11 Habits To Maintain A Clean Home

Have you ever went into someone’s home and wondered how they keep their house so clean when they have more kids than you, work longer hours than you, or have more going on outside their home than you do? Maybe they have someone come in and do it for them, but chances are, they don’t. 

Cleaning our homes often comes with bad feelings and attitudes. A clean home should give us a sense of pride, a blessing to our family and others, and an invitation of hospitality.

Here are 11 habits to maintain a clean home that I have gathered from some of my very “organized and tidy” friends (I am not a naturally tidy person so these are all habits I’ve had to work on or are working on myself). 

Most of these are very simple in logic. It’s applying them to your daily life that can be tricky. However, if you work on one of these habits until it sticks and then move to the next, you will soon be on your way to having your own clean home!

“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.” John Dryden

1. Never underestimate the power of 10 minutes!

Do you have 10 minutes before you need to leave for an appointment? Don’t waste that time! There are so many tasks you can complete in 10 minutes! Here are just a few:

• Set up an appointment
• Unload or load the dishwasher
• Fold a load of laundry
• Start a load of laundry
• Clean out your purse
• Make you bed
• Clean the toilet
• Wipe off the counter
• Vacuum
• Pick up toys
• Clean out your vehicle

2. Don’t fall behind on laundry or dishes.

With a larger family, this is a habit I’ve learned the hard way. If I don’t do the dishes, there aren’t any clean bowls for cereal in the morning before school and I have 5 kids who think they might starve! This also applies to clean underwear, socks, pants, or whatever uniform they need for an activity after school. 

I’ve found that by unloading the dishwasher first thing in the morning when it’s breakfast time and making sure I start it before bed keeps us on track with dishes. 

This also applies to laundry. I start a load in the morning, switch it at noon and fold it in the evening (and have whoever’s laundry it is help put it away). By having a system, it really does help maintain a clean home.

 

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