Ask Away Blog: Simplifying Your Cleaning Routine

Cleaning is such a chore but it's very necessary to keep your home healthy and neat. We all tend to accrue quite a large amount of cleaning supplies and tools and we also tend to get overwhelmed with the task of cleaning itself. How are we supposed to fit this into our busy schedule every day? Well, simplifying your cleaning routine will make that much easier. And the good news is it can be done in 3 steps.
Simplify Cleaning Products

For this step you want to take all of your cleaning supplies from everywhere they're stored in your home. You should sit them all out where you can see everything at once. After you've gathered them, begin putting like items together. All glass sprays, cleaning rags, wood cleaner, multi-purpose cleaner, sponges, etc. should be grouped together.

Go through each grouping and get rid of anything dirty, broken, or just plain old. If you haven't used it in years you probably won't use it in the future. The exception is if it's something you didn't even know you had but realize you have been looking for all along.

Now reduce the duplicates if possible. For the most part, you can use up excess cleaning product but some things do expire so in that case you should keep only the unexpired products. If you have multiple half empty bottles of the same products, combine them into one.

Next you need to come up with how to store them. Although you may use the same types of products in multiple areas of your home, it's not necessary to have duplicates. Creating a central hub of cleaning products makes it so you can go and grab what you need when you need it. It also makes it easier for you to see what you are running low on. Consider reducing the amount of products you have to store by focusing on one type of product for multiple uses. Multi-purpose cleaner is what I use in my bathroom when I clean the counter. I don't use bathroom specific product because I can't stand that bleachy smell.

Create your own cleaning caddy with certain products that you use in different rooms so you can carry it from room to room when you work on that cleaning task. Also consider simplifying the products themselves by getting ones with all natural ingredients which can be healthier for you and your home.

For me, I have 1 bottle of carpet cleaner, 1 bottle of hard floor cleaner, 1 bottle of stove top specific cleaner, 1 bottle of sink scrub for the bathroom and kitchen, 1 bottle of glass cleaner, 1 bottle of multipurpose cleaner, 1 bottle of GooGone, 1 bottle of wood cleaner, and a spray bottle of just vinegar and water. I have about 4 kitchen sponges so that I always have a back stock when it's time to replace the current one. I have one cleaning brush for the bathtub, 1 for cleaning pet cages, and 1 for cleaning other items that don't fall into those 2 categories. Of course I have a dishwashing brush too.

Simplify Cleaning Appliances and Tools

Appliances and tools are another part of cleaning supplies that can get cluttered and make it hard to find what we need. When you feel frustrated you tend to stray away from that task so it's important to only have what you need and be able to find it easily.

How many floor mops do you really need? Do you need 50 dust rags? I doubt that, so get rid of the ones that are really worn out and utilize the excess supply you've had all this time. A lot of us accrue cleaning tools that serve a single purpose. Maybe it's something that you can use to clean the crevice of your windows or a super specific dusting tool. If those areas can be cleaned with something else you have that can be used all over your home, get rid of the super specific ones and stick with the basics.

For me, I have 2 vacuums. My newest vacuum is for the entire house but I have my old one for the carpeted screened in porch, cleaning my car, and the basement. I have a robot vacuum/wet mop and a non robotic wet mop. I mean it turns on but it doesn't clean on its own but both are very useful. I have a small storage bin in my cleaning closet for dust rags. I got rid of the 2 dry Swiffers I had because I simply don't use them. I vacuum when I need to get dust and dog fur so there was no sense in taking up precious space in my cleaning closet with 2 things I don't need.

Create a Cleaning Routine

Cleaning tends to be something we end up doing when we realize it REALLY needs done. That makes it a stressful chore because who really wants to stop what they're doing and focus on scrubbing a sink? Creating a cleaning routine for your home makes everything easier to do because you can simply add it to your regular routine. For daily tasks, designate a time of day for them. For me the bed is made every morning and the kitchen counters are wiped down every evening before bed so I have a clean kitchen in the morning.

Weekly tasks like vacuuming, dusting, and laundry get broken down by day. Mondays are laundry day, dusting is done on Tuesdays, and Wednesday is for vacuuming. The floors get washed right after I vacuum.

Monthly tasks get a set day of the month to fit them in. I clean all my windows the first week of each month. Bedsheets and towels are washed during the second week. Deep cleaning like vacuuming behind every piece of furniture is generally done at the end of the month during my regular vacuum chore. I clean my car out every couple of months around the middle of the month. These things fit into my regular to do list so perfectly now it doesn't even feel like a big undertaking to do them.

Setting up a cleaning routine that is simplified can make it much easier for you to keep your home clean and tidy.