The Lazy Girls Guide to Keeping Your House Clean
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Let’s be honest—cleaning isn’t everyone’s favorite chore. For some, the thought of spending hours scrubbing and organizing feels like cruel and unusual punishment. Personally, I need to be in the mood to clean or organize, and it often depends on the space. Cleaning the kitchen? That sounds like fun! But tackling the bathroom? Suddenly, I’ll pretend to be sick just to avoid it. Still, we all deserve to live in a clean and comfortable space, right? So how do we achieve that without sacrificing our precious time? Enter: the lazy girl’s guide to a clean house.
The Power of Little and Often
The biggest mistake we make is waiting until our homes are a total disaster before addressing cleaning tasks. The best approach I’ve discovered is to handle cleaning in manageable chunks.
The 10-Minute Tidy: Set a timer for 10 minutes and focus on one specific area. Are your kitchen counters driving you mad? Spend 10 minutes just tackling those counters. You’d be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a short amount of time!
One-Task-a-Day: After my kids started school, I began assigning myself one cleaning task per day. This way, I don’t feel like I’m spending all my kid-free time cleaning. For example:
- Monday: Laundry
- Tuesday: Bathrooms
- Wednesday: Dusting, and so on.
After-Use Cleaning: Wiping down the sink and bathroom counter after brushing my teeth or running the robot vacuum after breakfast helps prevent messes from piling up.
Work Smarter, not Harder
Creating strategic shortcuts is your best friend.
Cleaning Supplies: Keeping necessary cleaning supplies in each bathroom makes it easy to grab and clean quickly. I store microfiber cloths and bathroom cleaning solutions under the sinks, so I can easily wipe down surfaces while helping my kids with their showers or baths.
Set Robot Vacuum Routines: Establishing a routine for the robot vacuum to clean the kitchen floors every day after breakfast and dinner has been a lifesaver.
Decluttering is Key: The less stuff you have, the less you need to clean. Regularly decluttering makes cleaning much easier. I keep a basket in each of my kids' rooms for clothes and toys they’ve outgrown. When it's full, I make sure to donate it immediately.
Quick Clean: I take 15 minutes every night before bed to do a quick pickup. I fluff the throw pillows on the couch, fold any throw blankets, pick up toys that have been left out, and load any remaining dishes into the dishwasher.
Make it Enjoyable (or at least torelable)
Blast your favorite music, podcast, or audio book: Time flies when you’re having fun. My favorite way to clean is to listen to my favorite music or my current audio book and just tune out.
Reward Yourself: When I need extra motivation, I give myself little rewards. For instance, I’ll clean the dreaded kitchen junk drawer and reward myself by watching a video from my favorite YouTuber.
Enlist your Family: Every Sunday, we have a family clean-up time. The kids are responsible for picking up their toys and vacuuming their rooms. My kids are 9 and 6, and the more we do it, the better they become at cleaning up after themselves.
The Lazy Girl's Maintenance Routine:
Daily: Quick tidy, wipe down surfaces, put things away.
Weekly: One task-a-day, laundry, vacuum/dry mop.
Monthly: Deeper clean (dusting hard-to-reach areas, cleaning appliances).
Remember:
Perfection is not the goal. A "good enough" clean is perfectly acceptable.
Don't beat yourself up if you skip a day. Just pick up where you left off.
Consistency is key. Even small efforts, done regularly, will keep your house looking and feeling clean.
So, there you have it – the lazy girl's guide to a clean house. Now go forth and conquer your clutter, without breaking a sweat!
I’m a mom of two and wife to a seriously supportive hubby, living our best life in our forever house by the preserve! I'm all about helping you create a stylish, Pinterest-worthy home on a budget. Let's obsess over interior design, home decor, DIY, and home improvement projects to help you create your best home. Follow along and say hello! I love hearing from you.
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