Top Tips for a clean tidy home

BrokenBetty_2

I'm a disaster! No routine, and the place always needs tidied. I have a bit of time of work, so need to get this sorted.

How do you motivate yourself?

How have you established a routine?

I would quite like a magic wand, this would be preferable, however, can't find this on ebay, or Gumtree

Alikay

List jobs in bite-size pieces - for example: Clean kitchen windows, sort cutlery drawer, clear out fridge rather than a more general, and unmanageable "clean kitchen". Tick them off as you go.

Set timed tasks such as "5 minutes decluttering book shelves".

Get over to the Kondo Marie thread https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5146700

And the Flylady one
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5352187

Pixie5740

Get a cleaner. A good cleaner is worth his/her weight in gold.

My cleaner comes for 2 hours once a week which helps me keep on top of all the regular cleaning. Then if I have a spare couple of hours at the weekend I pick a drawer or cupboard to tackle. I am ruthless, if I haven't used or even thought about something for ages that has been lurking in the drawer or cupboard then it's sold, given to charity or taken to the tip.

The cleaner coming once a week also forces me to keep the place tidy as she can't clean if I'm untidy. My schedule can be a bit hectic so this weekly clean helps to focus my mind and not let things slide even when I'm exhausted after catching a red eye home.

pollypenny

Begin by putting things away, one room at a time.

When the place is clear, it's tidy, then you can give it a quick Hoover, before any deep cleaning - when you feel like it.

Kitchen window is last in my list.

euronorris

Little jobs need to become part of a daily habit. For example, each morning before I leave for work all dirty cups, dishes and cutlery go in the dishwasher and I put it on. I empty it when I return home, before I start prepping dinner. Same with clothes washing - on in morning before I leave, empty and hung up as soon as I return.


After evening meal has been made and enjoyed, plates & cutlery straight into the dishwasher and surfaces wiped down.


You get something out of a cupboard, it goes back in the same day. Regardless of whether you'll need it again tomorrow or not.


Those are just a few examples. If you don't have habits like this clutter builds up quickly and everything can suddenly become a massive job that you can easily lose a weekend to, and then resent it.


Personally, I try to do as much as I can before I leave for work of a morning. I find I'm more productive then.

Person_one

Have less stuff.

I had a massive (and I mean massive) clear out about 6 months ago. I got rid of loads of unnecessary stuff and suddenly, overnight, it was about 10 times easier to keep the place clean and tidy!

I think we all fall into the trap a bit of keeping and collecting too many things that we never actually use or look at. Clothes we'll never wear again, kitchen gadgets we've used once then forgotten about, books we didn't enjoy but still stayed on the shelf, old paperwork and documents, furniture that just gets in the way. I was absolutely ruthless and probably threw out or gave away 50% of my possessions. Haven't missed any of it at all since.

VfM4meplse

Try the OS board.

The Kon-Marie Method will help.

onlyroz

You want a clean tidy home? Then stay single and child free.

System

onlyroz wrote: »

You want a clean tidy home? Then stay single and child free.

and pet free.:)

Person_one

onlyroz wrote: »

You want a clean tidy home? Then stay single and child free.

Doesn't always work...:o

onlyroz

Person_one wrote: »

Doesn't always work...:o

Most single childless messy people I know are perfectly happy to live that way. My ex lived by choice in a slum - "stuff" was piled up on all surfaces. If you wanted to sit down then you'd have to shove aside a pile of magazines and partially opened mail. But such people have no excuses if they actually do want to live in a clean and tidy home.