I used to spend my weekends cleaning house until I learned to take a few minutes here and there to stay on top of the dirt and grime. By doing a little cleaning every day, I avoid having to spend my weekends cleaning. Try some of the following ideas to help you free up your weekends.
Bathroom:
* Limit the number of products you keep on the counter. By doing this, the counters will stay uncluttered and be easier to clean. For the products that you want to leave on the counter, store them in a basket or caddy. This way you can just lift up the basket or caddy and clean underneath it in a hurry without having to pick up each individual product.
* Do you use a washcloth to clean your face? If so, when finished washing your face, rinse the washcloth out and use it to clean up around the sink.
* If you have a glass door shower, keep a squeegee stored in the shower by hanging it on a suction hanger hook. After every shower, use the squeegee to wipe away the water on the door. This will help keep your shower door clean by minimizing the amount of buildup from water and soap scum.
* Use shower gel instead of bar soap to reduce soap scum buildup. There are many wonderful shower gel products on the market for both men and women.
* To help your toilets stay clean and deodorized, place a self-cleaning toilet tablet in the bowl once a week.
* Keep cleaning supplies, including rubber gloves, under the sink in the bathroom so they are handy and within your reach when you have a few moments to clean.
Kitchen:
* Try the method I call "clean-as-you-go-cooking". This means to wash, dry and put away preparation dishes, bowls, and utensils while you are waiting for your meal to cook. If you use this method, then you don't have to spend your meal time dreading the dinner dishes and pans. All that will be left to clean are a few dishes that will be a snap to throw in the dishwasher.
* Clean up drips and spills as soon as they happen so they don't have time to dry.
* After cleaning the dishes and while your sponge is still wet, take a few moments to wipe down the countertops, stove, microwave and sink. This will help your kitchen to stay clean most of the time.
* When you open your junk drawer and discover that you have two year old coupons or a cabinet that is jumbled, stop what you're doing and clean out the drawer or cabinet. This will help you to keep your kitchen in order and stay on top of the clutter.
* To keep your countertops tidy and easy to clean, store small appliances that you don't use very often in cabinets.
* When frying or sautéing food, use a splatter screen. A splatter screen will cut down on grease buildup on your stove and cabinets.
Family Zone:
* Have a dedicated area for shoes, keys, backpacks, cell phones, etc. Let all family members know where they are expected to place their belongings. For small children, make it easy for them so they get the hang of it. For my preschooler, we have a built-in shoe caddy in our laundry room with hanging pegs above. He knows to put his shoes in the caddy when he gets home from school. While he can't reach the pegs to hang his backpack yet, he knows to place his backpack by his shoes and mommy will hang it up for him. This helps him learn to be responsible for putting away his own things.
This system also works well for hubby too! For all of you wives who have husbands that can't ever find their keys, cell phone, and wallet - give them a dedicated area to place these items. My husband has a dedicated drawer in the kitchen. Works great!
* Keep microfiber cloths or the famous Swiffer dusters handy and wipe away dust when you see it. It's much easier to remove dust if you don't let it build up. I keep a Swiffer ready to go at all times and do a quick dusting while my children are eating their lunch or I have a few minutes at some other time during the day.
* Consider using wax on wooden furniture instead of polish. Polish is known to attract dust.
* Toy clutter in my family room drives me batty! To help this problem, I purchased large baskets that compliment my home's decor. At the end of the day my children know to pick up all toys and put them in the baskets. Do they do this without a battle? Not very often! However, my children enjoy snacks before bedtime and they don't get their snacks until all toys are in the baskets.
These are just a few tips you can use to free up your weekends from cleaning. If you think about the moments you have here and there and what small cleaning chore you can accomplish - you'll find that overall your house will stay cleaner and you can free up your Saturday for family fun or go enjoy lunch and a movie with your favorite girlfriend!
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