Housekeeping

How to simplify your housework

~ Megan

Life can be busy and stressful. Often the last thing you want to do is more housework. It may sound like a dream come true, but it is possible to simplify your house cleaning routine with a few easy changes. Just imagine, a quick clean and tidy and your house is visitor ready. Even if you have young children it is still possible to keep your house in tip top shape without burning yourself out. Lets look at how…

Firstly I want to make this clear. I love cleaning! I am actually one of those weird people who enjoys the process of cleaning. It’s like therapy for me. I feel the stress melt away while scrubbing the shower and I feel satisfied at the end result of a meticulously clean home.

There is one exception here and that is not having time to clean and yet knowing you need to. That is where cleaning can be stressful. Rushing around the house trying to get it all done is what makes cleaning an unpleasant experience. It becomes a major chore that we all want to avoid. (Even an avid cleaner like me.)

This is where simplifying your home comes in. The difference between a cluttered home and uncluttered home, is the difference between spending hours upon hours trying to keep up with housekeeping compared to a couple of short sessions a day. Yes simplifying your home will reduce your housework but where to start?

1. Turn off the tap at the source, (so to speak)

Stop the flow of stuff coming into the home to give yourself a chance to get on top of what you already have. This could mean only buying the absolute essentials for awhile. Really evaluate if you need to buy anything and don’t just accept freebies if they are not needed. Ask family or those living with you to take care of their own belongings and have set spaces for eachother’s things.

2. Start a donations box

If you haven’t got a decluttering plan you could start with a donations box. Every time you have a spare 10 minutes, do a quick declutter of a drawer or cupboard and put unwanted items in a box ready to donate. When the box is full put it in the car ready for drop-off. I have one in the laundry at all times. I pop items in there as soon as I come across something I no longer use.

5. Be ruthless with your stuff

Whatever method you choose to declutter, be ruthless! If you keep your end goal in mind of what you want your home to be, then you will be much more willing to get rid of un-needed stuff now. Don’t keep items ‘just in case’. They will only prevent you reaching your goals and make your housework complicated.

6. Keep all surfaces clear

Remove as much as possible from all surfaces. Only keep what you really need or want on them. This makes cleaning much more efficient.

7. Declutter nic-nacs

Having too many small items makes dusting and cleaning hard. Only keep the bare minimum on display.

8. Consider removing your shoes before entering

Not a simplifying tip as such but not wearing shoes indoors means a lot less dirt is tracked in and so floors stay alot cleaner.

9. Make your bed in the morning

Make your bed as soon as you get up and keep bedding to a minimum. Remove excess pillows, throws and blankets to simplify the process. It will set the mood for the day.

10. Re-wear clothing

It’s okay to repeat outfits that are still clean and don’t smell. Teach your children to do the same. Often we create more washing unnecessarily.

11. Keep a small wardrobe

Keep simplified wardrobes so that putting away clothing is quick and easy.

12. Fold clothing immediately

If you fold clothing immediately after hanging it to dry then you will have less ironing to do.

13. Remove excess furniture

Remove unnecessary furniture from the home. Less furniture means less to dust. Your home will also appear bigger.

14. Don’t keep any clutter in the bathrooms or toilet

Keep the essentials only. Makes cleaning in these highly used areas easier.

15. A team effort

This may be one of the most important tips for a tidier home and that is that everyone is responsible for their own stuff. It has become a habit in our home that once you are finished with something you put it away.

Simplifying and making these small changes has made a huge difference to my housekeeping routine. I hope it will make a difference to yours:)

For more housekeeping ideas check out this post on Housekeeping the old fashioned way

https://thesimplehome.blog/?p=54
https://www.pinterest.com.au/pin/732468326896244165/

Housekeeping, the Old fashioned way

Old fashioned housekeeping
~ Megan

Today, I am taking out a leaf of an old-fashioned book that I have, titled ‘A Book for Every Woman’ from 1926! It has numerous ideas and tips for home-making that I feel like sharing with you all! In my blog, I have revised some paragraphs from the book’s chapter titled ‘Do you make work for yourself?’ I hope you enjoy reading the blog!

If you feel that you are overworked, look around your house and see how you can make things easier for yourself. Easier – without sacrificing the essentials of a wholesome living, namely, cleanliness and nutritious food.

Too much clutter

Maybe you do a lot of unnecessary work every day as your house is over-furnished. Is the mantel of your house loaded with ornaments? Is the top of the bureau filled with fripperies? Are the walls overloaded with pictures? Putting away some of these things can help! Now, notice how much more restful and neat your home looks and how much work this saves.

One morning, I suddenly woke up to the fact that I was doing a lot of unnecessary work. I can never forget the length of time it used to take me to dust and clean my bedroom. I always used to go to my writing desk first of all. It looked like a fancy table at some fair, I would rub my eyes in astonishment and would feel pity about the things that my little duster always passed over, but they were never used.

Order restored!

My room offered a great deal of elegance and cleanliness without those things. What mattered for me was that the things I want or use regularly are right in front of my eyes.  They could not show up when they were closely elbowed by the things I did not care about. I sorted out my stuff and it helped me in creating an atmosphere of accessibility and cleanliness in my room that I never had. I was proud of myself when I calculated the lesser time it would take me to set it to rights in the mornings.

Kitchen and Dining de-clutter

Then I diverted my attention to the sitting-room and the dining room and even the kitchen came in for its share of this weeding out process. I found out that one cupboard was full of utensils, both household and kitchen, that we never used. They were either too big or too small, which made them unserviceable. For example, there was an ice-chest that was too big for our family and then a preserving kettle that was not satisfactory in the functioning and many other utensils. The things were all good in themselves so I had kept them. I decided to sell the contents of this cupboard. This greatly helped me in managing the mess!

In short, this cleaning process ensured that I pay attention to everything, regardless of its size. The things I was saving with a view of being possible for use someday, weren’t used till date. I asked myself what will be useful in the near future. It turned out that no matter if you will be using these utensils in the future or not, this cleaning process will help you in managing your mess and time.

So you see, the woman of the past were decluttering their homes long before we were!