How to Keep Your House Clean

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This shortcut guide on How to Keep Your House Clean will help you spend less time mopping floors while still having a neat home. Shortcuts for the top rooms in your home that are efficient and touch all the areas that tend to get dirty and cluttered.

Add this to your guide to simple living and free up time doing things you love to do.

How to Keep Your House Clean

Cleaning is not something I enjoy doing, so I am usually looking for any other task I can do that doesn’t involve a broom or a mop.

However, I do know that if I avoid it, my house and family will pay the price.

If you look at anyone’s to-do list, odds are you will see at least one cleaning chore listed out. Everyone needs to clean, whether single in a small apartment or the parent of a hoard of kids.

Keeping A Clean Home is Important

Keeping a neat home plays an important role in not only our health but our mental well-being as well. Less germs keep sickness away, and less mess keeps stress away. This is true for us, our entire family, and even our youngest.

If you hate to clean and you wish there were things you could do to keep your home neater longer, this guide is for you.

We will look at shortcuts and hacks that you can start using in your home that will allow you to go further between cleaning sessions.

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What is the 80/20 rule for cleaning a house?

The 80/20 rule, commonly referred to as the Pareto Principle, can change how you approach house cleaning. The main principle of this is that 80% of cleaning results are derived from just 20% of your actions.

By doing small tasks in between big cleanings, you will have a neater home and a smaller job to tackle overall.

This approach works especially well in high-traffic areas like the kitchen, bathroom, and living room. Making a short list of tasks to do each day will make your main cleaning chores less overwhelming and easier to get done.

two kids playing in a living room in a home

How to Keep a Clean House

The goal is to list tasks you can do each day that take a few minutes but have a significant impact on the state of the room.

Make a list of the main rooms in your home. Next to each room, write down three or four mini-tasks that you can do in five minutes.

Here is an example list to get you started.

In the Kitchen

The main focus areas in this room are the counters, kitchen table, and sink area.

  • Deal with clutter on countertops
  • Wipe down countertops
  • Sweep the floor (every other day)
  • Empty the dishwasher
  • Put away dishes and

Get our Daily Cleaning Checklist for a faster approach to keeping this important room clean.

In the Living Room

The main focus areas in this room are the television, couches, and floor.

  • Put away anything that belongs in another room
  • Dust surfaces and shelves – Use a Swiffer to make this job quicker.
  • Put away blankets – baskets are a great way to contain extra blankets and pillows.
  • Vacuum/spot clean any visible dirt or messes.
a woman in green using a duster to clean a television

In the Bathroom

The main focus areas in this room are the sink, shower, and toilet.

  • Wipe down the sink and faucet
  • Swish toilet bowl with cleaner and brush – Use toilet tank cleaners to eliminate this step.
  • Restock toilet paper, hand soap
  • Pick up wet towels and hang
  • Pick up any dirty laundry off the floor – Keep a hamper here for this step.

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In the Bedroom

The main focus areas in this room are the bed, floor, and dressers.

  • Make the bed – Make this a part of your morning routine.
  • Put away clothes
  • Deal with any surface clutter
  • Vacuum or sweep floors – Use a robot vacuum for this step.

Entryway or Mudroom

The main focus areas in this space are the shoe racks/baskets and coat hooks.

  • Tidy up shoes, coats, bags – Use hooks to keep things off the floor.
  • Wipe down surfaces if needed
  • Sweep or vacuum floor

Make a Plan to Implement Your List

Once you have your list, you will want to make a plan. This is usually where most people slip when creating a new routine. They have an amazing list but forget to create a solid plan.

Step #1. Print it Out

Print out each list and hang it out where you will see it daily. An example would be hanging the kitchen cleaning list on the front of the fridge. This visual reminder will help keep you on track with your daily upkeep.

Step #2. Block Out Time

Set a specific time for your daily cleaning routine. You can plan for 5 minutes in the morning or 10 minutes after work, for example.

woman writing dates on a calendar

Step #3. Set Reminders

Create reminders or alarms to help you stick to your plan. You can set a reminder on your phone or Amazon Alexa. These two tools can be incredibly helpful in keeping you on track.

Step #4. Try Habit Stacking

Habit stacking is when you partner a new task with something you already consistently do. For example, you can clean the bathroom sink and counter area while you are washing your hands.

Set Up Clutter Shortcuts

Clutter shortcuts are tools you use to keep things put away. More often than not, the source of a messy room is stuff that is lying out. If you can stop the clutter, you will have a neater home overall. Try these easy tips to get started.

Mail Basket

Paper is a huge source of clutter in a home. Having a basket to toss in incoming mail or papers will eliminate that source and keep papers from getting buried or misplaced.

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Multiple Hampers

Another issue most homes have is dirty laundry. Having a hamper in every bathroom and bedroom will keep the floor less messy.

Stair Baskets

If you have a two-story home, stair baskets will be a game changer for you. Put items inside of this basket that need to go upstairs. Each time you go up, remove a few things and put them away.

basket organizers for cluttered stairs before and after

Put Away Baskets

Another clutter tip is to incorporate put-away baskets in the busiest rooms in your home. When you see something lying out that belongs in another room, you can put it into this basket. At the end of each day, take this basket and walk your home putting things where they belong.

This one tip alone has been a game-changer for me and my family.

Learning how to keep your house clean doesn’t have to be a daunting task. By implementing a daily cleaning checklist and using clutter shortcuts, you can easily manage the chaos that often leads to a messy space.

Finish it with habit stacking and reminders to ensure you use your new routine more consistently.

Creating a cleaning routine will make your home more manageable, freeing up more time for what truly matters.

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