8 Tips & Tricks for Keeping a Clean Home

Confession time: My house is never perfectly clean. In fact, I have hated cleaning for a majority of my life. There were so many things that seemed to be better uses of my limited time. There weren't enough hours in the day to keep up with the mess that inevitably re-appeared no sooner than I'd cleaned it up. Once I started implementing these tips, it completely changed how I approached cleaning my home. If having a clean home is a priority to you, hopefully these tips can help you achieve that in the most efficient way possible!

Tip #1 - Shift your Mindset

Easier said than done, I know. For me, what did the trick was really reflecting on Colossians 3:23-24:

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

When I stopped thinking of cleaning my home as a tedious chore that needed done, and started viewing it as an act of service, not just for my family but to the Lord as well, my whole attitude changed.

Tip #2 - Find/Create a Schedule

Implementing a schedule that worked for me was something else that greatly affected my mindset around cleaning. I have never been and never will be the person that can spend 2-3 hours at a time cleaning my home. I want to spend 30 minutes a day, tops. My schedule focuses on zone cleaning - or cleaning a different room/zone of my house each day. Each zone is broken down into weekly and monthly tasks.

I don't believe in a one-size-fits-all cleaning schedule. Everyone's home and time constraints are different. There are tons of schedules online - a quick Pinterest search brings up overwhelming results. I created my own, which you can check out here! My recommendation is to try out a few different types of schedules until you find what clicks for you in your home.

I'm a big proponent of visual lists. So whether you jot down a basic schedule in your planner or download and laminate a printable from the internet, make sure your schedule is somewhere you can reference it often!

Tip #3 - Clean More Often

I loathe scrubbing. I do not want to spend 20 minutes on my hands and knees, using all my strength to scrub 2 year old burnt bits off the bottom of my oven. HOME MAINTENANCE is key. If you take nothing else away from this article, remember this: the more frequently you clean something, the less time it takes. Maybe your toilet doesn't look dirty - a quick wipe down will keep it that way!

Don't wait until something is dirty and grimey and desperately in need of your attention. Using elbow grease takes more time than a quick wipe down. Also, even though it seems like cleaning isn't a "skill", it is. You'll learn tricks and become more efficient the more you do it, just like any other life skill.

Tip #4 - Invest In the Right Products + Learning

If you want to become more efficient at cleaning, learn from people who are doing it better. Maybe it's a parent or grandparent. Maybe it's looking up cleaning hacks on Pinterest. Maybe it's following cleaning accounts on Instagram or TikTok. Use your resources! These people will often have advice of the best products/methods to make cleaning easier!

Two of my favorite Instagram accounts to follow for cleaning tips are @thecleaningchannel & @lifeonstacylane. Both share a lot of really practical tips and product recommendations, and both are moms with young kids! I like to think that I also share some useful tips from time to time 😉, so if you're not following me @busyhomemaker, I'd love to see you there!

It's also worth mentioning that saving up for bigger cleaning product investments, like a good spin mop or a cordless vacuum could be very worth it. If you're like me, you waste 20 minutes cutting hair loose from your vacuum before even starting, then still find yourself going back over the same section of carpet because of the lackluster suction.

Tip #5 - If You Don't Use it, Lose It

Here we are at the most controversial tip on the list. People are really attached to their stuff. You wouldn't believe (or maybe you would) the comments I see on social media whenever someone suggests getting rid of clutter as a cleaning tip. So here's my disclaimer - I am most definitely not a minimalist. I'm obsessed with single-use kitchen gadgets! I am also really attached to my stuff. I grew up watching Toy Story and The Brave Little Toaster, so sometimes I still catch myself worrying about the feelings of inanimate objects!

But people - it is so much easier to maintain a clean space when you have less stuff. If you have a china cabinet full of knick-knacks and looking at it fills you with happy thoughts and makes your home feel like home to you, keep them! Just make sure to add dusting that china cabinet to your cleaning schedule. But if you've got a closet full of coats you haven't worn since college or a George Forman grill sitting unused on your counter, get rid of it. Imagine how much easier it will be to organize your cleaning supplies with all that extra closet space. How much quicker could you wipe down your cabinets if you weren't having to move and clean unused appliances?

If you use it regularly and/or it honestly brings you joy, keep it. But be honest with yourself when evaluating what really adds value to your home (it's different for everyone!) and what you might be better off without.

Tip #6 - Everything Has a Home

Speaking of the things you keep, everything in your home should have it's own home. Mail doesn't just get thrown on the table where it sits for three weeks. Utilize baskets and organizers to hide the clutter that you can't get rid of (keys, books, blankets, toys, etc.). Your whole family needs to understand this as well: When you're done using an item, don't just put it down. Put it away. This saves you the time it would take to tidy up prior to cleaning. Putting clothes in the hamper when getting undressed or putting dirty dishes in the empty dishwasher are things that can be easily done by every member of your household and take zero extra effort on their part.

Tip #7 - Something is Better than Nothing when Keeping a Clean Home

When you just don't have the time or energy to check everything off your to-do list, remember that something is better than nothing. Pick one task you can do in five minutes or less, and get it done. If it's energy you're lacking, sometimes just getting started is all the motivation you need to spend that additional 25 minutes cleaning the whole space. If you're short on time - well, you just saved yourself 5 minutes of catch up later in the week.

Overwhelmed at where to begin? Try this Random 10 Minute Task Generator!

Something is always better than nothing, and the more you can keep yourself from falling totally behind and off schedule, the happier your future self will be!

Tip #8 - Stop Striving for Perfection

I saved the best tip for last. Your home does not have to be perfectly clean. Not all the time. Not ever, in fact. I mentioned how I only clean one section of my house each day. This works for me and my family. It keeps our spaces maintained and good enough. Good enough is good enough for me. Anyone whose home is fully, perfectly clean all the time has different priorities than I do - and probably doesn't have young kids at home.

My windows are constantly covered in tiny handprints. Sometimes lip prints and nose prints too, but I'll clean the windows on window day. I'm not going to chase my toddler around cleaning windows every 10 minutes. Someday I'll clean those little handprints for the last time, and then I'll be sad that there's not a littler person to immediately come press her face to my clean window.

Do what you can when you can. Figure out what good enough looks like for you and your household.

I hope this article gave you at least a good starting point for maintaining your home!

Happy cleaning!