Tips That Make Cleaning Your House a Breeze

WORDS: Peter Minkoff PHOTOGRAPHY Supplied

As humans, we’re all different, with different lifestyles, habits and opinions. But what most of us can agree on is that cleaning is not fun and not relaxing. However, it’s an integral part of being a grownup—we essentially have to clean every single day, at least a little. If you’re sick of cleaning your house, you can always hire a cleaning service or save up some money by employing these easy cleaning tips: 

Clean everything at once

Some people might think that cleaning just the bathroom one day and then tackling the kitchen the next is easy and practical. However, if you want to be efficient, it’s best to clean everything at once. Pick one task (vacuuming and mopping, dusting, scrubbing, etc.) and do it across your home. Why? Well, tackling room by room will make you feel like you’re constantly doing the same task over and over again while doing everything at once keeps the cleaning process more interesting. Plus, you will have days that require no cleaning at all, just some light tidying up. 

Have all cleaning supplies in one spot

There’s nothing worse than having to go searching for cleaning tools when you’re completely immersed in the cleaning task. Also, gathering loose sprays, rugs and sponges after you’re done cleaning is also annoying. To solve that issue, get a cleaning caddy, bucket or bag. This way, you’ll have all the things in one place, so you don’t have to stop in the middle of your task to grab a sponge or cleaning spray. Plus, tidying up after cleaning and storing your supplies will also be much easier. 

Vacuum then mop

Make sure to grab your vacuum cleaner to collect all the loose dirt, dust, pet hair and food crumbs before you start mopping. Today, there are different practical and effective vacuum cleaners in a stick form, which are easy to handle, lightweight and easy to empty. Plus, these are perfect for storing vertically and completely wireless, meaning you can always have them at hand to handle any vacuuming tasks. Once you vacuum the entire house, switch to mopping to remove fine dust and stains, and add freshness to your home. When mopping, make sure to start from the furthest corner of the room and move towards the door, so you don’t trap yourself. And have the rinsing bucket near, rinsing the mop after cleaning every 4×4 foot area. 

Make your mirrors sparkly clean

When cleaning shiny surfaces like glass and mirrors, using cloths can leave ugly smudges, streaks and fabric particles. To eliminate any leftovers on your mirrors and make your cleaning easier and faster, use newspaper. This material is very dense yet non-abrasive, so it can do the job perfectly. Plus, you probably also have a bunch of this material lying around the house. Also, to further make this chore more effective (and save up some money on cleaning products), use vinegar. When using newspaper and vinegar on your glass and mirrors, this combo can easily be recycled later because it’s not toxic. So next time you need to clean shiny surfaces, put a mixture of 50% vinegar and 50% water into a spray bottle, spray on glass and wipe with old newspapers. 

Make it a group activity

Probably the best way to make cleaning easier is to employ help. If you live with your partner and kids or have roommates, make sure to motivate them to help finish the chores faster. Kids won’t be easy to get on board but if you come up with a fun reward system, they will happily oblige. Or you can make cleaning into a game or competition! You will need to spend some more time explaining what every member of your cleaning crew needs to do, but you will still finish faster and spill less sweat. 

There you have it—easy tips you can use during your next cleaning task to make cleaning a breeze. Once these tips become habits, you’ll never dread cleaning again!