Cleaning Lists, Tips + Tricks: Whistle While You Work

We’re here to make your life easier! Breaking chores up into small daily tasks helps you keep your house clean. The trick is to find the right cleaning lists that you can truly stick to. It allows you to turn a blind eye to other items that need attention, because they are already on the schedule! In addition, we all know it’s easier to maintain than it is to clean. Check out our favorite DIYs for keeping places like bathrooms and kitchens sparkling!

Cleaning Lists: K.I.S.S.

Ever get on the 30-day plan and have everything fall apart by week 2? Keeping cleaning lists simple makes them much more effective. The trick to our list is that we tackle one room per day. Don’t have time for every item? Just do the most important one and consider it good. Don’t worry about trying to catch up the next day. Just move on with the list. You can pick another item for that room the next week. This is how cleaning stays manageable and you will find yourself less stressed about perfection.

Wipes Are Lifesavers

One swipe and you’re done! You can conquer most of the items on our cleaning lists with disinfecting wipes.  Be sure to check out our article on Castile Soap. We included a handy DIY for making reusable wipes that are perfect for kitchens and bathrooms.  When you don’t have time to get in up to your elbows, a wipe is sufficient and always better than nothing.  They’re like the dry shampoo for your house.

Bathroom Bomb

Everyone hates cleaning bathrooms, but they should be the most sanitary place in your home. If you can judge a restaurant by their bathrooms, then.. We liked adding bathroom-related chores to our cleaning lists for Monday.  Best to get that job done first and then move on with the week.  An easy DIY for the bathroom are Pretty Provident’s DIY Toilet Cleaning Fizzies. They are made with a combination of baking soda, citric acid, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, and essential oils. Keep a bunch in a jar and drop one in the toilet for instant freshness. Between that and a set of wipes, you’re staying on top of one of the biggest chores in the house!

Ohh.. Clean Sheets

There is nothing better than getting into a bed of freshly washed sheets.  Be sure to add linen closets to your cleaning lists because they can get disorganized quickly.  Let Martha Stewart teach you how to fold a fitted sheet in 5 easy steps.  Store items in baskets and add lavender sachets from Bed Bath & Beyond.  If you agree with our Feng Shui article that the bedroom should be a retreat, then linens are essential!

Stay on Top of Laundry

It’s also important to multitask whenever possible. Number two of our cleaning lists is a simple laundry schedule that coincides with the daily house chores. May as well throw in a load of towels on Monday while you’re sanitizing the bathroom. Saturday? Let your delicates take a soak in the sink while you run Johnny off to soccer. Leave the rest for the weekdays. Another good tip I got from my sister is to fold laundry straight out of the dryer. Even if I don’t have time to put them away, at least I have stacks of clean folded clothes. No more piles on the bed!

Sink + Stove

Most people struggle with their kitchens the most.  This is the busiest area of the house and some recipes just explode all over counters and in sinks.  Keep a dish rack handy and start training yourself to clean as you cook.   A good, quality dish rack like this one from simplehuman should look nice on your counter and include a drainboard.   You can wash and put away dishes throughout the day and use the dishwasher for plates and silverware.  The key to our cleaning lists is to clean as you go.  Does the recipe call for “occasional stirring”?  This is the best time to wipe up the counter or do 3-4 dishes.  Cooking meat on the stove?  Invest $5 in a splatter screen from Cost Plus and save yourself all that grease cleanup.  Start training husbands and children to bring their dishes to the sink when they’re done.

Take Sunday Off

Especially since this Sunday is Mother’s day, but every Sunday should be a day of rest.  If you didn’t get everything done on your cleaning lists, that’s okay!  Monday is right around the corner and you know everything will be done eventually.  If you give yourself one real day of rest, you will find ample energy to have at it the rest of the week.  That advice is tried and true, so stick to it if you can.  The goal is to stay on top of your housework, but to keep your mental focus where it belongs: on your kids, spouses, and friends. xox