Does the mere thought of tackling your weekly house cleaning chores exhaust you? Unfortunately you can’t eliminate the tasks entirely or you and your house will quickly become the talk of the neighborhood.
Don’t fret! Simply incorporate these quick cleaning tips into your routine to help make chores more manageable.
Daily Maintenance
Give the shower and bath a quick wipe down after every use. There are several daily shower sprays on the market that will do the job. Keep a sponge or squeegee in the shower, along with the shower spray, to eliminate the build-up of soap scum and mold, which creates more work later.
Within Reach
Disinfectant wipes, even baby wipes, are a great way to quickly clean something when you make a mess. Keep canisters in the kitchen, bathroom and living room for quick and easy access. When they are in reach, you are more apt to clean up the mess immediately rather than put it off until later. Also, gather all of the supplies you will need to complete a task before you begin. Put them in a tote or basket to carry around with you as you clean. You will spend less time traveling from room to room hunting down the products you need.
Spray and Walk Away
If you are doing heavy cleaning to your bathroom or kitchen, just spray and walk away. Cleaning products are designed to dig deep into the stain to help dissolve it. When you spray and then immediately wipe it off, you are not giving the product time to do its job. Thoroughly spray down the areas you are cleaning and then tend to another task. When you go back to the area to be cleaned, the product will have done most of the work, creating less scrubbing for you.
Beat the Clock
You don’t have to carve out an entire afternoon to take care of your house cleaning. Set a timer for 15 or 30 minutes and restrict your duties to that time period. You will find that when you are "on the clock" you are more efficient and less distracted.
What you don’t get done in that time frame can be saved until the next time. By scheduling your duties in shorter segments you won’t feel as if it has taken up as much of your time.
Reprinted courtesy of the National Association of Home Builders, www.nahb.org.