House Cleaning Isn't As Bad As You Think

Here's the thing about house cleaning — you either love it or hate it. Some people are clean freaks and love knowing that their space is clean. Others aren't as keen on constantly cleaning. This is also valid when one considers that it can seem incredibly hard at times to maintain certain levels of cleanliness when life is so busy. Then there are the things that we know we should be cleaning but simply aren't, not to mention the stress of cleaning during the COVID-19 pandemic when the stakes feel — and are — higher than ever.

In any case, whether you like cleaning or abhor it, house cleaning is important, and it's actually not as bad as you may think. You can employ any number of tips and hacks to make the process as easy for you as possible and to make the job quicker, and if you're the kind of person that needs these tips to get the cleaning done, we've got you.

According to Apartment Therapy, one of the best things you can do for yourself is buy drawers and other multi-purpose yet fashionable storage items. Tidying up is perhaps the most annoying part of cleaning; no one wants to pick up all the little things around their home. If you have drawers, though, this job becomes a lot easier. Suddenly, all of these items have a home that they can be returned to before they accumulate all over your space.

In addition to purchasing or building drawers, one of the best practices you can implement is setting a timer when you clean. According to Spouses Cleaning Houses, setting a short amount of time daily, such as 20 minutes, can mean you're not dedicating that much time to cleaning but the work is still getting done incrementally. This can make it feel far less painful.

Similarly, they recommend always cleaning "as you go," meaning you should clean a mess or put something back where it belongs as soon as a mess occurs or you set something down. If you can keep these habits up, you'll have far less to clean when you actually set your timer. Other tips from Spouses Cleaning Houses include setting yourself up at night for the next day so that the morning is seamless, always taking something back where it belongs with you when you leave a room so that you're accomplishing things incrementally, and listening to music when you clean, as this will keep your spirits high and make the time go by quicker. This last tip is our favorite and one that keeps us clean, organized, and generally functioning.

When it comes to cleaning, you also need to consider decluttering. According to Lifehack, you should "stop saving things for 'just in case' and get rid of everything you don't use any more. This will make your home tidier with minimal effort!" Decluttering is most often associated with spring cleaning specifically, but you should really do this any time of year if you feel as though you have too many things taking up space in your home.

Furthermore, if you don't want to set a timer every day, Lifehack recommended simply committing to a few minutes long pick-up every night in which you put things back where they belong before bed. Then, in the morning, they recommend making your bed each day. While it doesn't pertain to traditional ideas of cleaning as much, making your bed can, in a psychological way, make you more productive throughout the day and therefore more likely to clean.

Finally, avoid keeping paper around the house. This includes receipts, magazines, and any other form of paper. These items tend to stack up and sit around with no use or function. Instead, throw them away or shred them. This will free up so much space and keep your mind clear.