Make Cleaning A Fun Task With These Tips

Taking care of the home is no joke—it's tedious, tiring and time-consuming. From trying to finish all the chores to preparing meals and daily maintenance, it's impossible to run out of things to do. To help you make homemaking a little less stressful (and to help you develop a more practical cleaning routine!), we've listed down five habits you should practice: 

1. Prioritize public areas. 

If you are too tired to clean at the end of the day, focus on tidying up large surfaces, like kitchen counters and the coffee table. A dusty house with no clutter actually looks neater than a clean house with plenty of junk lying around. You might also want to try these unusual cleaning hacks. 

2. Be motivated.

Do what it takes to make the prospect of cleaning more excting. Hang fresh, clean dish towels every morning or light scented candles—a whiff of Mandarin Orange and Ginger is sure to get you going. Check out some delicious home scents here. 

3. Have your tools within reach. 

Take a tip from professional cleaners and place all of your cleaning necessities in a handy plastic carryall so you can tote them from room to room. Make sure the caddy is stocked with an all-purpose cleaner, brushes, sponges and plastic trash bags. 

4. Avoid forming pools of clutter. 

Don’t give clutter a place to breed, like keeping a drawer to toss junk in without organizing it. Deploy a system to keep track of everyone’s papers instead of dumping them on the kitchen table or posting dozens of memos on the refrigerator.

5. Be efficient. 

Don’t waste time on repetitive chores. If you have kids and your floor is permanently laden with toys, don’t pick it up several times a day, only for your kids to make a mess out of it again. Save your energy for more important tasks and schedule the cleaning up when they sleep at night. Or, post a cleanup schedule in a command center in your home. 

Read the original article ("Orderly Conduct") in the June 2008 issue of Real Living magazine. Download your digital copy at the Real Living App. Log on tosummitnewsstand.com.ph/real-living for more details.