and allow your housekeeper to focus on larger tasks. Assign them jobs such as walls, windows and other neglected areas. The overall cleanliness of your home will improve and you will get more for your money.

5) When the time comes to clean walls around your home, a flat mop is your best friend! Run a clean dust mop over the walls first then follow up with a wet mop and your preferred cleaning solution. A flat mop will be faster and easier for large wall spaces than cleaning by hand with a cloth. Once the walls are clean you can go over light switches and high-use areas such as railings with a sanitizing wipe to eliminate germs.

6) If organization is not your strength, consider hiring a professional to assist you. Maintaining organization is much easier than the initial process. Professionals can also give you excellent tips to keep your home on the right track.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope some of these tips will make your home more satisfying to come home to each day. Please feel free to leave any unanswered questions you may have in the comment section below. I will do my best to address them!

Check out more deep cleaning tips and tricks in my article below!

https://vocal.media/lifehack/the-sponge-is-mightier-than-the-sword

For organization tips and ideas check out this article

https://vocal.media/motivation/maintaining-your-sanity

If you want to make a big change check out my starter guide for joyful and responsible minimalism!

https://vocal.media/lifehack/minimalism-101

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About the Creator

The Creative Chimera

Welcome! I’m an Artist, Twitch streamer, & eclectic writer. I do fiction and non fiction so check out my profile to see more of my topics! I joined vocal to spread some knowledge, share some of my works & find awesome writers to experience!

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