It’s time to change the way you think about cleaning. Yes, springtime is here and life is renewed; thoughts are bright and the weather is changing. But you don’t need to see the 1st robin to apply these next thought-changes to your life … and house … for the entire year! These five “Thought-Changes” will help you keep your home spring-clean all year round.
The 1st Thought-Change: Don’t Delay
It’s just a piece of cereal, right? It’s just one drop of oil or spaghetti sauce, no? The common thought is to “get to it later.” You’re busy cooking, feeding hungry kids and wondering how you’re ever going to get that work project turned in by the morning. But not taking the time now inevitably forces you to have to take more time later. It’s not like you’re going to take a huge, mental note to return to the spot of the spill. But sure enough you’ll be reminded of it when you suddenly have ants or other bugs crawling around your kitchen floor or counter. What could have been a few seconds of effort becomes a larger task that takes up more of your time – time you already didn’t have enough of. Change your thinking and clean up splashes and spills instantly. You can apply this new thinking to other rooms and areas of your home as well. Dirty clothing can go into the hamper as opposed to on the floor. Every time you brush your teeth you can wipe off the sink counter. The empty milk container on the counter can go instantly into the trash. Taking care of little things straight away can prevent them from becoming bigger, more time-consuming ones later. Change your thinking and make cleaning your home easier all year long, giving yourself more time to take a deep breath than you realized you could have.
The 2nd Thought-Change: Hit The Spot
Let’s face it: you have more things than you need lying around the house. When it’s time to clean, they’re not only dusty but they’re in the way or on top of other things you have to clean. De-clutter your home and spend less time cleaning by de-cluttering your mind and changing your thoughts-about-things. There’s no reason to clean around excess clutter. Remove items not being used in your rooms and store them appropriately or discard them. You can’t “hit the spot” until you can get to it, so removing excess items is a huge time-saver. Then, take a top-down approach to avoid backtracking over areas you thought you cleaned the 1st time. The floors are obvious sore-spots because they are more visible to us than the ceiling fan blades or the top corners of your walls. But if you start with the floor you’re just going to have to clean it again once you get to those higher places. Change your thoughts from the obvious to a top-down mentality. This applies to walls, doors, mirrors and windows as well. Go top-down with your sprays and wipe in an s-motion to avoid drips and streaks.
The 3rd Thought-Change: The Right Tools for the Trade
Who as time to read labels? You do, trust me. Just like the parade of ants marching into your home to lay claim to that unattended-to splash of spaghetti sauce, the wrong cleaning products can absorb more of your time than they do dirt. Change your thinking and make reading labels on your sprays, detergents and powders to make use they’re the right tools for the trade. If you’re already green-conscious you’ll want to make sure the ingredients you’re using to clean your home fit the mold of your lifestyle choice. Some laundry detergents simply don’t cut-the-mustard for heavy stains. And using something like Comet Powder might be great for your tub but can destroy your stone counters or cabinet doors. Read the labels. The time it takes to do so will save you both time and aggravation in the end.
The 4th Thought-Change: Clean With Clean Cleaning-Products
This thought-change might not be so crystal clear to many homeowners but it’s an important one. You have to clean your leaning products. Granted, this does not need to be a daily practice, but it still needs to be entered into your thoughts and actions as a semi-regular priority. Washing machines, vacuum cleaners, dish-rags and sponges, all accumulate filth and bacteria every time they’re used. It is strongly suggested you replace your cleaning items with each new task, and to clean out your washing machine and vacuum cleaners semi-regularly to avoid smelly clothing and puffs of dust and dirt wafting up into the air. Visit https://www.vacuumjudge.com/ to find out more about vacuum cleaners. If you’re not interested in using a new sponge or rag each time you do the dishes, you can also try thoroughly washing and rinsing them out and putting them into the microwave for a short amount of time. Oh yes…and clean out your microwave every week to avoid nasty food buildups!
The 5th Thought-Change: Kids Are Cleaners Too!
I’m sure you know how impressionable children can be. You do what you can to guard them from bad influences and guide them to being the best little people they can be. Well, you can positively affect your available time and their thinking by changing yours! Give them simple tasks that help you do the larger, more complicated ones. Teach them fold towels and take trash from their rooms each day instead of letting it pile up. You can give them non-toxic cleaners and let them help you with the lower areas in need of cleaning after you get done with the ceilings and walls, etc. By changing your thinking you can gradually get your children accustomed to the regularity of cleaning your home. Talk to them about positive energy and space, and how it makes life more fun. And if you keep a simple chore list visible with applicable rewards and the general approval of a job-well-done, any resistance to cleaning will quickly dissolve away and create more time for you in which to enjoy your clean home!
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