10 Habits That Will Keep Your Home Clean

It is a new year and we are all looking for ways to make this year better than the previous years. If you are into resolutions then you have things you are going to change in the new year already. For me, it is less about resolutions and more about goals in the new year. Around each new year, I sit down and write down the goals I want to accomplish in the upcoming year. Along with my list of goals, I start the beginning of every year with a clean slate in our home. After the Christmas decorations are put away, I bask in the emptiness and bare decor that surrounds us for a few weeks. During those few weeks, I am organizing and purging every, single nook and cranny. This process gives me a sense of peace and calm that clutter and unnecessary “stuff” doesn’t. Over the years of being OCD with the cleaning and organizing of our home, I have learned a few tips and tricks. While taking some much-needed time off around the holidays, it dawned on me that I have never shared this kind of stuff here on the blog. That will change. Posts like these are being added to the schedule. I think having a clean and organized home is essential. It clears up your mind so you can focus on what really matters. “Stuff” and messes not only take up physical space, but the take up space in your mind as well. Today, I am sharing 10 Habits That Will Keep Your Home Clean without even thinking about it. These habits are like second nature to me. I do them without thinking about it and it helps tremendously in keeping our home clean. 

10 Habits That Will Keep Your Home Clean:

• Never Go To Bed With A Sink Full Of Dishes: Every night after dinner, I clear away all the dishes and load the dishwasher. I don’t start the dishwasher right after dinner thought, because inevitably, someone will use another dish before they go to bed. So, the very the last thing I do before I go to bed is make sure every dirty dish is in the dishwasher and start it. 
• Unload The Dishwasher First Thing In The Morning: I start every morning off in the kitchen by unloading the dishwasher. I do this while making breakfast. This ensures I start the day off with a clean kitchen.
• Talk & Dust: Whenever I am talking on the phone, I dust!!! My mom used to do this when we were little. Whenever she was on the phone, she was always doing something else. I guess I picked up this habit from her. I will clean off the countertops and dust when I talk on the phone.
• Set A Timer: When you feel like you have too much to do and not enough time to get it done, set a timer. Give yourself 15 minutes to pick up or clean out a cabinet or whatever it is you want to get done. You will be amazed how little time those cleaning chores take.
• Do laundry a few times a week: Don’t leave all the laundry for one day. Just don’t. That will make it overwhelming and will take up half your day. Try and do one load every other day so you stay on top of it and have more time for other things you need to get done. *BONUS WITH THIS HABIT: Doing one load at a time makes folding it and putting it away less overwhelming. No more piles of clean clothes all over the place!!!! The entire process – from washing to putting away will get done. 
• Start Em’ Young: This is a big one for Habits That Will Keep Your Home Clean. Start your kids off young with “picking-up” habits to help keep your home clean. Kid messes can be a huge culprit to a messy home if you don’t stay on top of it. When our kids were toddlers, I made it a habit to pick up after each activity they did. They could not move on to something else until their first activity was put away. If they were doing a craft, it all had to be picked up before they could start playing a game. If they got LEGOs out to build, they had to be put back in the tub before watching a show, etc. We did this every single time and now the kids are great about picking up after themselves. If they make the mess, they know they are responsible for picking it up. 
• Always Have An Empty Box Or Tote Around: This is my favorite because I am purging and getting rid of things all the time. I always have an extra box or tote in our house to fill with things we aren’t using, grew out of or don’t love anymore. Once the box is full, I close it and bring a new one in. You can either donate the stuff or save it and host a yard sale (more on how we do that twice a year, later).
• Make Your Bed Every Day: This is a game changer. Having your bed made every morning sets the tone for the rest of the day. I don’t like getting in an un-made bed at the end of the day and it only takes a few minutes to make it in the morning. The kids do this as well. Again, if you make it a habit early on, they will do it without being asked. Having your bed made each day makes your room look picked up. If you have it made, you will want to keep your room clean. If you think this will take too much time in the morning, I dare you to set a timer and make your bed. You will be amazed by how little time it actually takes. 
• Wash Your Face, Wash Your Sink: If you wash your face with a washcloth at the end of the day, turn that washcloth over and wipe out the sink before you put the washcloth in the hamper. I keep a bottle of cleaning solution under the bathroom sink. I spray the sink and use the washcloth to clean it out. This habit takes less than one minute to do and your bathroom sink will be cleaned every day.
• Give Yourself 5 Minutes: Sometimes when I am picking up, I feel like I am just moving one pile to the next. If I give myself and extra 5 minutes to actually put the items where they belong, everything gets put away and I am not having to clean up multiple piles. This five-minute habit will save you many minutes throughout your day.

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These 10 Habits That Will Keep Your Home Clean are easy ways to stay on top of cleaning your home. These habits aren’t hard and our entire family gets involved. Matt will make the bed in the morning and unload the dishwasher if I am doing something else. The kids pick up their messes and have their beds made after they get dressed for the day. If you condition yourself (and your family) to do these things over and over again, they will become second nature. You will find that your home is staying cleaner longer and that certain chores aren’t so overwhelming anymore. 

We do have a cleaning schedule as well, but these 10 Habits That Will Keep Your Home Clean make the cleaning so much easier because all the clutter and laundry are already done. A few months ago, I actually set a timer to see how long different cleaning tasks took me. I was amazed how little time they actually take. You should give it a try. When you start thinking about cleaning, you get overwhelmed and sometimes it even paralyzes you to get started. If you try some of the Habits That Will Keep Your Home Clean, you will be amazed how great your home will look and how much less you feel like you are doing all the time.  

Here are some of the items I use to keep up with the 10 habits that will keep your home clean:

Here’s to a new year full of clean homes!

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