A step-by-step guide to spring cleaning your house in one weekend
Spring-cleaning: We dread it and we procrastinate for as long as we can until we finally give in. It’s no secret that spending an entire weekend cleaning sounds like an absolute nightmare – but with a little elbow grease and a lot of willpower, it’s easier than it sounds
Make a list
“Once you’ve figured how much you want to tackle, write down all the tasks you plan to handle,” she says. “If you are planning to clean over a weekend, break down the tasks day by day. Having a clear list of everything you need to clean will help you determine the supplies as well as your schedule (because you’ll definitely need to take breaks to relax!)”
Time yourself
“Decide on an interval (30 or 45 minutes is a good place to start), and set a timer,” she says. “Clean in a focused manner during that time, and when the timer goes off, treat yourself to a break.” Schedule backup. “Spring-cleaning is a daunting task,” she says. If some tasks that seem overwhelming or overly complicated, she suggests outsourcing part of the job – and claiming back your life.
Start with your closets
“Rid your closets of clothing, shoes, and accessories that you haven’t worn for a full season,” says, the founder and chief development officer of Everything But the House. “If you didn’t wear it over the winter, you are not going to wear it next winter.”
Edit your home office
“The home office is another space that should be addressed,” she says. “Once you’ve filed your taxes, file or shred that stack of paperwork and organise the pile of correspondence that has gathered.” This may also be a good time to organise your computer and make sure all your paperwork is filed digitally.
How to Keep a House Clean Every Day of the Week
Keeping your home tidy might seem like an impossible task—but it doesn’t have to be. We put together some of the best tips so you and your family can learn how to keep a house clean every day of the week
leaning their house, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Between work, errands, parenthood and the chaos of everyday life, learning how to keep a house clean can be one of the toughest lessons we learn. While it sometimes seems impossible to manage everything on your plate, there are some quick and easy tips to help you get your house (and your life) in order. Read on for everything you need to know about how to keep a house clean.
Put everything away after use.
This might seem like an obvious tip, but failing to put away your belongings is the main culprit of untidiness. As you move from one room to another, do a quick scan to see if there’s anything that you can take with you. Go out of your way to make sure that anything you wear, use or move ends up where it belongs. It’s easy to leave a pair of shoes near the front door, a few shirts on your bed and some dishes in the sink until tomorrow. Remember, those tiny piles can quickly turn into big messes.
If you’re lacking space, consider some DIY closet organization ideas like tension rods and shower curtain hooks. Use over-the-door organizers to extend existing spaces in your bedrooms, bathrooms and hall closets. Corral your smaller belongings with decorative baskets and organize your paper items with a mail sorter. And remember: it takes much less time to put away your belongings each time than to frantically run around looking for them when you need them again!
Do one room at a time.
The easiest way to keep your entire house clean is to tackle one room at a time. By splitting up the cleaning by room (and by day), you can accomplish a little bit at a time instead of tackling every task at once.
A Guide to House Cleaning Contracts
Get the most out of your house cleaning service by signing a contract.
Having a regular house cleaning service can add to your quality of life by ensuring that you live in a clean environment and allowing you more time to enjoy life. It’s estimated that a family who cleans their home daily gains back about 30 days per year when they hire a house cleaning service
Many of us choose to DIY our housecleaning however, if you are a parent, are working full time, have family members with severe allergies, or are physically unable to clean, consider hiring a professional cleaner. When hiring a cleaning service or person to keep your home clean and well-kept, you’ll want someone who is reliable and certified. To maintain order and make sure you’re receiving quality work under your terms, sign a contract with your housekeeper.
Average costs
The average cost of a house cleaning service can be around $200 a visit. The cost of hiring a maid or cleaning service can depend on various factors. The square footage of the home is the biggest influencer on cleaning costs, with the number of bedrooms and bathrooms being the largest cost differentiator. Having multiple floors or pets can also influence the cost, as will the overall scope of work like cleaning inside cabinets, making beds, or cleaning inside appliances
House cleaners base their pricing generally on the number of hours it will take to clean the home but might also charge more if you require specialized cleaning products or difficult cleaning tasks. A quality home cleaning service company will make an in-home estimate and walk through all the rooms with the homeowner to fully understand the level of cleaning expected. If a team of 2 or 3 cleaners is involved the cost will increase but they may be able to complete the tasks faster than just one professional.
HOW TO TREAT YOUR HOUSEKEEPER
Hiring a housekeeper is an excellent way to not only keep your house looking great, but also to free up valuable time for you to engage in other events and activities. However, if you’ve never had a housekeeper inside your home before, you may not know how to act around them. It’s a new experience, and you aren’t alone in wondering how to make the experience pleasant for both you and your house cleaner.
Clean Up the Clutter Before Cleaning Day
Wait, what? You’re supposed to clean for the housekeeper? Well, not exactly, but there are a few courteous things that you can do to make it easier for them to do their job. For starters, gather up your mail; don’t have it scattered all over the place. The housekeeper will need to pick everything up and move it in order to clean the tables, so it’s better to have everything neatly piled or put away before the maid comes. Move pet toys out of the way so that it’s easier to vacuum, and clear up the clutter around night stands. Basically, move the little objects out of the way that might cause the housekeeper trouble while dusting and cleaning.
Open Dialogue with your House Cleaner
You like things a certain way. Certain rooms need more attention, and you may want certain objects cleaned in a specific way. If you don’t tell your housekeeper these preferences, then there’s no way for them to know. After all, they aren’t mind-readers. So make sure to engage in open dialogue with your maid and give them clear instructions.
Obviously, you don’t need to tell them how to clean everything. However, if you have specific preferences (maybe you like the vacuum lines in the carpet), or want objects put away in a specific fashion (such as plastic cups on the bottom shelf so it’s easier for kids to grab), then tell the housekeeper ahead of time. When you have the same maid coming every time, you probably won’t need to keep reiterating your instructions. With that said, many housekeepers have dozens of houses to clean every week, and everyone has their own instructions, so it may be a few visits before they’ve memorized your instructions. Leaving positive, helpful notes can help remind cleaners of your specifications — especially if you have rotating housekeepers.
Should I Tip my Maid?
Tipping is never required, but it is always appreciated. Some customers leave a tip every time a maid cleans, and others tip occasionally or during the holidays. If you appreciate their efforts, consider leaving a tip. Or, simply leaving a note thanking them helps them know that they’re meeting your expectations.
Week schedule to a clean and organized house
Summer is over an school is back in session. That means that late summer sleep schedules and lazy, unplanned days have come to crashing halt. It also means that my unorganized summer ways have left my house in a dirty, unorganized mess! I’m kind of looking forward to some structure, and I’m going to kick it off by getting this place in shape. I’m going to focus on one space a day and try to get my life in order … I mean my house!
I’m a moderate minimalist. I don’t want our home to be sparse and bare, rather selective and edited. Living simply doesn’t exactly come easy to me, but I’m learning, and it’s making my family’s life easier.
Some positives I’m seeing from living a more minimal life:
Less mess to clean up.
Saves money not shopping for unneeded things.
Makes everyday life and trying to find things simpler.
Helps use available space to its full potential.
Feels peaceful in a clutter-free home.
Simply put, the less you have, the better it will fit into your home and the less organizing you will have to do. These are my personal guidelines for owning and editing the things at our house
Every thing needs it’s own spot to be put away.
A place for everything and everything in its place, as they say. Bills, bags, books — each item needs it’s own space. If there isn’t a specific spot for an item on a shelf or in a basket somewhere, it will never be put away, and be left to sit out
Try not to own more than one of something.
I understand this doesn’t work with everything, because we each have a passion or two that calls for extras. For example, my husband likes to cook and has, in my opinion, a knife or 10 more than we need. But I think he’d tell you I don’t need to keep 10 cans of paint sitting around in the garage for my projects. But when we were purging, we both agreed we didn’t need two weed wackers or five kinds of pasta strainers, etc. Ditch the duplicates