The Real Reason It's So Hard To Keep Your House Clean

It feels like an endless battle. You want that pristine house you see in internet ads and on your friends' social media accounts, but for you, it seems like it's not meant to be. No matter how much time you put in, it feels impossible to keep your house clean. But you're not alone. It's a struggle for millions of people every day. You don't have to feel inadequate. Keeping a house clean isn't easy, despite how many people you think manage to do it.

In fact, all that mess might be stressing you out, according to a survey by Apartment Guide.com. A full 66% of those surveyed said that a cluttered and messy home was causing them anxiety. The survey also found that 63% do their own cleaning rather than hiring a cleaning service. That puts an onerous burden on a whole lot of people who just want to live in a neat home. The real reason you find it hard to keep a clean house varies from person to person, but these are the most common.

Maybe you lead a busy life without a lot of time to clean but also have way too much stuff in your home. Maybe you're not even getting the help you need. Making sure a house is clean is often not a job for one person, especially if it's a larger space where multiple people live.

One clue that you have too much stuff is that you keep organizing but nothing ever seems organized, according to Apartment Therapy. Also, if you struggle to find spaces for things when organizing, it might be time to declutter and remove things from your home you know you'll never use again.

You may also feel like you're all alone in your quest for a clean house. If you have kids, Apartment Therapy suggests enlisting their services by giving them set household chores and cleaning schedules. You can even have checklists that make keeping and making things neat and clean part of the daily routine. Even if you live with other adults, this approach can work.

Perhaps your life is just too busy to keep a pristine home. A new job, a new baby, or an illness in the family can disrupt your domestic routine, according to Apartment Therapy. You find the disruptions to be more important than looking around and seeing everything in order in your living space. Get help if you need it, but also learn to let it go and not feel guilty if your house doesn't look like you envision every minute of the day.

Apartment Therapy also suggests that in the end, you just may be too hard on yourself. Remember, that perfectly decorated home or that clean-as-a-whistle living room and kitchen your friend posted on social media might have been set up just for a photo op. In the end, your house might not be so messy after all.