3 Simple Ways To Make Housework Easier

Keeping the house clean and organized with a busy family and an even busier schedule isn’t easy. Some days it seems that things get misplaced, used, and dirtied much faster than I can clean. This year I’ve implemented 3 simple new routines that have made housework so much easier and more manageable. I can’t believe I didn’t start doing this earlier. I thought I’d share these three little changes with you. There are nothing earthshakingly amazing, but things that work really well for me and my family. I hope they will help you as well.

Use The One Item Rule

This is simple, but takes a little while to make a habit. Every time you enter a room, grab one item and put it away. Or clean something. The idea is to not get overwhelmed by messes and chaos by doing a little bit here and there. I was surprised how quickly this become a habit. I know do it on autopilot, putting away laundry, cleaning my coffee mug instead of piling it in the sink or wiping the bathroom counter.

Most of the time it doesn’t take more than a few seconds to do these tasks, but as I move around the house over the course of the day it really makes a difference. Just like messes appear one  item at a time, this cleanup method works. In fact, it’s the perfect antidote.

Make A Cleaning Schedule

Of course not every household chore can be done in a few seconds here or there. Larger cleaning tasks like mopping the floor, doing laundry or scrubbing the tub still need to get done. Again my goal here was to stop overwhelm by spreading these tasks out. Instead of spending all Saturday cleaning house, I created a cleaning schedule.

Here’s What Mine Looks Like:

• Monday: Clean the Kitchen and Dining Room
• Tuesday: Clean The Living Room
• Wednesday: Clean Both Bathrooms
• Thursday: Clean The Bedrooms
• Friday: Clean The Hallway and Sun Room
• Saturday: Projects or Yard Work

Yours will likely be different, but the main idea is to break it up into manageable chunks. As an added benefit, this makes it very easy to assign chores to other family members. My husband cleans the tub, my daughter cleans her half-bath and I tackle the rest of our main bathroom. We’re all done in under 30 minutes.

Combined with the first strategy, this has helped keep our house looking much cleaner and more organized without seeming like a lot of work.

Clean Your Sink Before You Go To Bed

I picked this tip up years ago from the Fly Lady. I believe she calls it “Shining your sink”. The idea is to simply wash the dishes, clean the counters and take care of everything that’s piled up in the sink after dinner. We do this as a family right after dinner and before settling down to watch a movie.

It’s such a good feeling to walk into a clean and tidy kitchen in the morning. It starts the day of on the right note and I don’t feel like I’m already behind before I had my first cup of coffee.

How about you? What are your favorite tips, strategies and idea to make the unavoidable housework easier?