Top secrets of people who always have a clean house
by Janine, Jul 2020We all know someone who has a perfectly clean house all the time. Their homes are always sparklingly clean, well-organised and free from clutter – whilst ours are constantly looking in need of a good scrub with the detritus of family life strewn everywhere! We imagine these clean freaks have a magic potion and yet, in reality, they are just harbouring a few secret hacks that help them to keep their home always looking it’s best with minimal effort.
Our 15 secrets of people who have a clean house all the time will help you to replicate their success in the fight against dirt and clutter!
Let’s reduce the clutter.
1. It’s no real secret that clutter is the enemy when it comes to your home looking it’s best. Adopting a one in, one out policy will help to ensure that the build-up doesn’t continue and get worse!
For example, if you want to buy yourself a new dress, then you have to get rid of an old one in order to make room in the wardrobe. Equally, if your son or daughter asks for a new toy – get them to make the same decision and choose an older toy to donate or sell in it’s place. Let’s be honest, no kids need as many toys as they’ve got and you definitely don’t need ANOTHER new dress.
Instilling this discipline in both you and your family will ensure you only make purchases when you’re 100% certain in that decision.
2. Getting organised with your ‘stuff’ is another easy hack to making your home look tidier and cleaner. Invest in easy storage solutions such as baskets, boxes and shelves. Delegate a storage container for specific items – for example, a basket for slippers or a box for your DVDs or video games. Having designated places for certain items will also mean that getting the whole family involved in ensuring the clutter is kept at bay is a lot easier!
Equally, make us of dead space such as underneath sofas and beds with wider but lower storage boxes that can be easily hidden and pulled out when needed.
3. Re-evaluating every space in your home can uncover previously unnoticed options for storage. There are so many creative solutions in every corner of your house, regardless of the size of the property! Think coat racks in hallways, notice boards for letters etc in the kitchen or pegs on the back of bedroom / bathroom doors for dressing gowns and towels etc.
Also, invest in vacuum pack bags for off-season clothes.
4. Cut the sentimental excuse out of your life right now! There really is no need to keep those gig tickets from your first concert, or your first partner’s jumper they gave you back in high school. If there are things that really mean something to you, get them on display – but if they’re sat in a box or a drawer or a cupboard, are they really serving any purpose?
Equally, children’s drawings are a sentimental problem that all parents have to deal with. We are here to give you permission to NOT keep every single picture your little one has made for you. Frame the good or the memorable ones, and get rid of the rest.
5. Are you hoarding things that could make you some money!? Gone are the days when a car boot sale was your only option for turning your unwanted items into profit. With the rise of resale apps like Depop, you can make money from your stuff all from the comfort of your sofa.
Tip: Make the time to take decent photographs and write enticing descriptions for each of your pre-loved items as this will increase the visibility on the app, but also the probability of a sale!
Now, let’s make cleaning easier.
6. The first step to making cleaning easier is to clean as you go. Yep, sounds easier than it is but if you can master this – you’ve pretty much cracked it.
Don’t let dishes pile up for one big clear up, or the ironing pile continue to grow for a focused 7 hours on the job… at the time, it can seem as though it’s logical to do it all in one go, but then your mother-in-law announces an impromptu visit and there’s mountains of jobs to get through in 20 minutes!
Cleaning as you go will reduce the need for your whole weekend to be spent ‘catching up’ and will mean that your home generally looks clean and tidy as there’s no big back log on show.
7. Delegation is the key to making your home cleaning easier. If everyone knows what their allocated task is, then there’s no arguments! Perhaps you give each of your kids a specific job that is their responsibility every day – i.e. loading the dishwasher, making their bed, hanging clothes away or tidying the toys. Equally, in your relationship, allocate individual roles so there’s no disputes about who does more than who!
8. If a job takes less than 5 minutes, do it immediately. Sure, it can seem an effort to make your bed in the morning, or to wipe down the kitchen surfaces before heading off to work… but if it takes less than 5 minutes, why are you putting it off?
This really works when you ask yourself the question each time you go to ignore a task. When you go to walk away from your breakfast bowl and coffee cup on the dining room table, ask yourself how long it would take you to pop them straight in the dishwasher? When you realise how little time it will take, you’ll be more inclined to do it straight away.
9. Getting a routine in place is key to making chores feel less overwhelming. Perhaps every Monday evening, you dust each surface in the house. Depending on the size of your house, this shouldn’t take too long! You can then commit to hoovering the downstairs on a Tuesday morning and the upstairs on a Tuesday evening. Before you know it, you’ve pretty much cleaned 75% of your house without it seeming like a MAMMOTH task.
The important thing is to ensure the routine works for you and your family.
Tip: Invest in double cleaning products – one set of supplies downstairs and the other upstairs. Also, if your budget allows, having the option of a plug in hoover for ‘deep clean days’ but a charged handheld for quick tidy ups will make life so much easier.
10. Once you’ve got your routine in place – make it fun and enjoyable! Make a playlist of your favourite upbeat songs and blast it out whilst you’re cleaning. A recent study showed that 66% of people say that listening to music makes their tasks more enjoyable – and it makes the time go quicker.
You could even make the task a challenge by creating a 10 minute playlist and seeing if you can complete your jobs before the music ends! This is a great idea if you’re the competitive sort!
Finally, let’s make your home look well presented.
11. Keeping your surfaces clear and tidy automatically makes your home look cleaner. The coffee table, dining room table, kitchen counter, breakfast bar and window sills are the number one culprits for turning into an open storage space. We’re all guilty of covering these surfaces with letters, keys, odds and ends etc.
Clearing these surfaces not only makes them more visually appealing but it also makes it easier for you to wipe them down when needed. You may want to go as far as allocating a cupboard for things like the toaster or the blender or other appliances that aren’t used every day as even these can make the area look cluttered.
12. Embracing scented candles and fresh flowers can make a big difference to how your home looks and feels. Fresh flowers not only smell good, but a beautiful arrangement in a pretty vase will always grab your attention and just the sheer fact that you have them makes your home appear well cared for and maintained.
Equally, candles (whether they’re burning or not) are visually appealing and can make your home feel inviting and cosy!
13. Plumping up the cushions on your sofa or bed may seem ineffectual, but trust us – it makes a huge difference. The simple act of arranging your cushions and pillows neatly and making the effort to plump them and reform back to their original shape can take the room from looking unloved and unkept to stylish and tidy.
Tip: Use the nozzle on your hoover to give cushions (specifically sofa cushions) a good clean. If you’re someone who’s guilty of eating snacks on the couch, then you’d be surprised how many pesky crumbs can end up hidden in the crevices and folds! A quick blast with the vacuum will give cushions and pillows a new lease of life.
14. Styling your coffee table so it looks nice but is also functional is an easy yet effective secret. Something as simple as rearranging the unsightly pile of magazine into a visually appealing selection can make a big difference!
Equally, if your coffee table currently has a display of candles and trinkets dotted around – consider investing in a mirrored tray to house said items. The mirror effect will promote light and space, and the fact that the display now has a contained home makes it look more like a feature as opposed to clutter.
And lastly, the best kept secret?
15. This is the secret that those people who always have a clean home definitely don’t want you to know. *whisper* – they hire outside help!
Yep, that’s the long and short of it. Whilst these tips are 100% effective in keeping your home looking clean and tidy at all times – it might be the case that the home owner you’re in awe of has simply outsourced the jobs to a domestic cleaner!
Gone are the days when hiring a cleaner was solely for the rich and famous. 1 in 3 families now use some form of home help in order to free up their time to focus on what matters to them!
So there you have it – 15 secrets of people who ALWAYS have a clean home. No magic potion or quick fix, but they’re all easily actionable and transferable to your home.
And if you’d rather skip to secret number 15, here at Well Polished we offer a 5 star, award winning cleaning service that can give you that clean home smug feeling. And don’t worry, we’re happy to be your clean little secret!
Enter your postcode below to find your local office and enjoy the endless benefits of a weekly cleaner.